OFTLHFRO C188
by berryChapter 188: Unlocking a New Skill
After leaving the city gates, the couple headed to a secluded valley some distance away. It wasn’t far from the place where they had previously found Lan Fei.
Once they were sure no one was around, Luo Mingchen said to Huo Yan,
“Give it a try. Let’s see what you can do.”
“Alright.”
Huo Yan gathered all his strength and condensed an enormous fireball before hurling it into the valley.
Boom!
The impact instantly blasted a massive crater into the ground.
Luo Mingchen’s eyes lit up.
“Not bad! Now see if you can reshape the flames into something like a rope—a whip, maybe. Try keeping it around longer, something similar to my water tentacles.”
“Mm.”
Huo Yan tried controlling the flames into the shape he imagined.
Unfortunately, he lacked stamina.
The fiery rope existed only briefly before dissipating.
Overall, his explosive power was tremendous…
But his endurance was lacking.
Luo Mingchen laughed and patted his shoulder.
“For someone who’s only just awakened this ability, you’re already amazing. Back then, it took me more than a year before I could reliably kill zombies with my water tentacles, and my accuracy needed ages of practice too.”
He wasn’t exaggerating.
Those words came straight from experience.
Huo Yan smiled faintly.
“I’ll keep practicing.”
“Can you sense the fire element around us? Or do you have to absorb energy from the space?”
If it were the latter…
They’d have to spend extra time cultivating inside the space.
“I’m not sure.”
“I’ll test it.”
“Alright.”
Luo Mingchen quietly backed away.
When he’d first learned to sense water elements, he’d nearly flooded an entire room after losing control.
Now Huo Yan had awakened fire.
If Luo Mingchen stood too close and Huo Yan accidentally singed his hair…
Well…
He couldn’t exactly beat Huo Yan up for it.
To be safe, Luo Mingchen even created a water shield around himself.
Seeing him protect himself so thoroughly, Huo Yan felt relieved.
Now he could concentrate completely.
After waiting quite some time…
A sudden wave of scorching heat erupted from Huo Yan’s body.
Even through the water shield, Luo Mingchen jumped in fright.
Thankfully he’d prepared beforehand.
Otherwise…
His hair would probably have been gone.
Huo Yan opened his eyes and said through the shimmering shield,
“I can.”
“That’s great. Try getting used to it. Ideally, you’ll absorb fire elements constantly without needing to consciously cultivate. That way, even without spending extra time training, your strength will gradually increase.”
Although Luo Mingchen had experience as an awakened ability user, Huo Yan’s circumstances differed from his own.
All he could do was share what had worked for him and let Huo Yan experiment.
If it worked, great.
If not…
Then Huo Yan would have to slowly discover his own path.
“Alright.”
The two of them remained outside for quite a while, experimenting despite the freezing wind.
Fortunately, Huo Yan had awakened the fire element.
He’d practically become a walking furnace.
Within a radius of nearly a li, the surrounding temperature rose by at least ten degrees.
Standing close beside him, Luo Mingchen actually felt a little warm.
After mastering the basics, they finally prepared to head home.
Watching the sun sink toward the horizon, Luo Mingchen held Huo Yan’s hand and sighed regretfully.
“If only we could go straight to the city gate.”
Just as Huo Yan was about to reply…
The scenery before their eyes suddenly blurred.
When they looked again…
They were already standing in front of the city gates.
The couple fell silent.
“…”
Apparently…
They’d overlooked something rather important.
It wasn’t really Luo Mingchen’s fault.
The moment he’d awakened, he’d found Huo Yan covered in flames.
Afterward he’d been entirely focused on Huo Yan’s condition.
He’d assumed the merged crystal merely granted him finer control over his space.
Who would’ve thought…
It had also awakened space abilities?
What had just happened was unmistakably spatial teleportation.
The only reason they hadn’t appeared directly at the gate was probably because his power wasn’t sufficient yet.
Luo Mingchen became even more curious.
Besides teleportation…
Could he also perform spatial cutting?
