I will eventually become a god through sheer hard work.

Wu Youqing arranged an agent for him in Fengcheng. We'll ask that agent about it later.

Xue Jing shook his head and opened one of the documents titled 'New Border Area'.

[Tentative serial number: R278, border crossing]

[Tentative rating: C+]

External area: 26.8 square kilometers

[Internal area: Based on visual estimation by those who entered, it is estimated to be between 300 and 900 square kilometers. However, this may be a misjudgment, so it is recommended to bring more than ten monitoring devices...]

Entry requirements: ...

On November 23, the remains of a humanoid settlement were discovered, suspected to possess a considerable level of civilization.

[On November 25th, unusually frequent thunder was detected, suggesting the presence of a dragon-like creature. The level has been temporarily adjusted to C+.]

……

The new border area seemed quite difficult to explore due to the stringent entry conditions. The information in the current data was limited, and Xue Jing quickly finished reading it all.

After closing it, open the next document.

The document is titled "Dragon Species Information".

It seems that because a dragon-like creature was suspected to have appeared in the new border area, the Void Blade sent this information immediately afterward.

[The Dragon, the king of the aerial species, a 'chosen one' deeply loved by the sky...]

Xue Jing spent more than half an hour carefully reading through the document, making sure he remembered everything before closing it.

"A free creature that soars through the sky, spews thunder, and is deeply loved by the sky... Interesting."

Xue Jing pondered for a while, then continued to look at other materials.

After he finished reading it all, he took a moment to process it and stretched.

"We'll consider the border issue later; we have other things to do right now."

Xue Jing assessed his current mental state.

Although still somewhat lethargic, he has recovered considerably and can continue with consciousness simulation.

He had an idea and wanted to test whether it would work...

Xue Jing took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and began to use his imagination.

Countless tiny pixelated blocks swept across the sky and earth, transforming into a grassland scene on the back hill of the northern district.

Then, with a thought, he himself appeared in the scene.

After confirming that his physical data was correct, Xue Jing looked ahead.

The pixelated cubes coalesced and rotated, and a young-looking boy, about seventeen or eighteen years old, appeared before them.

It was Ning Yuantai.

"Puff-"

After a loud heartbeat, Ning Yuantai's skin began to turn crimson, and crimson energy began to appear around his body, enveloping him.

Xue Jing circled around Ning Yuantai, who was in a state of explosive power, observed him carefully for a while, and nodded in satisfaction.

"It was worth it for my strategy of deliberately collecting data; the recreation is perfect."

"Crimson Lotus Volcano Flow, let me see it again."

As soon as Xue Jing had a thought, Ning Yuantai immediately took action.

He shuddered, assumed a starting stance for a straight punch, and after a moment of preparation, unleashed a powerful punch at Xue Jing's chest.

The boiling energy emanating from his body was like volcanic lava, and the extreme explosive power it brought caused his fist to spread out in circles of red air waves. At a glance, its power was unparalleled.

Xue Jing showed no intention of defending himself; instead, he closed his eyes, relaxed his mind, and focused his attention.

"boom!"

A punch landed squarely in his chest, producing a deafening roar. Xue Jing, who hadn't even used his basic strength for defense, had his sternum shatter with a crack, and he flew out at an angle like a golf ball that had been hit.

The powerful mental control brought by [Visualization of Truth] allowed him to eliminate the interference of pain, calm his mind, and concentrate on experiencing all the secrets of this punch.

"By utilizing the mutated internal structure of the human body, it can exert strange power in ways that ordinary people cannot do, combined with extremely high body temperature, resulting in an explosive force as boiling as volcanic magma."

Xue Jing thought to himself.

"The new martial arts are indeed extraordinary... The advanced cultivation of the old martial arts involves interfering with one's own reality through spiritual realm, and doing one's best to unleash the power of powerful things with the essence of the human body."

"The new martial arts, on the other hand, doesn't care about artistic conception at all; it directly transforms the physical body into a powerful thing on the material level."

"The Crimson Lotus Volcanic Flow... grants the body the power of a natural disaster like a volcanic eruption. If this forbidden technique can ultimately mutate the body to the point of being comparable to a volcanic eruption, then it can indeed be said to far surpass the old martial arts..."

