Chapter 85: Chapter 85: Power of the Limit, the Extraordinary Path from a High-Temperature Heat Source

After making some inquiries, Qi Suian learned that the young man, who carried himself like a pampered young master, was named Chang Jing.

He was the only son of the Liebo Mansion Master. Unable to bear his father’s plan to marry him off to the daughter of the Jade Dragon Association’s leader, he had eloped with his girlfriend.

Unfamiliar with the land and its people, he eventually got lost and ended up on the outskirts of the Desolate Fire Domain.

The "Fire Domain" was another name for the desert, while the "Desolate Land" referred to the Gobi Desert.

This was an extremely dangerous place.

Luckily, the off-road vehicle he was driving belonged to his father. It possessed impressive Defense and could withstand the attacks of Desolate Beasts; otherwise, he would have been as good as dead.

Desolate Beasts, in turn, was the term for those forms of Extraordinary Life.

Then, Qi Suian began to subtly probe him, extracting some information about this world.

A hundred years ago, the sun still rose and set with normal regularity, and the temperature was nowhere near this high.

Then one day, the sun simply didn’t set, and it began to grow steadily hotter.

Of course, the temperature hadn’t reached this level at first; it had risen gradually over the past century.

Then, once it reached a certain tipping point, the old world order shattered.

Life became truly unbearable. The high temperatures first caused the ice caps to melt, which then led to ecological collapse.

More importantly, under the scorching sun, animals evolved into Desolate Beasts that wielded the power of extreme heat, leading to the mass extinction of humankind.

What remained of humanity was naturally fractured into various factions, which were now beginning to reorganize and consolidate.

Of course, the most important development was the birth of Extraordinary power.

This Extraordinary power, known as the Power of the Limit, allowed an ordinary person to unleash strength rivaling that of a common Desolate Beast by constantly pushing their own cells to generate thermal energy.

More importantly, the true purpose of this power was to allow them to withstand the high-temperature environment.

However, not everyone could awaken the Power of the Limit. One way was to be an absolute madman, constantly challenging one’s own limits and igniting the Extraordinary path within one’s cells through near-death experiences.

The other way was to be like Chang Jing: have a rich dad.

Instead of risking one’s life, one could awaken simply by using precious cell-burning potions. If one dose wasn’t enough, use ten. If ten wasn’t enough, use a hundred.

You could awaken it even while lying on your back.

In truth, the heat-based power of the Desolate Beasts was fundamentally the same as humanity’s Power of the Limit. The only difference was that, compared to Desolate Beasts who were born with this power, the temperatures humans could generate were lower, and their potential ceiling wasn’t as high.

The giant Sand Worms of the desert, for instance, had internal temperatures exceeding a thousand degrees—a level completely unattainable by humans.

Temperature was the unit used to measure the Power of the Limit.

According to Chang Jing, the strongest humans alive could reach one hundred degrees with their Power of the Limit.

Chang Jing’s own Power of the Limit was forty degrees, and even that wasn’t a constant state; it had to be actively triggered.

Beyond that, Qi Suian confirmed one thing: he had indeed landed in a high-temperature zone.

The areas inhabited by humans were also hot, but the temperature never exceeded one hundred degrees, typically hovering around sixty or seventy.

Over the past century, ordinary humans living in this environment had become extremely heat-resistant.

Therefore, the high temperature itself wasn’t the greatest threat; the Desolate Beasts were.

Qi Suian didn’t ask about things like water or food, as bringing up such topics might make him seem like he had ulterior motives.

After all, he was heading to Liebo Mansion with Chang Jing now. He could gather that information slowly once he arrived.

Qi Suian also coveted this Extraordinary, heat-based power known as the Power of the Limit.

After all, he’d been running a high fever ever since he became a "violator," and it had never once subsided.

He was also intensely curious about the underlying principles and needed sufficient test subjects for his research.

He and the humans of this world were fundamentally different breeds. They could give birth to the Power of the Limit by pushing themselves through deadly training; Qi Suian would just end up half-dead.

In turn, Qi Suian noticed something different about the humans of this world.

In the Profound World where he came from, the average attribute value was 1 point.

Here, it was different. The average attribute value reached 1.5.

Extraordinary Beings who possessed the Power of the Limit could reach 2 points.

Take a pampered heir like Chang Jing, for example. He had a physique of 2 points. His Spirit might be slightly weaker, but it still hovered around 1.8 or 1.9.

Qi Suian suspected that the attributes of those Extraordinary Beings who had mastered the one-hundred-degree Power of the Limit might be around 2.5 points.

As for reaching the level of powerhouses like Chunyu Hu, that didn’t seem realistic. Qi Suian estimated only Desolate Beasts could achieve that.

If it weren’t for a combination of Qi Suian’s luck and Qi Feixiong’s hacked ability of an absolute hit, Chunyu Hu would never have died.

Unless the Extraordinary Beings of this world could grasp something akin to the very source of the Power of the Limit, they would never reach that level.

"Are we going the wrong way?" Although she had regained her composure, the female companion sitting beside Chang Jing still sounded panicked.

She couldn’t help but mutter as she stared at the passing scenery.

Her words made Chang Jing’s heart flutter with uncertainty. He wasn’t sure either.

The scenery outside was looking increasingly unfamiliar.

"Let’s ask him." Chang Jing stopped the car. He then saw Qi Suian catch up from behind, moving as if he were flying. The sight filled Chang Jing with envy.

