"There are certainly requirements that you have to meet, but I won't be able to reveal them fully without providing too much information. However, I can inform you that none of you present can experience a breakthrough as you are now: once you study any genetic technique, you can no longer advance beyond the tenth stage of your foundational framework. As a result, none of you will be able to test this procedure on yourself."

Zhang Lie's words again caused the hunters to stiffen. Yun Bing, Chu Feng, Yun Gang, and Chu Lan all looked at him in shock. In that case, all their excitement would be for naught!

Yun Gang narrowed his eyes in thought. "In that case, what if I were to purge my techniques?  Would I be able to break through then?"

Zhang Lie nodded. "That would work, but I'm sure this would be a difficult decision for hunters like you."

Indeed, it was an extremely difficult decision to make. The gathered hunters would be able to raise their gene capacity, but only after sacrificing the techniques that they'd spent years working with...

In the long term, it would certainly be better to purge one's techniques, but doing so would cause their growth to deteriorate in the short term. This was truly a dilemma.

The four hunters all began to frown. Moments later, Chu Lan, the only hunter who had yet to speak, came to her senses and asked the last question.

"What's the chance of success upon undergoing this procedure? I want to know whether it's guaranteed that we'll be able to experience a breakthrough if we follow the information you're providing."

The other three hunters all broke out of their reverie and turned to Zhang Lie. 

"I can't guarantee anything: after all, I can only speak for myself. All I can provide is an explanation of the circumstances under which I experienced a breakthrough, as well as a positive confirmation of such a breakthrough. I can't promise any measure of success."

Zhang Lie's words caused the hunters to deflate.

If there were an unknown probability of success, then they wouldn't risk jeopardizing their strength, especially not right before the Void Cup. What would they do if the procedure didn't work for them?

Yun Bing, Chu Feng, and the others had gotten a good grasp as to what this mysterious hunter's breakthrough implied. Although they wouldn't be able to benefit much from it, it would be extremely meaningful for their clans. It was certainly a piece of information worth half a billion dollars—no, perhaps even more than that.

Chu Feng murmured, "I have to say, this revelation is both astounding and saddening to me. Of course, from the perspective of our clans, we're certainly very interested in the details of the procedure. What do you propose with regards to payment?"

Zhang Lie rubbed his fingers together. "Simply pay up, and I'll keep talking. Since there are two clans involved, how about 1.5 million points from each clan as a deposit?"

1.5 million points would be a 30% deposit, which seemed rather high.

Yun Bing and Chu Feng eyed each other, but neither objected.

"A 30% deposit isn't unfair, but how would you guarant—"

"There's no need for a guarantee. After you hand over your deposit, I won't leave your sight until the first successful breakthrough among each of your candidates." Zhang Lie predicted and resolved Yun Bing's objection, and his proposal was acceptable to her.

The two clan representatives both transferred 1.5 million points to Zhang Lie, and he immediately received a notification of that transfer.

"Very good. In that case, let's begin. Each clan should prepare five candidates whose foundational frameworks are at the tenth stage, but who haven't yet begun cultivating any genetic techniques.

"Furthermore, you'll need to gather a hundred white-grub cores, ten pounds of kelpfish roe, and ten pounds of bluewater frog meat. Are there any questions so far?"

Seeing how Zhang Lie had immediately gotten down to business, Yun Bing and Chu Feng motioned for Chu Lan and Yun Gang to handle the preparations themselves.

Chu Lan and Yun Gang immediately stood up and made to leave.

"Lastly, construct a small training ground outside the settlement, and bring both the candidates and the ingredients there," Zhang Lie added, before Chu Lan and Yun Gang left.

That remark caused the four hunters to look askance at him again. 

Outside the settlement? That meant that they would all have to leave the safety of the settlement grounds. And that meant that he, a lone hunter, had the confidence to take on their clans...

Zhang Lie didn't notice anything amiss with his words. When he saw the gathered hunters hesitate, he asked, "What's the matter? Don't you want to get things started as quickly as possible?"

Yun Gang and Chu Lan bowed and left.

Almost without stopping, Zhang Lie turned back to Yun Bing and Chu Feng and started to describe the conditions for the breakthrough.

"There are three conditions to keep in mind. The first and most basic requirement is to reach the tenth stage of the foundational framework without having started practicing any genetic techniques.

"The second is to consume sufficient quantities of white-grub cores, kelpfish roe, or bluewater frog meat. I'm not sure about which is the active ingredient here, but all three are easy to acquire in bulk, so this shouldn't be a problem.

"The third is to have enough adrenaline flooding your system; in other words, the candidates need to experience some form of shock or threat."

Zhang Lie stopped talking, but Yun Bing and Chu Feng continued looking at him expectantly. After a moment, they asked, almost simultaneously, "Is that it?"

"Were you expecting it to be even more difficult? After all, none of these three requirements are easy to meet, and certainly not all three at once. Indeed, the last requirement is the only one that introduces uncertainty into this process. Whether or not a hunter will succeed in breaking through will depend on this third requirement."

Since they had paid, Zhang Lie had no reason to hide what he had gleaned from them.

Yun Bing and Chu Feng now understood the risks and benefits of this supposed breakthrough better. In simple terms, it was a low-risk, high-reward procedure for hunters who had just entered the dimensional world.

Having missed this opportunity themselves, Yun Bing and Chu Feng were naturally thinking of trying to get their relatives to benefit instead. Yun Bing had a sister, and Chu Feng had a pair of siblings, and these three hunters were all relatively new to the dimensional world.

In particular, Yun Bing's sister, Yun Meng, was precisely at the critical juncture for the first requirement, and while Chu Feng's siblings had progressed slightly beyond that, they didn't have much to lose from starting over.

They would surely benefit from this opportunity.