Inside the house.
Looking at the plus sign on the panel, Jiang Ning no longer hesitated.
As his mind focused, the source energy points on the panel rapidly decreased, freezing in place in an instant.
[Source Energy]: 1793.67
At the same time
Whoosh
The sound of surging waves suddenly echoed in Jiang Ning's ears.
He saw endless azure waves submerging him.
Looking around, all he could see was a vast expanse of blue water.
Above, below, and in every direction it was all the same.
He also felt as though he had become part of the water itself. Apart from the water, he could see nothing else, including his own body.
At this moment, he felt completely fused with the water, indistinguishable from it.
In this boundless aquatic world, he drifted for what felt like an eternity perhaps a fleeting moment, an endless period.
Yet no matter how long passed or how far he drifted, the scene around him remained unchanged.
Until one moment
A sudden flash of insight struck him.
The next instant, his consciousness returned. A trace of profound depth flickered in his eyes before vanishing.
[Source Energy]: 1793.67
[Skills]: Water Affinity (7th Breakthrough Limit 8000/8000) (Traits: Underwater Breathing, Water Manipulation+, Water Spirit Affinity, Cloud and Rain Control, Water Spirit Body, Great Five Elements Water Escape)
"Great Five Elements Water Escape?"
Seeing the newly added trait under the Water Affinity skill on the panel, Jiang Ning couldn't help but show a hint of surprise.
He focused his gaze on it.
[Great Five Elements Water Escape]: Innate Divine Ability.
The description was just six words, but Jiang Ning stared at it for several long breaths.
"Great Five Elements Water Escape?" he murmured to himself.
Then, he raised his head and looked out the window.
After a moment, he closed the panel and walked out of the house.
Pushing open the door, he saw the first light of dawn painting the eastern sky with a touch of red.
"Looks like it'll be a fine day!"
A smile appeared on his face.
Arriving at the lakeside, he noted that the lake had long since frozen over due to the continuous days of cold and snowfall, with a thick layer of snow covering the ice.
Jiang Ning shattered the ice and stepped into the water.
The moment he entered, he felt an entirely new sensation.
It was as though, with just a thought, he could merge completely with the lake, becoming one with it.
His mind flashed back to the scene he had experienced during the breakthrough earlier.
Though the memory was somewhat hazy now, the broad strokes remained clear.
In that endless world of water, he had fused entirely with it, drifting for what felt like an eternity before awakening.
The next moment, with a single thought, his figure vanished from the water, merging seamlessly into the lake.
Now, through his aquatic perception, he could see everything within a three-li radius but he could no longer see his form.
Beneath the water, Jiang Ning raised his hand, yet still saw nothing.
Was this what it meant to merge perfectly with water?
Awe washed over him.
This flawless state of fusion made him realize it was akin to an invincible survival technique.
Completely merging with the water meant not only would it be impossible to kill him finding him in the first place would be an insurmountable challenge.
Such a miraculous ability left him deeply astonished.
"Truly worthy of being called an innate divine ability!" he marveled inwardly.
Then, he suddenly felt a wave of weakness. His body swayed, and he abruptly fell out of his merged state with the water.
His face paled, and his limbs felt weak and unsteady.
"The consumption is this immense?!"
Jiang Ning was stunned.
He estimated he had only maintained the state for a few breaths, yet now he felt utterly drained.
His internal energy was depleted, his blood vitality dried up, his spirit exhausted, and his entire body devoid of strength.
This was the most depleted he had ever felt.
It took several more breaths, with the lake's continuous nourishment, before he began to recover slightly.
"This level of consumption... is truly staggering!" Clenching his fist and sensing the emptiness within, he couldn't help but sigh again.
He then floated quietly in the water, feeling its restorative energy seep into him like gentle spring rain, rapidly replenishing his stamina, internal energy, and blood vitality.
After a long while, Jiang Ning finally felt his energy, spirit, and physical strength fully restored.
[Great Five Elements Water Escape]: Innate Divine Ability.
Taking another look at the panel's description, a thoughtful glint flashed in his eyes before he closed it again.
The next moment, Jiang Ning unleashed his full spiritual perception. With his mastery over the water, it was as though he had entered a god-like perspective, observing his every movement from above.
Now, under his meticulous scrutiny, he could see even the slightest disturbance he caused in the water.
At that very instant
With a single thought, his figure vanished from his observation.
One moment, he could still see himself.
