SSS-Rank Talent: Super Upgrade System-Chapter 158: Grand Harvest Competition

The announcement of the Grand Harvest Competition sent a jolt of energy through the quiet routine of the Eastern Medicine Garden.

For Daniel, it was a beacon of hope, a clear finish line for his difficult journey of cultivation.

The thought of finally obtaining the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Ginseng made the endless rows of radishes seem suddenly less oppressive.

That evening, as they sat in their crude wooden hut, Daniel decided to try one last time to get some advice from his mysterious roommate.

"Old Man Hemlock," he began, speaking slowly and clearly, "the competition tomorrow.

The prize is a divine medicine. Do you have any advice? Any strategy for the final harvest?"

Hemlock, who was meticulously sharpening a small garden trowel, looked up, squinting.

He cupped a hand to his ear. "What’s that, boy? You’re worried about the competition? Worried you can’t beat this old bag of bones?" He let out a dry cackle.

"Don’t you worry your little city-bred head about winning or losing. A farmer’s duty is to the harvest.

You just show up, you follow your own rhythm, and you do your own thing. The radish will decide the rest."

He then turned back to his trowel, humming his favorite tune about a turnip in love.

Daniel sighed. It was the same cryptic, frustratingly vague advice as always.

But after a month of working alongside the old man, he had learned to find the wisdom hidden between the nonsensical words.

Follow your own rhythm. Do your own thing. It was a lesson in self-reliance, in trusting his own hard-won skills rather than looking for external validation or shortcuts.

He nodded to himself, accepting the old man’s strange wisdom.

With his mind settled, Daniel felt a deep curiosity bubble up.

He had spent a month in this sealed, powerless state, his body aching and weak. free𝑤ebnovel.com

But the Cleansing Root soap and the intense physical labor had clearly had an effect.

He felt stronger, more solid, than he had on his first day. Just how much stronger had he become?

He found a quiet moment, sat on his lumpy bed, and accessed his Nexus Interface.

He focused his will, pulling up his personal attribute panel. The numbers that appeared made his breath catch in his throat.

Even with the Strength-Sealing Manacles active, even with his SSS-Rank talent and all its assimilated power locked away, his base attributes had not just increased, they had multiplied.

His Strength, which had been reduced to that of a weak mortal, had climbed dramatically.

He did a quick mental calculation based on the standard attribute scale.

The raw physical power he now possessed, even in his sealed state, was equivalent to a Level 5 Awakened.

He had increased his fundamental strength by nearly forty times, just by pulling radishes for a month.

He stared at the numbers, stunned. This was the true power of the Principal’s training method.

It wasn’t about suppressing him, it was about forcing him to build a new, purer foundation from the ground up, a foundation forged not by borrowed souls, but by his own effort.

The Cleansing Root soap, the rhythmic labor, the radish diet... it was all part of a sophisticated, almost magical, body-tempering regimen.

The divine medicine he sought was meant to be the final, capstone ingredient for this new foundation.

The realization sent a thrill of excitement through him. He was becoming stronger in a way he had never imagined.

The day of the Grand Harvest Competition dawned bright and clear.

The air in the valley was thick with anticipation.

Daniel and Hemlock made their way to the main competition field, a vast, freshly tilled stretch of land that dwarfed their usual plot, making it look like little more than a garden patch.

As they arrived, Daniel was surprised to see that they were not the only competitors.

Dozens of other medicine farmers were gathered, but among them was a large, distinct group that stood apart.

They wore the clean, functional uniforms of Astralis Academy students.

Some he recognized vaguely from the entrance tests, arrogant seniors and ambitious freshmen who had clearly chosen the garden as part of a specialized training course.

They were strong, their auras radiating power, their bodies honed by combat.

Then, Daniel felt a shock of realization that was colder than any radish soup.

He looked at their wrists, their ankles. They were unburdened. He was the only one wearing the heavy, power-suppressing Strength-Sealing Manacles.

This wasn’t an even playing field. It was a setup.

"This... this can’t be right," he muttered to himself, a knot of worry tightening in his stomach.

His sealed strength, as impressive as it had become, was still just that of a Level 5 Awakened.

These other students were likely Level 10, Level 15, maybe even higher.

Their raw physical power would be immensely greater than his own. How could he possibly compete?

But then, a deeper confusion settled in.

He looked at the other Gold Medal Fast Workers, the ones he and Hemlock had consistently outperformed for the past month.

They were also unsealed, their bodies radiating a natural strength far greater than his own current, restricted state.

A confusing difference weighed on his mind.

If they were all so much stronger than him, how had he been ranking second every single day?

How had he, a man with the strength of a Level 5, been out-harvesting those with the power of Level 10 or more?

It didn’t make any sense. He couldn’t reconcile their superior power with their inferior results.

The garden held more secrets than he had realized.

The manager, Silas, stepped onto a raised platform, his cold voice silencing the excited chatter.

"Welcome, competitors, to the Grand Harvest Competition!" he announced.

"The rules are simple. You have one day, from this moment until the evening bell.

The farmer who harvests the highest number of qualifying radishes will be crowned champion."

He paused, letting his gaze sweep over the eager faces.

"The prize," he declared, his voice taking on a rare note of reverence, "is the ultimate reward from the Garden Master’s private collection. The winner will have their choice of any one divine medicine stored within our vaults."

A wave of excitement washed over the students.

They whispered excitedly about the legendary Sun-Flame Flower, the thousand-year-old Frost Lotus, and other priceless herbs that could change their fate.

Daniel’s eyes, however, were fixed on a single, invisible prize. The Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Ginseng.

He was outmatched, out-powered, and surrounded by mocking rivals. But his goal was clear.

He would win. He had to!

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