Chapter 90: Absorbing Nuclear Radiation? Have I Become Godzilla?

"Is it because I ate that Giant Snake's Inner Core?"

Ning Jingli immediately thought of that reason.

It was a Giant Snake that could Transform into Jiao, and judging from the snake already having an embryonic Jiao shape, its thousand‑year lifespan should be almost up.

It contained the essence the Giant Snake had condensed over several hundred years, which must be equivalent to abundant energy.

Moreover, perhaps in this world there will never be a second snake that can Transform into Jiao.

So Ning Jingli thought that this was why only she could fully master the Tian Xuan Heart Method in the world.

She was indeed very lucky.

What surprised Ning Jingli was that Ye Zhiqiu shook her head and said, "No, even if you didn't eat the Giant Snake's Inner Core, you're still the only one who can master it. That thing's energy is far insufficient, but the benefit is that it gives you a higher starting point."

"If you can, through the Tian Xuan Heart Method, convert the Giant Snake's Inner Core energy into Internal Strength, your first step will be equivalent to my master's hundred years of Internal Strength cultivation."

"In our terms, that's called energy; in the terms of martial artists here, it's called the spiritual qi of heaven, earth, and all things. In short, it's absorbing that spiritual qi and then converting it into Internal Strength."

Ning Jingli was very surprised.

The Giant Snake's Inner Core that had been refined for several hundred years, after being turned into Internal Strength, is only equivalent to my mother's master's hundred years of cultivation?

That energy consumption must be terrifying, right?

"Mom, you've said so much and still haven't told me why only I can master it?" Ning Jingli pouted.

Ye Zhiqiu leisurely opened a cabinet in the training room and took out a quail‑egg‑sized Night Bright Pearl.

Seeing the glowing pearl, Ning Jingli's eyes lit up, she reached out to take it, "Is this also a gift for me? Thanks, Mom, hehe!"

"Don't touch." Ye Zhiqiu lightly tapped Ning Jingli's hand.

Then, with the Night Bright Pearl cupped in her palm, she asked, "Daughter, when you look at something that naturally glows, what does it remind you of?"

Ning Jingli retorted, "I've already graduated from university, and I still have to attend classes…"

Putting the complaint aside, she still thought it over while answering.

"Things that naturally glow include fireflies, lantern fish and the like—animals that, through special structures, convert biological energy into light. Apart from such flora and fauna, it's the fire produced when things are ignited."

Ye Zhiqiu smiled and asked, "Anything else?"

"Also…" Ning Jingli continued, "there are things that carry radioactive energy, such as the radiation produced by nuclear fission."

At that point she suddenly showed a terrified expression, staring straight at the tiny Night Bright Pearl, "Mom! Please don't tell me this thing glows because it has nuclear radiation?!"

"Aha, you're right!" Ye Zhiqiu's eyes were full of satisfaction.

Ning Jingli nearly jumped off the cushion, "Mom! Don't you know that exposure to nuclear radiation kills you?!"

"Hahaha!" Ye Zhiqiu laughed, leaning forward and backward as she watched her daughter's frightened, almost frenzied reaction.

Seeing her own mother's reaction, Ning Jingli quickly calmed down, furrowed her brows and asked skeptically, "Mom… stop teasing me, what exactly is this?"

She was a bit confused.

Could Mom be deliberately playing with her, and this thing actually has no radioactivity at all?

Ye Zhiqiu laughed, "This is the Night Bright Pearl. The so‑called Night Bright Pearl is actually polished from a special stone that naturally possesses radioactivity."

Ning Jingli was about to sigh in relief, but hearing that made her hair stand on end.

"Don't panic, don't panic," Ye Zhiqiu said immediately, "Alright, I won't tease you any longer. The reason I can touch it directly is that the spiritual qi needed for cultivating Internal Skill is actually—nuclear radiation."

"What?!" Ning Jingli was so shocked her eyes seemed about to pop out.

Ye Zhiqiu pinched the Night Bright Pearl and continued to explain:

"Martial artists, especially masters who cultivate Internal Skill, often need various heavenly materials and earthly treasures that store spiritual qi, and ordinary people cannot handle such treasures."

"The reason isn't just that ordinary people who obtain them would be robbed or killed; more importantly, the treasures would backfire, causing death in an unnatural way."

"Why do they backfire? Ancient people had all sorts of mystical explanations, but once we modern folks know these treasures are radioactive, it becomes clear."

"It's simple: exposure to nuclear radiation causes various ailments in the body, leading to a painful death."

Hearing this, Ning Jingli's mind buzzed.

After all that… the energy ancient cultivators needed for martial Internal Strength was actually nuclear radiation?

So the ancient Internal Skill heart method was a technique that converts nuclear radiation into one's own Internal Strength?

