Chapter 624 - 1: World Tree Spear

「November 23, 2016, 1:27 PM.」

「Zhengguo Northwest Region, Aviation Training Base No. 7.」

Even in winter, the midday sun was still blinding. But inside the nearly fully-enclosed training base, sunlamps were used in place of natural light to simulate various conditions. Theoretically, it would be a simple matter to use the intense light to heat the interior to over two hundred degrees Celsius.

Of course, they could also be turned off completely, and by using an Array to draw out the energy within, the internal space could be rapidly cooled to below negative 150 degrees Celsius.

At this moment, the entire massive testing area—spanning over nine square kilometers—was a silent, lightless expanse. Within the area, the ground was covered in pitted, gray rock and dust. Here and there, one could spot Ring Mountains of various sizes, their origins—whether natural or artificial—unknown.

Anyone placed in this dark, silent environment would be shocked to discover that the massive testing area, sealed off by a layer of special material combined with an Array, was a near-vacuum much like Cosmic Space. Not only that, but if this person could perceive radiation, they would notice that the strong particle radiation and other forms of high-energy radiation in the area far exceeded normal levels.

It was... just like the Moon.

And in the center of this massive testing area, built to simulate the Moon, a cyan-purple Spiritual Light suddenly flared up like a torch, illuminating half the base.

"The temperature difference on the Moon’s surface is extreme. In direct sunlight during the day, temperatures can reach 120 to 150 degrees Celsius. At night, the surface temperature drops to negative 180 degrees Celsius."

"We’ve already run the tests, Professor Su. You can fully withstand ultra-high temperatures exceeding two hundred degrees Celsius. You can not only move freely but can even absorb the thermal energy from the environment for your own use... Next up is the low-temperature endurance test, at around negative one hundred fifty degrees Celsius."

At the center of the Spiritual Light stood a figure, wearing no spacesuit or protective gear whatsoever. He held a sleek, silver-cyan Long Spear. A communication device was fixed in his left ear. Hearing Yu Saint’s voice, Su Zhou replied calmly, "No problem. I don’t really like the cold, but negative 150 degrees shouldn’t be too difficult to handle."

Though he spoke the words, the testing area was a complete vacuum. In reality, Su Zhou was using the ’Soul Communication Plugin’—a recent invention by the Artifice Sage—to directly convert his thoughts into electronic signals and transmit them to the observers far away.

"I understand. Dragons are weak to ice, after all."

The voice from his earpiece was surprisingly witty. Su Zhou asked, astonished, "Oh? You play Pocket Monster too, Yu Saint?"

"No, I don’t, but my young daughter loves it." The current Yu Saint had been in his post for less than ten years and was still quite young, his manner of speaking far from rigid. "Alright, Professor Su. We’ve just proven that you can operate on the Moon’s surface under direct sunlight using nothing but your physical body. Your physical activity no longer requires oxygen, and your adaptation to various high- and low-pressure environments is also perfect... Honestly, it’s as if your body was made for activity in space."

"I wouldn’t doubt it if the source of your Dragon Blood was some kind of Divine Dragon that lives in space."

"Perhaps. Maybe it was a Primordial Magnetic Celestial Dragon or an Ethereal Dragon."

Su Zhou laughed it off. ’Of course there are Dragon Serpents that can survive in space, and I have no doubt my future True Body will absolutely be able to move through space like a Spaceship. But I’m still a long way from that.’ "Let’s start the test," he said.

"Then let’s begin."

There was no more small talk. After a moment, the steel dome of the completely sealed testing area began to move. The Arrays inscribed upon it lit up one by one and began to operate at high speed.

As the Array activated and began to draw out energy, the temperature inside the testing area, which had been nearly 100 degrees Celsius, began to plummet. In just three seconds, the temperature dropped by more than 200 degrees. In an instant, a cold wave capable of making steel as brittle as a butter cookie swept through the area, stopping only at a circular perimeter around Su Zhou.

On the thermal imaging camera, it was as if the entire world turned from red to blue.

It was called a cold wave, but there was no wind, no water, and no air to carry the chill. There was only space itself, stripped of its thermal energy.

However, before this cold wave could reach Su Zhou, it was stopped by an incredibly thick barrier of Spiritual Power.

’I can block it, sure, but what does over a hundred degrees below zero actually feel like...?’

After enveloping his body in Spiritual Power to maintain his temperature, Su Zhou grew curious. He reached out, pushed his hand through the barrier, and into the environment outside. His eyebrows shot up. "Whoa, interesting."

He pulled his hand back. In just a few seconds, the surface of his arm had already started to stiffen, frozen hard. If Su Zhou didn’t envelop himself in Spiritual Qi to maintain his body temperature, even he would become rigid and find it difficult to move upon entering the extreme cold of Cosmic Space.

’Just as I thought. This is still a bit of a hassle. Dragons being weak to ice isn’t just something from games, after all. My regeneration ability is being severely suppressed.’