Chapter 160 - 150: The Terrifying Truth

Feng Boyi was in his sixties, bald, and had a prominent potbelly. He didn’t look young, but he seemed to be in relatively good spirits.

Su Ze couldn’t read any of the man’s inner emotions from his face. Even his smile was superficial, masking a calmness as still as a lake.

"Did you lure me here on purpose?" Su Ze asked.

"I was just giving you a chance to talk to me, saving you the trouble of sneaking into my room in the middle of the night." As Feng Boyi spoke, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes and pointed to the smoking room across from the restroom. "Let’s talk in there."

The smoking room was empty, making it a much better place to talk. Unlike the restroom entrance, someone could walk by at any time.

Su Ze nodded and followed Feng Boyi into the smoking room.

"Want one?" Feng Boyi opened the cigarette pack and offered it to him. "It’ll look strange if someone sees you standing in a smoking room without a cigarette."

Su Ze took a cigarette, and Feng Boyi lit it for him.

Seeing that Su Ze wasn’t smoking, Feng Boyi smiled and lit one for himself. He took a deep drag, inhaled, and then exhaled. "Relax, it’s not poisoned."

Su Ze leaned against the glass wall of the smoking room, took a drag from his cigarette, and idly blew a series of smoke rings before finally speaking. "You should know what I’m here to ask you, right?"

Feng Boyi nodded slightly. "I do. You want to know how I copied Zhao Lingxiao’s skill to you? Or more precisely, how I copied that skill from the Bloodline Crystal to you, correct?"

"So you really did know." Su Ze gave Feng Boyi a deep look. Just as he’d suspected, Feng Boyi knew the Divine Grace of Evolution skill came from the Bloodline Crystal.

"I know more than you think. Don’t underestimate an old man who has been deeply immersed in the field of evolution for decades." Feng Boyi sat down on the sofa in the smoking room, flicked his ash into the ashtray, and said, "I also know that King Mu had that Bloodline Crystal for over twenty years but could never absorb it. During that time, he had countless people try, but they all failed. It wasn’t until Princess Zhuzhi successfully absorbed it that she instantly became King Mu’s most favored princess."

"Bloodline Crystals can be picky?" Su Ze immediately seized on the key point.

"Normal Bloodline Crystals aren’t picky. Saint-level experts can absorb them, just like absorbing extracts—there’s a chance of success and a chance of failure." Feng Boyi paused. "But King Mu’s Bloodline Crystal was clearly not normal. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been absorbed by a Mortal-level Life Form."

Su Ze had long suspected that the Bloodline Crystal Princess Zhuzhi absorbed was special. Feng Boyi’s words now confirmed his suspicion.

Feng Boyi continued, "However, once it was absorbed and then re-extracted, its restrictions were likely lifted. Otherwise, Zhao Lingxiao wouldn’t have been able to absorb it."

Su Ze nodded, bringing the topic back on track. "But even if that Bloodline Crystal is special, its skill can’t just be copied at will, right? How did you do it?"

Feng Boyi said with a faint, unreadable smile, "And why should I tell you?"

Su Ze sat down on the sofa opposite Feng Boyi. "Because I know your secrets. I know about the shady things you’ve done. You wouldn’t want those secrets getting out, would you?"

Feng Boyi was unconcerned. "I also know your secret. You wouldn’t want the whole world to know you’re a clone, would you?"

Seeing that his threat hadn’t fazed Feng Boyi, Su Ze wasn’t surprised. If the hard approach wouldn’t work, he’d try a soft one. He smiled.

"Mr. Feng, since we both know each other’s secrets, we should help each other out and be friends."

"Alright, I was thinking the same thing." Feng Boyi crushed the last third of his cigarette in the ashtray. "I can help you and answer your question, but you have to help me, too. Satisfy my curiosity."

"What do you want to know?" Su Ze’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Feng Boyi said, "I want to know, deep down, do you see yourself as Zhao Lingxiao or Su Ze? Or are you Zhao Lingxiao pretending to be Su Ze?

"Also, what exactly is the effect of that Bloodline Crystal skill?

"You answer my questions, and in exchange, I’ll answer yours. How about it? That’s fair, isn’t it?"

Su Ze shook his head. "Not fair at all. I’m only asking you one question, but you’re asking me two."

"You really are a stingy young man. I just gave you all that information about King Mu’s Bloodline Crystal for free, and now you’re haggling with me." Feng Boyi sighed, looking resigned. "Fine, then. I won’t ask the first question. Just answer my second one."

Feng Boyi was asking about the effect of the Divine Grace of Evolution skill.

Of course, Su Ze was unwilling to reveal the true effects of Divine Grace of Evolution, but he knew it would be difficult to fool an old fox like Feng Boyi with a simple lie.

He said, "You answer my question first, then I’ll answer yours."

Su Ze did this to buy himself some time to think, trying to come up with a lie that could fool Feng Boyi.

Feng Boyi suddenly burst out laughing. "Actually, you’ve already answered my first question. The feeling you give me is completely different from Zhao Lingxiao. I can still tell the difference between a hyena and a wolf. You are not Zhao Lingxiao."

Su Ze was unfazed. "Since you already have the answer to your first question, it’s definitely your turn to answer mine."

Feng Boyi didn’t stall any further. "When I was copying Zhao Lingxiao’s skills to you, the first two were difficult. Because of their high quality, it took several failed attempts and a great cost to finally replicate them. But at least I could see a path to success. The third skill, however, was completely beyond my comprehension.