Research on Ice Explosion

"An excellent piece of soul guidance apparatus," Lin Jiayi commented. "Your soul power is only at level 21, yet you can already use this Imprisonment Cube to restrain a level 26 target. If your soul power increases further, the control exerted by this Imprisonment Cube will undoubtedly reach a whole new level."

"You are too kind, Director," Kong Bo replied. "When I was crafting this device, my mind was entirely focused on how to increase its output power and simplify the energy transmission circuits as much as possible, which led to the creation of this Imprisonment Cube. In my view, the development of soul guidance apparatus should not only pursue complexity and high-end features but also follow a path of simplification and popularization. What if, one day, everyone could use soul guidance apparatus?"

"Simplification and popularization..." Lin Jiayi mused. "This is a novel idea. Perhaps when you grow up, you really will be able to take this concept much further. Regardless, you have now passed the second-rank soul master examination. Congratulations on becoming a second-rank soul master. You have also set a record; you are now the youngest second-rank soul master in our Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy."

After accepting the badge, Kong Bo said modestly, "Director Lin, these are just empty titles. Compared to starting early, I look forward more to going further."

"You are certainly humble, quite the opposite of your brother Xiao Hongchen," Lin Jiayi said. "Kong Bo, you have great talent, and you have a master with the strength of a Limit Douluo (referring to the Evil Emperor). Do whatever you wish to do; I have already spoken to Teacher Zhuang Yi."

"Thank you for your help, Director." Kong Bo bowed to Lin Jiayi. "As long as you and Teacher Zhuang understand me, that is enough. I was just worried that my frequent absences from the academy would have a negative impact or cause trouble for you and Teacher Zhuang." Kong Bo was not God King Tang; he genuinely appreciated Lin Jiayi's care, and he was indeed concerned that his constant absences might reflect poorly on the academy.

"That won't happen. For a student with your level of talent, our academy could never use conventional standards to constrain you," Lin Jiayi said.

Kong Bo then asked, "Director, sometimes when I come to borrow books on the weekends, I notice you are also at the academy. I told my great-grandfather that you are truly amazing, Director Lin, and a role model for me to learn from."

Kong Bo intended this as a compliment, but Lin Jiayi sighed. "Sigh, child, don't mention it. If I had a child like you, I wouldn't have to work overtime on weekends. As the saying goes, every family has its own troubles. You will understand when you grow up. Go back now, Kong Bo."

At this point, Lin Jiayi looked Kong Bo over, his gaze like that of an old man looking at a promising descendant. "Kong Bo, you are a very diligent child. A young boy should still have some hobbies. You have great talent; when you grow up, it is understandable if you develop some interests."

"Yes, Director. I will take my leave then." Kong Bo bowed and left Lin Jiayi's office.

Kong Bo naturally had no intention of eavesdropping on Lin Jiayi's office. After seeing Kong Bo off, Lin Jiayi began to mutter to himself, "I heard from that girl Zhuang Yi that Kong Bo doesn't play with the other boys and girls at school. Why is he always sitting at his desk drawing diagrams of soul guidance apparatus? Shouldn't young boys and girls have some hobbies? I'll see how he is when he gets a bit older."

"Kong Bo, you actually became a second-rank soul master?" When Kong Bo returned to the classroom, Zhuang Yi and the entire class were stunned. An eight-and-a-half-year-old Great Soul Master who was also a second-rank soul master—this speed of progress left Zhuang Yi and the whole class feeling incredibly shocked.

In the morning, Kong Bo had been studying diligently at school. The Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy taught not only soul guidance knowledge and theory but also the history of the Sun Moon Empire. The morning sessions, in particular, were dedicated to history. As a history enthusiast, Kong Bo could naturally tell how the history books of the Sun Moon Empire practiced "concealing the faults of the honorable."

Xu Tianran's father, Xu Cong, had ascended to the throne through "fraternal harmony," and Xu Cong's father had done the same. Combined with what Xu Tianran had learned about the current state of the Xu clan's royalty living in Ming Capital, Xu Tianran realized that while Xu Cong nominally invited the royal clan to enjoy a life of luxury, he was actually keeping them under gilded house arrest in Ming Capital.

Xu Tianran is someone who cannot have children, Kong Bo thought to himself. He will only be more guarded against the royal clan. Ever since Cao Pi, the Cao family treated their own clan like thieves, confining them to Yecheng. Later, when the Sima family became emperors, many of the Cao clan members were the first to urge them to take the throne. This is useful intelligence.

With my talent, the imperial family will surely find a way to send a princess to me, making me a prince consort—most likely Xu Tianzhen. If she isn't a match, it will be another woman from the royal clan. If I act sufficiently like a scoundrel while remaining talented enough, I can further probe exactly what attitude Xu Cong and his son hold toward the royal clan. Forget it, that is a matter for the future.

After morning classes, Kong Bo returned to the Evil Emperor's residence. In the afternoon, he continued to study the "Gundam" until the Ice Empress returned a month later.

"This is the recording of the Ice Explosion you wanted," the Ice Empress said to Kong Bo. "I found an Ice Jade Scorpion and had her demonstrate it. I recorded the entire process; see if it is of any use to you."

"Thank you so much, Ice Empress," Kong Bo said. "I will go and study this Ice Explosion now."

The so-called Ice Explosion involved injecting soul power into ice one had already created to trigger a detonation. This explosion could only be achieved by soul beasts and soul masters with the Ultimate Ice attribute because, when manipulating ice, the Ultimate Ice attribute not only possessed greater power but also allowed for more microscopic control over the ice-attribute soul power. By injecting fine, dense soul power into the ice and detonating it, the ice could be shattered more thoroughly, giving the Ice Explosion its power.

Kong Bo had naturally observed this through the Soul Guidance Camera. He followed this line of reasoning to delve into his own Ice Explosion: he needed to create more ice and inject more soul power, but the soul power could not be injected in clumps. It had to be injected into the ice as a mass of particles and then detonated.

Having summarized these two points, Kong Bo began his seclusion. Every day in the courtyard of the Evil Emperor's home, he would create ice and blow it up for fun. The Ice Empress and the Snow Empress watched from the side; after all, for a human like Kong Bo to learn the Ice Explosion was, in their eyes, a fantasy, and they were quite curious.

At first, Kong Bo could only make his ice crack in half. At this point, the Ice Empress and the Snow Empress couldn't help but chime in, "The Ice Explosion must explode, Kong Bo." Later, as Kong Bo practiced, his control over the ice-attribute soul power became increasingly microscopic and precise. After about two months, Kong Bo was able to use the Ice Explosion proficiently.