Chapter 74: Chapter 71: Professional Level, Achieved

The second floor of the bar.

The plush carpet felt soft underfoot.

The tightly shut doors and windows kept out the cold wind, creating a strange sense of warmth.

"This..."

Hearing Zhou Qiang’s words, Lu Chao scratched his head. A warm feeling spread through his heart, leaving him at a bit of a loss.

He really hadn’t expected Brother Hao to have prepared a gift for him, let alone one so precious.

"This Ink Python Beast Gallbladder... Brother Hao had someone specially acquire it from the black market."

"It’s only because those warlords outside the city are fighting recently that there’s an influx of migrating Mutant Beasts. Otherwise, you might not see one of these for over half a year..."

Zhou Qiang explained with a smile, standing to the side. Lu Chao’s eyes were exceptionally bright. He secretly swallowed but ultimately forced down his desire.

"Brother Qiang, this is too valuable."

He shook his head, knowing full well the item’s worth.

The Ink Python Beast wasn’t an ordinary Mutant Beast like a Black-Horned Ox. In a one-on-one fight, even a professional-grade expert would have a hard time killing one.

Its gallbladder’s value was self-evident. It had to be worth at least a hundred thousand yuan, and even then, it was a seller’s market—you could only get one by chance.

Compared to this, his own so-called gift was practically worthless.

"You kid."

However, Zhou Qiang seemed to have expected this. As their eyes met, the smile on his face grew even more gratified.

"Brother Hao guessed you wouldn’t accept it."

"But business is business. Besides..." He lowered his voice and leaned in closer. "We heard your martial arts hall is putting together some kind of hunting party to leave the city and hunt Mutant Beasts. You think we don’t know?"

Oh?

Slightly stunned, Lu Chao was a bit surprised.

He hadn’t expected Brother Hao and the others to know about this.

"Leaving the city to hunt beasts, heading into the wilderness... that’s dangerous, unpredictable work. Not a good gig at all."

"And with the bad blood between your hall and Thunder Extreme Martial Arts Hall... Heh, never mind. Your Master Luo is no simple character, either. He actually managed to make Lei Wanjun suffer a hidden loss. A lot of people in the inner city are wary of him. Long story short, you’re taking this. If you don’t, and Brother Hao gets angry, you can be the one to talk him down."

As he spoke, Zhou Qiang feigned anger, chiding him several times in a row.

Lu Chao became thoughtful upon hearing this.

’It seems Master Luo is even stronger than I imagined. Is that really why Thunder Extreme Martial Arts Hall chose to endure it?’

As he pondered, he looked at the Ink Python Beast Gallbladder in the box. His gaze grew serious, and he finally stopped refusing.

"Thanks, Brother Qiang."

His tone was solemn. Lu Chao met his gaze and said with sincere gratitude, "Please tell Brother Hao I’m grateful for his trouble."

The situation had been growing more complex lately. It wasn’t just the hunting party and the feuds between martial arts halls, but also the Rebels, Qiu Shan’s gang, and the God-Worshiping Church, which had yet to be tracked down. All of it cast a shadow over his heart.

So, he truly needed a resource like this to break through as soon as possible.

"Heh, good!"

Nodding firmly, Zhou Qiang clapped him on the shoulder.

The two of them naturally fell into small talk for a bit. Lu Chao remembered what he’d heard from the waiter earlier and asked about it.

"That kid Xiaoyang... he’s probably lost his mind."

"Somehow he got infatuated with a dancer and even came to Brother Hao to borrow money... Forget it, let’s not talk about it."

Zhou Qiang frowned and waved his hand, seemingly unwilling to discuss the matter further.

Lu Chao looked thoughtful but didn’t press the issue. After their chat was over, he left the bar.

TAP, TAP!

His footsteps receded, gradually fading away.

Zhou Qiang stood by the window, watching his back disappear into the street, a flicker of emotion in his eyes.

Of all the kids from the orphanage, Ah Chao was the one who strove the hardest, the one he admired the most.

But then he thought of that Ink Python Beast Gallbladder.

He had also taken one back then with Brother Hao’s help. Unfortunately, the result wasn’t what he’d hoped for, and he had wasted all of his friend’s effort for nothing.

He still hadn’t managed to break through that bottleneck.

But this time...

"You kid."

"You have to succeed..."

...

「Year 50 of the Alliance, December 30th.」

The calendars in Ring City had been turned to the last page of the year. Many news outlets began pushing articles about New Year’s Eve activities and holiday announcements.

"Hehe, tomorrow’s the Spring Festival! We finally get a day off!"

"Sigh, it hasn’t been easy. Another year is almost over."

"I heard that back in the old era, this area was called the Xia Country, and they used to celebrate the Spring Festival every year, too."

"That’s normal. I hear even extraterrestrial civilizations have annual celebrations..."

A bitter wind swept through the streets. The leaves on the roadside ginkgo trees were long gone.

Even so, the streets of District 2 were bustling with pedestrians, talking and laughing as they went about their business.

Frolicking children ran across the grass with new toys, and a middle-aged couple downstairs from an apartment building had a rare pause in their arguments to go buy some meat and vegetables.

