From Igniting Talent to Becoming a Demon God Section 46

The clouds high above were gray all year round. In both the original owner's memories and the half year since he had arrived, he had never once seen a blue sky.

As for the reason, he followed the view into the distance, toward the opposite western bank of the Iron Ring District, near the port by the Inner Ring Canal.

Many enormous chimneys towered straight into the clouds.

Steel-roofed factories rose one after another from the ground, crouching like giant beasts, their outlines visible even from afar.

White smoke billowed from them without end, blending into the sky.

Even the long lingering trails left behind by the streaking hovercars were gradually swallowed up by it.

"The New Industrial Zone..."

Zhao Yuanqing's voice came over. At some point, he had walked over beside him with a washbasin in hand. As he turned on the tap to fill it, he followed Lu Chao's gaze curiously.

Neither of them brought up what had happened yesterday again. Instead, they found themselves interested in the distant scene.

"Factory Street used to be that glorious too. Too bad it's all been replaced by the New Industrial Zone now."

"Prism Ring City really has changed too much in just twenty years since joining the Alliance State."

He seemed to be sighing with emotion, because when they looked east, behind Factory Street they could see a large expanse of rust-yellow, blackened, abandoned factory buildings made of brick and cement.

Compared to each other, they were practically from two different eras, and all of this had been the change after Prism Ring City joined the Alliance State.

Back then, although the Alliance State had long since been established, not every shelter city had agreed to join.

The wasteland apocalypse had left Earth Star riddled with wounds. Warlords in the wilderness who had inherited the national legacies of the old era, along with the armed forces of many bases, were all enormous threats.

During that period, the Iron Ring District, known as the Embroidery Belt, had once been the entirety of this city. Prism Ring City had also only been an ordinary shelter city on the wilderness then, often swept up in warlord conflicts and suffering under the constant threat of mutated beasts from the wilds.

Only after it later joined the Alliance State did it receive aid, gradually expand the city's scale, and gain a firm foothold.

As those feelings rose in him, stray thoughts could not help but surface in Lu Chao's mind.

The tide of the times always carried people along. Perhaps he was standing at some historical turning point right now?

Thud!

However, the thought was interrupted the moment it appeared.

From the room next door came the sound of a door being slammed.

Lu Chao and Zhao Yuanqing exchanged a puzzled glance. Then they heard a conversation.

"I'm so mad. Old Li has really gone insane."

"What happened?"

"His daughter went missing before, and everyone told him to call the police. But now, who knows why, he's started believing in religion and worshiping gods. He even says his daughter received divine favor and was taken away by the heavenly god."

"Has Old Li lost his mind? Believing in religion and worshiping gods is a serious crime in our Alliance State."

"That's not all. I ran into him downstairs just now, and he actually stopped me, telling me to believe in the heavenly god with him too, or else disaster would befall me. Isn't that cursing me...?"

As the voices came over, both Lu Chao and Zhao Yuanqing were slightly stunned.

The neighbors next door were a young couple, usually rather amiable with others. They had not expected them to get so angry.

"Old Li?"

Lu Chao froze slightly, thinking of the several disappearances that had happened recently.

"Old Li's daughter still hasn't been found?"

"Mm."

Zhao Yuanqing nodded, his expression a little complicated as he said, "And he's been acting all mysterious lately. The neighbors have all been talking about it. I didn't expect this was the reason..."

His daughter had been missing for months without returning. Old Li clearly could not withstand the blow and had gone completely mad.

Lu Chao frowned tightly when he heard that. He kept feeling that something was off.

"Believing in religion and worshiping gods..."

Rumor had it that this was an ancient taboo passed down from the wilderness. Prism Ring City had repeatedly issued strict orders forbidding anyone from imitating or participating in it.

The City Defense Department investigated such matters extremely rigorously. How had Old Li come into contact with it?

After thinking it over, Lu Chao looked out past the balcony.

Low cement buildings crisscrossed and rose and fell, indescribably old.

His gaze followed the rust-yellow pipes stretching into the distance. The cement road was full of potholes, and a missing person notice on a utility pole fluttered down in the wind.

Without realizing it, he once again thought of the two unfamiliar figures he had encountered on the street back then.

Especially that cold gaze, as if they were sizing up prey.

A dozen or so minutes later.

After Zhao Yuanqing left, Lu Chao pushed down his unnecessary stray thoughts and walked into the kitchen.

Factory Street was like a broken ship about to sink, with more and more strange things happening.

His desire to move was growing stronger and stronger.

But.

Before that.

Coming back to himself, Lu Chao looked at the back of his right hand.

He unwrapped the gauze and examined it closely. The wound left from yesterday's fierce battle had already healed, with only a few tiny blood scabs remaining.

He pressed it with his fingers, and there was no pain.

Lu Chao knew this was Primary Resilience proving its worth once again.

"Not just stamina—even injuries can recover quickly..."

Gaining a deeper understanding of how powerful his talent specialty was, Lu Chao nodded inwardly.

Then he looked at the panel before him.

[Potential Progress: 99%]

Just one final bit, and his Potential Progress would be complete.

Last night, he had practiced martial arts and then dealt with the Rock Gang's men, so by the time he returned, it was already midnight.

On top of that, his body had been rather exhausted and not in peak condition, which might affect the awakening of his talent, so he had not rushed to eat immediately.

But now that his energy had fully recovered, he naturally wanted this step to arrive as soon as possible.

At once, he walked forward and opened the refrigerator.

In the fresh-keeping compartment, there was still a large bag of bread, two boxes of protein energy bars, and two large unopened bottles of exotic beast milk.

In addition, there was a palm-sized piece of Black Horned Ox beast meat, three fingers thick, wrapped in plastic wrap.

"Should be enough, right?"

Thinking this to himself, Lu Chao quickly took out the Black Horned Ox meat with practiced ease, tore off the plastic wrap, placed it on the cutting board, and chopped it up.

He turned on the gas valve, cooked, and boiled water...

Amid the bustle, he took the opportunity to chew and swallow the protein energy bars.

And so, half an hour later.

Looking at the Black Horned Ox meat boiled in plain water, Lu Chao could not care less about the taste. He picked it up and began tearing into it.

His teeth bit through the tendons bit by bit as he chewed and swallowed.

The food in his stomach seemed to have a small amount of its energy mysteriously drawn away, merging into the depths of his body.

Lu Chao silently sensed it, while keeping his eyes fixed on the light-screen panel before him the entire time, his gaze lingering on the Potential Progress.

Ten seconds, thirty seconds, sixty seconds...

Just as he swallowed every piece of meat and finished eating it completely.

Buzz!

The light-screen panel suddenly flashed, and the information within abruptly changed.

[Potential Progress: 99%→100%]

[Potential Unlocked!]

Inside the room.

Sunlight spilled in by the window set in the wall where the white paint was peeling, casting several crooked patches of light on the floor.

The atmosphere in the living room was somewhat quiet. Looking over, Lu Chao could be seen sitting at one side of the dining table, both eyes tightly shut.

Almost the instant his Potential Progress reached completion, his consciousness was drawn by an invisible force into the depths of his mind.

Buzz!!

In that instant, his vision changed.