Battle Through the Heavens: Heavenly comprehension

The Magic Beast Mountain Range was dense with forests and complex terrains. Xiao Yan fled at full speed, and within moments, the mercenaries from the Wolf Head Mercenary Group had lost sight of him completely.

However, being highly familiar with the outskirts of the Magic Beast Mountain Range, the mercenaries roughly determined the area where Xiao Yan could hide and did not give up their pursuit.

As night fell, Xiao Yan found a hidden cave. After eating a little, he sat cross-legged and began to cultivate.

Turning his focus inward, he observed the starry nebula-like Dou Qi cyclone within him. Finally, he had time to calmly reflect and address the issue of his limited Dou Qi.

When it came to this problem, Xiao Yan's approach was crystal clear.

Since a low-level Huang-class cultivation method could only allow a limited amount of Dou Qi to be stored in the cyclone, then the solution was simple: find another place to store Dou Qi.

In simple terms, it was akin to creating a second Dou Qi cyclone.

With twice as much Dou Qi as others, he could simply exhaust his opponents in a battle of attrition.

Following this line of thought, Xiao Yan recalled the clan marks of the Dou Qi Continent.

Clan marks were far superior to a mere second Dou Qi cyclone.

They could drastically boost one's strength, enabling a reversal of fortune where the weak could triumph over the strong.

Combining these ideas, Xiao Yan formulated his plan.

The secret technique he was creating would initially function as a second Dou Qi cyclone, increasing his available Dou Qi. At its mid-stage, it would emulate the effects of a clan mark, enhancing his strength. Once perfected, it could rival or even surpass ancient clan marks.

Ancient clan marks drew power from the bloodlines of their respective families, but Xiao Yan had only a faint trace of such bloodline power—barely worth mentioning.

Thus, there were numerous issues that needed to be resolved.

However, Xiao Yan didn't let these problems weigh on him too much.

The Dou Qi Continent had entered an era of declining cultivation.

Ancient methods for cultivating and attacking with the soul were now preserved only by the Pill Tower and a few ancient clans. The methods to break through to Dou Di were known to fewer than ten people across the entire continent.

Instead of advancing the legacies of the ancient predecessors, later generations had allowed many of these techniques to nearly disappear.

With his extraordinary talent, Xiao Yan had a clear understanding of the cultivation environment he was in.

From his early years, he had achieved feats that others could not. After years of cultivation, he was confident that even greater achievements lay ahead.

Becoming a Dou Di was not something that depended on bloodline power!

"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—never underestimate a poor youth!"

As midnight approached and the world fell silent, only the gentle breeze rustled the treetops.

[Through your experience in condensing Dou Qi cyclones, you have had an epiphany and comprehended the secret technique: Flame Seal!]

[Flame Seal: A secret technique that stores Dou Qi in the center of the brow, allowing it to be released at critical moments. The amount of Dou Qi stored depends on the practitioner's physical constitution and soul strength.]

With the initial concept complete, Xiao Yan stopped cultivating the technique and slowly opened his eyes, feeling slightly fatigued.

After all, creating a technique from scratch and completing it within a day was nothing short of miraculous.

Taking a deep breath, Xiao Yan formed seals with his hands and closed his eyes again.

As the Burning Technique resumed its operation, the Dou Qi he absorbed and refined didn't flow into the Dou Qi cyclone as usual. Instead, it reversed its flow, heading upward.

As Dou Qi converged, a faint yellow light appeared at the center of Xiao Yan's brow.

The moment the yellow light emerged, the cultivation of the Flame Seal officially entered the right path.

Between the Brows, a Terrifying Power Awakens

Suddenly, a terrifying devouring force erupted from the center of Xiao Yan's brow. The surrounding heavenly energy surged wildly, condensing into countless energy threads that slowly merged into the yellow glow at his brow.

The heavenly energy entered Xiao Yan's body, following the pathway of the Burning Technique, where it was refined into pure Dou Qi before being redirected back to the yellow glow.

With the continuous influx of Dou Qi, the faint yellow glow gradually transformed into a mysterious and intricate flame mark.

The flame mark seemed to contain infinite mysteries. It appeared as a blazing flame but also emanated an aura of boundless wisdom.

Every line of the mark resembled an ancient magic array, glowing with a profound light that exuded an otherworldly sense of mystery and majesty.

As the heavenly energy continued to pour into the cave, Yao Lao quickly sensed the anomaly.

Emerging from the Bone Flame Ring, Yao Lao observed Xiao Yan's brow absorbing the heavenly energy. Despite his vast experience, Yao Lao couldn't help but scratch his head in confusion.

Geniuses always seemed to defy explanation.

This had been true for Xiao Yan since before he was born. As he grew older, Xiao Yan only became more incomprehensible to Yao Lao.

The sun rose and dispelled the darkness before dawn. Its gentle rays brought warmth and comfort.

Having absorbed an enormous amount of heavenly energy, the originally yellow flame mark turned blood-red, radiating a dazzling brilliance.

Staring at the now fiery-red flame mark, Yao Lao suddenly thought of an almost impossible possibility—a clan mark!

It was the only plausible explanation Yao Lao could come up with.

As someone from an ancient family, albeit from a lowly branch, Yao Lao had long known of the existence of such ancient clans.

Later, as he became an eighth-tier alchemist, he learned far more about these secrets than most people ever would.

However, Yao Lao also understood that creating a clan mark wasn't simple.

It required an extremely dense bloodline from an ancient family and a complex process to complete.

Yet Xiao Yan...

"His surname is Xiao!" Yao Lao's eyes widened, a glint of realization flashing through them.

Some things that had puzzled him in the past suddenly became clearer.

Among the ancient families, there had once been a Xiao Clan. However, the clan had fallen into decline, seemingly disappearing overnight.

"For that faction to take such an interest in him, this has to be it," Yao Lao murmured, looking at his disciple with a mix of awe and pity.

With such a lineage, even if Xiao Yan lived in relative obscurity now, it was inevitable that trouble would find him in the future. Yao Lao sighed. The more strength Xiao Yan could gain now, the better.

After a night of cultivation, Xiao Yan had managed to store twice his usual amount of Dou Qi within the Flame Seal.

Although it wasn't much yet, the Flame Seal still had plenty of storage capacity.

Once fully filled, it would roughly rival the strength of a one-star Dou Practitioner cultivating a low-level Huang-class technique.

"Teacher, you're up early!" Xiao Yan chuckled as he noticed Yao Lao floating in mid-air.

Having successfully cultivated the Flame Seal, Xiao Yan felt as though he had unlocked the door to an entirely new world.

So far, he had only scratched the surface of its potential. Even the current strength-enhancing capabilities were just the beginning—there was still vast room for improvement.

Yao Lao, who hadn't slept all night, was in no mood to banter with Xiao Yan.

With a flick of his finger, a cold, white light condensed into a mirror-like surface in front of Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan's once clean and youthful face now bore a flame-shaped mark, as if a real flame were burning between his brows.

(End of Chapter)

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