Chapter 491: The Fusion of Ice and Fire, Returning to the Essence.
His expression hardening, Mu Chen abruptly clenched his fists. Two completely opposite streams of Primordial Power erupted from his hands. The opposing forces of heat and cold actually formed a complete circuit around Mu Chen, instantly amplifying the fluctuations of his Primordial Power several times over!
"Shatter!!"
BANG!
The gap in their Primordial Power made it impossible for the Fire Wing Dual Blades to withstand the simultaneous impact of two opposing elemental powers. Such were the laws of the Extreme Martial Continent: no matter how sturdy a weapon, it would inevitably shatter under the assault of a higher-level ice and fire attack!
Moreover, Mu Chen’s Ice Attribute Elemental Power was Extreme Ice Elemental Power, and his Fire Attribute Elemental Power was the black Demonic Flame—a grade stronger than Purple Flame. Under this dual assault, even if Long Xiaotian’s Purple Wing Slash was comparable to a Golden Attribute Battle Skill, it stood no chance!
"How is this possible?!" Watching his Fire Wings dissolve into plumes of Purple Flame, Long Xiaotian’s eyes filled with shock, disbelief, and terror. "This is impossible! How could anyone simultaneously wield two different Attribute Elemental Powers and cultivate them to such a high level?!"
The fact that he could say this showed that Long Xiaotian had a clearer understanding of the laws of the Extreme Martial Continent. He knew that his Purple Wing Slash would never have been shattered unless Mu Chen’s dual attribute realms were both at least an entire realm higher than his own!
"In this world, nothing is impossible! Just like five years ago, I never would have believed I could become a Martial Artist!" Mu Chen’s voice was tinged with excitement. The perfect circuit formed by his Ice and Fire Elemental Power instantly inspired him to use *that* combat skill. He gently raised his hands, palms up, and spread them casually to his sides, chuckling. "I’ve taken your combat skill. Now, it’s your turn!"
As his words fell, Mu Chen’s Extreme Ice Dantian and Fire Attribute Dantian rose from his Dantian Vortex with a WHOOSH. Two streams of exceptionally pure Attribute Elemental Power flowed out from his body, coiling around his arms before rapidly converging in his palms!
In a matter of moments, two condensations of completely opposite Primordial Power materialized in Mu Chen’s hands. One was a mass of ice-blue Extreme Ice Aura, and the other... a mass of black Demonic Flame aura!
"Heh heh."
A hint of madness flashed in Mu Chen’s eyes. He brought his arms inward and slammed his palms together! The ice-blue Extreme Ice Aura and the black Demonic Flame aura were simultaneously shattered, breaking down into fine wisps of Primordial Qi that constantly intertwined!
A terrifying wave of Primordial Power, so potent it surpassed everyone’s psychological limits, radiated from Mu Chen’s hands. The once-clear sky instantly dimmed, and streaks of Thunder Light shot across the dark heavens, pressing down with an immense, terrifying pressure from above.
In Mu Chen’s hands, the two types of Primordial Qi, Extreme Ice and Demonic Flame, were now moving in an extremely profound trajectory. Along his arms, silver bolts of Thunder constantly leaped and strayed, occasionally flaring with a flash of Thunder Light that illuminated his face.
"What is that?!"
Below, countless contestants had shot to their feet once again. The bizarre phenomena filling the sky left them aghast. That wave of Primordial Power... it had already surpassed a Second-Ring Martial Emperor!
"What in the world is that combat skill? It actually triggered a celestial phenomenon!"
"Such a terrifying wave of Primordial Power! I feel like I’m suffocating!"
"Is this that kid’s true strength?"
Cries of astonishment rose from every Empire. From the Cangyue Empire, Liu Feiyuan watched Mu Chen in the sky and said with a wry smile, "So, our loss wasn’t unjust in the slightest. If a guy like that had really wanted to kill us back then, he probably would have only needed to lift a finger."
Although Liu Feiyan was unwilling to accept it, she couldn’t help but sigh as she looked at Mu Chen’s immense Primordial Power and terrifying combat skill. "I’ve never been able to figure it out. Even if he has both Ice and Fire Attribute Elemental Power, and even if his strength is extraordinary, how did he manage to control my dark green vines? You have to understand, even among Wood Attribute Martial Artists, it’s impossible to control another’s life-bound plant unless your Wood Attribute realm is at least two tiers higher than theirs."
"Now that you mention it, I find it strange too." Peng Chong pinched his chin. "I felt it most keenly at the time. I could sense the fear coming from your dark green vines. To make the vines feel fear, if the opponent were a Wood Attribute Martial Artist, they would probably need to have reached an extremely high Wood Attribute realm. But this Mu Chen isn’t a Wood Attribute Martial Artist at all. So why?"
"..."
It was a mystery, but they had a feeling they were about to find out.
In the special seating area, Dilaka’s fists were clenched tightly, the shock in his eyes deepening. He exchanged a wry glance with Shan Qiuhen and sighed, "It seems that even though we old-timers thought we had a good measure of his strength, we still haven’t seen his limit!"
