201: Chapter 201 The Cause of Death of the Li Family Ancestor?

The Li Family.

Inside the furnace-like room.

Fang Zhuo followed Li Zhiyi as they strode inside together.

So hot! So stuffy! Fang Zhuo felt as if he had returned to his past life, walking out of an air-conditioned room into the outdoor heat of a forty-plus-degree summer day.

Whew.

Fang Zhuo inhaled the stuffy, hot air and reached up to tug at the collar of his training uniform, but the air that rushed in was also scalding hot... Hmm, the source power in this room is incredibly dense... and it seems to be fire-attributed source power?

He looked around with some surprise.

The room was not large, and other than a coffin made of a special metal in the center, it was completely empty.

The ancestor of the Li Family, a 'Peak Flying Sky'—or perhaps a half-step Cosmic Martial Artist—whose body had spontaneously combusted for three hundred years after death? Was she buried in this special coffin?

“Our Li Family ancestor was named Li Yu.”

Li Zhiyi gestured with her hand, her gaze landing on the coffin in the center.

“Li Yu?”

Fang Zhuo was momentarily stunned.

“Not the 'Yu' of your jade pendant, not your grandmother, but the Li Family ancestor from three hundred years ago,” Li Zhiyi explained, pacing over to the side of the coffin.

“You should try to open the coffin. Be careful. I am only a Transcendent, so I could easily get burned.”

Li Zhiyi looked at Fang Zhuo with some apology.

You certainly aren't being polite... asking a guest to help with opening a coffin... Fang Zhuo grumbled inwardly as he stepped forward. Carefully mobilizing his inner force, he reached out to place his hands on the coffin, which was visibly piping hot all over.

“Wait a moment.”

Li Zhiyi handed over a pair of gloves made of a special material. “Here, take these.”

Why didn't you give them to me earlier...!

Fang Zhuo gave Li Zhiyi a cool look, silently took the gloves, put them on, and then slowly pressed his hand against a corner of the coffin.

Even through the gloves, he could feel an intense, scorching heat.

If he hadn't put on this special pair of gloves, he might really have been burned.

Just a coffin containing a corpse could burn a Peak Flying Sky Martial Artist like him? How terrifying must the flames on the corpse inside be?

With a soft grunt, Fang Zhuo lifted the heavy coffin lid.

“Don't open it all the way. Just slide open a corner first.”

Seeing Fang Zhuo's relaxed and effortless manner, Li Zhiyi was slightly surprised. As expected of a Peak Flying Sky Martial Artist.

This custom-made coffin had not been opened for a very long time after the Li Family ancestor's corpse was placed inside and had burned for three hundred years.

She had tried twice in private, but both attempts had ended in failure, leading her to believe that only Martial Artists of the Flying Sky level or above could open it.

“Alright.”

Fang Zhuo knew what she was worried about.

With a creaking sound, a corner of the coffin lid was slid aside. Fang Zhuo quickly focused his gaze, only to see a ball of raging flames inside.

A heatwave continuously billowed out from the exposed corner.

The air was scorched to the point of slight distortion, and his vision was warped by it, making it impossible to see the corpse inside clearly.

After a good while, as the heatwave kept pouring out of the coffin and the temperature in the room suddenly rose by several degrees, the corpse inside finally became faintly visible.

Fang Zhuo squinted to observe.

It was a female corpse. The body showed not the slightest hint of decay; instead, it was completely red all over, like a cooked shrimp.

Flames enveloped every part of her body, yet there was not a single trace of charring.

...What the hell! Fang Zhuo's pupils contracted slightly. He had thought that even if the corpse of this Peak Flying Sky head of the Li Family—or half-step Cosmic Martial Artist—wasn't burned to ashes, it should at least look somewhat charred...

“How is it?”

Li Zhiyi asked with flushed cheeks, as the temperature in the room was still rising.

As she spoke, she stared at Fang Zhuo without blinking, hoping to get some definite news from him.

Was there really a connection between her ancestor's burning corpse and a Cosmic Martial Artist?