"Daughter, do you know why the farther back in history you go, the more people there are who practice martial arts or even divine arts?" Ye Zhiqiu asked.

Ning Jingli stared blankly and shook her head.

The amount of information was huge; she was still processing it.

Ye Zhiqiu's mouth twitched, "I've figured out the reason, and it's simple: the heavenly materials and earthly treasures in nature that contain nuclear radiation are constantly consumed by martial artists; the higher the skill, the more they consume. Over time, those treasures become scarcer and harder to find."

"There's a saying that a clever housewife can't cook a meal without rice; without an energy source, how can a technique be practiced?"

"Even in the era we're currently in, over two thousand years ago, it was already the so‑called Decline Era."

"Oh right, those ancient divine beasts also survived and reproduced by relying on the radioactive things in nature, and for the same reason they gradually went extinct. The Giant Snake you killed was probably the last descendant of a certain type of ancient divine beast from this period."

"On the human side, martial masters became fewer and techniques more degenerated, until they were completely lost; after another two thousand years only martial arts remained. In the modern world, no one even knows how to cultivate Internal Skill."

"Modern people who encounter nuclear radiation have only a dead end, because they don't know how to turn nuclear radiation into Internal Strength, and they never imagine that such a thing was the spiritual qi needed for ancient cultivation."

Ye Zhiqiu said, blinking at Ning Jingli, "My little treasure, now you know why I said only you can master the Tian Xuan Heart Method?"

"I… understand." Ning Jingli took a deep breath, "Because the modern world can generate massive nuclear radiation with technology, and after I practice the Tian Xuan Heart Method, I can return to the modern era… and won't lack an energy source."

Ye Zhiqiu snapped her fingers, "Exactly, that's it!"

Ning Jingli pressed her forehead, "Mom, have I turned into the monster Godzilla…? Will I have to eat nuclear bombs in the future?"

Ye Zhiqiu laughed out loud, "Nonsense, Godzilla is nowhere near as pretty as my daughter."

Ning Jingli: …

"Now I'll begin teaching you the Tian Xuan Heart Method. Practice well." Ye Zhiqiu sat cross‑legged in front of her daughter.

Ning Jingli thought carefully and asked, "Mom, you said… as modern technology advances and nuclear radiation energy increases, could we see new divine beasts like those from the ancient era again?"

Ye Zhiqiu nodded, "It's possible. All life constantly evolves. Although the ancient divine beasts went extinct, who knows—after tens or hundreds of thousands of years, other organisms might adapt to nuclear radiation, evolve over generations, and eventually become new divine beasts. The world itself has a long cycle of rebirth."

All right, don't think about random nonsense, close your eyes and focus, listen as I tell you the mantra, then I'll teach you exactly how to practice.

Hehe, yes!

Ye Zhiqiu's cultivation lesson began immediately.

The mantra's content is not much, only a few hundred words in total.

Ning Jinli heard it once and memorized every word.

Then Ye Zhiqiu began explaining it word by word, guiding her through practice.

The heart method has no external moves; it mainly concerns the uptake, conversion, and absorption of energy.

Ning Jinli was practicing internal skill for the first time, but she basically got it after one try; even the slightly complicated parts she mastered after two or three attempts.

Even Ye Zhiqiu, who knew Ning Jinli had extraordinary learning ability, was surprised.

Who would have thought her daughter's athletic cells were lacking, yet she possessed exceptional talent in cultivating internal skill.

When I learned the Tian Xuan Heart Method back then, it took me half a month to understand, and my master already praised me as a genius rarely seen in the Tian Shu Sect for hundreds of years.

But my daughter was even faster—she needed only half a day.

Ye Zhiqiu felt immensely proud—indeed, she was worthy of being her own daughter!

"Now, try circulating the Tian Xuan Heart Method, converting the energy of the Giant Snake's Inner Core into internal strength." Ye Zhiqiu said softly.

The next second, a layer of lustrous light rose over Ning Jinli's whole body, flowing slowly with her breath.

After about ten or more minutes, the fluorescence seeped back into her skin.

She slowly opened her eyes; her already bright eyes flashed with a gleam, making them look even more vivid and spirited.

"How do you feel?" Ye Zhiqiu asked eagerly.

Ning Jinli's face showed surprise: "I feel that everything I see is several times brighter than before, my whole body feels warm, and there's a warm current turning in my belly—it's very comfortable."

Ye Zhiqiu pointed to the nearby stone table: "Try lifting it."

"All right!" Ning Jinli grabbed the edge of the stone table, and her hands began to exert force.

However, the stone table didn't budge at all.

Ning Jinli couldn't believe it: "I clearly feel strength all over my body, why can't I exert it?"

Ye Zhiqiu said: "Try again, mobilizing that warm current you feel."

Ning Jinli focused her senses, held her breath, concentrated, and exerted her strength again.