If so…
Wouldn’t he be able to silently remove someone’s head?
After all, the overwhelming majority of people in this world were ordinary.
Even cultivators who sensed the danger wouldn’t necessarily be able to stop him.
So…
Instead of returning immediately, the two stayed outside experimenting for quite a while longer.
Until a space ability user fully mastered their powers…
They were terrifying.
One careless mistake could injure innocent people.
And Luo Mingchen’s guess proved correct.
He really could perform spatial cutting.
He placed an apple some distance away.
With a single casual motion…
It was sliced into countless tiny pieces.
The instant Luo Mingchen attacked, Huo Yan instinctively sensed danger.
It was the body’s natural reaction toward a lethal threat.
Without Luo Mingchen saying anything, Huo Yan walked over to the apple and lightly touched it.
The fruit instantly collapsed into countless tiny cubes.
“My goodness…”
“If that had been a person…”
Only then did Luo Mingchen finally understand why, back in his original world, broadcasts had desperately searched for every space ability user.
Even without using space for farming…
An ability with this much destructive power could accomplish countless things.
It was basically a human meat grinder.
Of course…
The natural nemesis of a space ability user was a metal ability user.
At equal strength, they were like spear and shield.
Without a gap in power, victory usually came down to endurance.
Looking thoughtfully at the destroyed apple, Huo Yan suddenly asked,
“Could you peel an apple directly?”
“…Huh?”
Luo Mingchen blinked.
How had Huo Yan’s mind jumped to that?
Still…
It counted as precision training.
Once they were satisfied with the day’s progress, they returned home.
After dinner, they shut themselves inside their room.
Luo Mingchen became completely obsessed with Huo Yan’s suggestion.
He tried peeling apples through spatial cutting.
After ruining seven or eight apples…
He still couldn’t do it properly.
Large chunks of peel always came off together with the flesh.
Only the tiny core in the middle remained intact.
Seeing him stubbornly continue, Huo Yan finally stopped him.
“Let’s rest for today.”
“You can continue tomorrow.”
Luo Mingchen looked at him.
With complete seriousness, Huo Yan explained,
“I can’t eat anymore.”
“…”
Only then did Luo Mingchen notice…
Every practice apple had somehow disappeared…
Into Huo Yan’s stomach.
No wonder Huo Yan kept washing each one and putting it neatly onto the plate.
Realizing this, Luo Mingchen burst into laughter.
“Alright.”
“We’ll continue tomorrow.”
Over the following days…
Everyone in the household ended up eating apples.
They even distributed plenty to the various centurions.
Several nights later…
In the middle of the night, Luo Mingchen suddenly sat bolt upright from his sleep.
Huo Yan immediately woke as well.
“Mingchen?”
Without answering…
Luo Mingchen expertly pulled a large apple out of his space.
Sensing something unusual, Huo Yan reached out and touched it.
The peel had been removed in one long continuous spiral.
Perfectly smooth.
Satisfied…
Luo Mingchen hugged the apple and immediately flopped back down asleep.
Huo Yan: “…”
Not wanting to waste it…
He silently finished eating the apple before rinsing his mouth and returning to bed.
At this rate…
After a few more days…
He was fairly certain he’d never want to eat another apple again.
Early the next morning, Luo Mingchen enthusiastically dragged Huo Yan out of bed.
“I figured it out!”
“I know how to peel them now!”
Huo Yan calmly watched as Luo Mingchen effortlessly stripped the peel from an apple in one perfect piece.
Seeing no reaction whatsoever, Luo Mingchen frowned.
“Why aren’t you surprised?”
“…”
“You peeled one last night.”
“…Huh?”
“I ate it.”
Luo Mingchen: “…”
Fair enough.
Beaming with pride, Luo Mingchen grabbed the apple and ran off to find the three children.
He had to perform his new trick for them.
There was nothing quite like the satisfaction of mastering a difficult skill…
Especially when you had someone to show it off to.
He absolutely had to brag about it.