Unleashing hidden potential is an essential skill for any protagonist.

The moment Chen Shang activated "Corrupt Mode," a nearly tangible pitch-black aura burst forth from him, fluttering his short, tousled hair and causing his long robe to snap sharply in the wind.

Chen Shang felt a searing heat in his chest, burning like a kerosene stove fueled to its maximum capacity.

It felt as though a colossal power, far too immense for his body to contain, was surging wildly through his blood vessels, muscles, and bones, causing a throbbing ache all over. Simultaneously, countless malicious thoughts flooded his mind, as if a frantic beast was trying to break free from its cage within his heart, striving to seize control of his consciousness and making it hard to think, leaving behind only a frantic impulse to destroy everything.

In his system interface, several of Chen Shang's base stats displayed a double (x2) multiplier bonus. At the same time, a long string of system notifications drifted past his eyes:

【You have activated the skill "Corrupt Mode" and gained temporary skills:】
【"Wind of Recovery": Uses core energy to rapidly heal wounds on your body, including fatal ones.】
【"Frenzied Hormones": Enters a deeper berserk state for a short time, significantly boosting strength and physique, though cognitive abilities will be somewhat affected.】
【"Crisis Time": Stimulated by core energy, your nerves enter a state of heightened focus, causing the surrounding time to slow down to a near-stoppage relative to you. There is no time limit; you can choose to activate or deactivate this state freely.】
【"Aura of Tremors": Releases an aura that instills fear in surrounding enemies.】

【After activating "Corrupt Mode," Corruption Points will increase by an average of 1 point every six seconds. Temporary skills can be used infinitely, but each use will accelerate the accumulation of Corruption Points depending on the circumstances.】
【When Corruption Points reach 100, it will cause irreversible psychological trauma. Always monitor your Corruption Points and manage your skill usage time wisely.】
【Corruption Points will gradually decrease over time after the skill is deactivated, reducing by 100 points per 24 hours on average.】

【Current Corruption Points: 0/100】

"Only ten minutes?" Chen Shang clenched his fists and cast his gaze toward Chu Jianlai, who stood five paces away.

Even though he knew the gap in their strength could not be bridged by "Corrupt Mode," he felt not a shred of fear or despair in his heart, only an eager sense of anticipation.

Sitting on a discarded tire to watch the battle, the White Fox froze, her ears twitching straight up as if startled:

"What's wrong with the planner guy... He feels so scary..." the White Fox muttered softly, her beast-like intuition making her sense an inexplicable unease radiating from Chen Shang.

"This is power that breaks human limits." Chu Jianlai's gaze was calm as he commented matter-of-factly:

"Mr. Chen, you must have paid a hefty price for this kind of power, right?"

"Who hasn't?" Chen Shang curved the corners of his lips in a somewhat manic smile: "I can only maintain this state for ten minutes at most. No need for more small talk!"

Chu Jianlai tightened his grip on the fruit knife and assumed a defensive stance.

Chen Shang pulled an iron rod from his backpack, then stamped his foot hard against the ground and lunged fiercely at Chu Jianlai.

"Clang—!"

Chen Shang rushed up to Chu Jianlai and brought the iron rod crashing down toward his head, but Chu Jianlai made no move to dodge or parry, simply reaching out to catch it directly.

However, the Undying Swordsman still underestimated Chen Shang's full-strength blow enhanced by "Corrupt Mode." The moment Chu Jianlai caught the iron rod, the sound of cracking bones echoed from his palm, forcing him to take two steps back with an unsightly expression.

"Don't dodge! Again!" The iron rod in Chen Shang's hand had also bent slightly, but he didn't care, swinging it once more toward Chu Jianlai's vital spots.

This time, Chu Jianlai did not choose to meet the blow head-on. Instead, he used a swordsmanship technique to deflect the force, using the fruit knife to parry away the momentum of the iron rod.

After several more clashes, neither of them sustained any obvious injuries, but their weapons showed clear signs of distortion and damage.

Seeing this, Chen Shang simply discarded the heavily bent iron rod, wound up his fist, and attacked Chu Jianlai.

