At this moment, Zhou Xuan deliberately used his ice energy to lower the temperature of his outstretched right hand to minus twenty or thirty degrees Celsius. He didn't lower it too much; it was just enough. If it were too low, others wouldn't be able to stand it, although he himself would be fine.
Bob looked at Zhou Xuan's slightly pale palm, but didn't feel anything else. There was no coldness emanating from his palm, and he chuckled, knowing that Zhou Xuan wouldn't harm him. If he really wanted to, he wouldn't have waited until now to say it.
Without further hesitation, Bob reached out and gently touched Zhou Xuan's palm. Immediately, an extremely cold sensation reached his hand, causing him to tremble and pull back slightly. After thinking for a moment, he realized that the sensation had been too quick to fully register, so he reached out again, this time carefully touching Zhou Xuan's palm without flinching.
Zhou Xuan's palm was as cold as a block of ice. Bob's hand touched Zhou Xuan's palm, and within four or five seconds, he couldn't bear it. The skin that was in contact with it was already frozen and numb. This shows how low the temperature of Zhou Xuan's palm must have been!
Bob couldn't bear it any longer and withdrew his hand again, staring blankly at Zhou Xuan's hand. The hand was still so ordinary, without anything extraordinary, but how could a person's body temperature reach such a low level?
If it were a human, at this temperature, it wouldn't be surprising if they froze to death; it would be strange if they didn't!
Bob was stunned, finding it truly incomprehensible. He had initially thought Zhou Xuan had secretly concealed ice on his person, though he couldn't fathom how. However, the moment his hand touched Zhou Xuan's, that thought vanished. In such a frigid temperature, Zhou Xuan couldn't possibly be unharmed. The only plausible explanation was, as Zhou Xuan had said, that it was merely an internal martial arts technique he was practicing. Otherwise, no one could withstand such cold. At that temperature, if it lasted more than a minute, human organs would certainly be frozen to death or damaged beyond repair.
Therefore, this only proves that it was due to Zhou Xuan's internal martial arts skills, not that Zhou Xuan had hidden ice. In the sweltering summer, no matter how well one could hide ice, it wouldn't last a day unless it was in a freezer. If it were hidden on Zhou Xuan's person, let alone a day, even ten minutes would be extremely difficult! RO! ~!
Volume 1, Chapter 683: Discussing Heroes Over Wine
Bob and Yors couldn't figure out where Zhou Xuan's secret was flawed. They stared in disbelief for a while, and then, thinking about Zhou Xuan's other strengths, they realized that this Zhou Xuan, the world's richest man, was probably not as simple as they had imagined.
Pao Bo excitedly downed a glass of wine, then poured himself another and said, "Zhou, one more!"
Zhou Xuan chuckled, knowing that he and Charles were both watching him intently. At this moment, he focused even more intently, wanting to see clearly how he did it, or how he managed to steal the ice cubes hidden in his body.
This time, Zhou Xuan only extended one index finger, slowly reaching it to the edge of Bob's glass, and then gently flicked it. Instantly, two square pieces of white ice appeared in the glass.
Paul and Charles could see clearly that Zhou Xuan hadn't moved any part of his body except his fingers. Even if he had moved his right index finger, it was only by flicking it against the edge of the cup, a very slow movement. The three of them could see that he hadn't made any move at all.
But where did those two ice cubes in the glass come from?
Paober was stunned for a moment, unable to figure it out. He looked at Charles, who had the same expression as him, not understanding at all and unable to see any flaws.
Pao Bo looked at Wei Haihong again, only to see Wei Haihong smiling faintly, seemingly not surprised by Zhou Xuan's abilities. He was astonished, however. He had known Wei Haihong for many years, but had never heard him mention having such an amazing friend. This friend was truly astonishing, not only possessing greater wealth than them, but also having personal abilities that were simply beyond their comprehension.
“Zhou…” Pao Bo hesitated for a moment before saying, “Can you tell me how you performed this magic trick?”
