You're a Fucking Monster!

Lu Jin was so furious he could not speak for a long while and could only direct his resentment at Hu Jie.

Since his precious great-granddaughter was protecting him, he could only find someone else to vent on!

With that thought, he clenched his fists, his eyes hawklike. "This little bastard had his sights on these two kids, so we decided to play along."

"Sure enough, he couldn't hold himself back and made his move. But this Liu Family boy didn't know how to hold back either, and sealed him straight inside a block of ice."

"It took us a hell of a lot of effort to thaw him out. Otherwise, we really were afraid he'd die."

Under the unrelenting stare of those sharp eyes, Hu Jie curled up on the ground like a puppy.

"But by a strange twist of fate, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The Four Fiends had bewitched this little bastard, driving him almost insane. Being frozen like that actually cleared his head."

"Shit, this guy isn't going to jump up and start killing people, is he?" Zhang Chulan backed away several steps in fright.

Wang Zhuo reassured him, "Relax. He doesn't have the guts. Being sealed in a block of ice doesn't feel good."

Ling also smiled reassuringly. "Relax. There's no need to worry."

As he spoke, he pressed Hu Jie's head down, revealing a silver needle at the joint at the back of his neck.

"This is called an Origin-Closing Needle. It's specifically for dealing with Outsiders. Insert it along the Governing Vessel, and no matter how capable someone is, they won't be able to use their abilities."

"But this guy really is a piece of work. Don't get angry when you hear this."

Ling went through the useful information he had extracted during the interrogation, one piece at a time.

Hearing this information about the Four Fiends did not stir much emotion in anyone, since those people were already notorious.

And Hu Jie was not a core member. He had no mission at Mount Longhu, either; he had come purely to kill people and steal their qi.

So there was no useful intelligence to be extracted from him at all.

The only thing that shocked them was that he had become so deranged that he had killed his own elderly father.

That left them with mixed feelings. Someone who could even kill his own father could no longer be called a beast.

Wang Zhuo shook his head helplessly. "Even beasts know to be grateful for being raised. Someone like him is just wasting resources by staying alive."

Lu Linglong narrowed her beautiful eyes. "Animal!"

"Yes! I'm an animal! So what?! I want to get stronger! I want to live!" Hu Jie suddenly went berserk, struggling and shouting as tears streamed uncontrollably down his face.

Li Yanzi's voice came through the concealed earpiece. "Wang Zhuo, make sure he stays alive. We can't pass up research material like this."

"Go to sleep."

Wang Zhuo teleported in front of Hu Jie and pressed a hand against his head, his voice exceptionally calm, as though coaxing a child.

Crack!

In an instant, Hu Jie's entire body froze solid. Rather than being covered in transparent ice, he was shrouded in a layer of snow-white frost.

!!!

Seeing this ability again still left everyone utterly shocked.

The Old Celestial Master and Tian Jinzhong, in particular, were especially amazed by this freezing technique.

They could only marvel inwardly at how the vast world held every imaginable wonder.

Even a means of freezing someone like this could exist.

Zhang Chulan, in particular, nearly had his eyes pop out. "Seriously, man, you can do this too? I thought Thunderfire was already your limit!"

"But haven't you killed him? His cells and organs would've frozen and died!"

Wang Zhuo shook his head and explained patiently, "He won't die. Don't worry. Right now, he isn't a person, but one solid ice sculpture. I didn't freeze him along with his cells and organs. In a certain sense, I transformed him into ice."

"In theory, he could achieve immortality. I mean immortality as an ice sculpture. Put him in a freezer, and he can stay alive indefinitely. But if he's left out in the sun, he'll wake up once he thaws and continue aging."

Seeing their blank expressions, Wang Zhuo thought they had not understood and continued:

"It's a very simple principle. A hundred years ago, people already wanted to achieve immortality through cryogenic technology and be thawed once future technology had matured. I found that idea interesting, so I tried developing Ice-Type Techniques and came up with this."

"Of course, there are still plenty of drawbacks. If he gets knocked over and shatters, for instance, he'll really die. But even if he's stored like this for ten thousand years, I guarantee he'll be full of life once I restore him."

Wang Zhuo noticed that everyone had fallen silent. They seemed completely stunned by what he had said.

After all, immortality, freezing experiments, and developing it himself were a lot to take in all at once.

"Haha, don't take it too seriously. Ten thousand years was just an example. I haven't tested it yet. At least three to five years is no problem, though. I've verified it with lab mice. Their cells don't age, and their brains suffer no damage. It's like freezing the present and arriving in the future in the blink of an eye."

"Wait, wait, wait. Brother Liu, please stop. I really can't wrap my head around this." Zhang Chulan rubbed the corners of his eyes, struggling to take in the information.

"Holy shit, he's a genius too," Xu Si could not help praising him.

"Isn't this that cryogenic technology people talk about online?!"

Xu San suddenly caught on. "So someone on the verge of death could also be frozen instantly and stored until there's a way to save them, then thawed out?"

Wang Zhuo gave him a thumbs-up. "Exactly, exactly. Pretty impressive, right? It could benefit everyone, too. Unfortunately, Outsiders can't use their abilities on ordinary people. Otherwise, it'd definitely be a great project for the country and its people. You wouldn't even need expensive liquid nitrogen for freezing. Just put them in cold storage."

This kid is a tremendous talent!

The anxiety Xu San had originally felt turned to astonishment.

This ability was simply too useful, especially during combat, when it could save people and preserve their lives in time.

Lu Linglong's eyes sparkled. "Wow, Brother Liu, you're amazing!"

The astonishment of the sharper-minded ones, like Zhi Jinhua and Bai Shixue, was already written all over their faces. His talent and comprehension had reached an inconceivable level.

His love of learning led him to research and develop.

Rather than learning something only to leave it unused, do nothing with it, and take pride in knowing it.

Lu Jin suddenly asked, "You mean you developed it yourself from scratch? Did you draw inspiration from anywhere?"

Wang Zhuo thought for a moment. "Hmm... if I had to name something, I suppose I gained the insight from cartoons. I watched the fictional characters use ice abilities, then figured it out myself."

"C-cartoons?!"

Everyone present cried out.

Was this guy a fucking monster? He'd figured it out just from watching a cartoon!

"A founder with the heart of a child indeed!" The Old Celestial Master chuckled, feeling considerable admiration.

Belonging to no school or sect, teaching himself, and pioneering a path of his own-he truly deserved to be called a genius.

"What are cartoons?" Lu Jin was thoroughly puzzled. He did not understand what was going on at all, nor why these youngsters were so shocked.

He knew that pioneering a path was extremely difficult, but that was clearly not what had shocked them.

Seeing this, Lu Linglong hurriedly explained, "Great-Grandpa, it's like reading a picture book where Sun Wukong learns immortal arts. You want to be Sun Wukong too, so you follow the pictures and create a cultivation method yourself..."