308: bottleneck

"What the f*ck..."

Huang Chen was so choked by Zi Han's nonchalant "What does that have to do with me?" that he nearly passed out.

"You..."

However, before he could roar out the rest of his sentence, he caught a glimpse of the slight curve of Zi Han's lips.

Huang Chen instantly shivered, the rest of his words getting stuck in his throat.

Can't provoke her! Truly can't provoke her!

A moment later, he took a deep breath, trying to make his voice sound calmer. Since Zi Han had seen through the Forbidden City Legion's bottleneck at a glance and stated it so confidently, she likely knew the root of the problem.

"Ahem," Huang Chen cleared his throat, forcing a rather awkward smile. "Since you know they've hit a bottleneck, then... do you perhaps know a solution? They can't be stuck forever, right?"

He remembered that in his previous life, by the tenth year, most people in Huaxia had already broken through their skills to the Great Accomplishment realm, and quite a few had even reached the Profound Perfection or even Peak Attainment realms.

Zi Han seemed to have anticipated his question; the faint, almost imperceptible smile on her face vanished, and she returned to her usual placidity.

She glanced at the members of the Forbidden City Legion below who were still training hard within the Five Elements Deceiving Heaven Grand Array, her tone devoid of emotion:

"They are currently like a new Alto car. No matter how much you refine the exterior or replace the parts, the engine's limit is fixed. If you want to run faster and farther, the only way is to upgrade the core of the engine."

She paused, her gaze returning to Huang Chen.

"That is potential. Insufficient potential and weak bone structure determine the limit of the power they can bear. Training a skill to the 'Great Accomplishment' realm—the maximum their current body can withstand—is already their limit. Training further is just a waste of effort, yielding half the result for double the work."

Upon hearing this, Huang Chen's eyes narrowed. The gloom in his heart instantly dissipated, and a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.

Potential! bone structure!

This principle was actually quite simple. The Forbidden City Legion, unlike himself and the Harem Legion, did not have the goddess record to share potential, and their innate talents were not as profound as Tie Shengnan's.

The core and Inner Circle Members of the Forbidden City Legion had a limited basic displacement for their "engine." Once they trained their driving skills (Skill Realm) to the extreme allowed by their current vehicle condition, they naturally hit a wall.

To continue raising the upper limit of their combat power, there were only two paths:

One: Enhance bone structure and increase potential;

Two: Increase level to gain more potential.

This was equivalent to directly upgrading the "engine" itself and breaking through physical limits.

Currently, large-scale enhancement of bone structure was unrealistic. Therefore, the remaining most direct and feasible path was to increase their level!

Coincidentally, after three months of special training, the Skill Realm of these 110,000 members of Forbidden City had basically reached Great Accomplishment, resulting in a qualitative leap in combat power compared to three months ago. It was time to end the special training and start raiding the Mirror Shadow Tower!

The monsters outside the Mirror Shadow Tower represented massive amounts of experience and equipment.

However, organizing a raid on the Mirror Shadow Tower was still somewhat weak given Huang Chen's current strength. This matter needed Tie Shengnan to plan thoroughly.

And Huang Chen himself had one important thing left to do.

He looked at Zi Han, his eyes regaining their calm and a hint of eagerness. "I understand. It seems the special training should indeed come to an end. Conveniently, I should also go and clear the third floor of the God Sealing Tower."

Based on past experience, the reward for clearing each floor of the God Sealing Tower doubles. Therefore, the reward for clearing the third floor is 400 points of bone structure!

This was equally crucial for the improvement of his own strength. Currently, with all his skills at the Profound Perfection realm, he could even clear it without fighting.

Zi Han noncommittally replied with an "Mm."

Huang Chen wasted no time and immediately sent a message to Tie Shengnan: "Special training temporarily concluded! Everyone rests for one day. Go prepare and ensure Feng Wu and Consort Shu are ready. Tomorrow we begin raiding the Mirror Shadow Tower. You will be fully responsible for the combat arrangements."

After issuing the command, Huang Chen directly led everyone back to Jinling City, while he himself arrived beneath the God Sealing Tower.

Entering the God Sealing Tower, Soros appeared once again.

Seeing Huang Chen arrive, a smile involuntarily appeared on his face. "Little fellow, you haven't been here for three months, have you? Did your defensive Skill Realm break through?"

Huang Chen nodded and respectfully said, "Yes! Senior, I'm here to clear the third floor today."

"Hahaha!"

Soros laughed upon hearing this. "Not bad, not bad. To raise all your skills to Profound Perfection in less than a year after entering the Star Abyss, you truly are unprecedented."

"Do you want to pass directly, or have a fight?"

Soros smiled as he looked at Huang Chen. Frankly, he really wanted to test how far Huang Chen had progressed.

Given the other party's talent and comprehension, once he leaves the Star Abyss, he is bound to become another High-Ranking Official of the Hongmeng Universe, campaigning across the four directions for the Hongmeng Universe.

"Let's fight!"

Huang Chen said.

Every time he fought Soros, the latter would not only point out his flaws but also offer careful guidance. Such an opportunity was extremely rare.

The moment Huang Chen finished speaking, Soros charged at him directly with a Soul Severing Stab.

If he hadn't undergone these three months of special training, Huang Chen would likely have used his previous method of counter-charging with a Soul Severing Stab.

However, his dodging ability was now vastly different.

He simply stood there, waiting for the impact of Soros's Soul Severing Stab. Just as Soros was about to stab him, he moved his foot, shifting half a step to the right, narrowly avoiding Soros's spear tip.

"Blood Battle in Eight Directions!"

Eight figures immediately pinned the charging Soros in place.

A flash of surprise appeared in Soros's eyes, and he immediately activated his Black and Yellow Body to break free from Huang Chen's control.

"Soul Severing Stab!"

"Returning Wind Falling Goose!"

However, the instant he retreated sharply, Huang Chen pressed forward. Since both their potentials were the same, Soros's retreat was naturally not as fast as the Soul Severing Stab. In an instant, Huang Chen used a combo attack to directly reduce his health by 10%.

Just as Huang Chen was chaining into Yang Guan Three Stacks, Soros's feet moved eerily, allowing him to dodge Huang Chen's attack directly.

"Golden Bell Shield!"

"Black and Yellow Body!"

Seeing Soros dodge, Huang Chen immediately supplemented his defense with two defensive skills.

After dodging, Soros did not continue his attack; his eyes were filled with shock.

"Did you... add 100,000 points to Movement Skill?"

Soros muttered to himself, then immediately shook his head. "No, the bone structure limit in the God Sealing Tower is 100 points. You couldn't possibly have that many potential points!"

"Could it be..."

Soros opened his mouth wide, took a breath, and then asked searchingly, "Little fellow, you've got something going on!"

"Senior, you flatter me!" Huang Chen said, cupping his fists.

"I have a question..."

"Senior, feel free to ask!"

"Has your current Movement Skill exceeded 100,000 points?"