Seeing that he still didn't believe him, Zhou Xuan chuckled and said, "This isn't magic, I told you long ago. This is my internal martial arts, a kind of Yin-type Qigong. It can lower the temperature of matter to below zero and freeze it into ice. Now do you believe me?" Both Paul and Charles were stunned. Paul asked again, "Then... since there's Yin-type Qigong, there must be Yang-type Qigong too. I wonder if you know Yang-type Qigong?" Zhou Xuan chuckled again, turned to look at the wine cabinet shelf which had red wine, white wine, and other types of wine. He then got up and took down a bottle of brandy, saying, "Mr. Paul, Mr. Charles, I've heard of wine before. Red wine should be chilled, and white wine should be simmered. That's the Chinese drinking tradition. In ancient times, people would boil white wine on a stove. I wonder if you've heard of a famous Chinese story, 'Discussing Heroes While Boiling Wine'?"
"Discussing heroes over wine?" Bob paused, then glanced at Charles, who also shook his head, indicating he didn't know. Bob immediately asked, "Then, Mr. Zhou, tell me, what does 'discussing heroes over wine' mean?" Zhou Xuan chuckled awkwardly. The story of "discussing heroes over wine" was originally a scheme set up by Cao Cao to test Liu Bei; it was just a historical anecdote and not suitable for the current context. He was simply thinking of wine, specifically Chinese baijiu, which can be heated and drunk. Heating it over a fire gives it a different taste, which has nothing to do with the historical anecdote.
"Actually, it doesn't mean anything special. It just means that in ancient times, there were two people who could be considered great heroes, but they distrusted each other and put on a show for each other. One of these people was Cao Cao, and the other was Liu Bei. Cao Cao invited Liu Bei to drink wine. On a cold day, they heated the wine on the stove and drank it. Then Cao Cao said to Liu Bei: 'In this world, there are only two heroes, you and me!'"
Pao Bo chuckled and said, "Yes, yes, they're brewing wine, so let's have a drinking party and discuss heroes. There are only four of us heroes in the world!"
Zhou Xuan chuckled. This Pao Bo was quick-witted, immediately bringing up the story and allusions to their own lives. He smiled, then secretly activated the power of the Solar Flame and used it on the brandy. However, he didn't use the Solar Flame's power very strongly; he only heated the wine to about 80 degrees Celsius. As the heat increased, the alcohol was released, but since the bottle cap was sealed, it wasn't visible from the outside.
The power of the sun's flames cannot be used too strongly, otherwise the bottle will become brittle from the high temperature. However, these high-end bottles are specially made and can withstand baking at hundreds of degrees. Of course, the winemaker never thought that someone would bake the wine at such a high temperature.
Zhou Xuan's Solar Blaze ability is far stronger than his Ice Qi ability. The Ice Qi ability can only lower the temperature of matter to around minus three hundred degrees Celsius, but the Solar Blaze ability can raise the temperature to over seven thousand degrees Celsius. In other words, Zhou Xuan can at least withstand that kind of high temperature. However, he has not tested what limit he can withstand, because this high temperature is no joke. If he is not careful, he will turn into steam and disappear.
Of course, when Zhou Xuan was making brandy, Bob and Charles had no idea what was going on and hadn't figured it out yet.
Zhou Xuan opened the bottle cap, poured a little less than half a glass of brandy into Paul and Charles's glasses, and then said, "Want to try some?"
Then he poured another glass for Wei Haihong and said, "Brother Hong, have a drink too!" Wei Haihong smiled and picked up the glass, taking a small sip. The brandy did have a different taste when heated, but it was still very different from Chinese baijiu.
Look at this wine cabinet. There's only one type of Chinese liquor, "Maotai," which is packaged in a gourd-shaped jar. This Maotai is an earlier product and is relatively hard to find in China. I never expected that this guy would have it in his collection.
Seeing Wei Haihong eyeing the Moutai in the wine cabinet, Zhou Xuan immediately smiled and asked Bao Bo, "Mr. Bao Bo, the best way to drink baijiu (Chinese liquor) is heated, is... perhaps..." Before Zhou Xuan could finish, Bao Bo, who was sipping his drink, interrupted, "Then... there... Moutai, Chinese Moutai, you can have it!"
When Pao Bo said "use," he was obviously referring to Zhou Xuan using it to heat up the wine. He had just taken a sip from the glass, and the brandy was very hot in his mouth. Needless to say, it must have been heated over a fire to reach that temperature.
