Chapter 9: The New Fantasy

Luo Xiancheng had the Genetic Lock reapplied to him.

Although tests showed that his body's energy value was only 1, far below the previous 76, the Genetic Lock was still put on him.

Before research could confirm it, no one could know whether his superpower was permanently weakened to a negligible extent or if it was depleted to such a degree after a burst of usage.

The relevant research hadn't even begun, and almost all eyes and attention were on Ji Tianqi.

Because he was completely encased in ice.

"It wasn't me."

Luo Xiancheng's words did not entirely dispel everyone's concerns.

A living person being completely encased in ice, with the thinnest part being ten centimeters thick, looked very dangerous no matter how one saw it.

"There's no problem, he practices the Nine Yang Skill, which is extremely yang and extremely firm and is not afraid of Cold Ice True Qi at all."

While Bai Xiuchu reassured everyone, she was also reassuring herself.

Little Wang inappropriately raised a question.

"But absorbing energy as a superpower, you're afraid of superpower users with low temperature, ultra-low temperature abilities, right? Scientifically speaking, the colder it is, the slower the molecular motion, and if it's slower, then it's harder to absorb, right?"

Xiao Wu countered, "But he has the Nine Yang Skill, which can heat up and make the molecules move faster, more conducive to the absorption by the Beiming Skill."

"Nine Yang Skill? Beiming Skill?"

"Yes."

"Xiao Wu, maybe you should go see a psychologist for a chat?"

"Get lost!"

The quiet bickering was halted by the icy gaze of the person in charge and also by a slight crackling sound.

The sound came from Ji Tianqi, who was encased in ice.

When people focused their gaze on him, they could see that a crack had formed in the thick layer of ice.

Crack!

The sound grew louder and continued, with more and more cracks appearing. In about thirty seconds, the ice surrounding Ji Tianqi completely collapsed.

Thick white steam rose from his body, spreading upwards like a boiling kettle releasing high-temperature steam.

Everyone instinctively moved even further away, from six meters to around twelve meters.

Only Bai Xiuchu stayed at a distance of six meters from Ji Tianqi, looking more tense than before.

Luo Xiancheng actually didn't want to move away, but he was forcibly pulled away by security personnel.

So when Ji Tianqi opened his eyes, Bai Xiuchu was the first person he saw.

He began to smile.

"I have not failed the mission; I did it."

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

"Tian Qi."

Everyone from the project team and the person in charge rushed to Ji Tianqi's side, completely blocking Bai Xiuchu's figure behind them.

"How do you feel now?"

Ji Tianqi did not answer immediately but pondered, with everyone else anxiously waiting for his response.

After a moment, Ji Tianqi, towering over the crowd, looked towards Luo Xiancheng and asked a question.

"How is he?"

Luo Xiancheng started to smile, but the smile was very faint.

"He?" The person in charge slightly frowned but then relaxed and replied, "His energy value fell from 76 to 1, which is almost negligible."

While an energy value of 1 is equivalent to the energy released by an explosion of one kilogram of TNT, it is only equivalent.

The actual power depends on the mode of energy release.

Considering Luo Xiancheng's superpower, this energy value of 1 is at most like a household refrigerator.

For just keeping things fresh and refrigerated, the duration can be quite long. When it comes to freezing, whether it's the duration of freezing, the area affected, or the time it takes to take effect, it's all very difficult to describe as 'dangerous' now.

After explaining these reasons why it's 'negligible', the person in charge asked again, "Tian Qi, how do you feel?"

"I feel a bit cold."

Ji Tianqi stood up, and in front of the crowd watching, he began to move his body and detailed all his sensations.

"His Cold Ice Attribute Inner Strength is very strong, both the quality and the level are not weaker than mine.

You know, to absorb someone else's Inner Strength well with the Beiming Skill, one needs to have a solid foundation. If the foundation is too weak, you'll only harm yourself, like trying to steal a chicken only to end up losing the rice used to lure it.

Luckily, my Inner Strength is at an eighty-year level, and his was only at seventy-six. Moreover, I have mastered the Nine Yang Skill, which is extremely yang and firm, and I'm not afraid of his Cold Ice Attribute Inner Strength.

But the Nine Yang Skill is the Nine Yang Skill, and the Beiming Skill is the Beiming Skill; they're still a bit different. My realm isn't high enough to merge them seamlessly, nor can I operate both Supreme Divine Skills at the same time.

So, after absorbing all his Inner Strength with all my might, I could only convert a part of it into Beiming Inner Power.

The part I couldn't convert was expelled from my body, which is why I was encased in ice."

"..."

After listening to Ji Tianqi's words, everyone didn't know what to say.

Where's this Inner Strength and True Qi coming from? Luo Xiancheng has no martial arts Inner Strength; he is a Superpower User. His energy comes from his superpower, from genetic mutations, from within his cells.

But seeing the serious expression with which Ji Tianqi explained, everyone felt a bit reluctant or dared not speak the truth for fear of upsetting him.

Because they all remembered one thing—Ji Tianqi knew that Luo Xiancheng was a Superpower User.

"Should I ask?" Bai Xiuchu raised her hand from behind the crowd.

The person in charge immediately agreed, "You ask."

With the crowd's approval, Bai Xiuchu moved forward and asked with a strange look in her eyes.

"What's the level of your Inner Strength now?"

"A hundred years."

"Beiming Skill or Nine Yang Skill?"

"The Nine Yang Inner Power of the Nine Yang Skill."

After Ji Tianqi had finished answering, he elaborated with an additional explanation.

