Chapter 23: Failed Attempt and New Inspiration

“Is this really feasible…”

“Oh, don’t worry. You just go ahead and try. If anything happens, it’s on me.”

“But… but…”

“You don’t trust your big sister? Don’t worry, even if you tear this place down today, it’s no big deal.”

“Tear… tearing it down is a bit much…”

“I was just saying. Did you really think you could tear this place down?”

“Mmm…”

Decisively shutting up, Xia Xingli followed Stephen back to the strength testing instrument.
Looking at Stephen, who was swaying a little as she walked after drinking, Xia Xingli felt that she must have been out of her mind to believe her.

“Alright, do it the way I taught you.”
Leaning against the instrument, Stephen waved her hand and slapped the instrument hard a couple of times, completely oblivious to the cold sweat beading on Xia Xingli’s forehead, and even muttered a couple of times, “Why is it so hard?”

‘Stephen, I think you’re the one who’s here to tear down the instruments!’

“Stephen… Big Sister, it’s not very safe for you to stand next to the instrument…”
Xia Xingli didn’t dare to make a move, after all, according to the method Stephen had just taught her, she couldn’t guarantee that Stephen, who was next to the instrument, wouldn’t be affected.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Big sister believes in little Xingli’s control.”

Looking completely unconcerned, Stephen even raised her wine bottle and took another swig.

“…”
Knowing Stephen’s temperament well, Xia Xingli didn’t try to persuade her anymore.
Rather than wasting her breath, it was better to control the upcoming attack and try her best not to affect the area around the instrument.

Taking a deep breath, Xia Xingli activated her ability.
“Violet Spirit Ice Flame” burned quietly around her body, like the battle aura shield in a novel.

Xia Xingli felt her ability.
“Violet Spirit Ice Flame” was a “flame” without temperature, but when the ability was activated, Xia Xingli could feel a warmth, a warmth like being in Stephen’s arms.

Her little face blushed slightly, and she shook her head to gather her thoughts.
What Xia Xingli had to do was not to attack with her ability, but to use her ability to strengthen her body.
It was common knowledge that after an ordinary person became an ability user, their body would be strengthened by their ability, thus possessing a physique that surpassed that of an ordinary person.
But the strengthening Stephen was talking about was not that kind of strengthening.

“An ability is also a kind of energy. When an ordinary person obtains this energy, their body can be strengthened. So what if an ability user uses this energy to empower themselves? Perhaps this method cannot permanently strengthen the body, but at least while the energy is still empowering it, the body should still be able to be empowered.”

Recalling the method Stephen had just taught her, Xia Xingli carefully controlled her ability.
In the past, she used her ability without thinking, but now, Stephen asked her to be able to perceive the “energy” that existed in her body, and then try to control it.

“Actually, it’s very simple. Usually, when you activate an ability, you subconsciously complete the steps of controlling the energy and forming the ability. Now, it’s just a matter of re-experiencing this simplified step.”

Just as Stephen said, it wasn’t difficult.
Xia Xingli easily felt the energy in her body.
Next, if she were to condense this energy outside her body, she would be able to activate her ability, but Xia Xingli obviously didn’t plan to do that.

“Don’t condense the energy to activate the ability, but empower the body…”
Muttering to herself, Xia Xingli controlled the energy.
“But what exactly does ’empower’ mean… if I rely on this energy to enhance my stamina or something, I feel it won’t be very effective. Then… explosive power?”

Suddenly thinking of something, Xia Xingli tried to compress the sensed energy bit by bit into her right arm.
Because she was worried about losing control of the energy, this process was a bit long, but fortunately, she completed this step smoothly.

“Since compressing an ability can create a powerful ability explosion, then compressing the energy that is the essence of the ability should also have considerable power when it explodes.”
Clenching her right fist, Xia Xingli looked at the instrument.
Feeling a little nervous, she calmed down after seeing Stephen’s encouraging thumbs-up, let out a loud shout, and punched the soft pad of the instrument, simultaneously unleashing that energy.

With a dull thud, the pyramid-shaped instrument trembled.
Stephen’s face changed, and she quickly jumped aside, dodging the “Violet Spirit Ice Flame” that appeared and disappeared in an instant.
When the ability’s fluctuation stabilized, Stephen quickly walked to Xia Xingli’s side and carefully supported the girl’s right arm.

She had heard that cry of pain very clearly just now.

“It’s fine, it’s just dislocated. The energy that hasn’t completely dissipated should have protected your arm.”

After checking Xia Xingli’s right arm, Stephen let out a sigh of relief and skillfully set her dislocated arm.
Looking at the girl’s face, which was a little pale from the pain, Stephen sighed and patted her little head.

“The idea is not bad, but the explosion after compressing the energy is extremely unstable. Not only will it form an out-of-control ability when it explodes, but it will also cause backlash damage to your body. So this method is not feasible. This method of compressing and then exploding an ability is just a means of mutual destruction, just like Xia Li…”

As if she had said something wrong, Stephen’s voice came to an abrupt halt.
But the somewhat dejected Xia Xingli didn’t seem to notice and was looking at the instrument instead.

