Ice Fire Pool

Near Wind Cloud City lay an underground pool. Half its waters were scorching hot, while the other half were icy cold, hence the name Ice Fire Pool.

The Ice Fire Pool was a Blessed Land. Heat and cold alternated, supporting and restraining each other, perfectly aligning with the principles of yin and yang. Every year, it condensed a mass of "Ice Fire Essence." Absorbing it greatly benefited the body, increasing Mystic Power and tempering one's physique.

One portion of Ice Fire Essence was only enough for one person. If divided, its effects would be negligible.

Furthermore, only those under eighteen could maximize the effects of Ice Fire Essence. Older people's bodies had already settled and lacked plasticity, so the absorption effects were quite ordinary.

These characteristics were what gave rise to the Wind Cloud Genius Battle.

None of the various factions had the power to monopolize the Ice Fire Pool, nor were they willing to go to war over it every year. Thus, they established the Wind Cloud Genius Battle. Each year, one victor would be decided, earning the right to vie for use of the Ice Fire Pool through their own ability. A conflict of this scale would not trigger a major war, and all sides approved of it.

This year, the person qualified to use the Ice Fire Pool was Fan Lang.

Rumble!

The dust-covered stone door slowly rose, and sunlight from outside streamed in, illuminating the Ice Fire Pool.

This place was deep underground, and the pool was not particularly large. Ice had frozen around one half of it, while heat billowed around the other half. Ice and fire coexisted here.

Three figures appeared at the entrance. Fan Lang stood in the middle, with Li Yunyan and the expert bodyguard on either side. The three had traveled all the way here and had only just arrived.

Fan Lang entered the Ice Fire Pool as though he had come to a natural bathhouse. He looked around, and sure enough, it was exactly like the Ice Fire Pool in his memories.

"Yan'er, want to come wash up with me?" Fan Lang turned to Li Yunyan, who had followed him in, and asked with a grin.

Li Yunyan glared at Fan Lang without saying a word. She always wore a vicious ghost mask, making her seem fierce, but beneath it was a beautiful face. She could be called a true beauty, not much inferior to Luo Hongyan. Moreover, she possessed a sharp, heroic air.

"I'll stand guard at the entrance for you. Let me know when you're done." Li Yunyan left those words behind and retreated outside.

There was no point dreaming about a shared bath. He simply did not have that kind of luck. Fan Lang composed himself, took off his clothes, leaving only his shorts, and stepped into the Ice Fire Pool. Cold and scorching heat assailed him from both sides, creating a wonderfully strange sensation.

Fan Lang was strong and unafraid of either heat or cold. He swam all the way to the center of the Ice Fire Pool and sat cross-legged atop a large rock rising from the water.

The Ice Fire Essence was here. It was a glowing orb of red and blue. As soon as Fan Lang touched it, the orb shattered, transforming into wisps of light that swirled around him and streamed into his powerful body.

The player had begun absorbing Ice Fire Essence. Required time: 36 hours. During absorption, the player would gain 50 Experience Points every minute. Upon completion, the player would receive a permanent BUFF bonus.

Experience Points +50.

Experience Points +50.

Experience Points +50.

Fan Lang soaked in the interwoven hot and cold waters. He gained fifty Experience Points every minute. Each amount was small, but they would become considerable once accumulated.

"Thirty-six hours? More than a full day. That's way too slow. No, I have to modify it!"

He had only just begun, yet Fan Lang already found it too slow.

He closed his eyes and began making changes to the system.

Meanwhile, outside the stone door of the Ice Fire Pool.

A Blessed Land like this naturally required guards. The three factions of Wind Cloud City had all assigned people to watch over the place year-round, more than twenty people in total.

The expert bodyguard from the City Lord's Mansion chatted with the guards stationed here, while Li Yunyan sat before the stone door and silently wiped her blade until its edge gleamed brightly.