Bang!

The stone table weighing over a hundred jin was flung up directly, smashing a hole in the training room's wall.

"Good heavens!" Ning Jinli exclaimed.

Ye Zhiqiu smiled and said: "The Tian Xuan Heart Method has ten levels total; you've already reached the third level, which is about the same as what my master achieved after a lifetime of practice."

"Mom, I feel… I'm about to reach the fourth level." Ning Jinli looked at her hands; with a thought, a faint glow seemed to appear in her palms.

Ye Zhiqiu said nothing more, and took out all the Night Bright Pearls stored in the training room.

Big and small, over a hundred of them.

These were left to her by the previous Sect Leader, that is, her master.

Even a single one placed in the martial world would be fought over by top martial artists.

"Daughter, you can directly absorb the nuclear radiation—give it a try!" She placed the Night Bright Pearls beside Ning Jinli.

As Ning Jinli circulated her heart method, the light from all the Night Bright Pearls streamed toward her, forming a vortex around her that quickly flowed into her body.

When the light had completely drained, those Night Bright Pearls turned into dull, gray round stones.

Around Ning Jinli's pupils, a ring of light shone.

At that moment, she suddenly felt a strange, indescribable sensation in her heart, and then the familiar vortex of fluorescence appeared.

That seemed to be the entrance/exit of the spacetime portal.

It was very blurry, as if separated from her by an invisible barrier, and she could faintly see the back door of the small storeroom…

"Mom, any more?!" Ning Jinli asked urgently.

She had a strong premonition that by following that sensation, she could lift that invisible barrier.

Just a little bit more!

"I all used them up, there's none left…" Ye Zhiqiu said helplessly, then suddenly her eyes lit up: "No! The Night Bright Pearls are gone, but there's another way! Daughter, wait for me a moment!"

Ning Jinli stayed in place, continuously circulating her heart method, trying to make that invisible barrier disappear.

But no matter how hard she tried, it had no effect.

Even that wonderful sensation was gradually weakening.

The blurry scene she had just seen was about to disappear along with it.

She could only desperately rely on her feeling to grasp the ever-weaker sensation, just as everything was about to return to normal——

Ye Zhiqiu dragged in a rope, behind which were more than a dozen Tian Shu Sect disciples already bound five-fold.

"Listen up!" Ye Zhiqiu shouted at them angrily, "According to sect rules, I should have executed you all, this gang of tigers' lackeys, but if you transfer your internal strength to my daughter, I'll spare your lives!"

"Mom, they are…" Ning Jinli eyed the crowd doubtfully.

Ye Zhiqiu explained: "They were the ones who followed Lu Xingfeng last night to cause trouble, helping Lu Xingfeng sacrifice and summon the Giant Snake, killing four hundred of my disciples! I haven't settled accounts with them yet! Coincidentally, these guys count as top-notch experts in the sect, with deep internal strength—don't waste them."

Everyone's faces turned deathly pale, and they thumped to their knees.

"Sect Leader… we were wrong!"

"It was all Lu Xingfeng's instigation; we were momentarily confused!"

"Please spare us, Sect Leader! We'll never dare again!"

Hearing their pleas for mercy, Ye Zhiqiu grew impatient.

She raised her bare hand, revealing the shotgun hidden in her sleeve, the cartridge clicked into place with a 'ka-cha', and she said coldly: "Letting you live is already the utmost benevolence and righteousness; yet you dare to haggle? Anyone who utters another word, I'll blow his head off right now!"

Everyone immediately didn't dare to fart again.

Ye Zhiqiu then untied them.

They formed two lines, walked to behind Ning Jinli, and one by one raised both palms and placed them on the shoulder of the person in front.

The two at the front also lightly pressed Ning Jinli's shoulders.

At that moment, the two at the front exchanged a glance.

In each other's eyes flashed a hint of ruthlessness.

They all knew that once all internal strength was expelled, not only would their martial arts be completely ruined, but their bodies would also quickly age, their lifespans greatly reduced; although they could keep their lives, they would henceforth be essentially crippled.

And the Sect Leader's daughter is so young, she doesn't look like someone who knows martial arts.

Rather than that, it's better to make a final gamble, seize this opportunity to take the Sect Leader's daughter hostage, and then escape!

No sooner said than done.

The two simultaneously, one hand pinning Ning Jinli's shoulder, the other hand locking her throat.

The remaining dozen or so people, seeing this, hesitated briefly, chose to retreat and watch, neither joining in the hostage-taking nor moving to rescue Ning Jinli.

"Ye Zhiqiu!" the hostage-taker shouted, "Open the door and let us out! Otherwise—"

"Otherwise you'll kill my daughter?" Before the person could finish, Ye Zhiqiu interjected lightly, "Sure, you two give it a try!"