Chapter 105

Seeing this, Roan felt a little more settled; no wonder he had never heard of wizards dissecting geniuses for research.

It seems that special talent cannot be taken away, at least at the stage of a formal wizard...

"... Historically, those who possess powerful special talents are often able to go further and higher on the extraordinary path. Just as 'Eye of Flame' Eldred grew from an ordinary hunter into an elemental Great Wizard, and 'Eternal Grasp' Leanna rose from a village orphan to a Space Lord..."

The tome recorded dozens of wizards who achieved extraordinary things due to special talents, among which the deeds of several Great Wizards were the most astonishing:

"... When the 'Void-less' Herbius reached the peak of a Great Wizard, he once conquered an alien plane known as the 'Ash Domain' alone, transforming it into his private research territory. It is rumored that his power was so great he could crush stars at will, change the orbital paths of massive star systems, and even carve out his own small plane in the void..."

"...'Clock King' Erica is even more of a legend among wizards; she could briefly intervene in the laws of causality and distort the flow of time. During the confrontation with 'xx', she banished more than ten 'Apostles' single-handedly, and finally xxxx. To this day, the sound of her sigh still echoes in that Great Clock at the End of Time..."

There were still some parts that were deliberately sealed; he had a premonition that if he were to pry into these sealed contents without sufficient strength, it would likely lead to extremely terrible consequences.

Roan continued to browse, looking for records that interested him.

Special talents were clearly graded, divided into three tiers from low to high; those that could allow their holders to become Great Wizards or even Wizard Kings were clearly in the first tier.

"First tier—'Hydra,' can be resurrected nine times unconditionally, and after each resurrection, strength, aptitude, lifespan, etc., all double, and all negative states like spiritual pollution are refreshed. This is too perverted..."

There were also many terrifying talents involving time, space, fate, and causality; after looking around, he even felt that his "profession panel" cheat was nothing special.

The only advantage was perhaps that it could be entrusted to that "infinite" growth potential, allowing him to survive and become the strongest by infinitely stacking professions.

Turning a few more pages, in the second tier, he found his "Dual Soul," and the complete "Corona Protection," both of which were directly classified into the second tier.

This tier of talent, while not as powerful as the first tier—which was enough to have a decisive influence on the entire history of wizards—could definitely allow the holder to stand out among the crowd of talentless people.

After flipping through another dozen pages, he found a small section of interesting content in the corner:

"...'Medicine Body Resonance' Orland possessed a rare sensory ability, able to perceive the efficacy of drugs through his own body and even improve formulas based on intuition. According to records, any potion he took had effects several times more powerful than those of ordinary people. This talent allowed him to go from an ordinary person to a formal wizard in just five years, and later become a master of potion-making..."

"'Medicine Body Resonance,' doesn't this correspond perfectly to the bonus effect I get after changing my profession to Potion-maker..."

Roan's eyes lit up; this was a second-tier special talent, and it fit perfectly with his Potion-maker profession.

This was exactly what he needed! With this special talent as a cover, he could explain his rapid progress more naturally.

When the time came, he would just say he possessed this type of special talent, which could explain why he became a middle-level apprentice just two months after advancing to a low-level apprentice—it was all from taking potions.

After all, in the wizarding world, special talent is much easier to explain many incredible phenomena than simple diligence.

With this unexpected joy, Roan continued to study in depth, recording more knowledge about special talents and thinking about how he should behave so as not to give himself away.

Additionally, he discovered an important distinction between the first/second-tier talents and the third-tier talents.

Third-tier talents, besides having effects far inferior to the first and second tiers, often had various restrictions and side effects when one wanted to activate the talent's effect.

In the time that followed, he did not forget the purpose of his original visit to the library, and also checked a lot of information about the habits of the tree spirit race, as well as various popular science illustrations about extraordinary species.

【Extraordinary Biology (Entry) EXP +1】

When he left the library, the night of the Black Fog Jungle had completely shrouded the surroundings.

Roan's head was filled with knowledge about bloodline modulation and special talents, like a leather pouch filled with water, heavy.