Among the Silver Moon Merchant Guild's guards, one man loosened his belt and headed into the distance, seemingly to relieve himself. No one paid him any attention.

He walked far away, looked back, and after confirming there was no one behind him, hurriedly took out a Flying Message Card and wrote four words on it—The prey has appeared!

A Flying Message Card was a type of card used to transmit messages. It came in multiple copies. If words were written on one card, the same words would appear on the others.

The words "The prey has appeared" traveled to a place far, far away, like the sounding of a gong on a battlefield, setting off a bloody conflict!

Time passed.

Half an hour later, Fan Lang, that cheating expert, completed his modifications. He changed thirty-six hours to eight hours, a length of time he could still accept.

He also modified the Experience Points gained per minute, changing it to two hundred Experience Points per minute—four times the previous amount!

Experience Points +200.

Experience Points +200.

Watching a string of numbers float up was still quite pleasing to the eye.

After soaking for a while longer, the accumulated Experience Points finally delivered the final push, allowing Fan Lang to level up.

Player level increased to Mystic Spirit Level 4. Mystic Power +400, Health +400.

The higher his level became, the greater the base amount of Experience Points required. Being able to gain one level every two or three days was already pretty good.

Fan Lang's dantian stirred, and a surge of power rose within him, flowing through his meridians and filling his limbs and bones. He wiped the water from his face and continued receiving the dual baptism of ice and fire.

Time flew by, and several more hours passed.

That mass of Ice Fire Essence grew smaller and smaller until it finally vanished completely, absorbed cleanly by Fan Lang.

The player had absorbed Ice Fire Essence and gained the permanent BUFF: Mystic Power +400, Ice Resistance +30, Water Resistance +30, Injury Recovery Speed +30.

It was finally absorbed!

Fan Lang's Mystic Power had been modified to a fivefold state. An increase of four hundred points was effectively an increase of two thousand points, a very substantial boost.

As for the other bonuses, they might appear insignificant, but they were actually quite helpful. All these stats accumulated gradually. Once enough small gains piled up, they became formidable.

"This genius battle wasn't fought for nothing!"

Fan Lang was in high spirits. He burst from the water and walked out of the Ice Fire Pool. With a powerful shake, the water on his body scattered in every direction, saving him the trouble of drying off.

Absorbing the Ice Fire Essence completed one of his short-term goals. His next goal was to continue working toward the Dragon Scale Sword.

Ao Wentian had left behind three great inheritances, all closely connected. Only after obtaining two of them could one acquire the final Dragon Scale Sword.

If Fan Lang wanted the Dragon Scale Sword, he first had to obtain another inheritance.

That meant he first needed to make contact with a special NPC. A figure with a childlike face and enormous breasts flashed through his mind.

Ahem, don't think nonsense. This is for the quest!

Fan Lang put on his clothes, walked to the entrance, and pressed the mechanism. The stone door opened with a rumble. Everything outside was normal. Li Yunyan and the Mystic Ancestor expert were both there.

"Sorry to keep everyone waiting. I've already absorbed all the Ice Fire Essence," Fan Lang said with a smile.

"So quickly? Didn't absorbing Ice Fire Essence take a day and a half?" the Mystic Ancestor expert asked in surprise.

"The time varies from person to person. I absorbed it faster. If you don't believe me, look at the Ice Fire Pool."

Everyone looked over as instructed and found that the Ice Fire Essence was indeed gone from the Ice Fire Pool.

Throughout the years, Fan Lang was the first person to absorb Ice Fire Essence in such a short time. Everyone clicked their tongues in wonder and offered him their congratulations.

The benefits were already in hand. It was time to leave.

There had been three people when they arrived, and there were still three when they departed.

Fan Lang rode a Flying Waterfall Shark, Li Yunyan rode a horse, and the expert leaped through the air, appearing and disappearing like a ghost.

Halfway there, the expert abruptly stopped and stood on a tree branch. "Stop! Something isn't right around us!" he said urgently.