Chapter 55: Tian Shu Bureau Kunlun Branch: Mistification and Giant Strength Abilities

About six kilometers from Ye Xuan’s location, a five-member team moved through the glacial canyon of Mount Kunlun, their specially designed anti-slip boots leaving faint footprints on the crystalline ice.

“Although my home is in the town at the foot of the mountain, to be honest, this is my first time venturing this deep.”

The young woman in the team, wearing goggles, halted and exhaled; the white mist condensed into frost on her lenses as she gazed at the surroundings with awe.

“This kind of untouched natural beauty, untouched by human development, is simply too exquisite to be of this world.”

The middle-aged team leader chuckled at her words.

“It’s only now, with the revival of Qi, that we dare venture this deep. In the past, we’d never have dared come here.”

This five-member team belonged to the Tian Shu Bureau’s Kunlun Branch; due to the vast expanse of the Kunlun Mountains and the sheer number of wild creatures inhabiting them, different regions each had their own dedicated “Kunlun Branch” to monitor abnormal Qi fluctuations.

They wore uniform Tian Shu Bureau attire, with a snow-capped peak emblem on their left arms signifying their Kunlun Branch affiliation.

“Captain Qin, comparing Qi concentrations across different times, our region’s Qi density has risen another 10%.”

“But strangely, the Qi fluctuation curve within the region is irregular.”

“For a period, massive amounts of Qi converged toward a single point—as if something were absorbing it.”

Lin Rui spoke with an odd tone, staring at the detection device in his hand.

It wasn’t unusual for something to absorb Qi—after all, the Kunlun Mountains teemed with life, and many creatures mutated and naturally absorbed Qi.

Didn’t they themselves awaken abilities and instinctively absorb Qi every day?

But no matter how much they absorbed, it shouldn’t cause such a pronounced convergence of Qi toward one location; how much could something possibly absorb to produce such a dramatic Qi fluctuation curve?

Captain Qin rubbed his stubble upon hearing this.

“Could a powerful mutated beast have been born? Or perhaps some herb or plant has evolved into a heavenly treasure?”

He could only think of these two possibilities—there was no way some exceptionally gifted human was training inside.

Although the Qi density in the Kunlun Mountains was higher than in cities, it wasn’t vastly greater; if they really needed to train, they could just do it at the village at the mountain’s base—who’d risk their life entering the Kunlun Mountains just to cultivate?

“The mutated beast possibility is more likely. Heavenly treasures usually stay fixed in one place.”

“This one shows signs of movement.”

Lin Rui also leaned toward the idea that a powerful mutated beast had emerged in their region, since he’d detected this peculiar Qi fluctuation multiple times before—each occurrence in a different location over the past few days.

A heavenly treasure couldn’t possibly grow legs and run away; the mutated beast was clearly more plausible.

As for humans, Lin Rui and Captain Qin had never even considered that possibility.

Even the chance of a heavenly artifact was higher than that of a human.

Captain Qin was about to respond when his expression hardened—eight pairs of glowing eyes slowly emerged from behind the snowdrifts: the mutated wolves Ye Xuan had encountered before.

But unlike the one he’d faced, these mutated wolves were only slightly larger than ordinary wolves, their fur a normal gray-brown, lacking the unusual features of the one Ye Xuan had met.

Seeing this pack, the five men didn’t tense up—they began joking among themselves.

“Well, well, we walked for so long and barely saw a few mutated beasts; now we get this many all at once—and they’re treating us like prey.”

Captain Qin said with amusement, then turned his gaze to the others.

“What do you say?”

“One each, and whoever grabs the rest gets it?”

“You’re kidding, Captain.”

“You’re the leader—aren’t you going to show us your skills?”

“Elemental abilities are extremely rare across the entire Tian Shu Bureau; and yours is rock-based, just like Master Zhong’s.”

Bai Xiao, standing beside Captain Qin, winked teasingly and grinned.

“Yeah, Captain, let us see your power.”

“Just a few mutated wolves? I’ll crush them effortlessly.”

“What kind of fools dare attack a team led by me?”

With one person starting, the other four took turns ribbing Captain Qin.

“If you all want me dead, just say it outright.”

“My rock-summoning ability? At best, I can handle two mutated wolves. You’re giving me all of them—you think I’m Master Zhong?”

Qin Yue replied with a grumble.

The surrounding wolf pack, angered by their casual attitude, let out a long howl—the lead wolf lunged, and seven figures charged simultaneously.

“You kids…”

Qin Yue sighed, slamming both hands into the ground. The frozen earth before him erupted into a two-meter-high stone wall, slamming into the first three wolves and hurling them midair.

“Alright, each of you pick one and train.”

“Yes, Captain!”

Su Yan was the first to charge—her form blurred, shimmering like mist across the snow.

Her awakened ability was “Mistification,” somewhat similar to elemental abilities, but strictly speaking, it wasn’t one—she could only turn into mist, with no control over the mist itself.

Yet during mistification, she became immune to all physical attacks, much like elementalization; however, the duration depended on her Qi reserves—currently, unless she drained all her Qi at once, she typically maintained it for only three seconds.

But three seconds was enough to fight mutated beasts.

She moved nimbly behind one wolf and drove her Qi-infused dagger precisely into its nape.

Shi Gang laughed, grabbing the charging wolf in both arms; his muscles swelled visibly—he possessed the “Giant Strength” ability and was, next to Qin Yue, the strongest in the team.

In his ability state, he could effortlessly lift two tons.

The mutated wolf became a giant doll in his hands, swung and slammed into the ice, cracking it with a spiderweb of fissures.

Bai Xiao’s figure left afterimages across the snow—his ability was similar to Shi Gang’s, but instead of enhancing strength, it boosted speed.

His sharp dagger slashed repeatedly through the mutated wolf’s body with each accelerated strike.

Lin Rui adjusted his glasses and remained standing still.

His ability differed from theirs—it granted him exceptional vision, allowing him to predict opponents’ attack trajectories in advance.

Though he had no offensive capability, he could evade wolf claws with minimal movement and occasionally warn his teammates.

(End of Chapter)