Chapter 188: Mao Mao's Strength

【Activation Progress 15%……】

【Activation Progress 30%……】

【Activation Progress 50%……】

As the progress bar continuously advances, Lin Yifan can feel the icy power within his body constantly surging.

The originally gentle and flowing energy now resembles a boiling ice river, rushing incessantly through his meridians.

Even the surface of his skin condensed fine ice crystals, and with each breath came a frost‑white mist.

Mao Mao had finished evolving at some point, now tilting its little head curiously at its master.

Its newly grown tail feathers shone with a metallic luster, each feather's edge faintly flowing with firelight.

Seeing Lin Yifan surrounded by icy aura, the little creature instinctively stepped back half a pace and spread its wings to shield the bird egg.

Moreover, in its gaze toward him lay a hint of fear, yet without vigilance.

It must be because Mao Mao trusts Lin Yifan completely; even though its instinct tells it that this person is dangerous, it still does not distance itself.

Crack!

At that moment, a clear ice‑cracking sound suddenly rang out.

Lin Yifan snapped his eyes open, a flash of icy blue light flickering in his pupils.

On the light screen before him, the activation progress display jumped exactly to 100%.

The next second, a string of brand‑new skill information unfolded before his eyes:

【Active Skill: Extreme Ice Pierce (condensing icy power into a piercing ice cone, maximum attack range 20 meters, with "Armor Break" and "Frostbite" effects. Number of ice cones increases with Intelligence attribute, current limit 5)】

【Within the Eternal Frost Domain, the power of Extreme Ice Pierce is increased by 30%!】

"I actually activated an attack skill!" Lin Yifan couldn't help clenching his fist.

This ranged attack skill perfectly compensates for his combat weakness; paired with the Wind‑Chasing Cloud‑Breaking Bow, it's like adding wings to a tiger.

He could hardly wait to test the power of his new skill!

Just then, his shoulder suddenly sank.

Turning his head, he saw Mao Mao gently pecking at his collar with its beak, its obsidian‑like eyes full of anticipation.

Lin Yifan then noticed that the little creature had grown a full circle larger, its wingspan nearing two meters, and three brilliant golden crown feathers had sprouted on its head.

【Mutant Golden Eagle (Growth Stage)】

【Innate Skill: Flame Breath (Initial)】

【Note: A mutant born from absorbing ancient avian essence blood, granting +30% fire resistance】

"You learned to breathe fire before I did." Lin Yifan laughed, scratching Mao Mao's chin; the latter comfortably narrowed its eyes, emitting a gurgling sound from its throat.

He really hadn't expected that after absorbing two doses of Mysterious Avian Blood, Mao Mao would truly evolve into an exotic beast.

Although Lin Yifan had never seen an exotic beast before, he wasn't overly startled.

This world is already crazy enough; the appearance of a few mutant animals is hardly noteworthy.

Still, he was also curious about just how strong Mao Mao's power now was.

Just then, the sky outside brightened!

Lin Yifan then brought Mao Mao to the shelter, smiling at it and saying:

"Come, let's have a 1v1 showdown to see who's stronger!"

Mao Mao's intelligence is now increasingly high, comparable to that of a teenager in his early teens.

Upon hearing Lin Yifan's words, it tilted its head, thought for a moment, and its black‑bean eyes showed a hint of resistance and a touch of worry.

Seeing this, Lin Yifan immediately raised an eyebrow and asked:

"Are you afraid of hurting me?"

Mao Mao nodded immediately.

Lin Yifan laughed, saying, "You don't need to worry about that; my strength as your master is still considerable—just go all out."

Although he hadn't yet witnessed Mao Mao's power, he instinctively felt that while it wasn't weak, it wouldn't be enough to injure him.

Moreover, they are ice and fire—a natural elemental counter.

And his Ice Frost Body, being able to serve as a second innate talent, certainly isn't something ordinary.

Although Mao Mao's strength has indeed increased considerably after its mutation, he truly isn't overly worried.

Upon hearing Lin Yifan say that, Mao Mao didn't think further; it flew straight up into mid‑air and instantly spat a ball of flame at him.

The flame was orange‑red, its scorching heat making the air begin to warp.

Just how high its temperature must be!

Although Lin Yifan trusted his intuition, he wasn't careless.

He quickly activated the Eternal Frost Domain, then without hesitation condensed an ice spike to meet Mao Mao's Flame Breath.

Hiss!

The ice spike and flame met, instantly bursting into a puff of steam.

According to the principle of elemental counter, fire should definitely suppress ice!

However, that's only under normal circumstances!

If the ice is cold and hard enough, everything will be reversed.

Whoosh!

The next second, the ice spike pierced the flame and continued thrusting toward Mao Mao.

Lin Yifan jumped in shock, immediately shouting at Mao Mao:

"Mao Mao, dodge quickly!"

Although he still didn't know just how powerful his Extreme Ice Pierce was…

But now Mao Mao can be said to be defenseless; if it really took a hit, even with hard feathers blocking it, it wouldn't suffer serious injury, but enduring hardship is unavoidable.

However, fortunately, Mao Mao is very fast!

Seeing the ice spike break through the blazing flame, it instantly dodged to the side.

The ice spike pierced Mao Mao's illusion and finally came to rest on the wall of the Shelter not far away.

Lin Yifan only then breathed a sigh of relief, but the next second, the blazing flame came rushing at him!

The frantic temperature directly startled him, and just as he thought he was about to get burned, a layer of ice armor could not appear on his body.

Although the blazing flame came with great force, it was completely blocked outside by the ice armor, not harming Lin Yifan in the slightest.

But that estimated temperature still shocked him greatly.

Although he had already guessed it, after this evolution Mao Mao's strength is absolutely not weak.

But he never expected to actually be able to seize this place!

The recent flame could melt an iron-containing lump without problem; if it hit someone weaker, a single blast of blazing flame would likely burn them until not even ash remained.

Mao Mao's original defensive ability was fine, but its attack ability was weak; it could only rely on physical bodily attacks to inflict damage on enemies.

Although Mao Mao's claws are sharp, close combat always risks injury; now that it has the Blazing Breath, it is becoming increasingly safe.

Lin Yifan breathed a sigh of relief, saw Mao Mao fly up to him, reached out and stroked its feathers, and said with a smile:

"My Mao Mao is amazing, able to spit fire this quickly!"

Mao Mao held its head high, and its black-bean eyes were full of proud delight.

"Eh!"

With a clear, high-pitched cry, Mao Mao instantly flew toward the northwest.

Seeing this, Lin Yifan immediately recalled that after Mao Mao's previous outing, although it had obtained a precious Qingling Fruit, it had suffered serious injuries and nearly lost its life.

He then hurriedly said: "Mao Mao, don't run too far, take a stroll and come back quickly!!"

Then, at that moment, he suddenly heard a joyful sound coming from the nearby woods:

"I heard someone speaking? Who is there?"