Chapter 23: Physiques can be stolen?
Leon's eyes widened in amazement as the array solidified. He turned to the Viscount, who was now breathing heavily, beads of sweat glistening on his forehead.
"What is this?" Leon asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
The Viscount wiped his brow and looked at Leon with a mixture of relief and determination. "This is the frost chamber array. It's designed to keep the wild frost essence from spreading out. Amelia needs to let everything out, Leon. She shouldn't try to hold it in. Letting everything out will help stabilize her condition sooner."
Leon nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation. He looked back at the translucent dome, his heart aching for Amelia. Inside, she was battling forces beyond her control, and all he could do was hope and trust in the Viscount's words.
The Viscount and his butler were breathing heavily, the strain of creating the array evident in their labored breaths. Leon, the Viscount, and the butler watched the effects of the array together, their eyes fixed on the containment dome shimmering around the wreckage of the house.
The raging frost blizzard inside the array, born from Amelia's uncontrollable yin essence, lashed violently against the translucent barrier. The force of the storm tried to push further, but the array held firm, containing the destructive force within its boundaries. As the blizzard continued to intensify, the snow and ice accumulated against the dome.
Amazingly, whenever the array could no longer contain the pressure, it converted the excess frost into water, which then trickled down harmlessly. It was a mesmerizing sight, the transition from violent ice storm to gentle streams of water defying belief.
Despite knowing Amelia was at the heart of the storm, Leon couldn't quell his worry. The sheer power of the blizzard made his heart race with fear for her safety. He turned to the Viscount, his voice rising above the deafening howl of the blizzard.
"Won't she get hurt inside that thing? With all the snow and icicles swirling around in the blizzard wind!" Leon yelled, his anxiety clear.
The Viscount heard Leon and responded with a calm, expressionless face. "No, she won't," he said firmly. "The blizzard is her creation, formed from her raging yin and frost essence and her own Qi energy. It's only natural that she won't be hurt by it."
The Viscount's confident words were like a balm to Leon's frayed nerves, yet worry still gnawed at him. He loved Amelia deeply, and seeing her in such a tumultuous state was unbearable. But the Viscount's certainty gave him a sliver of hope. If her father believed she would come through this unscathed, then he had no choice but to trust in that confidence and hope for the best.
Leon continued to watch, his eyes never leaving the swirling maelstrom, his thoughts a chaotic mix of fear and hope.
But then Leon's eyes gleamed as he thought of something. "Since the blizzard is her creation, made from her own Qi energy, then it should stop when her Qi reserve is depleted, right?"
The Viscount's mood soured upon hearing this. He lowered his head, looking at the ground, and shook his head in self-disgust. "How I wish things were that simple."
His tone was laden with sorrow, and Leon couldn't help but frown. Just as he was about to ask the Viscount what was wrong, the Viscount began speaking.
"Amelia's physique is unique. From the observations of Ice element experts, it's said to be the king of all ice elemental physiques. But its requirements are as high as its potential, and it's so harsh that it can endanger its owner's life. The sad truth is that if Amelia doesn't learn how to control it, it's only a matter of time before it destroys her from the inside."
Leon's heart leaped. "How?"
"You see, one of the effects of her physique is that it enables her to be extraordinarily efficient in Ice manipulation. It grants her an otherworldly kind of control that, if mastered, would allow her to challenge cultivators multiple realms higher than herself. This is called complete manipulation and mastery over an element. It's so rare that it's almost unheard of.
"While others need skill books to learn to generate Ice element skills, improving their proficiency through practice and more skill books, Amelia doesn't need the same. She only needs a mere thought to generate a skill with greater efficiency. The skills she generates are usually more powerful than those learned from skill books and use a minimal amount of Qi compared to others.
"Why I'm telling you this is because I trust you. The fact that you reported this to me shows how much you love my daughter. If it had been any other man, he might have panicked and abandoned her. And other men might have coveted her physique and tried to take it for themselves."
'Physiques can be stolen?'. Leon's heart leaped as he asked the system, a deep frown creasing his forehead.
[Yes, Leon, physiques can be stolen. It's incredibly rare and extremely difficult to accomplish, but it's possible. The chance of successfully stealing a physique is low, but depending on the quality, people still attempt it. If they're lucky, they can claim the physique for themselves; if not, they risk death. That's why it's crucial to keep your physique and Amelia's physique a secret.]
Leon nodded to the words of the system in his head and continued to listen to the Viscount.
"Amelia's physique, when out of control, will initially use her Qi energy reserve. But once that is depleted, it will start drawing Qi from the atmosphere to sustain itself. If it depletes the surrounding Qi and cannot access more, the physique will then begin to consume her life force.
It won't stop until it has drained her completely." The Viscount's words sounded so ominous that Leon couldn't help but gulp inwardly.
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AN:
How was the chapter guys don't forget to vote with your powerstones, sorry for not releasing chap meters yesterday, I was tired, for that, I'll release three chapters today as compensation.