Pao Bo took a small sip, but he couldn't really taste it. His mind was completely focused on understanding Zhou Xuan. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Zhou, I've never tried brandy heated or chilled before. Why don't you try chilled brandy with us?" Zhou Xuan said, looking at Pao Bo holding the bottle. His other hand was still over the brandy bottle, feeling the heat emanating from it. The temperature wasn't low; even if it were put into ice or ice water, it would take some time to cool down. It wouldn't suddenly drop in temperature.
Pao Bo meant to test whether Zhou Xuan had actually changed the temperature using his supposed Qi power or was using some other trick.
Zhou Xuan smiled, immediately put the Moutai he had taken down on the table, then took the brandy bottle from Pao Bo, flicked the brandy bottle with his finger, and handed it back to Pao Bo.
Pao Bo reached out and caught it, but was greatly surprised!
The brandy bottle only twirled in Zhou Xuan's hand for less than five seconds before being returned to him. It was as cold as ice, chilling him to the bone. Just a few seconds ago, the bottle was burning hot.
Pao Bo was somewhat dumbfounded. The temperature of the bottle's surface was icy cold to the bone, and he almost lost his grip. He truly found it unbelievable that the bottle, which had been scorching hot just moments before, had turned into a block of ice right under his nose!
How did Zhou Xuan manage to do that? If it were anyone else, they would only answer with disbelief, and really couldn't think of any other reason. A scalding hot bottle, without being soaked in water or frozen, could never instantly turn into a layer of ice.
Pao Bo was stunned for a moment, then quickly tilted the bottle again and poured it into the glass. The wine did not freeze, but it was not far from freezing. After the wine was poured into the glass, it was still steaming.
"This is no joke," Bob said, taking a sip of his wine. "This wine is really like ice water, unlike the red wine I drank before which was just with ice, but it's also different. This one is much stronger."
At this point, Bob and Charles no longer doubted that Zhou Xuan had used an illusion or magic trick. They believed that, as he said, he had indeed practiced this kind of qigong method, but they had never heard of it before. It was indeed too mysterious and too strange. They had never seen anything so amazing before. Such a situation was something they had only ever seen in Hollywood science fiction movies.
Charles also took a sip, savoring the chilled brandy, then stared at Zhou Xuan and asked, "Zhou, you're like a magician, how about you do another one for us?" Zhou Xuan smiled and said, "This isn't magic, it's just kung fu. In China, there are plenty of hidden masters." This was obviously meant to scare Bob and Charles; not only in China, but in the whole world, you couldn't find many people with supernatural abilities.
However, Bob and Charles truly believed it. Because of Zhou Xuan's amazing abilities, the two of them gathered around and stared at Zhou Xuan.
Zhou Xuan smiled and opened the clay seal on the Moutai. "A fragrant aroma wafted out." It was truly intoxicating to smell this aroma!
Even Ranpao and Charles, who didn't know much about Chinese wine, couldn't help but exclaim, "It smells so good!"
Zhou Xuan cupped the bottom of the wine jar in his hands and then used his solar flames to steam the wine. The jar was made of high-quality ceramic, fired at high temperatures, which made it insulated from high temperatures. It could withstand high temperatures much better than other materials, even stronger than steel. The solar flames that Zhou Xuan used were not very strong. He only needed to boil the wine in the jar, and did not need a very high temperature. One hundred degrees Celsius was enough to boil the wine.
The ceramic wine jar heated up instantly with his supernatural power. Then, the temperature became too high, and the wine inside began to boil, bubbling and gurgling like boiling water in a pot. Paul and Charles were dumbfounded. They reached out and touched the surface of the jar to test it. The billowing steam was very hot. The wine was indeed boiling, but underneath the jar was only Zhou Xuan's hands. Could his hands really be more effective than a furnace fire?
The billowing Moutai liquor exudes an extremely strong aroma, so strong that it makes you want to drink it immediately. It seems that using steam to advertise the liquor might be a better approach.
Pao Bo was stunned for a moment, then reached out to test Zhou Xuan's hand again, but Zhou Xuan immediately said, "Don't touch me!" Pao Bo was startled and quickly withdrew his hand, only to laugh awkwardly at Zhou Xuan.
Zhou Xuan said, "I didn't mean anything by it. I was using my internal energy to brew the liquor, so my palms are quite hot. If Mr. Bob were to walk on my hands, he would get burned by the high temperature!"