Having trained at a combat club before, coupled with private instruction from Lady Chiyayo, Chen Shang's close-quarters combat skills were now at least on par with an amateur martial artist.

Chu Jianlai also tossed aside the chipped fruit knife, holding his fingers close together like a blade to meet the charge.

"Bang—!" "Rip—!"

Chen Shang's fist landed squarely on the bridge of Chu Jianlai's nose, directly denting his face inward. At the same time, Chu Jianlai thrust his sword-fingers straight into Chen Shang's chest, piercing clean through his back.

The two men each took a step back, eyeing each other warily.

"Planner!" The White Fox looked anxiously at the puncture wound on Chen Shang's chest, wanting to step forward and stop the fight.

Chen Shang waved a hand at the White Fox, signaling her to remain seated and continue watching.

Chu Jianlai's distorted face quickly snapped back into place, the wounds on his face vanishing completely.

Meanwhile, a greenish glow emanated from Chen Shang's chest, and his wound shrank and healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

This was the effect of his temporary skill, "Wind of Recovery." Although this skill consumed 1 to 10 Corruption Points every time auto-healing was triggered, it was far more reliable than "Ultimate Healing," which could only be used once every 48 hours.

"Has Mr. Chen's self-healing ability been enhanced as well?" Chu Jianlai massaged the bridge of his nose and asked: "It's almost reached my level."

"That's right, so don't hold back on my account!" A manic smile hung on the corners of Chen Shang's mouth as he charged at Chu Jianlai once more.

Following their previous exchanges, his Corruption Points had already risen to 28. This meant he still had about seven minutes of skill duration left, provided he didn't use any more temporary skills.

However, Chen Shang's purpose in seeking out Chu Jianlai today was to thoroughly test the upper limit of "Corrupt Mode," so he had no intention of holding back.

......

After three minutes of intense combat between the two, Chen Shang's Corruption Points had climbed to 94.

Seeing this, he decisively retreated two steps and shouted:

"Stop, stop, stop! No more fighting, no more fighting!"

Upon seeing this, Chu Jianlai also swiftly withdrew and took two steps back:

"Has Mr. Chen finished his testing?"

Seeing his Corruption Points tick up to 95, Chen Shang resolutely chanted silently in his heart and deactivated "Corrupt Mode."

Chen Shang instantly felt his limbs become as heavy as lead; the lightness he felt while the skill was active vanished completely, as if he had transformed from a light-footed athlete into a frail, elderly man.

However, his mind felt much lighter, and his consciousness was clearer than before, devoid of any lingering murderous impulses.

"So tired..." Chen Shang sat on the ground, exhausted, reaching up to wipe the blood and sweat from his face.

The White Fox hurried over to the planner’s side and asked with concern: "Planner, are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, don't worry about me~" Chen Shang leaned on the White Fox's shoulder to stand up, dusting off the dirt from his clothes.

"But the planner got so strong! You actually managed to fight him for so long!" The White Fox's ears twitched up and down in undisguised admiration.

"Not really." Chen Shang smiled modestly: "It's mostly because he was willing to go easy on me, otherwise I would've been hacked to pieces ages ago."

"Mr. Chen has indeed grown stronger, and your combat skills are among the best of your peers—practically flawless." Chu Jianlai wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and stepped forward to offer a warning:

"However, I can sense that this power of yours is dangerous. Remember to exercise restraint and never sink into becoming a puppet of that power."

"Indeed, I feel the same way." Chen Shang nodded in agreement, then opened Weibo on his phone: "Thanks for your hard work, let me treat you two to a meal."

"Yay! I want grilled fish and bread!" A brilliant sparkle lit up the White Fox's eyes.

"I'm fine with anything." Chu Jianlai crossed his arms and curiously leaned in toward the screen: "What are you looking at?"

On the phone screen, a news headline caught the eye:

【The Chaebol Alliance has established a stronghold in the Abyss and is about to launch deeper explorations.】

According to the news report, the "Abyss Expeditionary Force" dispatched by the alliance had already occupied the first graveyard zone and developed it into a frontline camp.

In just a few days, these elite soldiers would march deeper into other regions of the Abyss.

"They move pretty fast~" Chen Shang praised: "It'll be time for me to make my move soon."