Amidst the wisps of cooking smoke and sounds of laughter, a rare scene of peace settled over all of Ring City.

"How nice."

Standing by the window and witnessing all this, Zhao Yuanqing’s eyes filled with envy. He watched from afar as a happy family of three returned home from outside the apartment building.

He had rarely experienced such a feeling. "Parents" had always just been a word to him, not a part of his life.

It was much the same for the others in the orphanage; they were all too unfamiliar with those two words.

"But... I have a family now, too."

The envy in his eyes receded, replaced by a genuine smile.

Zhao Yuanqing glanced at the closed bedroom door across the hall. He knew his friend was attempting to break through an important barrier and couldn’t be disturbed.

His gaze shifted to the cabinet under the living room television.

On it was a framed group photo.

The background was a gray concrete building. They had just left the orphanage not long before, their faces still full of uncertainty.

The two of them stood on either side of Brother Hao, who had a cigarette dangling from his lips as he smiled and ruffled their hair.

Without realizing it, nearly two years had passed. He couldn’t help but feel emotional at how quickly time flew.

"Still, Ah Chao’s already a Fighter, and he’s still working this hard."

"I can’t give up, either."

He smiled. A strange strength surged within him, and he quickly walked over to the table in the corner of the living room to continue tinkering with a pile of precise prosthetic arm components.

「At the same time.」

Inside the closed bedroom, Lu Chao sat cross-legged on his bed. The lid of the climate-controlled box before him was already open.

The jet-black Ink Python Beast Gallbladder came into view, reflecting a strange luster in the light.

He had specially requested a day off from the Patrol Department to adjust his physical condition, refraining from any training or physical labor.

The breakthrough to the professional grade was a new qualitative change. The bottleneck wasn’t just about a simple increase in Life Energy; it was about breaking through a barrier on his life’s upper limit.

According to the past guidance from Senior Brother Zheng and Master Luo, he needed to face this in his absolute best condition.

After a full day and night of adjustment, he had now reached his peak state.

So...

’It’s time to begin.’

With bright eyes, Lu Chao reached out and took the gallbladder from the tray inside the box.

It was cool to the touch and slightly sticky.

He opened his mouth and swallowed it in one large gulp.

A pungent, foul taste instantly exploded, the intense sensation rushing straight to his sinuses and brain.

As his teeth chewed, strands of bile splattered in his mouth before sliding down into his stomach with a swallow.

The taste was rather unpleasant, but Lu Chao forced himself to eat all of it.

Gradually, as [Plunder and Grow] began to activate, his stomach seemed to transform into a highly efficient furnace.

All the bile and the mutant beast’s organ tissue were brutally broken down, his powerful digestive system frantically extracting every last bit of Life Essence from the wilderness beast.

A surging warm current, far stronger than a basic Life Potion, began to appear in his lower abdomen, moving rapidly.

Time passed. Lu Chao could feel the heat inside his body growing stronger. His blood vessels seemed to turn scorching hot, and the blood flowing through them began to boil.

Veins bulged on his face. Unconsciously, a steamy sweat began to pour from his pores, spreading out from him in all directions. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

HUMMM!

Instantly, Lu Chao stood up. Following the principles of the 2nd layer of the Golden Stone Fighting Skill, he sank his waist into a horse stance, assuming a training posture.

WHOOSH—!

INHALE!!

He forced himself to follow the breathing techniques from the manual, guiding the Martial Arts Power within his body to make the warm, nutritious currents fill his organs and strengthen his muscles and sinews just as he wanted.

Gradually.

Time passed, second by second. He was like a dry sponge, greedily soaking up all the nutrients. At the same time, he was like an iron ingot being hammered by an invisible force, as if about to undergo some kind of transformation.

Outside the window, the cold wind rustled past. On the streets below, pedestrians were still chatting and laughing.

Withered ginkgo leaves drifted down, swirling in the wind. No one knew that inside that apartment building, someone was trying to break through the upper limit of life.

In that moment, it was as if a bird had spread its wings and taken to the sky.

Many people subconsciously raised their heads and looked, their gazes following it.

The apartment building stood quietly in the district, its smooth windows reflecting the sunlight.

Inside the bedroom, Lu Chao finally reached the final stage of his breakthrough. His entire body was crimson, and the steam pouring from his pores had almost formed a white mist.

His martial arts uniform was visibly soaked through, and sweat streamed down his body as if he were being roasted by an invisible fire.

And yet, he felt no discomfort.

Lu Chao only felt that the bottleneck holding him back was melting away as quickly as snow in the spring sun.

HUMMM!

Finally, all obstruction vanished.

Lu Chao’s eyes snapped open.

A sharp light flashed in his eyes, as if it could steal one’s very soul.

Then, a plume of white vapor shot from his mouth, flying a full two meters before dispersing.

CRACKLE, POP!!

A series of pops, like roasting soybeans, echoed from within his body, continuing nonstop for several breaths.

Lu Chao looked up at his status panel. All his worries and anxieties vanished, replaced by a more solid confidence and a steadier, more powerful breath.

[Life Energy: 40!]

[Potential Progress: 85%]

"Professional grade... I made it!"