The most important issue in Chapter 172 is still the same old story.
Anne's silence lasted for a long time.
It wasn't until we had wandered through the winding caves deep in the mountain, explored every corner, and followed the path we found that led to the outside world, that she finally felt the chilly wind blowing through the mountains again. She shuddered and let out a long sigh as if waking from a dream.
"It's so cold!"
She sneezed loudly several times in a row, then hugged her arms and rubbed them vigorously.
Hearing the noise, I peeked out from under my hat, glanced at her appearance, and couldn't help but laugh: "Although there's no snow nearby, this is still the second highest peak. In this freezing weather outside, you'd definitely get cold if you came out in just a thin layer of clothing."
"Then you could have reminded me!"
Annie grumbled in dissatisfaction, quickly untied the sweater tied around her waist, wrapped it up in a shivering ball, and pulled it out.
Shen Xue shook her head, casually took off her own coat, and covered her with another layer. After a few more seconds, the little dumpling gradually stopped trembling.
"Aren't you cold?" I asked doubtfully.
Shen Xue raised an eyebrow slightly and extended her hand to me.
Aside from the deep calluses from the sword and the slightly larger knuckles than those of an ordinary girl, her hands were unremarkable.
"I'm starting to suspect you're nearsighted. Maybe we should just dig them out. You didn't even notice something so obvious."
This guy's sharp tongue is getting more and more biting.
I muttered a dissatisfied under my breath, but even with my eyes squinted, I still couldn't detect anything unusual. After thinking for two seconds, I changed my perspective.
Then, the moment my senses covered me, I realized what the problem was.
On the surface of that seemingly ordinary palm, close to the skin, there was a thin, transparent layer of magic. Observing its flow, it seemed to slowly seep outward through tiny pores, covering the body surface like a thin veil of mist.
This seemingly simple layer of mist not only provides basic protection but also locks in the body's heat, preventing the temperature from rising.
If I'm not mistaken, this has similar components to the air blades that Miyuki showed me before.
"Is this magic... no, a way of using qi?"
I stared in disbelief: "This must have consumed a lot of the magic power stored in your body, right? How did you do that?"
Miyuki withdrew her hand, still maintaining a calm expression: "It's a little different from your analysis. Admittedly, it is indeed a method of using Qi, but its actual consumption is not much. I have made a preliminary estimate, and unless you are constantly maintaining this state while moving at high speed, its consumption is only related to the total amount of Qi I used when I first used it."
"That would require a lot of control," I said instinctively.
Just like manipulating magic to form specific spells, if one wants to control qi as if it were an extension of one's own arm and manipulate it at will, a martial artist also needs extremely strong control in order to do so successfully.
Although there are many different paths for martial artists to successfully reach the realm of sword saint, this one is undoubtedly beyond the comprehension of those with slightly weaker comprehension and control. Its difficulty is as absurd as asking an illiterate ordinary person to directly understand the principles of alchemy.
But Miyuki's answer was very simple: "I just wanted to do it, and then I did it." She suddenly looked at me, "Of course, maybe it's also related to the fact that there has been a professional mage around me recently."
"Hmm? A professional mage... Ah? Are you talking about me? I don't think I did anything wrong... I'm actually not qualified."
Shen Xue crossed her arms: "At least I have many samples of techniques that I can observe directly up close. This is something that cannot be obtained through connections or money in the Frozen Snow City under normal circumstances. Even paying a lot of money wouldn't help."
Although I've heard a lot about it, the ecosystem of wild mages in the Frozen City seems to be quite harsh, and the largest groups occupy a monopolistic position in every aspect.
"In any case, the rest I took before allowed me to conduct some targeted research, which is why I've been able to achieve what I have now. Oh, and you also use that often... although I don't know what that technique is called."
I pondered for a moment, and it took me a beat to realize from her gestures that she was referring to a temporary barrier.
It seems that this is where her inspiration came from.
However, if the principles of the two are the same, I might be able to learn her methods. That way, I wouldn't have to frantically add another barrier every time someone breaks through my defenses, but could use them whenever I needed to.
I just don't know how different magic power and qi are, or whether they can communicate smoothly.
Suddenly, a rustling sound mixed with the sound of wind came from the woods near the cave entrance. We looked over warily and saw a dark gray bulge rising from the depths of the bushes, followed by two small triangular ears.
The ears darted around as if checking for nearby activity, and then a slightly menacing face emerged from behind the bushes, running briskly towards them.
It was the gray wolf that Annie claimed to have tamed.
Annie, peeking out from under her fur coat, called out and, no longer caring about the coat, ran quickly over, covered the gray wolf's neck with the fur, and buried her face in it.
“This gray wolf…” Miyuki warily withdrew her long sword, her brows furrowed as she looked the two embracing figures up and down. “How did it know we were here?”
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