Xue Jing was about to pursue when a pale red mist came towards him, the intense heat forcing him to squint involuntarily, his hand shielding his eyes.
"Is this... steam?"
Before he could react further, a foot wrapped in red streams of air kicked towards his chest from the mist.
Xue Jing's reaction speed was extremely fast; he dodged to the side while grabbing the ankle with both hands.
Then his gaze hardened.
"Golden Scales Transformation!"
As Xue Jing held Ning Yuantai's foot, he initiated the Golden Scales Transformation, rapidly spinning in place.
This move was originally purely for defense, using high-speed spinning and Golden Scale Skin to fend off all enemy attacks.
But at this moment, using it for offense also proved uniquely effective.
"Whoo whoo whoo—"
Round and round he went, gradually picking up speed, spinning like a giant top with Ning Yuantai's foot in his grasp, the swirling currents pulling in surrounding mud and weeds, slowly forming a small tornado.
After countless spins, Xue Jing released his grip, the massive kinetic energy flinging Ning Yuantai far away.
"Swoosh—"
"Bang!"
"Creak—"
Stopping a great distance away, over a hundred meters across, a helicopter was directly dented by Ning Yuantai, its body tilting to one side, the massive propeller thrust into the mud as if it had struck solid rock and broke off.
Void Blade:"..."
Mountain Demon:"..."
Both remained silent for a moment, then Mountain Demon spoke with difficulty:
"We will have to cover the repair costs this time if there is another issue, according to the government of Qingcheng..."
Void Blade responded calmly:"It's your helicopter. You parked it incorrectly. You'll pay for the repairs."
Mountain Demon wavered, stopping mid-sentence.
The pale red mist steamed up, and Ning Yuantai crawled out of the tilted helicopter.
His eyes gleaming with excitement, he roared: Sёarᴄh the NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
"Bring it on again!"
With another heavy step, he broke free from the helicopter, dealing it another blow, bending the tail boom into a V-shaped curve.
Mountain Demon:"Hey."
Ning Yuantai once again turned into a streak of red light, speeding up even more than before.
The more turbulent, the more powerful.
The Volcanic Variant grows stronger the more it fights.
The two clashed again, entangled in close combat.
Sounds of punches and kicks like fireworks continuously erupted.
After dozens of exchanges, Xue Jing, using Twin Speed, found a weak spot, kicked Ning Yuantai squarely in the chest and sent him flying.
And behind him was a pool of water.
"Splash—"
Ning Yuantai fell into the water, the extremely high temperature immediately causing the surface to boil, steaming out dense white vapors.
"What!?"
Ning Yuantai panicked.
He was too engrossed in the fight and had entirely ignored his surroundings, not even noticing the presence of a lake.
Feeling his body temperature drop abruptly due to the water, Ning Yuantai grew anxious.
As he poked his head out of the water, planning to bounce out using his vigor, he saw a figure descending swiftly towards him.
The white steam swirled, making it hard for him to see clearly.
In his daze, all he could make out were a pair of silvery white eyes.
Indifferent, disdainful, and even—sacred.
In front of these eyes too beautiful for words, Ning Yuantai momentarily lost his composure and remained motionless.
By then, the figure had already approached, a hand gently pressing on his head.
Ning Yuantai only heard the words "Shaking Star Fire" before he felt as if his head had been taken out and put into a jar, vigorously shaken, turning into a mushy mess.
After that, he knew nothing more.
...
"Swash—"
Carrying the unconscious Ning Yuantai to shore, Xue Jing casually tossed him onto the land.
Then he himself also jumped to the shore, took off his shirt, revealing a body of muscles perfect as if sculpted by the gods.
He shook off most water droplets with a single burst of energy.
At that moment, Void Blade and Mountain Demon walked over.
"Elder Xue, can you please be a little more careful of your surroundings when you fight?"
The Mountain Demon twitched the corner of his mouth and spoke.
"Do you always have to smash a helicopter for fun? Does it make you feel happy?"
