Chapter 1057
Chapter 1057 - 143 Too Expensive Kindness
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9 min read
"He, if he wasn’t just pretending earlier, has become mature with an incredibly astonishing speed. Is he an Evolver from actual combat now...."
It seemed like an ordinary assessment, but if the judge was the eighth-tier Big Boss Gan Qianyun, then the "absurdity" he mentioned is indeed "contrary to common sense."
In the peak vision he possessed, Fighting was always about using bodily techniques in combat. Although it’s true that tactics could enable the weak to overcome the strong, why not start from the outset with a high-specification body?
Reality is often cruel; a giant man weighing two hundred pounds could, with a little bit of training, likely defeat a regular boxer weighing just a few dozen pounds.
And the gap in physical conditions in the Extraordinary World is even more horrifying, it’s completely like comparing a difference of tens of thousands of tons to a few dozen pounds.
The most straightforward example is that Killer Ant, which is clearly only third-tier, but in the Deity’s tier ranking, its actual threat was higher than the first three senior fourth-fifth-tier individuals.
And even for that "Killer Ant," in the eyes of Gan Qianyun, its talent and upper limit are just average, unable to rank in the top hundred..... That Killer Ant had long been completely devoured by its beast nature, and losing control was just a matter of time; as a Beast transformed, it had no possibility of further Advancement.
However, there’s Lu Ping’an’s "Physical Conditions"....
"It’s a bit puzzling; the demonized plant flesh was only average to begin with, but its bloodline seems to originate from a considerably powerful Foreign Domain Deity. And yet, that’s just it, the inherent shortcoming of the demonized plant flesh still exists - a natural ’lack of pain perception’, slow response, dull senses, lack of explosive power, and so on - which should be fatal weaknesses for a Fighter....."
Plant-human hybrids who are "Talented" are not absent; in fact, many of these unfortunate ones are doing quite well before they turn into a big tree.
But barely any have taken the path of the Fighter, attempting to master control of their own bodies.
That’s because the naturally growing and infinitely regenerating Tree itself is not suitable for the Fighting Series which revolves around "controlling oneself"... You can’t even determine the boundaries and state of your own body, so how can you control it?
"Can the Parasitic Tree really be played like this? This is truly an eye-opener.... It should be unreplicable, and normal Gardeners have no need to cross-train in the Fighting Series."
Lu Ping’an is a "Parasitic Tree," he is half-plant, half-meat body, with the flesh primarily controlling the plant’s "external limbs," which is the root of his current journey on an unconventional path.
"...And that ’Hieroglyphic Boxing’, why does it feel like it’s from the Tamer’s Path... A miraculous life born from cross-training as a Gardener and a Beast Tamer? Truly a foundation of the gods?"
The more expert the person is, the less they can comprehend Lu Ping’an’s current state.
The life form of half-plant and half-human is not uncommon, often accompanied by extremely terrifying side effects, like a slow brain that takes minutes to think through a math problem, or even more fatally, losing self-cognition as an "animal."
The terrifying aspect of Lu Ping’an lies in his mastery of the characteristics of both "animals" and "plants," while notably excluding the side effects.
It is as if some higher rules are firmly suppressing him.
"This body, in terms of the level of Life, is not inferior to any Rule-level living being. Perhaps, he really might go further in the path of ’Fighting’ than even me...."
In this world, love without a cause is rare. Gan Qianyun’s special treatment of Lu Ping’an is considerably due to his appreciation of talent and his optimism about Lu Ping’an’s future.
Speaking of which, it’s quite cruel; even the Fighting Path focusing on "developing the limits of the body" inherently harbors the essence of "disdaining the poor and loving the rich."
Once you reach a certain point, merely "controlling the body" is no longer enough. If the Physical Strength and upper limit can’t continue to develop, it’s natural that there can be no progress.
At that time, what needs to change might just be your "body"..... but for many Fighters, this is where it ends.
It’s not just the lower Fighting Paths that are full of monsters, demons, and ghosts; within the higher echelons, there are gods, buddhas, immortals, and demons, and even if you weren’t one before, you often become non-human along the way.