“It didn’t damage any important parts, you just need to replace the soft pad. You can rest for a while. It’s better not to move your arm too much.”
Stephen followed Xia Xingli’s gaze and comforted her.

The soft pad of the instrument was now mostly gone, and even the surrounding steel frame was affected.
But the display was still running, showing the S-rank mark.

“This kind of power is not worth the cost, and it’s only the power of the ability explosion, not my physical strength.”
To Stephen’s surprise, Xia Xingli didn’t stay dejected for long and instead began to analyze calmly.
“Big Sister Stephen is right. The explosion after compressing the energy is too unstable. Even an ability outside the body will go out of control, let alone compressing energy inside the body.”

“It’s good that you understand.”
Standing up and stretching lazily, Stephen walked towards the place where the tools were stored.
As a non-combatant, she was quite accomplished in research and repair.
Repairing an instrument with such surface damage was a piece of cake for her.

“But the failure just now also gave me an inspiration. I think I know how to use my ability.”

Stephen turned her head and saw a confident smile on Xia Xingli’s little face, completely devoid of her previous dejection.
And on her right arm, “Violet Spirit Ice Flame” danced, enveloping her entire arm.

Stephen was silent for a long time, then suddenly lunged forward and gave Xia Xingli a karate chop on her little head.
After Xia Xingli let out a cute cry of surprise, she turned to repair the instrument.

“If you have any ideas, you should wait until your arm has rested before putting them into practice. Don’t wait until you’re in the hospital to regret it.”

“What… do I look like someone who doesn’t care about my body?”
Carefully rubbing her head where she had been hit, Xia Xingli muttered in dissatisfaction, but then couldn’t help but show a smile.

“Thank you for your concern, Stephen.”

“Call me big sister, you little girl with no manners.”

When the door of the testing area opened again, what Wang Cheng saw was Stephen holding Xia Xingli in her arms.

“Lady Stephen, um…”

Stephen made a shushing gesture at him.
Wang Cheng glanced at the soundly sleeping Xia Xingli in Stephen’s arms, nodded in understanding, and closed his mouth.

Xia Xingli’s body was very light.
Holding her in her arms, Stephen felt that she wasn’t much heavier than the large stack of documents she carried.

Holding the sleeping Xia Xingli like this, Stephen took a familiar route through several empty corridors to her residence in the “Central Tower.”

Stephen’s residence was not large, sixty or seventy square meters, a simple two-bedroom apartment.
But the room was a mess, with discarded manuscripts strewn all over the floor, a few pieces of clothes to be washed thrown on the sofa, and the smell of alcohol permeating the room.

Casually kicking away a few white coats blocking the way on the floor, Stephen fumbled to open the door of a bedroom.
This small room was more like a study than a bedroom.
Except for a neatly made single bed, the rest of the space was almost completely occupied by large bookshelves and piles of books everywhere.

Gently placing Xia Xingli on the single bed and tucking her in, Stephen turned and left the room, closing the door behind her.

This study was the room where Xia Xingli had temporarily stayed before.
At that time, Xia Xingli had refused to agree to Stephen’s proposal of sleeping together, so Stephen had no choice but to give Xia Xingli the relatively neatest study as her bedroom.

“This little girl is as stubborn as you.”

On a wall in the living room, a tattered black long coat was hanging.
This long coat was one of Xia Lixing’s few “relics” from before.
After obtaining Xia Xingli’s consent, it was left at Stephen’s residence.

The other two “relics,” the chest emblem and the short stub of a broken blade, were placed in Xia Xingli’s current residence.

“Speaking of which, the little girl is quite similar to you.
Neither of you pursue power for the sake of power.
You’re both so kind-hearted, both so smart, and yet both so foolish.”
Looking at the tattered long coat, Stephen shook her head with a bitter smile.
“You two have too much in common.
At first, I thought you, you brat, had turned into a little girl.”

“I don’t know if you’re alive or dead right now, you brat, abandoning the sister you just found and disappearing without a trace so irresponsibly.
Although little Xingli hasn’t said anything, I can still see that you’re very important to her.
Otherwise, how long have you known each other, and yet the fighting style she pursues has been influenced by you.”

After muttering to herself for a while, Stephen sighed, revealing a weariness she never showed to outsiders.
Rubbing her temples, Stephen straightened her back, deeply hiding that trace of fatigue.

“Don’t you worry.
As your big sister, and to be blunt, half your mother, I will take good care of little Xingli—although I’d really like to say that…”

Taking off her white coat, she took out a set of black combat suit-like clothes from a hidden compartment in the living room.
Stephen glanced at her arm and changed all her clothes.

Just by changing her clothes, her entire demeanor seemed to have undergone a heaven-and-earth change.
Not a single trace of laziness remained.
In its place was a faint temptation like that of a rose, yet at the same time, a cold and sacred purity like that of a snow lotus.

“Well, if big sister here takes care of everything, little Xingli won’t have to fight in the future, right?”