’Unfortunately, someone this powerful can’t be from some minor faction,’ he thought. ’I can’t let my Liebo Mansion offend him.’ He could only suppress his covetous feelings.

"Sir, I think I took a wrong turn..." Chang Jing said, embarrassed.

Qi Suian stopped. He would have liked to ride in the vehicle, but the weight of the Tai Sui God was far too much for the off-roader to bear, so he’d had to give up on the idea.

Besides, his frame was too large to fit inside.

"How could you get lost?" Qi Suian asked, perplexed.

They had already left the Gobi Desert, so for the moment, they didn’t have to worry about the extreme heat.

"It’s fine! My dad definitely installed a tracker in this car. Enough time has passed that he must be on his way to find me by now," Chang Jing said hastily.

As the only son, Chang Jing was at least confident about that much.

He just feared he wouldn’t be able to escape a vicious beating after he was rescued.

’This kid is way too confident.’ Qi Suian’s reconnaissance network wasn’t detecting any signal source from the vehicle.

’Besides, without satellites to help, it would be impossible to receive a signal from this far away, even if there was one.’

"Is that so? How long will it take? The temperature is constantly rising, and you must be running low on supplies," Qi Suian said. Just because he didn’t need to eat or drink didn’t mean the other two could go without.

For one, once the fuel ran out, the vehicle’s air conditioning would be useless.

Chang Jing had the Power of the Limit, so he could survive a while longer in this environment. His girlfriend, however, probably couldn’t. She would die from dehydration within a day at most.

As for Chang Jing, he might last an extra day or so.

The apocalypse was a natural disaster; how could an ordinary person possibly resist it?

Even if he was a second-generation heir with a lofty status, extreme heat was the great equalizer. Even the Emperor himself would die out here.

"Well... it’s hard to say." Chang Jing wasn’t very sure himself.

[High-temperature heat sources detected approaching, fifteen kilometers to the front-left.]

[Data comparison identifies them as humans wielding the Power of the Limit. Quantity: seven. Highest reading: approximately seventy degrees. Lowest reading: sixty degrees.]

Due to the Tai Sui God’s evolutionary stage, the reconnaissance network could only cover a fifteen-kilometer radius—and that was with satellite amplification. Without it, the range would be a mere fifteen-kilometer diameter.

[Target has clear purpose. 70% probability: rescue team sent by Chang Jing’s father.]

[30% probability: ambushers, roaming bandits, etc.]

The AI provided its analysis to Qi Suian, but he remained outwardly impassive. While discussing their next move with Chang Jing, one part of his mind was contemplating whether he should just kill Chang Jing and the seven newcomers, then capture them as test subjects.

Offend Liebo Mansion? Qi Suian couldn’t care less.

Who would know he was the one who killed them?

This area was desolate and uninhabited. No one would ever find out.

The main reason was that the combination was simply too perfect. He had an ordinary person, someone enhanced by drugs, and those seven might have awakened the Power of the Limit by pushing their own bodies to the brink.

It was a complete set. It was only natural for Qi Suian to be tempted.

A dozen minutes later, Chang Jing spotted seven figures approaching in the distance and immediately grew excited.

"Uncle Xie, I’m over here!" Chang Jing shouted without a moment’s hesitation.

The seven figures drew closer but said nothing.

Qi Suian, however, clearly sensed that something was amiss. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

[Warning. 80% probability that these seven individuals are not here to rescue Chang Jing. They are ambushers.]

’I know.’ Qi Suian didn’t make a move. Instead, he took a step back, creating some distance.

"Young Master Chang, you’ve been fooling around again. Do you have any idea how worried the Mansion Master has been?" The middle-aged man, addressed as Uncle Xie, began with a rebuke. He was the strongest of the seven, his Power of the Limit reaching seventy degrees.

"And who is this?" he asked, his gaze falling upon Qi Suian.

He hadn’t attacked immediately precisely because he was wary of Qi Suian.

"I took a wrong turn earlier and ended up in the Desolate Lands. I was surrounded by a flock of Scorching Black Crows, and he was the one who saved me." Chang Jing, completely oblivious to Uncle Xie’s probing, trusted him completely and told him everything.

The way the man looked at Qi Suian changed in an instant.

’Anyone who can deal with a flock of Scorching Black Crows that easily is no simple character,’ he thought. ’He must have a Power of the Limit of at least ninety degrees. I’m glad I didn’t act rashly.’

A single Scorching Black Crow might be nothing, but even he wouldn’t dare contend with an entire flock.

’Damn it, how is this kid so lucky? The Scorching Black Crows couldn’t break through his father’s car, and now someone shows up to save him.’

’Looks like the assassination is off for now.’

That was what he thought, but on his face, he wore a different expression. He gave a wry smile and said, "Young Master Chang, causing trouble for others again."

"Sir, you can rest assured. Liebo Mansion may not be a great power, but for the kindness you’ve shown in saving Young Master Chang, the Mansion Master will certainly provide you with a satisfactory reward."

"If you don’t mind, please accompany us back to Liebo Mansion. You can rest and recuperate properly there."

In his mind, Qi Suian might have crossed the Desolate Fire Domain by himself, an incredible feat that meant he was not to be underestimated.

"Then it would be rude of me to refuse." Naturally, Qi Suian wasn’t going to decline. He knew far too little about this world; to learn more, he had to go through a local power.