Super Gene Ⅱ: Evolution

Chapter 276: Chapter 276 Merge as One

The space in the cave was limited, so Lin Shen could only first study how to combine the two, and wait for Tian Xun to return before finding a sufficiently spacious place for actual combat practice.

Tian Xun had indeed gone out, invited by An 117 and Chi 118 to a meeting.

An 117 had discovered a very special region on a mountain within the Giant Ring Star and suspected the existence of mutated Nirvana Creatures. He wanted to invite Tian Xun and Chi 118 to explore the mountain together.

However, the mountain came with many restrictions, and they were not willing to take the risk yet. After discussion, they decided to jointly dispatch a Pioneer Corps from all three parties, to first clear up the numerous restrictions on the mountain and the status of the creatures there. It wouldn’t be too late for them to ascend the mountain once the time was mature.

The three parties each sent some Mutators and Ascenders to form a Pioneer Corps with a total of thirty thousand people, divided into ten teams, to commence their exploration of the mountain.

The reason An 117 invited them in advance was to avoid having his own Pioneer Corps depleted too greatly, as there were still vast regions that required manpower for development, and they could not afford to exhaust all their resources in one place.

In the years of developing the Giant Ring Star, they had already consumed a considerable amount of human resources, and it was becoming difficult to keep up with the demand for replenishment.

When Tian Xun received Lin Shen’s message, she was in the middle of a meeting about this issue and couldn’t rush back right away.

Once there were results, Tian Xun hurried back to Paradise Island at the first opportunity.

“He sent out a message so quickly, could something have happened?” Tian Xun frowned slightly, unsure about what had transpired.

She didn’t believe that Cosimo had the audacity to break into her residence to kill Lin Shen, but aside from that, she could not comprehend why Lin Shen would send out a message so early.

When she entered the cave, she discovered that Lin Shen had already come out of the Base Mutation Pool, neatly dressed and squatting on the ground, drawing and studying something.

“How did you come out so soon?” Seeing that Lin Shen was unharmed, Tian Xun asked with a bit of displeasure.

“My Base Mutation rate has already reached completion,” Lin Shen stood up and said.

Tian Xun glanced at the things Lin Shen had drawn on the ground, which looked like stick figures, and couldn’t help but curl her lip in disdain.

Such artistic skills from Lin Shen were truly less than flattering.

“So soon?” Lin Shen’s absorption speed was unexpectedly fast, which astonished Tian Xun. “You’ve earned yourself some extra time. I’m going to fetch the Ascension Egg now, so you can ascend here.”

“Let’s wait a bit longer, first find a place, I need to practice the Twenty-Eight Fists. Can you return my little notebook first? I can’t remember some of the movements,” Lin Shen said.

“Fine,” Tian Xun didn’t mind, thinking that Lin Shen was waiting for his companion to deliver the Ascension Egg.

After all, there wasn’t much time left, and in the end, Lin Shen would have to choose her Ascension Egg.

The palace-like structure had an indoor martial arts field, and it was of very high specifications, a place where Tian Xun usually trained and conducted research.

“You practice, I’ll guide you,” Tian Xun said with confidence, standing to the side, preparing to give pointers to Lin Shen.

Although she couldn’t master the Twenty-Eight Fists, her insight and realm far exceeded Lin Shen’s, so guiding him should be no problem.

Lin Shen nodded, flicked through his notebook, reviewed the movements he couldn’t remember, and pondered for quite some time before he began to practice the combat technique he had just figured out.

“What are you practicing?” After watching for a while, Tian Xun felt something was off.

This was no Twenty-Eight Fists; it should be called the ‘Thirty-Seven Fists,’ or rather, just randomly hitting—regardless of the specifics.

Lin Shen’s technique was full of flaws and completely lacked the dominance of the Twenty-Eight Fists.

“Twenty-Eight Fists, huh?” Lin Shen said with a smile.

“To practice such a domineering technique like the Twenty-Eight Fists and make it look like a woman’s dance, can’t you put a bit more vigor into it? And your movements are incorrect too, what’s with this mess?” Tian Xun remarked.

“Don’t rush me, I feel like there are some parts of the Twenty-Eight Fists that aren’t quite smooth to use, so I made some slight changes, I’m not yet proficient with them,” Lin Shen’s reply left Tian Xun speechless.

“Who do you think you are? Thinking you can change the Twenty-Eight Fists, you’d be good just to learn them properly,” Tian Xun felt like Lin Shen must have a screw loose.

A character like my friend created the Twenty-Eight Fists; it’s not something people can just change as they please. Lin Shen’s ideas were nothing short of fantastical.

But Lin Shen didn’t see it that way; the Twenty-Eight Fists might be formidable in the hands of my friend, but that didn’t guarantee others would be impressive using them. What mattered more was suiting himself.

It’s like shooting baskets: a standard shooting pose is indeed very elegant and can even improve the shooting percentage.

Yet, there are some people with very peculiar shooting forms, but their accuracy is high. Making them use a standard pose instead might actually lower their success rate.

Lin Shen didn’t care whether the Twenty-Eight Fists were top-notch techniques; as long as he found them useful, he’d just take them out and use them, not worrying about their intended use.

“Got it,” Lin Shen answered, but he had no intentions of repenting. He continued his practice as before.

He realized that using the moves from Stepping on the Immortal Court and the Twenty-Eight Fists alone would never fill those gaps.

After all, the two were completely unrelated techniques forced together; the moves themselves were inherently mismatched, so it would be strange if there were no flaws.

Lin Shen simply gave up on merging those moves and kept only the parts that were compatible. With the core unchanged, he began to research postures that would fit.

Lin Shen’s philosophy was simple: don’t worry about how I should shoot, I’ll do it in whatever way feels comfortable, as long as it achieves the goal.

The Stepping on the Immortal Court and the Twenty-Eight Fists had been so altered by Lin Shen that they were unrecognizable, or one could say they had broken free from their original constraints, forming a new system.

In Lin Shen’s view, his research was very successful.

Yet, in Tian Xun’s eyes, what on earth was Lin Shen doing? It was becoming more and more ridiculous, to the point where there was no trace of the original Twenty-Eight Fists left.

“No, that’s wrong… too soft… be forceful… focused… domineering…” Tian Xun started by correcting Lin Shen but, seeing that Lin Shen wasn’t taking any of it in, stubbornly refusing to turn back until he hit a dead-end, he eventually stopped talking and just watched coldly from the sidelines.

Lin Shen kept researching and making errors repeatedly, trying to find the most suitable posture for the current core to bring out its real power.

Mistakes were bound to happen at the start, necessitating starting over again and again.

Tian Xun could no longer bear to watch, so he simply went back to rest, leaving Lin Shen to practice by himself. When Lin Shen hit a dead end and realized his mistake, then Tian Xun would return to guide him – not too late since Lin Shen had fought for this time himself.

While Lin Shen was practicing, Cosimo’s expression was extremely unpleasant.

Cosimo didn’t know that Lin Shen was practicing boxing techniques inside Tian Xun’s palace; he only knew that Lin Shen had entered Tian Xun’s palace and hadn’t come out since, even staying the night.

This was different from staying in a guest room; it was where Tian Xun himself lived.

The Metichi family had paid so much just for the chance to become family with Tian Xun, and in Cosimo’s heart, Tian Xun was likened to his own prize catch, one he couldn’t tolerate others touching.

“Lin Shen, you’re as good as dead,” Cosimo seethed with rage, his grip crushing the cup in his hand; his expression was that of a man who discovered his sugar mommy had found herself a new toy.