Chapter Ninety-One: Absorbing the Essence of the Firebird

"Hmph." Feng Tianlin gave a cold snort. This fellow truly was no good sort.

Long Mengting and the others had no real reaction, but the orange cat was beside itself with excitement.

It scratched furiously at the protective barrier. "I knew from the start you meant no good! Open this thing already, meow!"

Feng Tianlin pulled the cat aside, then gathered all his strength and struck the barrier.

The blow sent ripples across it, yet it still did not budge.

"What are you thinking?" Cheng Lian said, his voice thick with mockery. "Whatever else, I used to be a top-tier powerhouse at the ninth stage of the Origin Opening Realm. You, a mere fifth-stage nobody, think you can break the barrier I set? What are you thinking?"

At those words, the corners of Feng Tianlin's mouth slowly rose. He looked at this overconfident fool and said, "Let me show you a little trick."

"A trick?" Cheng Lian did not know what he meant, but a faint unease stirred in his heart.

Without another word, Feng Tianlin used spatial teleportation to appear inside the barrier, then waved at Cheng Lian. "Hello there."

Cheng Lian was dumbfounded. He took a sharp breath, and his expression instantly turned into a broad smile.

"Boss Doll, I was just joking with you. You wouldn't take it seriously, would you?"

Feng Tianlin smiled as well. "How could I take it seriously?"

Hearing this, Cheng Lian's heart eased slightly. He figured the other man did not want to tear faces apart and was probably hoping for his help, so he quickly prepared to say a few flattering words.

But at that very moment, a chill washed over his chest. Then he saw that Feng Tianlin had already driven his arm straight through him, and blood began to leak from the corner of Cheng Lian's mouth.

When Feng Tianlin withdrew his arm, Cheng Lian swayed twice in midair, then crashed to the ground, dying with unwilling eyes.

Only then did Feng Tianlin look at the corpse and say, "What I meant was that from beginning to end, I never believed a single word you said."

With that, his gaze shifted to the statue of the giant bird. "This should be Cheng Lian's true form, right?"

He leaped upward and landed beneath the statue, reaching out to feel the energy within it.

He had wanted to sense exactly what kind of energy Cheng Lian used to restore his strength, but the system's voice rang out instead.

"It has been detected that the host is in contact with the origin essence of the divine bird Bi Fang. This origin essence can merge with the host's Nightmare Body and the skill Ice Age. If merged with the Nightmare Body, it will grant the Fire Wings enhancement. If merged with Ice Age, it will become the Song of Ice and Fire. Absorb it?"

So this Bi Fang was a divine bird? And there was such a windfall?

Feng Tianlin did not hesitate and chose to absorb it at once.

"Please choose whether to merge with the Nightmare Body or with Ice Age."

So it can only merge with one skill?

After some thought, Feng Tianlin decided to merge it with the Nightmare Body. Fire Wings sounded pretty cool, and if he merged it with Ice Age instead, it would be ice and fire together; something might go wrong.

"Choose to merge with the Nightmare Body."

No sooner had he made his choice than an immensely powerful energy surged from the statue into his body. The power was scorching hot, flowing through him and gathering on his back.

In an instant, his back seemed to catch fire.

"Ah!" Even Feng Tianlin let out a cry as the searing force burned him.

"Congratulations, host. Bi Fang's origin essence has been merged. The Nightmare Body has gained the Fire Wings enhancement, and the Nightmare Body has been upgraded to Level 12."

Fire Wings: A pair of fire-element wings formed from the energy of the divine bird Bi Fang, capable of flight or unleashing flame attacks.

As soon as the system voice fell silent, Feng Tianlin guided the energy within him to burst outward.

A pair of wings made of crimson flame suddenly appeared on Feng Tianlin's back. They were larger than he was, yet they did not seem attached to his body; instead, they floated behind him.

The moment they appeared, the entire cave was instantly lit up. The humans covered their eyes with their hands, unable to look directly at them.

Feng Tianlin flapped his wings, smiled in satisfaction, then rose into the air and flew straight out of the cave.

Under the night sky, his wings were like a second sun, lighting up the entire village.

"Let's try this flame attack and see how it feels."

He noticed a large tree ahead and immediately guided the energy in his wings to strike it.

The flames shot toward the tree at astonishing speed. The instant they made contact, the whole tree was engulfed, and in the next second it turned to drifting ash.

But Feng Tianlin did not get to enjoy the sight, because the moment he used the flame attack, his wings vanished and he dropped straight down to the ground.

He got up from the ground with some pain, his face twitching violently. "Damn it, nobody said this flame attack meant turning my wings into fire and using them to attack. How is this system so stingy?" He was on the verge of tears.

At that moment, Long Mengting and the others came out and stood there looking at him.

Naturally, Feng Tianlin could never admit he had stumbled because he was unfamiliar with the skill. After all, he was the boss and had to keep up appearances, so he forcefully explained himself.

"Ah, well, those wings didn't seem all that fun, actually. I played with them for a bit and got bored, so I stopped."

Long Mengting drooped her eyelids. "Huh? But I clearly just saw you fall from the gro... You little bad cat, what are you doing?"

Before she could finish, the orange cat slapped a paw over her mouth. The others also turned their heads away, refusing to meet Feng Tianlin's eyes, as if hiding their laughter. Only the Rampaging Bear remained expressionless.

"The flames are very strong."

Seeing this, Feng Tianlin knew everyone had witnessed his embarrassing little mishap, and he fell silent in awkwardness.

At that moment, the orange cat hurriedly changed the subject. "Boss, you looked amazing just now when you dealt with Cheng Lian."

Feng Tianlin gave a smile that was not quite a smile. "Mm."

Seeing that it still had not eased the awkwardness, the orange cat added, "Why don't you use those wings again? It was your first flight, after all. Mistakes are only natural."

Feng Tianlin nodded. The embarrassment was already out there; it could not be taken back. What else could he do?

Once again, he summoned the Fire Wings, soared into the sky, and firelight once more illuminated the whole village.

He shouted down to the ground, "Well? Cool or not?"

The orange cat waved its little paws. "Boss, super cool!"

Long Mengting frantically snapped photos with her phone. "I'll send these to Ruan Miao and let him see just how second-rate his boss looks."

The Rampaging Bear said blankly, "Cool."

The Wraith drifted farther away. "Boss, next time you use that skill, give me a heads-up. I can't really handle that fire."

Hearing all this, Feng Tianlin smiled on the surface while inwardly thinking, as everyone understood, and silently decided that he ought to treat this cat a little better in the future.

At that moment, the humans in the cave and the villagers from the village all began edging toward them.

Feng Tianlin looked at the crowd, somewhat puzzled. This was the first time he had seen ordinary humans actively approaching eerie beings. Were they seeking death?

Long Mengting did not care about any of that and immediately wanted to rush over and kill a few first.

Fortunately, Feng Tianlin stopped her in time. "No one moves yet. Let's see what they want."

He was genuinely curious why these humans were gathering around them. Besides, could this group of humans really pose a threat to them?

The villagers formed a circle, hemming Feng Tianlin and the others in tightly. An old man stepped out from the crowd. Led by him, everyone knelt and bowed in Feng Tianlin's direction.

At the sight of this, Feng Tianlin was completely stunned. What on earth were these people trying to do?