185 Chapter 184: Danger (1/2)
”Um…am I doing this right?”
”Hmm?” Tang Qi Hong glanced in my direction, and her eyes widened when she saw the sparks flying from my ”product” in a violent manner, filling the space with a golden conflagration. ”You idiot! Didn't I tell you to be careful when measuring and mixing the two qi crystal powder?! Why did you use too much?!”
”I was sure I only used two grams of each,” I muttered, but it was pointless making any excuses and trying to defend myself when the stuff was right about to blow. I watched the growing conflagration with trepidation. ”What should I do?”
”You should get out of here!” Tang Qi Hong turned toward the door. ”Grab the remaining qi crystals and leave the workshop! Or we'll get caught in the blast!”
I knew why she wanted me to grab the qi crystals. If I left them where they were, they would get caught up in the explosion and blow up too, leading to a volatile chain reaction that woulde demolish this entire area of Flame Volcano.
However, I was reluctant to leave my workshop to destruction. I had a lot of stuff in here, especially products that I had worked on. And I didn't want to have to go through the trouble of procuring new tools and equipment, even if the sect was willing to give them to me and pay for the damages. Not only would I cause trouble for the sect, the administrative process was a long and tedious one (requiring a lot of waiting), the elders would just tell me to focus more on martial arts, and I would get my blacksmithing rights revoked.
Not that I had many blacksmithing rights in the first place, but…
”What if I freeze them?”
”Huh?!” Tang Qi Hong spun around to glare at me. ”What are you talking about?! Your ice techniques wouldn't be able to stop the power of the explosion! Get out of here before you get killed or seriously hurt!”
Even though I didn't intend to ignore her, I was focusing my icy qi into the glowing qi crystals (or their powdered form, rather) and enveloping them in ice. As Tang Qi Hong warned, my frost technique was insufficient to stop the expanding firepower of the explosion, and I could see the layers of ice cracking immediately, unable to endure the blast.
Oh, gosh. I didn't expect 4 grams of 2 different types of powdered qi crystals to produce an explosion this powerful. I briefly wondered how much more powerful it would be if I was to use a hundred grams of qi crystals for my Spirit Bombs.
Provided I survived this, of course. At this rate, I would most likely get killed by my own failed experiment before I could succeed in creating a working product.
No choice then…
I desperately grasped for that feeling that I experienced when fighting Liang Shao Yang. The pinnacle of Nine-Tailed Frost Fox Formula, one that surpassed all other ice techniques. An ice so cold that it defied the laws of physics and warped reality itself.
Absolute Zero.
I didn't just freeze the explosion and entomb it in fragile ice. Instead, I froze the very particles in the qi crystals, leeching all the heat and kinetic energy that caused the particles to vibrate and stopped them cold. Literally. Not just at the level of cold, but totally stopped the particle movement at the molecular level.
To my surprise, I actually succeeded. The particles stopped moving, and the explosion diminished. Sighing a breath of relief, I began breaking the frozen crystals apart and dividing them quickly to prevent another volatile reaction, while maintaining their frozen state.
”…eh?”
Tang Qi Hong had sensed the burst of frosty qi and the sudden drop in heat energy. Being a user of fire techniques, she was naturally more attuned to the change in temperature and sensitive to heat. Therefore, when the explosion was stopped, she realized it immediately. Curious, she stepped back into the workshop to gape at me.
”What did you do?” she demanded, almost in awe.
”I stopped the explosion,” I replied simply.
”I know that!” Tang Qi Hong snapped. ”How did you do it?”
Shrugging, I showed her the frozen crystals of the qi pwder. Tang Qi Hong stared at me.
”Your ice techniques are on a totally different level,” she remarked, shaking her head. ”I honestly can't think of anyone more powerful than you with regards to ice techniques. I know you learned Nine-Tailed Frost Fox Formula from our sect, but that alone shouldn't have allowed you to attain this level in such a relatively short time.”
Tang Qi Hong was more correct than she knew. The only reason why I was able to improve my Nine-Tailed Frost Fox Formula and reach such a high level was because I had combined it with the Yuan Yin portion of my Heaven and Earth Formula. Mastering that part had allowed me to purify my frosty yin qi to an insane level, and it had a tremendous effect on my other ice technqiues. Sort of like a buff, if I were to use game terms.
”Sorry about that. I'll be more careful next time.”
As I broke the qi crystals apart and ground them into powder again, I apologized for giving Tang Qi Hong a scare.
”It's fine.” Tang Qi Hong sighed. ”Everyone makes mistakes. But we can't afford to slip up here, because a single small miscalculation will lead to a dangerous explosion. I don't think either of us would have survived if you didn't manage to stop that.”
