That must be none other than Old Chen.

“It’s different. My son is more honest and straightforward.”

As a father, Xue Yingsi had raised all of his children to adulthood, so he naturally knew their personalities inside and out.

Xu Mu sighed inwardly. It was obvious that this old father could see through quite a few things.

“I have a lot of questions. Let me start with the first one. They’re all your children, so why does one of them have the surname Xue while the other has the surname Yukinoshita?”

“It’s simple. Sons take the surname Xue, while daughters take the surname Yukinoshita.”

At this point, Xue Yingsi looked toward Yukiyama Ken, who was standing nearby. “You explain.”

“Yes.”

Yukiyama Ken turned to Xu Mu. “Originally, the surname of our main clan was only Yukinoshita. At that time, our race was still governed primarily by women.”

“That makes sense. After all, your race is called the Snow Women.”

Xu Mu nodded.

“However, most of the powerful figures throughout our history were men. After all, men have an innate advantage when it comes to combat. But because of our rules, whenever a powerful warrior obtained some heavenly treasure, it had to be handed over to the female clan leader, who would then distribute it.”

Yukiyama Ken paused before continuing. “But those female clan leaders would often give the treasures to the people they favored most.”

“Then you had no way of ensuring that the strong would remain strong,” Xu Mu said.

“Exactly. So, our strongest ancestor at the time changed that tradition. Heavenly treasures were to be given to the strongest person. Back then, the old-fashioned clan leaders and elders all refused to accept it. In the end, they were beaten into submission.”

“That ancestor changed his own surname from Yukinoshita to Xue. Yukinoshita may sound more elegant and poetic, but its true meaning is that those with the surname Yukinoshita stand beneath those with the surname Xue.”

Yukiyama Ken said all of this in one breath.

Seated across from Xu Mu, Xue Yingsi also smiled. “From then on, the women of our clan took the surname Yukinoshita, which represented the traditions of the Snow Women, while the men took the surname Xue and became the ones who led the race.”

Xu Mu nodded inwardly. He had never expected there to be such a history behind it.

“Senior, you should have some Boundary Flames as well, right?”

“Of course. Boundary Flames were created when the inner and outer worlds collided.”

Xue Yingsi said, “Our race has seven or eight of them as well. However, things like this can’t be stored in a spatial ring, so I generally don’t carry them with me.”

“What I want to ask is, how do you cultivate Boundary Flames?”

Xu Mu remembered that when he had fought Chi Ting last time, Chi Ting had taken out a Boundary Flame at the moment of the explosion.

“The principle is very simple. You fuse them.”

Xue Yingsi raised both hands and condensed two fist-sized balls of water, one in each palm. “For example, these represent the inner and outer worlds. Then…”

Bang!

He made the two water balls collide. Countless droplets scattered from the impact, most of them retaining a spherical shape as they flew in all directions.

Xue Yingsi controlled two droplets, each no bigger than a grain of rice, and made them hover above his palm.

“These droplets are equivalent to Boundary Flames.”

As he spoke, the two tiny droplets merged into one.

“I see.”

Xu Mu smiled. “How exactly is it done? And what benefits are there once they’ve been cultivated?”

“Make two Boundary Flames come into contact, then inject qi into them at the same time.”

Xue Yingsi explained, “As for the benefits, there’s practically no noticeable effect in the early stages. Only after fusing more than twenty will any effects begin to appear. The more you fuse, the stronger the ability becomes.”

“Father, what kind of effects are there?”

Yukiyama Ken looked puzzled. This was the first time he had heard about it as well.

“An ordinary Boundary Flame can only distort the barrier where the two worlds meet. But after fusing enough of them, you can distort space over a small area anywhere.”

Xue Yingsi glanced at Yukiyama Ken. “The energy released by qi spreads in a straight line. If I distort the space in front of me, attacks coming straight at me will be bent and scattered before reaching me. Some attacks will still hit, but the damage will usually be greatly reduced.”

Xu Mu exhaled. He finally understood why Chi Ting had taken out a Boundary Flame last time.

When the final burst of flames exploded, Chi Ting had realized that there was nowhere to escape. That was why he had taken out the Boundary Flame and distorted the space in front of him, scattering the attacks rushing toward him and thereby reducing the damage he suffered.

“However, I’ve heard that once enough Boundary Flames have been fused, they can produce other effects as well. I haven’t reached that level yet, so I’m not entirely sure what those effects are.”

Xue Yingsi shook his head slightly. “For ordinary people, it’s best not to fuse Boundary Flames. Keeping them separate allows multiple people to pass through the inner and outer worlds. If you fuse them into one and it gets stolen, the loss would outweigh the gain.”

“That makes sense.”

Xu Mu nodded.

“By the way, Father, can we sense Boundary Flames that have already been fused?”

Yukiyama Ken asked.

Xu Mu also pricked up his ears. That was something he wanted to know as well.

“No. You have to reach the sixth rank before you can sense them.”

Xue Yingsi said, “The first rank breaks through gravity, the second breaks through the need to breathe, the third breaks through the limits of the mortal body, the fourth breaks through the sound barrier, the fifth breaks through the limits of the five senses, and the sixth breaks through the limits on energy. You must reach the sixth rank before you can sense them.”

Xu Mu had known for a long time what limitations each stage of Boundary Breaking removed.

Breaking through gravity corresponded to the ability to fly. Breaking through the need to breathe meant one could survive without breathing.

Breaking through the limits of the mortal body represented a further strengthening of the body, both internally and externally. It allowed the body to withstand the speeds required to break through the sound barrier.

The fifth rank broke through the limitations imposed on the five senses by the natural world. Upon reaching this realm, one could see as clearly at night as in broad daylight. One’s hearing, vision, sense of smell, and sense of taste all far surpassed those of ordinary people. The range within which one could detect fluctuations in qi also increased tremendously.

The sixth rank broke through the limits on energy absorption. Those who reached this realm could see through the essence of energy.

For example, ordinary people could only feel heat as their skin grew hot, but those at this level could directly see the energy itself.

Aside from thermal energy, they could also see spiritual energy, radiation, and other forms of energy.

They could convert these types of energy into their own qi.

This allowed experts at this level to possess far greater quantities of qi while recovering at an even faster rate.

In other words, those at this level could survive in outer space.

They could fly directly between the landmasses of the inner world without having to use the outer world as a midway point.

Xu Mu decided that from then on, he would keep two Boundary Flames on him: one for fusion and one that he could lend to others.

“Do you need to know about Sachiko Izayoi?”

Xue Yingsi noticed that Xu Mu had been asking about everything except Sachiko Izayoi.

“Learning a little about her wouldn’t hurt.”

Xu Mu truly did not take her seriously. With his powerful mental strength, he had nothing to fear from her.

“She’s an old woman, but she likes young, strong, handsome men. Usually, she uses illusions to control them. In the man’s eyes, she will appear as a beautiful woman.”

Xue Yingsi explained, “At that point, most men will fall for her and do everything to serve her. Once she feels that the time is right, she’ll end the illusion and reveal her true appearance.”

Xu Mu couldn’t help shuddering. That was absolutely disgusting.

Still, it made sense. How could an ordinary man possibly feel attracted to an old woman?

That was why she transformed herself into a beauty.

When she finally revealed her true appearance, Xu Mu could easily imagine how the man must have felt.

“I want you—or one of your friends—to serve as bait.”

Xue Yingsi explained.

“Then Old Chen is definitely the best choice. He’s much stronger than I am.”

Xu Mu said this with a completely serious expression.