Shui Bing'er was cultivating.
The courtyard was filled with frost-covered ice flowers everywhere.
Lin Xiao walked into the courtyard.
He could see many flowers carved from ice, incredibly detailed, with even the finest pistils and stamens not omitted.
There were also lifelike Ice Phoenixes.
Lin Xiao even spotted Q-version ice sculptures of himself and Shui Bing'er on the stone table in the courtyard.
Shui Bing'er was sitting cross-legged in the center of the courtyard, her brow furrowed slightly, seemingly contemplating something.
"Why is Bing'er suddenly in the mood to make these little things?"
"My Bing'er is truly skillful and clever."
Lin Xiao walked closer, a smile on his lips.
"Brother Lin Xiao?"
Shui Bing'er turned around in surprise. Upon seeing Lin Xiao, she quickly stood up and trotted over, whispering, "Bing'er wants to improve her control over Soul Power, so I'm doing some special training!"
Lin Xiao pondered for a moment.
Bing'er's Ultimate Ice attribute was too dominant and inherently difficult to control, let alone use it to carve such delicate and exquisite things?
This required a very high degree of Soul Power control.
It also demanded a lot of Spiritual Power.
It couldn't help but remind Lin Xiao of when he first formed his Soul Power Armor, using similar methods to improve his control over Soul Power and hone his Spiritual Power.
"However..."
"Bing'er, you're not being a good girl at all."
"Hiding things and not telling me."
Lin Xiao reached out and stroked a lifelike Ice Phoenix statue placed by the flower bed. An intense cold rapidly spread from his skin, invading his body, but it was immediately dispelled by the Extreme Yang Soul Power within him.
This Ice Phoenix statue was not as simple as it appeared on the surface; its internal structure was extremely special and contained a peculiar Soul Power fluctuation.
"Ice Burst Technique?"
Lin Xiao voiced his guess.
Shui Bing'er smiled shyly, with the delicate bashfulness of a narcissus flower touched by a cool breeze, and said softly, "Bing'er hasn't fully developed it yet, so I didn't want to show off to Brother Lin Xiao. I'm trying to improve the Ice Burst Technique."
"Because the explosive power of the Ice Burst Technique is limited, it often requires waiting until the cold invades the enemy's body, freezing the water in their blood and other bodily fluids, before it can cause significant damage."
"Bing'er was wondering if there's any way to increase its explosive power? So that it can still cause considerable damage even if it doesn't detonate inside the enemy."
"After all, there aren't always opportunities to get close to the enemy, and the usage of the Ice Burst Technique is often restricted by the environment."
Lin Xiao was very interested in this.
Previously, Lin Xiao faced the same problem as Shui Bing'er: the Flame Burst Technique could only be released at close range.
He had spent several months researching it continuously.
His mind opened up.
It was only then that he finally managed to improve the Flame Burst Technique.
"So, Bing'er, what are your ideas?"
"Perhaps I can offer some suggestions too."
Although Lin Xiao didn't know much about the Ice Burst Technique, having lived two lives and experienced information explosions and scientific education in his later life, he could often see the essence through phenomena and offer refreshing perspectives.
Shui Bing'er pondered and replied, "Bing'er doesn't have any good ideas yet, I've only extended some minor applications of the Ice Burst Technique. Brother Lin Xiao, if you're interested, I can tell you about them."
"Okay."
"Bing'er believes that the Ice Burst Technique doesn't necessarily have to pursue high damage. Sometimes, trying too hard for perfection can deviate from reality. The Ice Burst Technique can also be used as a control skill; the ice mist produced after the explosion can interfere with the enemy's vision, and the freezing effect can also slow down the enemy's actions."
Lin Xiao mused for a moment.
"Bing'er, I think your ideas are excellent."
"The application of the Ice Burst Technique indeed shouldn't be limited to lethality. Ice-type skills also have strong control abilities and can be extended for tactical purposes."