"I found Nine Yang Inner Power to be more practical, so I transformed all of my Beiming Inner Power into Nine Yang Inner Power. Of course, I did leave a little bit to activate the Beiming Skill."

"Why not focus on cultivating Beiming Skill? Isn't it an easy way to become stronger?"

"It's not easy at all. If he hadn't voluntarily transferred his inner strength to me, it would not have been that straightforward to absorb."

"Voluntarily transferred his inner strength to you?"

"Yes."

Ji Tianqi frowned slightly.

"I've shown you the secret manual, how can you not understand? Beiming Skill isn't something that can just absorb other people's inner strength at will. If it were that easy, would You Yazi have been harmed by Niu Chunqiu? That would make it too easy for me to reap a windfall."

"..."

Now, even Bai Xiuchu didn't know what to say—it sounded somewhat reasonable, yet also unreasonable.

Moreover, if they could have understood the secret manual, then Ji Tianqi wouldn't have been considered mentally ill.

Ji Tianqi pondered for a moment.

"Zhuangzi's 'Carefree Travel' states: 'Beyond the prosperous realms to the north lies the Dark Ocean, the Heavenly Pond. There resides a fish whose breadth spans thousands of miles, yet no one knows its length.' It also says: 'A pond that is not deep cannot carry a large ship. Pour a cup of water onto a depression on the ground, and a mustard seed could float like a vessel; place the cup there and it glues, for the water is shallow and the vessel large.' Therefore, our school's martial arts first and foremost emphasize the accumulation of inner strength. When inner strength is abundant, 'all the martial arts in the world are at one's disposal', akin to the Dark North where large and small vessels, great and small fish, can all be contained."

"If you cannot understand, then I shall put it simply."

"Large and small vessels, great and small fish, all lie in the sea, but can the ocean simply swallow them all up, absorb them, eat them at will?"

"Obviously, it cannot."

"Even if there are fierce gales and towering waves, or even tsunamis, large and small vessels still have a chance to make it through unscathed; they aren't just waiting to die. If the great and small fish don't die, their carcasses won't decompose in the ocean."

"So, you see, either I can completely control the opponent, or the opponent willingly cooperates."

"Otherwise, I can't absorb the opponent's inner strength smoothly."

"And besides, I'm not the sea; right now, at best, I'm just a small pond."

"If you shout for a War Level Superpower User to come here, for me, it would be like a battleship charging into a little fish pond; what could I possibly do to it?"

"Mhm, that's roughly what I mean. Do you understand now?"

"..."

The crowd was speechless.

They certainly understood the principles and objectives that Ji Tianqi mentioned, even better than Ji Tianqi himself.

But the problem was that once it came to the specific cultivation content of the technique, it was like a book from heaven.

Not just them, even initially, Dragon Country's top scientists and Superpower Users were involved in the research and attempts, yet they achieved nothing.

Bai Xiuchu pondered for a moment and seized upon the key point.

"You just mentioned War Level Superpower Users? Do you think the energy of their superpowers is also inner strength?"

"Yes, and no."

"What do you mean?"

"Well..."

Ji Tianqi pondered for a moment, then counterquestioned: "What do you think inner strength is?"

It's your delusional fantasy, you lunatic!

The crowd dared not voice their true thoughts, feigning ignorance by shaking their heads.

"Inner strength is a form of energy, and the energy of superpowers is also a form of energy. Fundamentally, there isn't much difference between the two."

Bai Xiuchu frowned and asked: "What about the Dantian, then? Inner strength is in the Dantian; the energy of superpowers is in the cells, a sort of genetic information similar to hereditary information."

The responsible person subconsciously wanted to stop Bai Xiuchu, fearing the question might agitate Ji Tianqi.

However, in the end, he did not interrupt, for he was curious himself, and the question was related to their research.

"Inner strength is stored within the Dantian, but not limited to it alone."

Ji Tianqi rationalized and began to educate the crowd.

"Meridians, acupoints, they all contain inner strength. When inner strength fills the whole body, every cell contains the presence of inner strength."

"Is that so?"

"Heh, you're just trying to prove I'm a lunatic, right?"

Ji Tianqi scoffed and continued to argue.

"I ask you, why can inner strength be restored on its own after being depleted?"

"..."

No one could answer this question because no one had inner strength; they even firmly believed Ji Tianqi himself was devoid of inner strength.

All of this was just a mentally ill person's imagination.

But since Ji Tianqi was getting stronger, with the potential to become very powerful, the debate became a one-sided exposition by Ji Tianqi.

"I now possess a hundred years' level of inner strength. After using it up, some rest, or cultivation practice, will quickly result in recovery.

Isn't that similar to everyone's physical stamina?

Rest is needed after hard work, and once rested, the original strength is restored. Regular exercise improves physical stamina.

Isn't this similar to the energy of Ability Users?"

Still, no response came.

Ji Tianqi continued his monologue.

"Physical stamina can be replenished, a Superpower User's energy can be replenished, inner strength can be replenished because all these forces have been imprinted onto the genetic information.

Otherwise, with cells constantly dividing, regenerating, and dying, when I am no longer myself, how could I possess my physical stamina, inner strength, or superpowers?

Thus, I am still me. Hence, I possess my power."

"..."

The crowd was speechless, also wary of provoking Ji Tianqi.

As if suddenly recalling something, Ji Tianqi spoke out excitedly.

"There's a martial arts technique that could prove my point: Inner strength can directly impact cells, achieving miraculous effects such as regenerating flesh from white bones or reviving the dead."

"???"