I lowered my head sheepishly and nodded. I couldn't keep relying on my Absolute Zero to save us. I ought to be more careful when handling such materials. Again, I was reminded of why I was destined to never be a blacksmith. I just didn't have the capacity for exact measurements or a feel for practical, hands-on work.
I was always more of a theory guy. Then again, I managed to make it this far with my martial arts, so I guess rather than theory, I was just good at some things and bad at others. I was aware that many readers were upset that I wasn't a perfect Mary Sue who excelled at everything – somebody complained that I wasn't an expert alchemist, and another whined about how lame I was when I failed to master blacksmithing, as if it was so easy. Hey, I was good at martial arts and studying. Wasn't that enough? Why did I have to become a master alchemist or blacksmith as well? I wasn't some unprecedented genius who exceled at everything I dabbled in.
Sometimes, people had the most ridiculous and unreasonable expectations.
”Okay, let's try again.”
Rubbing my forehead, I proceeded to dismantle and reassemble the qi crystals. This time, I made sure to measure the exact amount. Using my glasses, I managed to check the precise quantity of qi powder rather than just estimating. I mean, I did that earlier, but apparently I was off by 0.2 grams or something. Just that small decimal place made a lot of difference.
Who would have thought? Good thing I wasn't a math major. All these numbers and decimal places were driving me crazy. I was okay with calculus, algebra and trigonometry, admittedly, but everything else from matrices to integration to differentiation confused the hell out of me. That was why I ran off to the humanities.
Speaking of which, why am I even trying to build a Spirit Bomb in the first place?
Well, the simple answer was because I could. Actually, it seemed that I couldn't, which was why I ended up asking Tang Qi Hong for help. But it was fun, you know? Who wouldn't want to build a bomb, especially one that was basically on the level of a nuke? Imagine if we had access to nukes in this martial arts world.
That would be insane!
After a few hours of experimenting and assembling, Tang Qi Hong called it a day.
”I don't think we'll be able to finish. And since the process of building such a weapon is so dangerous, it's best that you don't overexert yourself and lose focus. I need you in top shape if you want to keep going. So make sure you rest.”
”Yes, Qi Hong.” I saluted somewhat flippantly as she gave me instructions. She rolled her eyes in disapproval.
”All this trouble for a one-use Spirit Weapon? I don't see the point. Why are we investing so much time, energy, effort and resources into a Spirit Weapon that can only be used once?”
”Well, once we refine the process and find out the correct way to build it, it won't take as much time, energy and effort,” I assured her. ”And it probably shouldn't require as much resources. Most of that is being taken up by our…uh, lack of success so far. Once we find the right method, I'm sure it'll be much easier.”
”I hope we find it soon,” Tang Qi Hong moaned. ”Right now we need to find a way to build a successful containment field, one that's strong enough to keep the qi powder in a stable condition. Otherwise the damned thing will detonate prematurely, or blow up when we're moving it from place to place.”
I had heard Tang Qi Hong mention that earlier, while we were busily working on the shell of the Spirit Bomb, and nodded judiciously.
”We'll find a way,” I promised. Tang Qi Hong smiled wryly.
”I'm sure we will. I just hope it'll be worth all this.” she turned to leave my workshop, and I accompanied her, because I was heading toward my dorm. Escorting her partway, I stopped right at the place where we were going to part.
”I'll see you tomorrow then.”
”Yeah. Stay safe.” Tang Qi Hong waved at me before she disappeared in the direction of her private villa. I watched her vanish from view before I resumed my journey back toward the Blood Blades dormitory.
”??”
Suddenly there was a chime from my smartphone, and I retrieved it from my pocket on reflex. There was a notification on the screen, informing me that I received a text message from Tong Xue. Frowning, I tapped the app and expanded across the screen.
”Be careful, my friend! From the intelligence department in Blood Blades, we've discovered a few things.”
Using my thumb and fingers, I quickly typed a reply on the touch-screen.
”What did you find out?”
The reply came almost immediately. Most likely Tong Xue was holding onto his smartphone at the moment. Since it wasn't his shift, I guessed that he was probably lying on his bed in his dorm room, resting or slacking off.
”Divine Shadow Sect's Blood Shadow has infiltrated Tushan City. Apparently he killed a couple of guards and gave the rest of them the slip. We're trying to locate him right now.”
”I should help,” I typed in reply. The response was immediate.
”No.”
Before I could reply, Tong Xue was sending another reply. I was formulating a response that included an argument on why I should help when his next message appeared. Sighing, I abandoned my efforts momentarily to read what he had to say.