"In that case, let me offer you a suggestion to enhance its lethality."
Lin Xiao then explained his thoughts to Shui Bing'er in detail.
Firstly, there are two ways for the Ice Burst Technique to inflict maximum destructive power on an enemy: the first is to embed ice crystals into the enemy's body and then detonate them; the second is to freeze the water within the enemy's body and detonate it.
Although the second method is the most powerful, it is not easy to achieve, so the most practical method is actually the first one.
The hardness of Ultimate Ice and the sharpness of the ice crystals give them strong armor-piercing capabilities, making it easier for the ice crystals to penetrate the enemy's body. Lin Xiao didn't need to elaborate on these points.
"In reality, there's a phenomenon like this."
"When an extremely cold object suddenly comes into contact with high-temperature liquid, it triggers a violent explosion called a steam explosion. If Bing'er can meet this condition, then both her Ice Burst Technique and a steam explosion can occur simultaneously, doubling the power."
Suddenly, Lin Xiao froze.
Steam explosion?
Right, why hadn't he thought of that!
Lin Xiao and Shui Bing'er exchanged a glance, and the words blurted out from both of them almost simultaneously.
"Ice Burst Technique?!"
"Flame Burst Technique?!"
They both paused again.
Their eyes were filled with amusement.
It was simply because they both realized that the condition for achieving a steam explosion was very simple: they just needed Lin Xiao's Flame Burst Technique and Shui Bing'er's Ice Burst Technique to be unleashed together.
There seemed to be an inexplicable fate between Lin Xiao and Shui Bing'er.
When they were together, the effect was always greater than the sum of its parts.
Lin Xiao said:
"My optimization of the Flame Burst Technique started from its Soul Power structure. However, only I can clearly understand the changes within it, and it also requires a lot of time."
"Bing'er, you can try it when you have time."
He said this almost hastily.
Immediately after, Lin Xiao and Shui Bing'er headed to the outskirts of Heaven Dou City together.
This caused Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling, who happened to be going out, to become quite jealous.
Ye Lingling snorted.
Dugu Yan, however, glanced at Lin Xiao with a half-smile, secretly beckoning with her delicate fingers. This was a challenge.
Lin Xiao: "..."
He said with a helpless expression:
"What do you think Bing'er and I rushed out for? It's for cultivation!"
"Bing'er and I have extremely high Martial Soul Compatibility. Besides being able to unleash Martial Soul Fusion Skills, our other Soul Skills often have unexpectedly high compatibility."
Ye Lingling tugged on Dugu Yan's small hand.
"Sister Yanyan!"
"Let's go practice too!"
So what if their Martial Soul Compatibility was high? What was so great about that!
She was just like Sister Yanyan!
...
Outskirts of Heaven Dou City.
Lin Xiao activated Spiritual Detection and the Pupil Technique Domain, confirming that there was no one around to avoid accidental injuries, and took a deep breath.
"Bing'er, let's begin."
Ice-blue and fiery red Soul Power intertwined, and the crimson flames enveloped the extremely cold ice crystals, creating a beautiful and spectacular scene.
Lin Xiao could control the temperature of the flames.
The ice crystals had a layer of refined iron on the outside.
When Shui Bing'er launched the ice crystals, hitting the trees and rock walls, he quickly raised the temperature of the flames, melting the refined iron into molten iron, which was the high-temperature liquid required for the steam explosion.
"Boom!"
A massive mushroom cloud rose into the sky.
Ice Burst, Flame Burst, Steam Explosion.
The triple explosion stacked together.
The power was actually twice that of the Flame Burst Technique.
Lin Xiao was dumbfounded.
Shui Bing'er smiled sweetly.
"Brother Lin Xiao, we're so amazing!"
What made the young girl happiest was being able to help Lin Xiao.
Why did Shui Bing'er strive so hard to become stronger?
Because if she was strong, Lin Xiao would be strong.
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