Two days later, early in the morning.
Both of them were dressed and ready to go.
Jiang Lan felt a little excited.
It was time to head out of the city again. If everything went smoothly, he should reach the third level of Indestructible Diamond Body today.
But... he couldn't use getting separated as an excuse again.
Fortunately, Jiang Lan had already thought of another excuse.
He followed Shen Qingqiu into the underground garage. Before they got into the car, Jiang Lan suddenly said:
"Uncle, there's something I want to tell you."
Shen Qingqiu paused, then stopped and looked at Jiang Lan.
"What is it?"
Jiang Lan took a deep breath and said quietly, "Lately, I feel like... I've gotten stronger."
Shen Qingqiu's gaze sharpened as he stared at Jiang Lan.
"Stronger?"
"Yes." Jiang Lan nodded. "Actually, I noticed it after I got injured last time. I seem to have gotten a lot stronger, and my defenses have improved a lot too."
Shen Qingqiu frowned and asked with a serious expression:
"Are you sure?"
Jiang Lan had been tested before. He had no talent for martial arts.
Besides, he had never trained systematically. How could he suddenly become stronger?
But Jiang Lan said:
"I'm sure. Actually, when I fought that Ironback Wolf last time... I wasn't injured. It even clawed me, but all I felt was a little numbness between my thumb and forefinger. Nothing else happened."
Shen Qingqiu froze on the spot.
After a long while, his eyes suddenly lit up, as though something had occurred to him.
"A special talent?!"
Jiang Lan was stunned by those words too.
He had just made up a lie on the spot. What was this special talent business?
"A special talent?"
Excitement shone in Shen Qingqiu's eyes. "Martial artists fall into two categories: those with ordinary talents and those with special talents.
"Ordinary talents can be detected through testing, but special talents can't.
"And special talents come in all sorts of strange varieties. Most importantly, they require specific conditions to awaken.
"Some people go their entire lives without awakening their special talents because they never meet those conditions."
Jiang Lan was delighted.
Could he really get that lucky?
Didn't that make his lie perfectly plausible?
He suppressed his delight and feigned surprise.
"Really?"
Shen Qingqiu nodded. "It's only a guess, but I think... that's probably it."
Otherwise, there was simply no way to explain the changes in Jiang Lan.
After thinking for a moment, he turned to Jiang Lan.
"Come on. Hold still. Let me test your defenses."
Jiang Lan had no objections and settled into a stance.
The underground garage was spacious, so they didn't have to worry about hitting anything.
"Stand steady. I'll start with twenty percent of my strength. If it hurts too much, tell me to stop."
Jiang Lan half closed his eyes, looking like a hero prepared to face his death.
"Go ahead, Uncle. I'm ready!"
Shen Qingqiu rolled his eyes at Jiang Lan, then punched him in the chest.
Thump!
Jiang Lan didn't budge.
He felt nothing. Absolutely nothing.
A flicker of surprise crossed Shen Qingqiu's eyes.
"You're okay? Does it hurt?"
"Nope." Jiang Lan grinned. "Use a little more strength."
Shen Qingqiu took a deep breath.
"Fifty percent. Brace yourself."
With that, Shen Qingqiu threw another punch. It whistled through the air and struck Jiang Lan's chest.
Thud!
This punch was noticeably stronger, landing against Jiang Lan's chest with a muffled impact.
Jiang Lan felt his chest go numb and stepped back half a pace, but he quickly steadied himself. Looking up at Shen Qingqiu, he said:
"I felt that a little, but it still didn't hurt."
Shen Qingqiu's eyes widened.
He was a mid-stage Meridian Opening martial artist. A blow at fifty percent of his strength was roughly equivalent to a late-stage Body Tempering martial artist's full-powered strike.
And it still didn't hurt?
Shen Qingqiu took a deep breath.
"I'll try seventy percent. Don't try to tough it out. Tell me if you can't take it."
As he finished speaking, his blood and qi surged, and he unleashed a punch without holding back.
THUD!!!
This time, a faint echo reverberated throughout the garage.
Jiang Lan stumbled back two steps, a dull ache spreading through his chest.
Come on, Uncle! You didn't even give me a chance to tell you!
Still, it wasn't much of a problem. It hurt a little, but he remained uninjured.
Steadying himself, Jiang Lan said, "That hurt a little, but I'm not injured."
Shen Qingqiu was utterly stunned.
His beautiful eyes trembled as he stared at Jiang Lan, speechless for a long time.
Seventy percent of his strength was equivalent to an early-stage Meridian Opening martial artist's full-powered strike.
And Jiang Lan had only felt a little pain?
Shen Qingqiu took a deep breath to calm himself.
"Those defenses of yours... you little monster."
Jiang Lan asked, "So have I really awakened a special talent?"
Shen Qingqiu nodded.
"Definitely. And it's a defensive special talent. Those are extremely rare."
Jiang Lan breathed an inward sigh of relief.
With that explanation, he wouldn't have to keep hiding things anymore.
Shen Qingqiu looked at Jiang Lan.
"When we leave the city today, you can try out your strength."
Jiang Lan's eyes lit up, and he immediately asked, "Really?"
Shen Qingqiu nodded.
"But you have to follow my orders. No reckless behavior."
"Don't worry, Uncle. If you tell me to go east, I won't go west. If you tell me to hit a dog, I won't chase a chicken."
"Enough wisecracks." Shen Qingqiu rolled his eyes at Jiang Lan again. "Get in. We'll be late if we don't leave now."
Looking at his uncle's expression, Jiang Lan felt something different stir inside him...
No, no, no.
What had gotten into him these past two days? Why did his mind keep wandering like this?
That was his uncle. Even if they weren't related by blood, those thoughts were obviously still wrong!
Putting those thoughts aside, Jiang Lan climbed into the passenger seat.
Shen Qingqiu stepped on the accelerator. The SUV roared to life and headed toward the City Guard compound.
By the time they arrived, almost everyone was there.
They waited a little longer. Once everyone had assembled, they got into the vehicles and set off.
Their destination this time was the Southern Suburbs Ruins.
It was about the same distance away, but no tier-two ferocious beasts roamed the area.
Inside the vehicle, Zhao Gang asked:
"Captain, what's the plan today?"
Shen Qingqiu turned his head and glanced at Jiang Lan.
"We'll let Jiang Lan have a go today."
"Huh?" Zhao Gang froze. "Let Jiang Lan have a go?"
Shen Qingqiu nodded.
"He may have awakened a special talent."
Everyone looked shocked.
"A special talent? Seriously?" Zhao Gang could hardly believe it.
Li Ming frowned. "Captain, are you sure you didn't make a mistake? Special talents aren't that easy to awaken."
Shen Qingqiu replied:
"I tested him. His defenses are very strong. He can take a blow at seventy percent of my strength without getting injured."
Zhao Gang's eyes widened.
The others might not understand, but as a fellow Meridian Opening martial artist, he knew exactly what it meant to withstand a blow at seventy percent of Shen Qingqiu's strength.
Even he might not be able to take it.
"Could it be a defensive special talent?"
Li Ming scoffed at that.
"Defensive? It's useful early on, but later, people with defensive talents are just fodder to plug gaps on the battlefield. They're useless for anything except taking a beating."
Shen Qingqiu tightened his grip on the steering wheel, but held his temper.
Jiang Lan turned to look at Li Ming.
"Is barking the only thing that mouth of yours can do?"