From Igniting Talent to Becoming a Demon God Section 25

Lu Chao exhaled a breath of turbid air, but he had no time to observe those details.

Most of his perception had turned inward, and he subtly sensed that he had achieved some kind of breakthrough in his understanding of combat arts.

This was completely different from an increase in vitality. It felt more like an obstacle in combat technique and experience melting away.

"Not bad, Junior Brother Lu."

Zheng Wu withdrew his palm, nodded with a smile, and revealed a gratified expression.

"Your comprehension is even better than I imagined."

"You can merge the combat routines with one another. It seems you've already fully mastered the first level of the Combat Seven Forms."

Quite a few junior brothers had been stuck at this hurdle for a long time. Though they had barely gotten a foot in the door with the moves, they rarely grasped the essence.

Their use of combat arts always remained superficial and lacked adaptability, making it very easy for a true fighter to spot their flaws.

But Lu Chao, in just over a month, had managed to comprehend this much. It was truly rare, and counted as outstanding comprehension.

"If not for Senior Brother Zheng's guidance, this junior brother would have found it hard to comprehend."

Lu Chao withdrew his fist seal and thanked him earnestly.

He knew that only at this moment could he be considered to have fully mastered the first level, bringing him one step closer to Rock Skin.

And without Zheng Wu's patient guidance, there was no way he could have broken through today.

"This was all earned through your own sweat."

"As for me, I just happened to be there."

Zheng Wu waved a hand, not taking it to heart.

That said, Lu Chao's sincere thanks still made him feel gratified and satisfied.

"In another month and a half, the large and small martial arts schools of Prism Ring City will hold a Martial Arts Tournament."

"Cultivate well. If you can maintain this pace, perhaps you'll also have a chance to participate and gain some experience."

Oh?

Lu Chao was somewhat surprised when he heard this. This was the first time he had heard about it.

But he was not too surprised, because martial arts combat required actual fighting to begin with, and similar situations had occurred in Prism Ring City before.

Most were organized by some powerful major martial arts schools, with the goal of promoting sparring and exchange among disciples of different styles.

In addition, there were also city boxing matches and underground arenas where fighters participated. The popularity of martial arts combat had never been low.

"This junior brother will do his best."

Lu Chao cupped his fists in salute and did not ask further. This was still somewhat distant for him.

He immediately flipped off the platform and sensed the discussing gazes some senior and junior brothers cast his way.

He paid them little mind. After chatting idly with Zhang Hong for a few sentences, he continued standing post and practicing his punches, resuming cultivation.

The enhanced recovery brought by [Primary Resilience] was still constantly continuing, and he once again held on until dusk.

His training clothes were extremely sticky, clinging to the muscles of his back, while sweat soaked the gray cement floor beneath his feet.

Lu Chao suddenly came back to himself and looked left and right.

The Training Building was empty and deserted. Once again, only he remained.

In the dense night.

Lu Chao, wearing a yellow-striped cleaner's uniform, walked out of the dim station.

He stuffed the torn packaging bag into a roadside trash can, chewed on bread, twisted open the cap of a milk bottle, and swallowed in great gulps.

Gulp!

Gulp!!

The milk went down his esophagus and into his stomach, barely easing the fatigue and hunger from a full day of martial training. He subconsciously glanced at the panel.

[Potential Progress: 53%]

"Still a long way to go..."

After sweeping over several lines of information, Lu Chao's gaze stopped on Potential Progress, and his brows furrowed slightly.

Potential Progress only drew a portion from his daily nutritional intake to accumulate progress. If he wanted to improve efficiency, he could only eat more nutritious food.

But.

The higher one's vitality, the more nutrition one needed to maintain the body's various functions and keep it in peak condition. This was the key point mentioned in Vitality Development Theory.

Just like a burning flame needed more firewood, the consumption from martial training was a bottomless pit to begin with.

With the two added together, his current Potential growth speed was already the absolute limit that the savings he had could allow.

"There should still be about two thousand yuan left on my card. Tomorrow, I'll see if I can buy some Exotic Beast Meat."

"I still can't save this money..."

Crushing the empty milk bottle flat, Lu Chao secretly shook his head and calculated the money he had on hand.

There were only a little over two months left until the Patrol Bureau's internal assessment, so naturally, awakening another innate specialty as soon as possible would be the safest bet.

He had quite high hopes for that.

As for the money he owed Zhao Yuanqing, the other party did not urgently need it for the time being, so paying him back after he stepped into Combat Grade would not be too late.

Tap, tap!

Having made his decision, Lu Chao threw the milk bottle into the trash can and strode toward the street opposite.

After finishing martial arts training today, he had received the work notice Fatty Cui sent in the group chat.

For that, he had even temporarily asked a security colleague at the bar to swap shifts, gaining a chance to take time off.

"Move, move, move! Hurry it up!"

"Old Cheng, Wan San, hurry up and count the tools. Where's everyone else? Are they all here?"

Hearing Fatty Cui's shouts from far away, Lu Chao quickened his pace instinctively and crossed the road.

Though this place was also in the Iron Ring District, the surrounding infrastructure was somewhat better.

The neon signs beneath the residential buildings flickered faintly, and the streetlights were fairly bright, illuminating the supermarket on the first floor.

Two blue-and-white public security vehicles were parked by the roadside, and the familiar cleaning truck had already arrived.

Yellow caution tape had cordoned off an area below the residential building, while quite a few nosy onlookers gathered nearby to watch the excitement.

"Oh, the fighter's here?"

A voice rang out, full of mockery.

Lu Chao had just reached the cleaning truck when he came face-to-face with Fatty Cui's meaty, piled-up face, his tiny eyes filled with calculation and ridicule.

Lu Chao did not flare up, nor was he surprised.

Because at some point, word that he was practicing martial arts had become known to his coworkers and gradually spread. Lately, the other party had often used it to tease him, even to put him in his place.

"You trained martial arts all day. Still got any strength left?"

"If you can't do this job, say so early. Don't hold up the company's business."

Fatty Cui stood at the front of the truck with his beer belly thrust out, blocking the way with a smile that did not reach his eyes.

His sarcastic tone made the atmosphere fall silent.

Several coworkers looked over. Though there was sympathy in their eyes, most of them chose to stay silent, as if it had nothing to do with them.

"The tools are all counted, Team Leader Cui. Please sign here!"

At the critical moment, Old Cheng, who was counting the tools, called out from a distance, helping him out and breaking the deadlock.

Fatty Cui narrowed his eyes slightly, but in the end, he still turned and left.

"Fatty Cui, that guy..."

Watching his retreating back, Lu Chao felt somewhat puzzled. He asked himself and was sure he had never offended the man, so why was he being targeted like this?

"People are just like that sometimes."

"In his eyes, we're just a bunch of dirt-poor laborers. He's used to ordering us around... If one day someone suddenly rises above him, where does that leave him?"

A minute later, Old Cheng came over to his side and said softly.

The smell of smoke mixed in the air was slightly pungent.

Lu Chao fell silent, understanding what he meant.

A tall tree caught the wind. This was exactly why he had not wanted to reveal his martial arts training to his coworkers before.

"But honestly..."

"This is my fault too. I shouldn't have said too much back then..."

Old Cheng bit down on his cigarette and sighed. Anyone with eyes could see what Lu Chao was planning. It was very likely for the Patrol Bureau's internal assessment.