“This... is too miraculous. You weren't lying. I can't make out anything, but perhaps it really is related to a Cosmic-grade Martial Artist.” Fang Zhuo then asked:

“You said this ancestor of your Li Family was once at the Peak Flying Sky level, with combat power unmatched in the Federation, and died while in seclusion trying to break through to become a Cosmic Martial Artist?”

“Yes, Ancestor Li Yu single-handedly raised our Li Family into an unparalleled, top-tier Flying Sky Family on New Moon. Her combat power was beyond doubt.”

“According to Family records, Ancestor Li Yu attempted her Breakthrough to Cosmic Martial Artist right outside this room, less than ten meters from the loquat tree you saw earlier. Ultimately, she tragically failed and perished.”

It's certain she was only attempting a Breakthrough to Cosmic Martial Artist, meaning she wasn't one yet. Could the body of a Flying Sky-level Martial Artist really have this kind of strength...?

Skeptical, Fang Zhuo's thoughts raced, and he suddenly thought of something. He quickly asked:

“When you say her combat power was unmatched in the Federation, was it unmatched at the Flying Sky level, or could she actually rival a Cosmic Martial Artist?”

“At the Flying Sky level, I suppose?”

Li Zhiyi was taken aback. Could a Flying Martial Artist actually rival a Cosmic Martial Artist?

“Is there any way you can verify that, perhaps through Family records or past Federation news?” Fang Zhuo asked.

Looking at the raging fire burning on the corpse of the Li Family ancestor, Li Yu, inside the coffin, he thought of his own Divine Ability Flame.

His Divine Ability Flame was very powerful, but compared to this fire, it felt more than ten or a hundred times weaker! But... that wasn't important. What mattered was that the two gave him a sense of originating from the same source!

And Divine Abilities could be developed and strengthened. Last year, he had used a high-level civilization's martial image instrument to strengthen his Martial Aspect Divine Ability.

Of course, that was only passive development.

Cosmic Martial Artists... could they perhaps actively cultivate it? Fang Zhuo recalled the characteristics of Divine Abilities that Director Xiao Yuan had once mentioned, and felt that this was highly likely the case.

Right, during the previous high-level Federation meeting, Chairman Chairman Onni of the Future Group—who was a Cosmic Martial Artist—had given Brother Wang a batch of resources called... adamant sand? It was said to be for Brother Wang to strengthen his Divine Ability?!

Cultivating Divine Abilities, increasing their power... Could the spontaneous combustion of this Li Family ancestor after death be because her Martial Aspect Divine Ability was too powerful?

After Li Yu died, her Divine Ability dissipated... forming this raging fire!

And could this fire be used to cultivate and strengthen his own Martial Aspect Divine Ability Flame...?!

“The news at the time...”

Li Zhiyi looked thoughtful, but quickly shook her head and said, “I've looked into it before, but past news reports about Ancestor Li Yu made no mention of a Cosmic Martial Artist.”

“It's the same for the Family records. If our ancestor had strength rivaling a Cosmic Martial Artist, there's no way it wouldn't have been recorded. After all, that's an achievement that would leave a reputation for eternity and bring great honor to the ancestors.”

“True...”

Fang Zhuo nodded, but on second thought, he felt it didn't make sense.

Just think about it: if he were to die right now, he would also be a Peak Flying Sky, but let alone having his body remain undamaged after being burned by the Divine Ability Flame for three hundred years, even a normal fire would probably reduce him to ashes after ten days or half a month...

This Li Family ancestor, Li Yu... her Physical Body was too abnormal! It definitely wasn't a Flying Sky-level body. Could she have died due to some accident after making a Breakthrough to become a Cosmic Martial Artist?

Thinking of this, Fang Zhuo quickly turned his head to look at Li Zhiyi. “Could I test Senior Li Yu's Physical Body strength?”

“You want to...?”

Hearing this, and seeing Fang Zhuo draw his saber from its sheath, Li Zhiyi somewhat understood what he meant.

“Is this important?”

She looked conflicted, feeling that if it wasn't necessary, needlessly offending an ancestor like this might affect the Family's martial fortune.

“It is.”

Fang Zhuo gripped his saber tightly. “I suspect Senior Li Yu died in an accident only after making a Breakthrough to become a Cosmic Martial Artist.”