Chapter 81: Chapter 77: Potential Unlocked, New Talent

New Calendar, Year 51 of the Alliance.

January 1st, the Spring Festival.

It was as if someone had hit the brakes on the bustling Ring City, granting many of its people a day of rest. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Middle-aged men and women sat on public benches, chatting idly. Down below an apartment building in District Two, the conversation between a father and son began to drift up.

"Dad, where did the Spring Festival come from?"

the boy asked curiously as he opened his book. He sat on the balcony, basking in the rare, warm sunlight.

His father, who was hanging clothes to dry nearby, paused for a moment before smiling and explaining, "Well, that was proposed by the Starry Sky Hero, Robert, after the Alliance Country was founded... Rumor has it he was from Xia Country back in the old era. His father was a soldier, and his mother was a doctor from Mira Country."

"No one knows the exact reason, but many speculate he did it to commemorate his parents, or maybe even to honor the old Xia Country..."

The voices drifted in on the breeze. Inside his third-floor apartment, Lu Chao appeared to be listening, but in reality, he had turned all his focus inward.

A closer look revealed two small boxes of ointment in front of him.

The five words "Bone-Strengthening and Qi-Replenishing Ointment" were particularly eye-catching. One tube was intact, while the other had already been torn open.

’So bitter.’

Lu Chao’s expression flickered. The ointment in his mouth was exceptionally bitter.

It not only numbed his tongue, but it also felt like he was trying to swallow a mouthful of sand.

GULP!

GULP!

Finally, he grabbed the glass of warm water he’d prepared on the table and gulped it all down.

An instant later, a wave of heat erupted from his lower abdomen, surging violently through his entire body.

It felt as if it was boring into his flesh and meridians, seeping into every cell and bone.

[Plunder and Grow] activated instantly. Even so, Lu Chao felt his body heat up, and his breathing grew heavy.

’What potent effects.’

He could clearly feel a torrent of medicinal energy being broken down and rapidly absorbed.

It was more than twice as potent as a basic Life Potion.

According to Teacher Luo’s instructions, one had to be extremely careful when absorbing this medicine, focusing on guiding its power to nourish the body to avoid any backlash.

But...

’...this isn’t my limit.’

With a glint in his eyes, Lu Chao once again experienced the power of [Plunder and Grow].

Even now that he had reached the Professional Level, the enhancement to his digestion and absorption hadn’t weakened. It continued to amplify his base abilities, scaling with his overall strength.

That was how he’d managed to surpass Guo Yun and Fang Jingyi—who had far more resources—and break through before them.

And now.

RIP!

He ripped open the other tube of Bone-Strengthening and Qi-Replenishing Ointment. Forcing himself to ignore the foul odor, he chewed it up and swallowed.

VWOOM!

The current of heat inside him swelled, and his body temperature spiked again.

His face flushed red as he became completely immersed in absorbing the nutrients.

Time ticked by, and on his panel, his Potential Progress began to skyrocket.

Finally.

When the nutritional energy from both tubes of ointment had been completely drained and absorbed...

Lu Chao felt a sudden jolt. The Martial Arts Power within him surged, growing even stronger.

His strength and reaction speed both rose significantly.

[Life Energy: 40→42!]

’A two-point increase?’

Lu Chao was neither surprised nor disappointed.

Compared to the Fighting Level, the difficulty of increasing Life Energy at the Professional Level more than doubled. Every ten points was a major hurdle.

According to Senior Brother Zheng, most people’s progress slowed down at this stage. Even with the help of sufficient Nutritional Potions, an increase of two or three points a month was considered fast.

’No wonder someone at the Professional Level is considered an expert in the Iron Ring District. There are far fewer at the higher Elite Level—less than half as many, even.’

’And this is with the enhanced absorption from [Plunder and Grow]. Anyone else would probably progress even more slowly.’

As he mused, Lu Chao’s gaze quickly shifted to the data changing on another line.

[Potential Progress: 97%...98%...99%...]

This was what he was truly waiting for.

His Potential Progress had already been over eighty percent, not far from completion. The two potent tubes of Bone-Strengthening and Qi-Replenishing Ointment were more than enough to get him the rest of the way.

Finally, as he watched with bated breath...

[Potential Progress: 99%→100%]

[Potential Unlocked!]

VMMMM!

Notifications flooded the panel. Lu Chao’s eyes gleamed with anticipation.

In that instant.

His mind jolted as an invisible force pulled at him once more—a familiar, wondrous sensation.

Without resisting, Lu Chao’s consciousness quickly sank into the depths of his mind.

In the boundless darkness, the phantom of a colossal giant stood at the center.

Its body, like a network of stellar meridians, lit up the space around it, partially dispelling the surrounding gray mist.

Lu Chao looked up and saw two flames flickering, one at the giant’s heart and the other at its lower abdomen.

The first, a rock-gold color, gave off a sense of resilience. It had spawned [Basic Toughness] and represented the dimension of survival.

The second, a pale silver, symbolized the Feeding Dimension. It slowly illuminated a small, diamond-shaped emblem at the giant’s feet—[Plunder and Grow].

And now.

VMMMM!

Amidst a strange stirring, Lu Chao looked up at the phantom giant’s arms.

A faint, crimson flame ignited in each of its palms. They gradually grew stronger, casting a hazy red glow and giving off an inexplicable sense of ferocity.

Then, the red light, neither fading nor dispersing, began to surge upward. It spread from the giant’s palms up its forearms, over its upper arms and shoulders, gradually forming a unique network of lines that connected its chest and both arms.

Witnessing this, a thought suddenly struck Lu Chao. ’Perhaps talent awakenings aren’t completely chaotic and random. Could there be some kind of underlying, balanced principle at work?’

As the thought flashed through his mind, a ray of crimson light shone from the giant’s arms, peeling back a corner of the mist to its right.