NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 89
Chapter 89: Magic Power Doubled (Request for Subscription)
“Isn’t this excessive?”
Alpha was entirely enveloped in golden magic power, using it to shield himself from the extreme heat.
However, this method of defense did come at a cost.
Not to mention anything else, just this brief moment had already consumed half of Alpha’s magic power in his unsealed state.
The rapid consumption of magic power was nothing short of catastrophic.
In comparison, Xue Ji appeared much more relaxed.
Around her, faint silver-gray magic power swirled, carrying with it the protective force of the Ashen King, perfectly shielding her from any harm.
“Well, for that young man, this is merely an appetizer.”
Xue Ji’s perception surpassed even Alpha’s.
Thus, she was fully aware of Cid’s current situation.
“That kid has quite a few tricks up his sleeve.”
“He’s waiting for me to let my guard down so he can launch a surprise attack.”
Indeed, as soon as Xue Ji finished speaking, a figure broke through the pure white flames and swung a sword with lightning speed.
“Shing~~”
The clash between the paper fan and the magical sword caused them to lock in place, neither able to overcome the other.
“Just a bit of dust?”
Xue Ji inspected Cid, noticing his clearly singed hair, and mocked, “It seems I am indeed no match for Alpha.”
“Hey, are you serious?”
“I almost got blown to bits by you!”
Unlike Alpha, Cid did not use magic power to counteract the damage from the high-temperature flames and explosive force.
He compressed his magic power into a gossamer-like layer, allowing him to withstand Xue Ji’s opening move with minimal expenditure.
Of course, the reality wasn’t as easy as Cid made it seem.
The gray domain of Time Stop still existed, only hidden beneath the flames.
Moreover, this pure white flame was extremely peculiar; once it touched, it would continuously devour Cid’s magic power like a parasite clinging to bone.
In contrast, the explosion during Sunfall was almost negligible.
Such large-scale destruction mostly fell into empty space. The part Cid actually needed to deal with was less than one percent.
Honestly, when Cid saw Xue Ji use this technique, he was momentarily stunned.
What extravagance! Just how vast was this person’s magic power?
“So, is everything alright?”
With a flick of her hand, Xue Ji sent Cid flying with immense force.
“Huff… Huff…”
Cid steadied himself and looked around. The lush green grassland that was once there had vanished, replaced by a massive crater over ten kilometers in diameter and hundreds of meters deep.
Looking at the crystallized sand from the high temperature, Cid recalled Xue Ji’s move and couldn’t help but feel a chill run down his spine.
Too fast.
From the start of the attack to the Sunfall, the entire process took less than a second. If the time stop was factored in, it was less than 0.01 seconds, releasing energy comparable to dozens of hydrogen bombs in an instant.
“Your magic power is monstrous!”
Cid had been pondering a question all along.
Xue Ji’s and Alpha’s magic power were undoubtedly powerful, but their utilization efficiency was low.
At least from Cid’s perspective, who could cause magic power collapse, Xue Ji’s manipulation of magic power was still at the stage of delicate operations.
“Your magic power is indeed strong,” Cid said with doubt.
“But it’s too wasteful.”
Strengthening, eruption, compression, micro-operation, fission, fusion—these were the six stages of magic power control. Cid had reached the threshold of fusion, whereas Xue Ji was still in the micro-operation phase.
No, to be precise, it was precisely because of this that Xue Ji seemed even more terrifying.
You see, Cid didn’t sense much technical content in that Sunfall earlier; it was purely the product of a magic power eruption.
In other words, if Xue Ji were to compress that Sunfall or manipulate it even more intricately…
Upon realizing this, even Cid couldn’t help but draw in a sharp breath.
“Didn’t that last move consume a lot of your magic power?”
Cid’s eyes reflected Xue Ji’s figure and the magic power fluctuations she emitted.
After the recent exchange, Cid’s remaining magic power was less than sixty percent.
However, compared to him, Xue Ji’s consumption was evidently greater.
At least in Cid’s view, Xue Ji should not be able to release another Sunfall technique.
“My strength was bestowed upon me by that great being.”
Xue Ji did not become angry at Cid’s words; instead, she admitted, “I am indeed still inexperienced in the application of magic power.”
The silver fox girl never thought herself extraordinary.
The greatness belonged to Bai Luo, not her.
“But…”
“Consumption of a lot of magic power?”
Xue Ji tilted her head slightly, seemingly puzzled by why Cid would make such a judgment. “Oh, I see.”
As if understanding something, Xue Ji glanced at the fox tail behind her that resembled flames.
“Do you know what this is?”
Xue Ji lightly brushed one of her unchanged snow-white fox tails, flicking the tail ring on her finger, which produced a crisp and melodious metallic sound.
“…”
Cid’s expression grew increasingly grim as he considered a possibility.
“It seems you’ve understood?”
Xue Ji confirmed, “That’s correct. This thing is a special limiter used to bind the overwhelming magic power within me that I cannot yet control.”
“Earlier, I removed one of them.”
“Considering the Time Stop field maintained until now, and the fireball from before, it has consumed approximately eighty percent of my magic power.”
Xue Ji continued talking while lifting the tail ring with her fingers, slowly removing it. “So here’s the question.”
“Is this eighty percent based on my total magic power?”
“Or is it eighty percent of the portion of magic power that leaked out after breaking one seal?”
The moment her words ended, a beautifully intricate metal tail ring detached itself, simultaneously releasing the second level of restriction placed upon Xue Ji.
“Boom!!!”
An unimaginable surge of magic power annihilated the surrounding white flames like a tidal wave.
Unlike the Flame Fox Tail, the newly released fox tail seemed to be composed of ice crystals. With just a flick, it transformed the scorching world into a frozen, icy plain.
The essence of Time Stop was Xue Ji’s application of ice elemental forces.
However, that power was not her full strength.
Even with nine fox tails bound, Xue Ji could still wield elemental powers, albeit with a significant degree of sluggishness compared to the flexibility she exhibited after unleashing the seals.
“Huff…”
“Now I feel much better.”
Xue Ji stretched her body, and as the red and blue fox tails swayed, the weather of the entire world changed accordingly.
At this moment, the heavens and earth seemed to be divided into two parts by a sharp blade.
On the left was a fiery hell, and on the right was an icy polar plain.
“This… What’s the point of continuing?”
Cid’s face darkened as he counted the number of tail rings Xue Ji still wore.
There were a total of nine, two had been removed, leaving seven.
Based on the changes in Xue Ji’s magic power after liberation, Cid came to a conclusion: After removing the first tail ring, her magic power doubled.
Removing the second tail ring caused the magic power to double again.
Not twice the original amount, but doubling on top of the previous doubling, meaning four times the magic power in her completely sealed state.
In terms of sheer magic power quantity, his own magic power was comparable to hers in her sealed state.
Cid’s strength lay not in the vastness of his magic power, but in his incredible mastery of it.
But if the efficiency of unlocking the remaining seven tail rings was the same as the first two…
“Nine tails, nine tail rings, nine seals.”
“So here’s the question.”
Xue Ji grabbed another tail ring with a dangerous smile on her face, “Does the multiple increase in my magic power remain the same each time I break a seal?”
“The answer is…”
“Bang!”
The third tail ring fell off and dissolved into golden particles before hitting the ground.
The fox tail shimmering with starlight swayed, instantly replacing the daylight with night.
A full moon hung high in the sky, resonating with the inferno and ice plain of the world.
The majestic and noble shadow of the Nine-Tailed White Fox appeared behind Xue Ji, its magic power surging like a raging tide, swallowing Cid whole: “Double again!”