Chapter 468 - 4: Returning to the Boxing Gym

"Barbarian?"

Deep within his mind, Lu Chao felt as if he were standing at the center of an endless, boundless darkness, briefly resonating with the phantom of a giant.

Streams of talent information surfaced before his eyes. As he gradually made out their contents, his eyes lit up. He nodded, revealing a faint, satisfied smile. "Not bad."

The effects of the talent named [Barbarian] were undeniably powerful.

[Critical Hit] allowed him to perceive the weaknesses of others while in a state of combat, and upon striking those weaknesses, he would gain at least a 100% bonus to his critical hit damage. If combined with Titan’s Power, a single strike would likely inflict heavy damage on most enemies; even those at the Peak Transcendence Level would have to think twice before facing him.

Furthermore, the effects of [Berserk] were equally outstanding. The all-attribute bonuses across its three stages—whether in strength, speed, neural response, maximum stamina, or stamina recovery—would continuously enhance as the battle dragged on.

"A maximum omnidirectional boost of 150%."

His eyes shone brightly; Lu Chao knew exactly what this meant. It might seem inferior to Titan’s Power, but the key lay in the fact that this talent required absolutely no extra energy consumption. Everything operated as a passive state, capable of perfectly stacking with any other talent.

Even better.

"I’ll grow stronger with every battle."

Lu Chao smiled. To a certain extent, this made up for the lack of endurance associated with Titan’s Power. If anyone wanted to win against him in a war of attrition, they would be making a grave mistake.

BUZZ!

Soon after, just as he was gradually digesting this talent information, a new prompt surfaced before his eyes:

[Prompt: The progress of the Intermediate Branch of the Violence Dimension has reached 50%!]

Lu Chao frowned but quickly understood its meaning. It was due to the birth of Potential Fission that he could continue awakening intermediate talents upon his original foundation. However, this awakening was not limitless. Just like a tree, no matter how thick its trunk was, there was a limit to the number of branches it could grow; it couldn’t be infinite.

Four intermediate specialties were the absolute capacity limit for each dimension. Beyond this limit, he could only find a way to develop High-level Talents to continue climbing upward.

"I see."

Lu Chao roughly grasped the concept, and he wasn’t exactly disappointed. He currently possessed a mere five intermediate talents, yet he already wielded such formidable strength. If he managed to develop each dimension to its limit in the future, he would obtain a total of sixteen intermediate specialties. Not to mention, there were still High-level Talents waiting for him.

As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Lu Chao suddenly felt an intense wave of pain wash over him. Without hesitation, he reined in his focus and swiftly returned to reality.

Ten minutes later.

"HUFF... HUFF... HUFF..."

Amidst his deep, heavy pants, wisps of evaporated sweat drifted into the air like a fine mist. Lu Chao stood in the Cultivation Chamber. His flushed face gradually returned to its normal color, and his boiling blood slowly cooled down to a regular temperature.

"It’s finally over."

The metamorphosis brought about by a talent awakening was truly agonizing; each time, it was a dual test of both physique and willpower. However, the awakening of the [Barbarian] talent gave him much more confidence. He estimated that if he unleashed all his trump cards, even an expert at the Peak Transcendence Level would struggle to deal with him.

Furthermore...

[Life Energy: 211 -> 215]

His Life Energy had once again surged by a significant margin, bringing him ever closer to the Peak Exploration Level. This was undoubtedly the transformative effect of his talent awakening, allowing him to shatter his previous limits once more.

PHEW!

Exhaling a final breath of stale air, Lu Chao carefully sensed the changes in his strength. The speed at which his Life Energy had increased recently could only be described as rapid. Over the past month, it had grown by more than ten points in total, while his strength, speed, and endurance had all quietly improved by a massive leap.

The corresponding price, however, was that all his accumulated contribution points within the Superpower Bureau had been completely wiped clean.

"I still have sixty thousand points available on the Dark Web.

"But before using them, I need to properly temper my physique and solidify my control over this newfound power."

Lu Chao’s thoughts were clear; he noticed a shift in his state of perfect control. This was a side effect of his strength rising too quickly—it required tempering and polishing before he could master it entirely.

Setting that aside, he stood by the window and gazed out at the Rhombus Ring City Circle. A cluster of concrete buildings stood tall on the opposite bank of the river that encircled the city.

He hadn’t been in a rush to return to the Jinshi Boxing Hall for one sole reason—the injuries of his master, Luo Qianshan. In the past, he had been completely helpless. But now, he was a Biological Alchemist. During this time, aside from his cultivation, he had also ordered people to gather certain materials. And now, it was finally time to put them to the test.

Several days later.

SPLASH!

A vehicle sped across the concrete street, kicking up a splash of water in its wake. An old, tattered newspaper on the ground was caught by the wind, swirling through the air before fluttering back down.

"Hurry up, A’hu! The Jinshi Boxing Hall must have opened by now."

"HUFF, HUFF... Wait for me..."

"Haha, look at your physique! Didn’t we agree to go learn martial arts at the boxing hall together? Looks like you’re going to fall behind!"

The playful teenagers ran past the edge of the street, stomping on the fallen newspaper and leaving muddy footprints behind. The street beneath the concrete buildings was quiet and peaceful, with office workers carrying briefcases occasionally passing by.

Witnessing this scene, a young man in a gray hoodie stepped out of the tram station. His eyes flickered slightly as he followed the backs of the two playful boys, looking toward the end of the street.

[Jinshi Boxing Hall]

A plaque featuring black characters on a blue background hung above the main entrance, with faint golden patterns subtly framing the text. It was still the abandoned school from his memories, but the low concrete walls on either side had been given a fresh coat of gray paint, and the once rusty iron gates had been completely renovated.

Seeing this, Lu Chao stepped forward and walked toward the boxing hall’s entrance. The elderly watchman in the guard booth was busy chatting with someone and didn’t stop him.