Although it’s cruel, most often only a body of Decree-level Life forms has the possibility of becoming a Decree-level Fighter, and the Fighters above seventh-tier are mostly beings with at least Gold bloodline.
Gan Qianyun’s experience allows him to see Lu Ping’an’s future even more clearly than Lu Ping’an himself.
Lu Ping’an’s "Plant Body" could be seen as a blank "carrier," and what’s truly frightening are the two traits of constant strengthening - the "All Things Breathing Skill" and "Chr-style Hieroglyphic Boxing."
With these two characteristics, he could continually add the desired attributes to his "blank vessel," possessing not only powerful combat abilities but also the capability to strengthen his "vessel" in daily life.
"In fact, it’s clear to see that with only four battles, his basic abilities have risen by at least thirty percent, not to mention the increase in combat power due to improved skills proficiency...."
Contamination erodes the flesh, and for Lu Ping’an’s body now, every use of "All Things Breathing" and "Soul-bound Hieroglyphic Boxing" is actually an active transformation of himself.
Lu Ping’an himself couldn’t be bothered to look at the improvement of his basic attributes, but this body’s unlimited growth potential made Gan Qianyun, the eighth-tier Fighter, make an astonishing judgment.
"....As long as he doesn’t die young and continues to evolve steadily, he can become a ninth-order Quasi-God level Fighter."
The innate strong life force of plants, the control and burst power of animals, the perfect fusion of the "Gardener" and "Beast Tamer’s" paths, was destined to create a fearsome miracle creature.
Therefore, Priest Gan, who is actually lacking in patience and enjoys mischief, was so friendly... he truly treated Lu Ping’an as a future "colleague," earnestly accumulating goodwill and trying to draw him into the fold.
Even if he could not win him over successfully, it would still establish a good relationship... Recognizing the talent, just seeing the "All Things Breathing Skill" was enough for him to foresee the legend the boy was destined to become.
Therefore, even though he’s currently very busy, needing to support "the challenge," he still delegated his work to others, coming in person to visit the resting Lu Ping’an and to bring the sincerity of a Deity.
𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
"Divine Grace? I can choose it myself?"
"Generally speaking, you can’t. But this time, your performance has pleased My Lord, and for the sake of making the upcoming Martial Fight more spectacular, It has authorized me to inquire about your needs."
Seeing Priest Gan’s sudden visit, even Lu Ping’an was a bit surprised.
"Designate a tendency for Divine Grace, huh..."
Had it been two hours earlier, Lu Ping’an might have hesitated, but now, having completed a tactical review and discussed future development paths with Big Cat, he instantly had an answer.
"I need a ’Revenge’ type of ability, simply put, it’s ’reflective damage.’ The harder I’m hit, the harsher the return of damage..."
Real combat has always been the best way to find flaws and advantages.
Big Cat had listed over a dozen improvements, some easy to solve, others waiting for the right opportunity... and this one in front of him was the hardest to resolve.
"... A curse of revenge? Hah, it seems you have powerful figures behind you, indeed a fine choice. Then, I look forward to your next bout, by then My Lord will reward you..."
Having said this, the Priest departed.
And Lu Ping’an showed a hint of joy, it seems the other party really considered him "stock for the future," and indeed, this Deity was generous enough.
The traits of Revenge/Reflect Damage have a relatively low practical combat value. Firstly, a "hundred percent return" curse is extremely difficult to achieve; most curses’ effects are discounted, and to have a stable return of ten to twenty percent is already quite good.
Moreover, this is still an "external curse," hence, it is subject to the resistance of those cursed, which is originally "one to two," and after further resistance discounts, it might only be a tenth of a percent... what good is that in real combat?
But Divine Grace from a deity is different, it’s almost a direct casting from the Deity, therefore, its priority level is "God level," and even if restricted by its own level, the "resistance" of the other side is hardly successful.
Then, that ten to twenty percent truly becomes "ten to twenty," an unavoidable "True Damage."
However, such overpoweringly interfering "Grace" often comes with an even more expensive "price."
"Divine Grace of this level is too costly, beyond what you can afford... try to repay this extra kindness as soon as possible."
And Big Cat, after a moment of silence, had his own suggestion.
— End of Chapter 1057 —