As thoughts surged, the newly acquired information constantly collided with existing knowledge, producing sparks of inspiration.

If not for the memory advantage and integration ability of 【Broad Knowledge】, these complex and complicated pieces of information would have drowned him long ago.

It was late when he returned to the workshop, but he did not intend to rest.

For him now, time was the most precious resource, and not a single moment should be wasted.

Inside the small training area on the second floor, he set his posture, took a deep breath, and began the routine practice of the "Corona Breathing Method."

The firelight of the oil lamp cast swaying shadows on his calm face; sweat had not yet appeared, but he knew that the training to follow would be incomparably arduous.

"Inhale for seven breaths, hold for three breaths, exhale for five breaths..."

He whispered to himself, controlling his breathing according to a strict rhythm.

These words had long been branded into his mind, becoming a part of his muscle memory.

Following the deep and powerful breathing rhythm, Roan felt a warm current flowing through his meridians, like a spring stream, carrying the throbbing of life.

【Current progress: Breathing Body Forging (Entry 97/100)】

"Only three more EXP points to break through to the Proficient level," a smile of expectation appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Adjusting his breathing rhythm, he began to enter the second layer of breathing.

This was a more in-depth stage, requiring more precise control and stronger willpower.

"Inhale for nine breaths, hold for five breaths, exhale for seven breaths..."

Sweat began to slide down from his forehead, dripping along the contours of his cheeks onto the wooden floor, forming small dark spots.

But Roan's expression was exceptionally focused, his brows slightly furrowed, his gaze firm, as if everything in the world had disappeared at this moment, leaving only himself and the energy flowing within his body.

As the breathing deepened, the warm current in his body became more scorching, surging through the meridians like magma.

That burning sensation was almost unbearable, but Roan knew that this was the process of transformation—pain is the necessary path to strength.

With every deep breath, he could feel more energy being drawn into his body; every time he held his breath, that energy flowed through the meridians, nourishing his muscles and bones; every time he exhaled, the impurities and stagnation were expelled from his body, making it purer.

His muscles began to tremble, not because of exhaustion, but because the energy he was bearing was too powerful.

Those reforged meridians emitted a faint golden light, visible through his skin as if starlight were flickering in the night sky.

【Breathing Body Forging EXP +1】

The system's prompt was like a shot of adrenaline, making Roan's confidence even firmer.

He did not stop to rest, but immediately entered the third layer of breathing, which was the last layer of the most basic stage of the "Corona Breathing Method."

"Inhale for twelve breaths, hold for seven breaths, exhale for nine breaths..."

This time, he focused his consciousness entirely on the image of the sun.

In his spiritual world, that golden sun became brighter and brighter, emitting pure and scorching energy, illuminating the darkest corners of his soul.

Roan felt his body was like a furnace, every inch of muscle, every bone, every meridian being reforged in that raging fire.

Every exhalation felt like forging some substance within his body, making it purer and more powerful.

That feeling was both painful and wonderful, like the process of a snake shedding its skin or a butterfly breaking out of its cocoon, full of the miracles of life transformation.

【Breathing Body Forging EXP +1】

Roan could feel that his body was becoming stronger at a speed visible to the naked eye.

His muscle lines were smoother, his bones made faint clicking sounds, and his skin became tighter and more lustrous.

However, overdoing the Body Forging practice is as bad as not doing enough; the breakthrough of the last point was especially important. Today was already at the limit, so he would leave the rest for tomorrow.

【Current progress: Breathing Body Forging (Entry 99/100)】

He picked up the ironwood sword at his side and swung it a few times.

The sword edge cut through the air, emitting a low and powerful whistling sound.

【Current progress: Basic Swordsmanship (Proficient 99/100)】

Looking at the prompt on the screen, Roan could not help but shake his head and smile bitterly.

Basic Swordsmanship still remained at that last point, like an insurmountable chasm separating him from the Mastery level.

"What exactly is missing?" he asked himself, sheathing the sword, his brows locked.

Roan sat heavily on the floor, feeling a trace of exhaustion surge into his heart.