Shan Qiuhen shook his head. "Honestly, Old Di, I’ve seen many, many geniuses and monsters in my life, but I’ve never seen a monster as terrifying as him. This kid actually dares to fuse the Ice and Fire Attributes so brazenly! That’s fusion we’re talking about!"
"Fusion..." Sitting below, Jun Wu heard this and sighed helplessly. "’What a reckless move.’"
Shan Ziyan froze upon hearing this. "Fusion? Why is it a reckless move?"
Jun Wu stroked Shan Ziyan’s hair. "Little sister Ziyan, before I answer your question, first tell me, what kind of combat skill do you think Ice and Fire Burst is?"
"What kind of combat skill?" Shan Ziyan answered without a second thought. "Of course, it’s the fusion of Ice Elemental Power and Fire Elemental Power to achieve mutual amplification, ultimately producing immense power."
"Heh heh..." Jun Wu pinched Shan Ziyan’s small cheek and shook her head. "The second part of your sentence is correct. Ice and Fire Burst does indeed produce immense power through the mutual amplification of Ice and Fire Elemental Power. However, the first part is wrong."
"Wrong?"
"Mhm. Ice and Fire Burst isn’t created from the fusion of Ice and Fire Elemental Power, but from their collision. To put it plainly, collision and fusion are two completely different methods."
"Miss Jun Wu is right," Shan Qiuhen suddenly interjected, continuing the explanation. "The so-called collision is opposition. You and I are enemies, so we attack each other with our own unique powers! It’s just like when two combat skills clash. A result that a single combat skill’s strike could never produce can be achieved through the collision of two. For example, spatial vibrations, or even shattering space! These are all born from collision."
"And fusion," Dilaka began, "is ’you are in me, and I am in you.’ It’s completely combining the two powers. It’s drawing on the other’s strengths to compensate for your own weaknesses. You and I are allies, and we attack a third party together. The power of this combined force and the power generated from a collision are absolutely incomparable! To date, there are experts in Holy Tomb Mountain who can fuse Ice and Fire Elemental Power to about seventy percent. But even just a seventy-percent fusion unleashes power more than ten times greater than a collision of two identical streams of Ice and Fire Elemental Power!"
"If it’s a one-hundred-percent fusion, the power is likely even more terrifying. As for just how terrifying... you might be about to see it!!"
Seeing Dilaka’s expression, Jun Wu, Shan Ziyan, and Shan Qiuhen all froze, then exclaimed in unison, "Are you saying that Mu Chen is trying to achieve a one-hundred-percent fusion right now?!"
Dilaka shook his head with a resigned look. "I don’t know if it’s one hundred percent, but I can say for certain that Martial Artists who possess two Attributes like Mu Chen are exceptionally rare in this world! Martial Artists who possess both Ice and Fire Attribute Elemental Power can be counted on two hands! But a Martial Artist like Mu Chen, who possesses both Ice and Fire Attribute Elemental Power, can use them at will, AND has cultivated them both to such a High Level realm... throughout all of history, I fear he is the only one!"
Shan Qiuhen was getting confused. He asked directly, "Old Di, what are you trying to say?"
Dilaka shot to his feet, his eyes locked on Mu Chen as Primordial Power began to emanate from his hands. "What I’m trying to say is that one person’s control over their Primordial Power is far more refined than that of two people! Even if those two people understand each other almost as well as a single person, it’s not the same! Two people are still two people; they can never become one!"
’That’s right. In this world, only you can truly understand yourself. Only your own power is the power you can best control! In that case, that kid Mu Chen... he might actually be about to create a miracle!’
CRACKLE! SIZZLE!
In the air, the Thunder on Mu Chen’s hands grew denser and denser, and the sky grew darker and darker. Long Xiaotian had tried countless ways to interrupt him, but under the terrifying blast of Primordial Power surrounding Mu Chen, all his attacks were useless! No matter how strong the combat skill, the moment it neared Mu Chen, it was blasted to smithereens by the terrifying ice-fire shockwave!
"Dammit! Why is this happening!!"
After his anger came a fear he had never felt before. Long Xiaotian suddenly understood: if the mere shockwave of this combat skill could shatter his own powerful techniques, just how terrifying would its power be when it was truly unleashed?!
’Run!’
In that instant, such a thought actually surfaced in Long Xiaotian’s mind—a thought completely unlike him. But just as he was about to move, Mu Chen, who had been fusing his Ice and Fire Elemental Power, suddenly stirred!
The Ice and Fire Elemental Power in his hands suddenly erupted with a dazzling purple light. The light spread for only a moment before retracting, and then the fused sphere began to shrink in his hand, smaller and smaller! It only stopped when it was no bigger than his thumbnail.
"Success!"
With a cry of triumph, Mu Chen grinned and thrust his right hand above his head. He opened his palm, and the thumbnail-sized sphere floated quietly above it. As the fusion of the Ice and Fire Elemental Power succeeded, the celestial phenomena vanished without a trace, and the sky returned to its original state!
But below, Dilaka and Shan Qiuhen were both startled, exclaiming in unison, "Just as we thought!"
It was... Returning to the Essence!