The next, he had disappeared without a trace, as though he had evaporated from the lake.
His presence had seemed like nothing more than an illusion, a phantasm that left no mark on the material world.
Now, as his body vanished, the lake water remained utterly undisturbed.
There was no sudden rush of water to fill a space, no imagined turbulence from his disappearance.
At this moment, through his mastery over the water, he could no longer sense his existence.
It was as though he had been completely erased from this world.
Yet, within his perception, he could still clearly feel his presence existing within this very lake.
Then, with another thought
His figure instantly reappeared in the water.
Still, there was no ripple, no disturbance, as if he had always been there.
"This is incredible!!" Witnessing his disappearance and reappearance firsthand, he couldn't help but marvel.
Under normal circumstances, the volume his body occupied would displace the surrounding water, pushing it outward.
Thus, the moment his figure vanished, the sudden absence of that volume would create a vacuum, causing the water to rush in and fill the gap inevitably causing movement.
But what had just happened was different.
Neither his disappearance nor his reappearance had caused the slightest disturbance.
This alone was enough to demonstrate the profound mystery of the Great Five Elements Water Escape Art it seemed to defy the laws of physics.
Then, he assessed his physical state.
A bitter smile crossed his face.
In just under two breaths of time, he realized his body had suffered severe depletion.
Whether it was his spirit, stamina, qi, blood, or internal energy every aspect had been drained significantly.
This meant that using this innate divine ability came at an enormous cost. In his current state, prolonged use was impossible.
After resting for a while longer, nourished by the lake, Jiang Ning soon returned to peak condition.
"The Great Five Elements Water Escape this innate divine ability must be a form of escape art!"
Jiang Ning murmured to himself.
Then, with another thought
His figure instantly vanished from his perception, merging completely with the lake water.
Immediately after, he moved.
In that instant
Everything in his perception blurred, as though he were on a high-speed train, watching the scenery just a meter outside the window streak past indistinctly.
In just a flash, he had no idea how far he had traveled or where he had arrived.
The next moment
He was forcibly ejected from that extraordinary state, reappearing in the water.
Now, he felt utterly drained his body weak, his spirit nearly exhausted, his internal energy completely depleted.
"The cost is truly staggering!" Jiang Ning couldn't help but laugh bitterly.
He then quietly allowed the lake to nourish him, feeling his condition rapidly recover.
At the same time, he surveyed his surroundings.
But the lakebed's scenery was monotonous, and he had no memory of whether he had ever been here before.
"Guess I'll have to wait until I recover, then surface to get my bearings."
With that thought, he patiently waited for his body to fully recuperate.
After what felt like an eternity, his vitality, stamina, and spirit were restored.
He had fully recovered.
Boom
The thick ice layer suddenly shattered, sending snow flying over twenty feet into the air.
Amid the explosion of ice and snow, a figure burst forth.
It was Jiang Ning.
Once his condition was restored, he shot straight upward.
Using the Great Five Elements Water Escape, he had traversed an unknown distance.
Underwater, it had been hard to judge direction or location.
But now, above the ice, it was different.
He glanced at the breaking dawn in the distance and quickly identified the direction of his home.
Boom
Another explosive sound erupted beneath his feet as the ice cracked and collapsed downward.
Using the recoil, Jiang Ning launched himself into the sky, soaring over a hundred feet in a single leap.
Midair
Feeling his upward momentum wane, his body began to descend.
Internal energy surged from his dantian, flooding through the meridians in his legs.
The Yin Heel Vessel, Yang Heel Vessel, Yin Linking Vessel, and Yang Linking Vessel.
As well as the Kidney Meridian of Foot-Shaoyin, Liver Meridian of Foot-Jueyin, Spleen Meridian of Foot-Taiyin, and Gallbladder Meridian of Foot-Shaoyang.
Countless subsidiary channels in his legs were also filled with internal energy.
Boom
He stomped down on empty air.
White mist instantly gathered beneath his foot, and a visible shockwave rippled outward from the point of impact.
This step halted his descent, propelling him forward with tremendous force.
As the wind roared past his ears, Jiang Ning's face lit up with exhilaration.
A single stride carried him over a hundred feet.
He took another step.
Boom
The air beneath his foot exploded again, another shockwave spreading out.
Using this leverage, he lunged forward once more.
With each step he took,
A burst of air exploded beneath his feet.
