Extinguished Flames

"Here already?" Lin You did not have the girl's sharp eyesight. Seeing the strange expression on her face, he asked.

Huo Yuhao pointed in the direction she had spotted. "You-ge, look. There seems to be a red dot approaching over there."

Lin You looked over. After sensing it for a moment, his expression changed slightly. "Someone's coming. They're moving fast. Stay alert—their aura doesn't feel right."

Within his perception, as that red figure raced across the water's surface, even the atomic-level fluctuations in the surrounding area began moving violently. This was a sign of high temperatures. The faster particles moved and the more irregular their motion became, the higher the temperature.

One look was enough for Lin You to know who was coming. But wasn't the timing a little off?

"Be careful! The aura she's giving off isn't friendly." Huo Yuhao, whose senses were the sharpest, tensed up. The pressure from her opponent was immense. Without realizing it, the Two-Tomoe Sharingan appeared in her eyes and slowly spun. In an instant, her physical abilities surged dramatically, with her Spiritual Power improving the most.

Every advancement of the tomoe Sharingan brought a comprehensive upgrade to one's physical attributes, mental strength, and more. Though Huo Yuhao was only an eighteenth-rank Soul Grandmaster, relying solely on her body, she even dared to challenge a thirtieth-rank Beast Martial Soul master—and win.

As the distance closed, the red figure's speed was truly astonishing. In no time, she revealed her true appearance: a woman with pale pink eyes, a devilishly voluptuous figure, and breathtaking beauty.

However, her aura was somewhat disordered, far from healthy. Yet her target was clear. The instant their gazes met, she shot straight toward them.

The moment she moved, terrifying heat engulfed an area dozens of meters around the two of them. Every plant instantly turned to scorched earth.

Faced with such a threat, Huo Yuhao no longer held anything back. To think that an inner-court senior would launch an attack of this caliber even at Sea God Lake—this was no ordinary criminal. She had to hit back hard!

"Demonic Illusion: Sharingan!"

With a sharp cry, Huo Yuhao gathered her immense Spiritual Power into a single force and drove it directly into the other woman's consciousness. The crimson figure, like a Flame Demon God descending into the world, was caught completely off guard. Her head suddenly snapped back, and she let out a muffled groan. Her aura faltered for an instant as fresh blood streamed from her nose.

Then, with a splash, she fell into Sea God Lake.

Yet after only a few seconds of interference, even more violent heat burst upward from beneath the water!

But at that moment, Lin You leaped lightly onto the water's surface. Strangely, he did not sink. Instead, he knelt on one knee atop the water and lightly touched the rippling lake with his right hand.

The next second, accompanied by a series of cracking sounds, the temperature around them plummeted as particle motion slowed. Centered on where he stood, an area one hundred meters in diameter became a region of extreme cold. Even Sea God Lake's atomic structural distribution was altered, freezing it solid in an instant!

Ice was still composed of water molecules.

And Lin You's combination of the Hydrogen Element and Oxygen Element meant he controlled the most fundamental origin of water!

As for the figure who had fallen into the water, she was frozen within ice as hard as refined steel.

Several figures stood quietly in the distance, watching everything unfold. The white-robed old man among them furrowed his brow and muttered softly, "Xiaotao's temper is still too explosive. I only told her to pick someone up—why did she start fighting? Teacher Li, how are those two children?"

The white-clothed middle-aged man known as Teacher Li twitched slightly and replied helplessly, "They're both fine, but Xiaotao has been knocked into the frozen Sea God Lake. Ultimate Ice really lives up to its name. Even Ling Luochen probably couldn't accomplish something like this so easily, could she?"

"That girl's evil fire has gone unrestrained for too long. Without suppressing it, she can't cultivate or fight. Knowing that an Ultimate Ice wielder was here, she must have been anxious. With us watching over them, a brief exchange wouldn't have been dangerous. But I never expected the two of them together to temporarily contend with Xiaotao, a Soul Emperor."

The white-robed elder's gaze drifted toward the ice beneath the water, anticipation flickering in his eyes.