"boom!"

Xue Jing crashed heavily onto the ground nearly a hundred meters away.

He opened his eyes and muttered to himself:

"It's making me a little tempted, and I'd like to learn a new martial art myself."

"However, I don't want to take banned drugs."

He got up, a deep fist-shaped mark imprinted on his chest, which was being restored as the pixelated cube coalesced.

As he got up, he laughed and said:

"but……"

"Who says you can't learn new martial arts without taking banned drugs?"

Xue Jing opened the panel and glanced at the [Twin] skill in the Divine Skills section.

After reaching Lv4, Twin did not immediately choose to add a new active effect, but temporarily put it aside due to indecisiveness.

[Currently selectable: reaction speed, calculation ability, concentration, memory, body temperature, flexibility, sensory ability, instinctive intuition...]

Xue Jing turned his attention to the option of "body temperature".

"To utilize the explosive power of the Crimson Lotus Volcanic Stream, one needs to mutate into a volcanic variant... The most crucial element is its extremely high body temperature."

"Only boiling temperature can bring about boiling power, and this condition is almost impossible for a natural human body that has not undergone any transformation."

Human body temperature is directly linked to health. Even powerful martial artists cannot withstand the terrible consequences of excessively high internal body temperature.

A volcanic symbiote with a body temperature exceeding 100 degrees Celsius would melt your brain.

Therefore, only by undergoing mutation to obtain a special heat-resistant body that is not human can one withstand this harsh temperature.

"However... I am different."

Xue Jing turned his gaze to the [Physical Defense] skill that was already activated in the Twin Active Effects panel.

"The double physical defense brought by twins is conceptual; they can withstand twice the amount of any damage in an absolute sense."

"Naturally, temperature is also included."

He exerted his strength, using the energy-generating method of "shaking the starlight" related to blood cultivation to stimulate the rapid circulation of blood throughout his body.

Temperature is the degree of intensity of molecular motion.

The blood, moving at high speed, gradually warms up, causing the body temperature to rise.

Gradually, Xue Jing felt his body begin to feel hot, his skin turned red, and his body temperature rose from the normal 30-something degrees to the 40-something degrees.

"Not enough, keep going!"

As his blood continued to circulate, Xue Jing also began to mobilize his remaining strength, making his body undergo vigorous internal movements to raise his body temperature.

After a while, he felt his whole body burning up, his head spinning, and his vision blurring as if shrouded in a layer of fog.

At this point, his body temperature had reached over fifty degrees Celsius.

"...This is the limit."

"Over fifty degrees... I barely managed to endure it."

Xue Jing shook his head, and when he opened his mouth to exhale, he felt as if his lips were being burned.

"It should be feasible."

"By using twins to gain double the body temperature and double the physical defense to withstand the high temperature of the mutated body from the Crimson Lotus Volcano..."

With a thought, Xue Jing activated the Twin Defense and then used his consciousness to simulate a state of double body temperature.

"call--"

Xue Jing's entire skin was tinged with a faint crimson color.

The temperature had reached the boiling point of the liquid, causing white steam to continuously rise from his entire body, as if he were draped in clouds and mist, resembling a god or immortal.

He opened his mouth, and white steam kept billowing out, making a hissing sound, just like a steampunk mecha.

His whole body was burning hot, but he managed to hold on thanks to the double the endurance of his twin defenses.

All the liquids inside the body were boiling, truly boiling.

It made a gurgling sound, just like freshly boiled water.

The tiny pixels in front of me rotated and coalesced, transforming into a mirror.

Xue Jing looked at himself in the glasses.

His medium-length black hair moved without wind, his body was shrouded in steam, and his skin with a faint reddish glow made him look inhuman, but when combined with his excessively handsome face, he possessed a strange and evil charm.

"What's this? Luffy's Gear Second?"

He spoke.

His voice was lower and hoarse than usual.

"Next comes that inhuman way of channeling energy..."

Xue Jing let Ning Yuantai walk up to him.

Now neither of them seems human anymore.

One was entirely crimson, enveloped in crimson aura; the other was a pale crimson, enveloped in white steam.