A whole night of training, even for an apprentice like him whose physical fitness far exceeded ordinary people, was a huge consumption.

Perhaps as Andre said, the final breakthrough in swordsmanship was not simple repetitive practice, but required some special insight or life-and-death tempering in real combat.

It was too late; Roan decided to rest for the night and face this problem tomorrow.

Placing his hand on the silver pocket watch, he had deliberately reserved a bit of the energy scale for today, which could be used just at this moment.

As the "Reset" effect was activated, the black gemstone in the pocket watch lit up, emitting a soft light.

A cool sensation started from the contact point and quickly flowed through his whole body, like a gentle spring rain washing away all fatigue and discomfort.

【Successfully reset negative state: Fatigue, Energy -1】

Roan immediately felt refreshed, as if he had just experienced a deep sleep.

The soreness of his muscles disappeared, and his thinking became clear.

This near-magical recovery ability was the key to his ability to maintain high-intensity training.

Lying on the bed, he recalled the various information he had gained in the library today, especially the "Medicine Body Resonance" recorded in that "Brief Record of Special Talents."

"What a god-given coincidence." He closed his eyes and sank into a dream.

The next morning, sunlight spilled into the workshop through the window, draping the whole room in a layer of golden light.

Roan got up early, and after washing, he headed straight for the laboratory.

The bloodline modulation knowledge he learned in the library yesterday made his imagination run wild, and he couldn't wait to try applying it to the improvement of the bloodline activation potion.

The fatigue of last night had completely disappeared, replaced by abundant vitality and a desire to explore the unknown.

This was the benefit brought by the pocket watch—no need to worry about the body's limits, and he could devote all his energy to things that were truly important.

"The key is not to simply mix different activators, but to extract the purest 'bloodline factors' from each, and then recombine them according to a specific ratio."

He muttered to himself, opening his formula notebook. The dense records on it had already filled several pages, some places even repeatedly modified, ink layers overlapping, showing the degree of his commitment to this project.

On a new blank page, he wrote the title neatly: "Improvement Plan for Bloodline Activation Potion."

The tree spirit stood quietly to one side, its calm eyes watching Roan's every move.

Its root system had already penetrated into the workshop's underground, and its vines had quietly extended to every corner, forming an invisible sensory network.

Roan took out several test tubes, each containing a different formula he had tried before.

Through the glass, one could see the liquid presenting different colors and concentrations; some were as clear as water, some as muddy as mud, and some were somewhere in between, emitting a faint light.

"Traditional activation potion formulas are too general and cannot precisely point to more ancient bloodlines."

He talked to himself while drawing a complex chart on the paper, marking detailed parameters for various materials and reaction conditions.

"If I can isolate the part of the Fire Lizard bloodline that is closest to the Solar Dragon, and then strengthen it with a special catalyst..."

As his thinking deepened, Roan's train of thought became clearer and clearer, and his hand movements accelerated accordingly.

According to the theory learned yesterday, there are countless "bloodline factors" hidden in the bloodline; these tiny energy fragments determine the basic characteristics of a creature.

If these factors could be precisely isolated and manipulated, theoretically, more precise bloodline activation could be achieved, just like using a fine needle instead of a sledgehammer to precisely strike those dormant gene switches.

Roan took out the Silver Wing Separator; this precious tool gifted by Lady Ellen was like a living thing in his hands, emitting a soft silver light.

He began to try to isolate the purest part from the Fire Lizard scale extract.

A drop of scarlet liquid was carefully placed into the separator, and Roan held it with both hands, starting to rotate and shake it in a specific way.

"Luo En might have it." Cynthia said suddenly, a sharp light flashing in her eyes:

A slight carelessness, and the precious material would be wasted or produce unexpected side effects.

Time passed minute by minute; although he was mentally tired, his hands were as steady as a rock.

The separator rotated nimbly in his hands, separating the liquid into different layers, each showing different colors and energy fluctuations.

"Interesting... this pale golden part should be the factor closest to the Solar Dragon bloodline."

(End of chapter)