Xue Jing adjusted the hair on his forehead and laughed, "What, do you have to pay for the helicopter repairs? Ask this guy for the money. His family is supposed to be powerful and wealthy, right?"
While saying this, he pointed to Ning Yuantai, who was lying on the ground in a baby-like sleep.
The Mountain Demon shrugged: "How dare I..."
Void Blade glanced at the lifeless Ning Yuantai and asked Xue Jing, "What do you think of Ning, the young master?"
Upon hearing this, Xue Jing thought for a moment and replied,
"Although he's not very skilled, his martial arts are quite interesting."
Void Blade nodded, "The young master Ning practices a renowned martial art from the Inner Ring called 'Red Lotus Volcanic Stream'."
"It's a Forbidden Skill."
Xue Jing's expression remained unchanged, he simply nodded, "Indeed, it's from the Neo Martial Arts system."
Neo Martial Arts differentiate from the Old Martial Arts, which venerates the natural body, by injecting Banned Drugs to mutate the body and gain strength through an altered form.
The martial arts they cultivate are also referred to as 'Forbidden Skills'.
Unlike Old Martial Arts, which everyone can learn unconditionally, Forbidden Skills are too dangerous, and the law explicitly prohibits ordinary people from practicing them, hence they are called 'Forbidden Skills'.
Taking Banned Drugs and then cultivating matching Forbidden Skills can develop a unique physique that an original human could never achieve, surpassing the Old Martial Arts in strength, speed of cultivation, and upper limits.
"It mutates the inside of the body to be similar to the interior of a volcano, thus obtaining immense explosive power."
"You can probably tell... Ning, the young master himself isn't strong, in terms of basic physical quality and strength, he's at least two or three grades lower than you."
Void Blade spoke softly.
"However, once he activates the 'Volcanic Variant', he can immediately achieve explosive power strong enough to contend with you, perhaps even surpass you."
Xue Jing smiled and casually said,
"Have you ever seen me at full strength?"
Void Blade shook his head: "No... but you should understand what I mean."
"When it comes to Old and New Martial Arts, the gap is just too big."
"With your talent, if you also practiced Neo Martial Arts, there's no way you would fight Ning to this extent; he might not even be able to withstand a single move from you."
Xue Jing walked over, picked up the faded [Hundred Feet Pole's Top] from the ground, and tossed it to Void Blade.
"I know what you're trying to say, no need for more words."
"Perhaps as you say, Old Martial Arts indeed can't compare to Neo Martial Arts."
He looked toward Ning Yuantai, who was being helped up by the Mountain Demon.
"But what does that have to do with me?"
Void Blade was a bit puzzled by this remark.
But Xue Jing had already turned around to leave, waving his hand at them from behind.
"Thanks for the [Hundred Feet Pole's Top], I'll let you know after I'm ready for the matter at the Intersecting Boundaries, see you later."
The Mountain Demon watched his departing figure and sighed, "He's so stubborn; why insist on sticking to the doomed ship of Old Martial Arts until death?"
Void Blade thought deeply, "That's not right; he isn't the typical Old Martial Arts adherent who's excessively fixated on the human natural body."
"It seems more like... he has some other reliance."
...
Xue Jing rode the Wind Eater, leisurely making his way back to the manor.
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He opened the panel and glanced at it.
[You have experienced a battle, Fitness Experience Points +337]
[...Feeling relieved, Health Cultivation Experience Value +138]
[...Aiming Experience Value +89]
[...Hidden Dragon Energy Experience Points +332]
[...Fighting Experience Points +369]
[Someone has developed a belief and worship towards you, Charm Art Experience Value +326]
"Hmm!?"
Xue Jing looked at the last prompt on the panel, slightly startled.
Belief and worship? Who?
He thought for a while, somewhat uncertain.
...
In the white hospital room, Ning Yuantai lay on the bed, his forehead wrapped in a bandage.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes, and sat up abruptly.
In his mind, a pair of silvery-white indifferent eyes loomed like shadows that would not dissipate.
Ning Yuantai murmured, "Those are... the eyes of a god."
...