Genetic Ascension

Chapter 1351: Pivot

Sylas subconsciously closed his eyes, only slowly opening them after a moment. He didn’t know what had just happened, but that concentration of energy was... absolutely ridiculous.

And it all seemed to have happened spontaneously too, carrying almost the same effect as his Scorpion Tail.

In fact, if it had been more intentional, it just might have been just as powerful, if not more so.

It seemed that... he could attack with his eyes now?

’I see...’

His body had undergone a myriad of changes, and though they didn’t reflect as obviously in his stats, when it came to his abilities and what he could actually do, everything had been flipped on its head. It felt like everything had been changed considerably in ways that Sylas still couldn’t quite understand.

What made Gene Classes so powerful? It was that the Class was no longer separate from the Race. The two were built atop one another, causing the effectiveness of both your stats and any abilities that came with the Gene Class to be countless times more powerful.

This change to his eyes was a result of synergy between his Scorpion Warlord Armor, his Runeweave Eyes, and his Glassborn Crystal Emperor Gene Class.

The result...?

Up ahead, the trees that weren’t completely destroyed by the bolts of lightning that came from Sylas’ eyes began to slowly crystallize, freezing into place.

Moments later, they shattered into a sparkling rain of what looked almost like emerald ash.

Their energy dispersed into the air, and when Sylas inhaled just the slightest bit, he realized that there was another piece of his body taking action as well.

His Grimblade Unique Gene.

He had lost his Gene Talent when he gained Aetherborne Will as an Elevated Gene Talent. However, it had to be remembered that Sylas still had the Unique Gene, and back then, there had been a change at the fundamental level of his Will Core as well.

These abilities were only used by him occasionally because, quite frankly, the Grimblades were far too weak. But now it seemed to have regained some life and vitality.

It seemed that his eyes could destroy, freeze, and shatter enemies—then he could inhale what remained of them to restore his used Will and stamina.

And that was all before he used Gluttony or his True Pride Seed.

Synergy.

It was something that Sylas had realized was important from the moment he stepped foot into this world, and something he had been chasing for the longest time. Every step he took seemed to inch closer toward these ends, but he had never been able to take such a large leap before.

His stats... they might still look inferior to the best of the E-tier—at least his Physical stats certainly were. But in action? He wasn’t sure if that was actually still the case at all.

At the very least, his stats were easily doubly as effective.

But Sylas didn’t believe that this was the result of himself—not entirely.

This was the power of a Gene Class. A Legendary Gene Class.

He was limiting his Gene Class right now because his Race Grade was far too low to maximize it completely. However, by extension, that also meant that every step he took forward in improving his foundation made his Gene Class exponentially more perfect as well.

That meant there was only one correct decision moving forward right now. He knew exactly what he had to do.

’I have to refine and perfect the Ape Warlord Armor until it not only stands on par with my Emerald Scorpion Gene, but so that it also fits into my body perfectly without clashing against the changes I’ve already made...’

He knew he had made the right decision now. Not only was giving up the Serpent Gene the correct choice, but not absorbing the Ape Gene just yet was also correct.

His Emerald Scorpion Gene was the perfect match for his Glassborn Cryst Emperor Gene Class. Although it hadn’t started like that, Sylas had made it so.

Also... there were shadows of the Cryst Emperor in the Scorpion.

There were two paths Sylas could have taken: the selfless path and the selfish path. Coincidentally, the warring sides of the Scorpion Lineage perfectly meshed with this.

The irony was that this only worked because the Scorpion Warlord was purposely weakened in the first place. If not for this, it would have only had the selfish path within—the path that Sylas originally chose for his Scorpion Emperor Armor.

The Ape Gene... it could be the perfect match for his Chaotic Sovereign Gene Talent. He just needed to massage it some more, study the Runes with greater purpose until he comprehended it just as well as he did his Scorpion Armor.

Once he succeeded...

Sylas clenched his fists and slowly stood.

...He would be on another level entirely.

—

The phenomena in the skies slowly faded, and the era of peace the Scorpion Sanctum had been ushered into thanks to Sylas seemed to likewise be coming to a close.

But Sylas was beginning to feel like something was off.

’It seems that they’re not taking the obvious path any longer. Maybe they’re smarter than I’ve given them credit for.’

Sylas also felt that it might be his fault. There was no hiding that phenomena, and if they put two and two together, realizing that it was he who triggered it, they would probably also realize that there was no way they’d be able to win against him with a numbers game alone.

Part of Sylas wondered if he should have held off on absorbing his Emerald Scorpion Gene for that reason, but he decided against it. His top priority was getting stronger as quickly and effectively as possible.

He would never slow his progress just for the sake of people he saw as stepping stones.

The question was, then... if they weren’t going to take the obvious approach, what were they going to do instead?

Soon, he got his answer.

’The Leava Clan? Rune Master Leaderboard?’