The powerful recoil made each step feel as though he were treading on solid ground, propelling his figure forward through the air.
At this moment,
Jiang Ning experienced true freedom soaring as freely as a bird.
His heart swelled with exhilaration.
Flight what boundless liberty it offered.
Thanks to the sudden surge in his internal energy, he had only now, after today's attempt, realized he had achieved this feat.
This method of traversing the void required no technique; it relied solely on sheer force.
"Brute force makes miracles" was the perfect description of his current aerial sprint.
As his proficiency grew, Jiang Ning's speed in the air also increased rapidly.
But after just a dozen or so breaths, he felt that more than half of the internal energy in his dantian had already been depleted.
"I see it!"
A smile spread across his face.
From his high vantage point, his keen eyesight allowed him to spot the location of his home.
Then, mid-air, he glanced back behind him.
Quickly, he identified the spot where he had just broken through the ice.
Comparing the two, he was struck with awe.
The distance between where he had emerged from the ice and the rocky shore near his residence was roughly thirty li about fifteen kilometers.
What did that mean?
He remembered in his past life, driving from the city back to his hometown in the county a distance of less than twenty kilometers had taken him nearly half an hour.
In other words, the instant he had activated the Great Five Elements Water Escape, that innate divine ability, he had traversed a distance that would have taken him half an hour by car in his previous life.
"Tsk"
Putting it into perspective, he couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath mid-air.
Only now did he truly grasp the terror of the Great Five Elements Water Escape.
Such a method was akin to mythology.
It completely defied his understanding.
As his heart trembled with shock, he descended step by step from the sky.
Moments later,
He landed gently on the ice, standing still.
Originally, he had planned to return home to measure how far he had traveled using the Water Escape.
But now, from his high vantage point, he already knew the distance he had covered.
Thirty li in an instant.
With his goal achieved, going back seemed unnecessary.
"No!" He shook his head.
"I didn't tell my elder brother and sister-in-law before leaving. Besides, the old turtle has lived for over two hundred years he must know a lot about Luo River Lake. If I'm going treasure hunting in Luo River, I'll need to bring him along!"
Having made up his mind,
He stomped on the ice, shattering it, and plunged back into the water.
Thanks to the marvel of his Water Affinity skill, his speed underwater was now nearly as fast as on land.
Moreover, his aerial sprint had drained over half of his internal energy, and he needed to return to the water to accelerate its recovery.
Breaking through the ice and entering the water,
His mental power expanded, and the area of water he could control suddenly increased.
A radius of five li all within his grasp.
"As expected, improving my Water Affinity enhances my mental field underwater. The higher the skill level, the greater the range of water my mental field can cover."
Jiang Ning nodded in satisfaction.
Then, he opened his panel again.
[Source Energy]: 1793.67
[Skills]: Firewood Chopping Saber Technique+ (Sixth Limit Break 7000/7000) (Traits: Versatility, Saber Like Thunder, Mastery of the Saber, Unity of Man and Saber, Natural Saber Talent)
Water Affinity (Seventh Limit Break 8000/8000) (Traits: Underwater Breathing, Water Manipulation+, Water Spirit Affinity, Cloud and Rain Control, Water Spirit Body, Great Five Elements Water Escape)
Currently, the only skill on the panel that could undergo a limit break was the Firewood Chopping Saber Technique.
Originally, he had planned to use the remaining Source Energy points to break the limits of the saber technique and enhance his combat ability.
But now, having experienced the profundity of the Great Five Elements Water Escape, he changed his mind.
The Water Affinity skill already had 8,000 experience points, meeting the requirements for the eighth limit break.
The only thing lacking was Source Energy points.
But the gap wasn't large.
By his estimate, the eighth limit break for Water Affinity would require around 2,000 Source Energy points.
He currently had nearly 1,800.
With a shortfall of just over 200 points at his current efficiency, he could reach that goal by tomorrow.
Breaking the limits of Water Affinity again would undoubtedly increase his efficiency in searching for natural treasures underwater.
For example, he could now control a radius of five li in the water.
Yesterday, it had been only three li.
The additional two li in radius didn't just double his efficiency it increased the area he could monitor by roughly 2.8 times.
A simple calculation showed his efficiency had at least doubled.
So, for him right now, improving Water Affinity was unquestionably the most valuable choice.
As for boosting his combat strength, he wasn't in a hurry.
Having firmly made his decision, he closed the panel.
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