Lu Chenxing, eager to start, had always been interested in these things in his previous life, even buying books to study them. With the increase in his mental power after awakening, these forgotten past life knowledge once again surfaced in his mind.
"Hydrocarbons... let's produce hydrogen first!"
Lu Chenxing used his magic to communicate with the Water Element, gathering them into a water sphere. Then, he used the Wind Element to envelop it, preventing the hydrogen from escaping later and making it easy to separate the oxygen at any time.
Afterward, he used subtle Lightning Element energy to electrify the water cluster, creating an electrolysis state.
These were all basic elemental magic applications and didn't consume too much magic. It was only because Lu Chenxing had the blessing of an all-element effect that controlling several different magic elements was no different to him than controlling one. If it were anyone else, they would already be sweating profusely.
As the water cluster wrapped in the Wind Element gradually disappeared, Lu Chenxing keenly noticed that some gas was rising, while some remained motionless at the bottom. He knew this was the hydrogen and oxygen that had been produced.
Hydrogen has an atomic mass of 2, while oxygen has an atomic mass of 16, so hydrogen is less dense than oxygen and will rise.
In fact, there is hydrogen in the atmosphere, but unfortunately, most of it is concentrated at the top layer of the atmosphere, which is why hydrogen needs to be produced artificially.
Lu Chenxing dispersed the other cluster of oxygen, retaining only the hydrogen he had produced. Then, he recalled, "I remember hydrocarbons are alkanes, right? Methane seems to be one. Let me think..."
"For the methane synthesis reaction, if prepared from carbon monoxide, it should require carbon monoxide and hydrogen, then nickel as a catalyst. Heating it while controlling the temperature between 200 and 400 degrees Celsius will yield methane and water."
Recalling this, Lu Chenxing scratched his head, "The rest is simple, but how do I get this nickel?"
He was a bit dumbfounded, but after thinking for a moment, he closed his eyes and tried to recall, "Metallic nickel, a silvery-white metal, lustrous, density 8.908 g per cubic meter, melting point 1455 degrees Celsius... It has good electrical and thermal conductivity, as well as good ductility and malleability..."
While recalling, Lu Chenxing activated Metal Element magic. In the room, the floor tiles in front of him subtly bulged, and some silvery-white particles squeezed out from the soil layer! It was precisely the metallic nickel summoned by his magic!
Because it was activated by magic, there was no need for purification; this was already the purest metallic nickel possible!
Noticing that the magic had succeeded, Lu Chenxing immediately opened his eyes, overjoyed at the small pile of metallic nickel in front of him!
The rest was relatively simple. He removed the floor tiles in front of him, activated Wood Element magic to grow a small plant, then used Fire Element magic to ignite it, thus obtaining carbon monoxide.
He mixed the carbon monoxide and hydrogen, added the metallic nickel, then used Wind Element magic to seal them together. Afterward, he used Fire Element magic to control the temperature at over two hundred degrees Celsius for heating, and the reaction began!
Not long after, the reaction ended. He discarded the water produced by the reaction, and what remained was pure methane!
"Currently, it's at atmospheric pressure. To turn methane into a liquid, the temperature needs to be lowered to around minus one hundred sixty-five degrees Celsius." Threads of ice began to condense in Lu Chenxing's palm. As the temperature continuously dropped, the methane finally turned into a liquid state.
However, at this point, the volume of the liquid methane had also become very small, only about a bowl's worth.
"Ah! This is so troublesome!" Lu Chenxing said helplessly, but since he had already come this far, wouldn't it be a waste not to test its power?
With this thought, Lu Chenxing communicated with the Fire Element, condensing a small fireball. Then, he carefully opened a cavity within the Wind Element magic, forming a membrane with Earth Element magic to encapsulate the small fireball and place it inside.
Thus, this "fuel-air bomb" from his previous life was assembled!
Lu Chenxing used Wind Element magic to accomplish the first stage of fuel dispersal, and the small fireball within completed the second stage of detonation. Lu Chenxing named this technique "Bombardment Art"!
Taking a deep breath, Lu Chenxing looked at the dummy about twenty meters ahead, suddenly waved his hand, and shouted, "Go!"
The magical version of the fuel-air bomb surged towards the dummy ahead!
If there were others present, they would surely scoff. This Wind Element airbag contained an unknown liquid, and faint red light flickered inside, making it look very peculiar. However, the magical fluctuations on it were not even as strong as a Tier 1 magic "Flame Arrow." Would such a thing truly have power?
Lu Chenxing's eyes were also fixed on the Bombardment Art. He had been busy for so long; success or failure depended on this moment!
The moment the Bombardment Art was about to touch the dummy, the surface Wind Element airbag, carrying the liquid methane within, suddenly burst open, spraying evenly across every spot within a five-meter radius, forming a cloud of mist.
After a pause of about one second, the small fireball and the membrane formed by Earth Element magic exploded with a loud bang!
And at that instant, a tremendous "BOOM!!!" echoed, as dazzling light and heat were produced, and immense pressure exploded forth!
The Tier 1 defensive array in the room suddenly lit up, but then instantly shattered!
"Holy crap!" Lu Chenxing only managed to utter two words before he was suddenly sent flying by the incoming airflow, hitting the wall behind him and slowly sliding down. He felt a bit uncomfortable, seemingly due to a stagnation of qi and blood caused by the shock.
He stared dumbfounded at the mess on the scene. The dummy had long been torn to shreds the moment of the explosion, and the array in the room, capable of withstanding a Tier 1 peak attack, had also shattered. However, due to the array's obstruction, the walls did not collapse, though several noticeable cracks appeared.
And the array in the room was not just a defensive array; it also had a soundproofing effect. Now that the array was broken, that thunderous boom could be heard by everyone in the martial arts hall who hadn't entered the training ground!
"Bang!" With a loud sound, Lu Chenxing's door was suddenly kicked open. The young woman from the front desk rushed in directly with a straight sword, looking around vigilantly. After not finding any danger, she helped Lu Chenxing up and asked at an extremely fast pace, "Guest, what just happened? Did someone attack the martial arts hall? Are you injured?"
"No..." Lu Chenxing hadn't finished speaking when another burly man rushed in, "Where's the enemy!!!"
Behind him, several student-like individuals were peeking in.
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A while later, in the martial arts hall's office, the burly man looked at Lu Chenxing, who was holding a teacup and looking a bit embarrassed, and shrieked, "What???"