From Igniting Talent to Becoming a Demon God Section 5

"Recovery doubled? It really does feel like I don't get tired as easily as before."

"So after lighting up a badge and awakening a specialty, the body transforms along with it..."

After carefully sensing it, Lu Chao roughly understood the changes in himself.

Then he looked toward the living room window and balcony.

Outside, the night was already deep. Every household had its lights on, and the neon glow of the distant city district shone even brighter, burning through the night without rest.

The rusted security bars covered the window, casting layered shadows, and he saw his own reflection in the glass.

He was nearly 1.8 meters tall, with a neat buzz cut.

His black short-sleeved shirt, soaked with sweat, clung tightly to his body, making him look somewhat lean.

His gaze met the reflected eyes staring back at him, and Lu Chao seemed to see some kind of hope. A faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

[Primary Resilience] really did seem to have a considerable effect.

Recovering stamina, endurance, energy, and so on faster than others meant he could grind through a few more jobs.

In that case...

"Hm? Wait."

Lu Chao's eyes suddenly lit up as an even more important thought flashed through his mind.

The value of this innate specialty wasn't limited to work.

Its true use was very likely in the cultivation and development of vitality!

For example—martial arts combat!

If someone else trained hard for an hour and then felt mentally exhausted, with aching muscles, or even had their training results the next day affected...

Then wouldn't he be able to train for longer and maintain a better state during cultivation?

Accumulated day after day, wouldn't this extra ability to "grind" let him go higher and farther than others?

After grasping the key point, Lu Chao's heart burned hot, and he lightly clenched his fist.

And this was only a primary specialty.

If he could awaken intermediate, advanced, or even higher specialties later, what kind of scene would that be?

"No."

Suddenly, Lu Chao frowned, quickly discovering a slight abnormality.

Focusing his thoughts, he looked at the panel before his eyes.

[Glutton: Lu Chao]

[Vitality: 5]

[Specialty: Primary—Primary Resilience]

[Potential Progress: 0%]

The information on the panel had changed subtly. A Specialty field had quietly appeared.

His vitality had also increased by one point, as if he had gone from a tired, sub-healthy state to an energetic, healthy one, which surprised him slightly.

However, that wasn't what he was focused on.

Rather—

"Potential Progress became 0."

"That means every time I awaken an innate specialty, the progress resets."

Frowning slightly, Lu Chao also felt a certain intuition rise in his heart.

The next accumulation of potential would be harder than before.

In other words, unless he could eat food with higher nutritional value, the time it took to fill his Potential Progress would be greatly extended.

"I'll take it slow."

After thinking for a moment, Lu Chao finally shook his head and suppressed all those worries.

Just the current [Primary Resilience] had already given him a certain talent, a chance to change his fate and break free from the mire.

Once he slowly grew stronger and earned more money, there would always be a chance to solve this problem.

And the most urgent matter right now...

Was that he had to make a decision as soon as possible and choose a path for developing vitality that suited him.

"Colonial modification requires implanting prosthetic bodies and regular injections of neural stabilizers. That needs a lot of money. As for awakening superpowers, that depends entirely on fate."

"After weighing it all up, I'm afraid only martial arts combat, where I can grind like crazy, is the path most suited to me."

Lu Chao made his decision. In truth, he had already considered this aspect long before now.

Compared to colonial modification, martial arts combat cost much less in the early stages.

But even so.

It also required a certain amount of talent just to get started, as well as paying the martial arts school a sizable tuition fee.

"The original host had chosen to give up back then because he couldn't afford the cost, and because his talent was mediocre."

"Though I've saved up eight or nine thousand now, I'm afraid it still won't be enough."

Lu Chao put away the panel and looked at his wrist.

The number in the bank account on his smart wristwatch was so short it looked painfully strained.

He remembered that tuition at an ordinary martial arts school cost at least ten thousand Alliance Credits, and that did not include the nutritional expenses needed for the high-intensity training afterward.

Click!

Just then, there was movement at the door.

Lu Chao's thoughts were cut off, and he turned his head to look.

The security door was pushed open, and a young man in black-and-blue work clothes walked in.

"Finally back. Damn it, I nearly worked myself to death."

He cursed as he took off his shoes and his grimy work jacket.

The pungent smell of engine oil wafted over. Beneath his black tank top, his body was somewhat sturdy and packed with wiry muscle. He was none other than the original host's friend and roommate, Zhao Yuanqing.

Hearing this, Lu Chao glanced at the time. Before he knew it, it was already almost nine at night.

"Why are you so late today?" he asked in confusion, walking toward the living room as he spoke.

"Ugh, don't even mention it."

Zhao Yuanqing was about the same height as Lu Chao, both around one meter eighty.

As he spoke, he walked into the living room, picked up a cup from the coffee table, filled it with plain water, and poured it into his mouth.

Gulp... gulp!

The sound of swallowing continued in dull, heavy gulps. Only afterward did he exhale, wipe his mouth, and explain angrily, "The Rock Gang came by today and demanded the repair shop pay them a monthly fee."

"The atmosphere back then—if Old Dong hadn't stopped us, we almost would've gone at it with those bastards."

Lu Chao was slightly startled, but he quickly understood what had happened.

The environment in Iron Ring District was extremely complicated. Because it bordered the wilderness outside the city, some people also called it the Embroidery Belt, meaning the bottommost layer of Prism Ring City's circles.

Gangs were everywhere here, most of them running boxing arenas, gambling halls, mortgage-loan businesses, and the like.

The Rock Gang was the most notorious gang among them, specializing in extorting merchants and forcibly collecting protection money.

"What did Old Dong say?"

He was the repair shop's small-time owner.

"Ah, it's not like you don't know his personality."

"And the shop only just started making some decent profit recently. If the Rock Gang really set their sights on us and came over every few days to cause trouble, there'd be no way to deal with it..."

Zhao Yuanqing dropped onto the worn-out sofa, looking somewhat gloomy and helpless.

Lu Chao could roughly understand that feeling.

Gangs had all kinds of methods, especially a gang like the Rock Gang, which did not care about its reputation and was vicious and underhanded.

Even if they did not dare kill anyone because of the Patrol Bureau's presence, methods like splashing paint, slashing tires, locking people in dog cages, and finding someone to take the blame were more than enough to deal with ordinary people like them.

Moreover, when he thought about how Factory Street was not too far from the repair shop...

He felt a little worried. Would those vampires someday stretch their claws all the way here too?

"And in the end?"

"In the end?"

Zhao Yuanqing let out a breath, his expression easing as a hint of satisfaction appeared on his face. "Of course we went to Brother Hao."

"For his sake, the Rock Gang didn't dare push it. You didn't see it at the time—those bastards didn't even dare let out a fart..."

Lu Chao nodded, and a faint smile appeared on his face.