As his disciple, Ma Xiaotao had endured countless trials and was highly valued. She was also a direct descendant of Ma Hongjun of the Shrek Seven Devils, as well as the former captain of the current generation's Seven Devils. Naturally, she would not be defeated so easily. That little girl's Spiritual Power was indeed impressive, enough to rival Xiaotao's, but its intensity was still somewhat lacking.

Besides, although this Ultimate Ice was extremely cold and its freezing strength formidable, it ultimately lacked sufficient Soul Power to reinforce it. It could not settle things once and for all.

Soul Power itself was the most perfect fuel.

Xiaotao, let me see what you'll do when facing such a predicament.

Within the ice, Ma Xiaotao abruptly opened her eyes. The flush faded from her face, and at the movement of her will, a feathered garment like blazing flames ignited around her body. In only a moment, the ice began to melt away.

"Hmph! Ultimate Ice—nothing special."

Just as Ma Xiaotao was about to break free, a surprised voice rang out above the ice.

"Huh? So that's how it is. I altered the elemental arrangement and froze the lake. That should have been enough, but you can actually produce flames by burning your own Soul Power? Interesting."

Ma Xiaotao raised her head, her fiery, aggressive gaze fixed on Lin You.

"However, my Ultimate Ice isn't just for show." As Lin You spoke, he extended a hand and made a clenching motion.

The next second, the countless oxygen elements within the ice were rapidly cleared away. Under Lin You's control, a terrifying oxygen-free zone formed.

Flame combustion was an exothermic, light-emitting chemical reaction between a combustible substance and oxygen.

During this process, the combustible substance was oxidized, releasing a great amount of thermal and light energy. This energy primarily manifested as heat and light.

And that combustible substance was naturally Ma Xiaotao's Soul Power. Only by forcibly using Soul Power to fuel combustion could she produce light and heat in the low-particle-motion environment beneath this underwater ice layer.

It was also through that combustion that she gradually broke free, allowing her body temperature to rise and release even greater heat.

But what if there was no oxygen?

A few seconds after Lin You cleared away the oxygen elements, the bright flames and scorching heat beneath the ice suddenly flickered.

Combustion was an exothermic reaction that released a tremendous amount of energy during the process.

But after losing the oxygen necessary for combustion, Ma Xiaotao was shocked to discover that, relying on Soul Power alone, the temperature of the flames around her was actually getting lower and lower?

This was simply inconceivable!

As the possessor of the Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul, there were very few Soul Skills or Martial Souls that could affect her through elemental attributes. Even ordinary water-attribute and ice-attribute Martial Souls could not restrain her temperature. How long had it been since she had experienced being at a disadvantage?

After holding on for several more breaths, the flames fueled by Soul Power finally went out completely.

For a moment, Ma Xiaotao, a powerful fire-type Soul Emperor, actually felt the long-forgotten chill of bone-piercing cold!

Although oxygen atoms were not fundamental particles that made up the world, they were composite particles. Their multiple neutrons, protons, and eight extranuclear electrons were all fundamental particles. Therefore, in terms of particle physics distribution, this could be considered skirting the edge, but it did not fall within the category of fundamental particles.

Likewise, the Hydrogen Element was not a fundamental particle. Hydrogen atoms, like oxygen atoms, were composite particles.

Therefore, the protagonist's use of altered atomic structures to reduce particle motion here was borderline behavior. If an explanation was absolutely necessary, then the protagonist used Soul Power to control it.

Omnipotent Soul Power—amazing, right?

After all, being overly strict about physics and particle science in a fantasy world would be a bit much. I could write out a lot of this stuff, but it would feel boring if it turned into a popular science article. Everyone can just have a laugh after reading it once, but the author has plenty more things to make up.

Old Buddha is also a seeker of knowledge who is still constantly learning. I hope everyone will support me, offer more suggestions, and leave more comments. I refresh the Writer Assistant a hundred times a day because I want to see everyone's comments as soon as possible. Thank you so much!