Lucy opened her mouth, then suddenly fell silent.
She had been wondering about it, but as soon as those words came out, her emotions calmed down immediately.
Lu Chongwei would really do that.
On the surface, they always appear indifferent, as if they don't care about anything.
But when it really comes down to it, he's always at the forefront.
Lucy gripped the cup and muttered to herself.
"This guy... he's pushing himself way too hard."
Mirajane nodded slightly.
"Yes."
In the desolate countryside, waves of heat rolled in.
Lu Chongwei sat cross-legged in the center of a scorched earth, his eyes closed and his brows furrowed tightly.
The ground beneath him had long since cracked open, the fissures spreading outwards in a dense, continuous pattern, so that not a single blade of grass could be seen within hundreds of meters around him.
The trees had all turned to charcoal, their bark peeling off, their branches brittle, and dust falling down with every gust of wind.
Further away, even the air seemed to be distorted.
A the Heat heat emanated from Lu Chongwei's body, initially just hot, but later turning into a terrifyingly high temperature.
The stones were heated until they turned red, and the ground crackled and popped intermittently.
His consciousness had long since sunk into his inner world.
fire.
Fire was everywhere.
That was no ordinary flame; it was Infernal Prison capable of incinerating everything.
Ryujin Jakka stood at the edge of the sea of fire, his blade motionless, yet his aura caused the entire space to tremble.
"If you want Bankai, then defeat me."
The voice was deep and authoritative, leaving no room for negotiation.
Lu Chongwei raised his knife, veins bulging on his forehead.
"Enough with the nonsense, come on."
The next instant, the sea of fire surged.
The two figures clashed violently, their blades meeting, and waves of fire surged outwards in layers.
The entire Consciousness Space was burned crimson, the ground melted, and the sky was reflected in a scorching color.
Blades clashed incessantly, and bursts of fire shot skyward; the battle showed no sign of abating.
In reality, the temperature in Magnolia is becoming increasingly outrageous.
No one dared to walk on the streets anymore.
The roof was scorching hot, steam was billowing from the window frames, and even the large trees near the guild had wilted.
The residents kept their doors and windows tightly shut and filled their homes with cooling gadgets, but even so, they were still sweating profusely from the heat.
Some people were huddled inside, fanning themselves.
"What on earth is going on with this weather?!"
The other person was clutching a block of ice, their face filled with despair.
"If this keeps up, I feel like I'm about to cook!"
"Has a volcano erupted?"
"Where did this volcano come from near Magnolia?!"
"Then how do you explain this temperature?!"
Occasionally, someone would peek out from the street, but quickly retreated back inside after a short while.
"I can't stand it, I absolutely can't stand it!"
"It's like an oven outside!"
The situation wasn't much better within the Fairy Tail guild.
Natsu was sitting in the corner, looking very comfortable, with a piece of meat in his hand.
"Oh, the weather is nice."
Upon hearing this, Gray's forehead veins throbbed.
"Shut up! Only a fire idiot like you would think that's good!"
As he spoke, he dumped a large bowl of ice on his head, and before long, the ice melted into water.
Lucy was so hot that she lay sprawled on the table, practically melting.
"This is outrageous... If this continues, I'm really going to die..."
She struggled to lift her head and look at Mirajane.
"Miss Mira, the swimming pool should still be usable, right?"
Mirajane wiped the sweat from his forehead, his smile somewhat forced.
Why don't you give it a try?
Lucy's eyes lit up, and she immediately stood up.
"Yeah! Let's go to the pool!"
She rushed out, but not long after, a scream came from outside the guild.
"Aaaaaah--!"
Everyone was stunned.
Happy flew to the doorway, peeked out, and froze completely.
"Love... the pool is bubbling..."
Lucy rushed back, her hair practically standing on end.
"That's not a swimming pool anymore! That's a pot!"
She slammed her fist on the table in utter despair.
"The water's boiling! It's boiling!"
Natsu tilted his head as he ate the meat.
"Isn't that perfect? We can even cook something with it."
Lucy was so angry she almost flipped the table.
"What's so good about it!"
She took a breath, then suddenly paused, her eyes becoming suspicious.
"Etc."
Gray glanced at her.
"What have you thought of this time?"
Lucy pinched her chin, her expression growing increasingly strange.
"The high temperatures started two days ago."
"Then Zhongwei also went to cultivate two days ago."
"Then, the temperature rose day by day, and now even the swimming pool is boiling."
"This must be related to him!"
The guild chat was silent for a few seconds.
Happy blinked.
"Love... that seems to make sense."
Mirajane nodded slightly.
"I think it's possible too."
Erza held a glass of ice water, her expression calm.
"If it were Zhongwei, he certainly could do it."
Lucy's lips twitched.
"What do you mean by 'to attain'? This is no longer ordinary cultivation!"
Makarov was standing by the counter, enjoying the breeze from a small fan, when he heard this, his face wrinkled up even more.
"If it really is this kid..."
The old man looked up at the pale sky outside, his expression unusually serious.
"That would be a big problem."
He immediately turned to look at Gildarts, who was not far away.
" Gildarts."
Gildarts, who was tilting his head back to gulp down wine, put down the barrel upon hearing this.
"Um?"
Makarov spoke in a deep voice.
"Go find Lu Chongwei."
Gildarts paused for a moment, then laughed.
"What, afraid that kid will train you to death?"
Makarov didn't laugh.
I'm not kidding you.
He pointed outside.
"The whole city is practically roasted alive. If it really was caused by his cultivation, I'm not just worried about Magnolia, I'm also worried about him getting hurt."
Mirajane frowned slightly as well.
"The president is right, Zhongwei this time has caused too much of a stir."
Erza put down her cup and looked towards the door.
"And he hasn't come back for two days."
Lucy nodded repeatedly.
"Mr. Gildarts, you should go and take a look."
Gildarts then stopped joking, stood up, and stretched his shoulders.
"Okay, I'll go--"
He hadn't finished speaking.
The entire guild suddenly fell silent.
Because the scorching hot air suddenly began to cool down.
It didn't drop little by little, but rather plummeted like a cliff.
One second it's so hot you feel dizzy, the next you can clearly feel a cool breeze blowing in.
The temperature of the originally scorching hot wooden frame by the window dropped rapidly.
The ground, which had been steaming just moments before, was no longer red.
Lucy was stunned.
"Ah?"
Gray was taken aback at first, then stood up abruptly, looking completely at ease.
"It's gone down! It's finally gone down!"
Happy spun around in the air.
"Love! It's not hot anymore!"
Makarov paused, then narrowed his eyes.
"Is this... the end?"
On the other side...
In the middle of the scorched earth in the desolate wilderness, Lu Chongwei finally opened his eyes.
In that instant, a glint of fire flashed in his eyes.
Then, the terrifyingly high temperature that had been suffocating him began to gradually subside and recede back into his body.