Chapter 096: Inborn?

A wave of formless force spread swiftly outward from Tang Mubai, opening into a circular domain ten meters in radius.

Within that domain, the temperature plummeted at once, dropping to ordinary levels in only a moment.

The protective force around Tang Mubai’s body also returned to calm, like a pane of glass shielding him from harm.

"So even a basic divine art only affects a range of ten meters," Tang Mubai thought, while maintaining the operation of the temperature-control art.

Pressure control, poison control, temperature control.

Every time he had first endured and then gained a new art, it had happened only after the system resisted on his behalf when his own body was threatened, ultimately consuming his lifespan to obtain it.

Did that mean that if he now removed his body-protecting force and took off his breathing mask, then kept choking on water, the system would again first resist and then grant him a water-control art?

The water in the fissure was remarkable. It was not at all as murky as the water in the ravine from before; instead, it was uncannily clear.

It looked as if it could be drunk.

If he suffered through a bit of choking and came away with water control, then that would be a huge gain.

In any case, he now had a great deal of lifespan to spend.

Mm, wait...

The water itself seemed harmless enough.

But the fire fiends drifting freely within it were another matter.

Right now, his body-protecting force was blocking their assault. If he withdrew it, the fire fiends would surely surge in at once and ravage his body.

By then, with both the fire fiends and the lake water attacking together, Tang Mubai truly could not be sure the system would even choose to resist.

And even if it did, should the delay become too long, he would still be injured.

At that thought, Tang Mubai temporarily set the notion aside.

He could try water control when he got back.

With that decided, he dismissed the stray thought and obediently continued circulating the Supreme Tai Chi Scripture to absorb the surrounding fire fiends.

The vessel for storing the fire fiends was a specially made metal cylinder, about the size of a slightly larger thermos. Opening the tiny hole in its cap, he guided the scripture’s circulation, and the strands of fire fiend energy were drawn inside, first slowly and then more rapidly.

Once one area had been absorbed, Tang Mubai controlled his body and swam toward another.

The metal cylinder had a reading for the amount of fiend energy inside it. When it was full, a red light would warn him.

It worked much like a kettle: no need to fear storing too little, or overfilling it until the whole cylinder burst.

After all, fiend energy was extremely unstable. Though invisible as a form of power, most fiend energy was difficult to control, and it could explode at the slightest provocation.

The metal cylinder in Tang Mubai’s hands had been produced only after countless experiments and careful determination of its parameters by the relevant personnel.

Since he had finally made it down here, Tang Mubai naturally wanted to fill the cylinder completely, so he would not need to make another trip.

For that reason, before any warning sounded, he held the cylinder in his hand and kept the Supreme Tai Chi Scripture in motion, absorbing one area after another.

Only when he saw a figure sitting cross-legged on a reef beside the magma did he halt in alarm.

Below the fissure ran a magma channel, through which molten rock flowed every moment. Its terrifying heat, though mysteriously unable to boil the lake water above, still sent ripples trembling across the surface.

Relying on pressure control, temperature control, and his body-protecting force, Tang Mubai had been able to move through the air.

Yet now, a hundred meters away at the bottom of the fissure, on a reef beside the magma, there was actually a person sitting in meditation, utterly unaffected by the surrounding heat and water pressure.

What shocked Tang Mubai even more was that this person was astonishingly handsome.

Not only handsome, but young too, perhaps only eighteen or nineteen.

A complete and utter beautiful youth.

At best, Tang Mubai merely counted as somewhat good-looking, with a more prominent bearing.

But the young man on the reef by the magma was top-tier in both appearance and temperament.

Most especially, his beauty was unlike the effeminate male celebrities Tang Mubai had seen on Earth. It was the kind of beauty that was bright, upright, and valiant.

With such handsome features, such youth, and such unfathomable strength...

"Where the hell did this big shot come from?" Tang Mubai muttered in astonishment.

Had he merely been handsome, Tang Mubai would at most have been briefly taken aback. But to be so young and yet sit cross-legged on a reef beside magma as though cultivating, one had no choice but to be shocked.

Heat and water pressure had no effect on him. Was it because he carried some special treasure?

Or was his strength beyond that of a grandmaster, making him a congenital expert?

A grandmaster might perhaps descend deep into the fissure and stand upon a reef beside the magma, but he could never remain there for long.

Only a congenital expert above the grandmaster level might possibly do so.

But the problem was, could this beautiful youth of eighteen or nineteen really be congenital?

If so, what level of martial talent, what kind of fortune, and what depth of background would it take to become a congenital expert at such an age?

Even becoming a grandmaster required a vast supply of resources, along with a certain measure of martial talent, before one could hope to achieve it.

For a congenital expert above the grandmaster level, the demands on talent, opportunity, and resources would only be even more absurd.

It was precisely this realization that left Tang Mubai so startled.

"Hm? What is that?"

Suddenly, Tang Mubai’s gaze froze on the reef to the youth’s right, where a little tiger that seemed to have just woken up was lying there, stretching its legs, shaking its head, and twitching its body.

Then it wagged its tail and circled around the youth.

Halfway through its circuit, as if sensing something, it abruptly lifted its head and looked toward Tang Mubai’s direction.

Tang Mubai’s whole body stiffened, not daring to move.

It was not that he feared the little tiger. The little tiger had not released any hostility, nor any terrifying spiritual attack.

Rather, he feared startling the handsome youth, who was cultivating with his eyes closed. If he offended a fellow of unknown realm, who knew whether that person might unleash...

"Miaow~"

At that very moment, a soft, delicate mew suddenly rang out.

Tang Mubai stared in surprise at the little tiger and looked more closely.

A round head, round eyes, ears that folded and then perked up again, a tail that swayed as it flicked, and silver-white fur fading in gentle gradients.

It was actually a fold-eared cat, not some little tiger at all.

When had a fold-eared cat grown so large?

And looking at how effortlessly it paced in circles over the reef, showing no fear whatsoever of the surrounding heat, it plainly possessed some special ability.

The New World did indeed have fierce beasts, but it also had spirit beasts.

The latter were the companions every martial artist dreamed of obtaining.

Could this big cat actually be a spirit beast?

Truth be told, Tang Mubai felt a little envious, and the thought of catching the big cat and taking it home rose in his mind.

But the moment he looked at the youth cultivating with his eyes closed, that thought vanished at once.

Too dangerous.

He already possessed unfathomable strength, and he had a spirit beast at his side.

Someone like that was not to be trifled with.

With a quiet sigh in his heart, Tang Mubai no longer lingered. He gave the big cat a distant wave, then turned and left at speed.

And the instant Tang Mubai’s figure vanished around the bend, the handsome youth, who had been cultivating with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes.