Fire Departure Skill

The next afternoon, after thoroughly mastering Stone Crushing Fist and Eight Desolations Palm, Lin Yan decided to visit the Martial Arts Hall in search of a powerful martial skill.

He knew full well the strengths and weaknesses of both himself and Lin Dong. Lin Dong's advantage was the Stone Talisman. If nothing unexpected had happened, he had likely already obtained the incomplete third-grade martial skill, Mysterious Imprint, and under the restoration of the Stone Talisman's light projection, it would shine brilliantly.

In comparison, although Lin Yan did not have the Stone Talisman to perfect his martial skills, his advantage lay in being able to bring out extraordinary power from any martial skill with the aid of his strange flame. It was no weaker than Lin Dong's perfected martial skills.

On his way to the Martial Arts Hall, Lin Yan encountered quite a few people. Those who had never been particularly familiar with him before now took the initiative to greet him the moment they saw him. Their overly friendly manner made Lin Yan once again feel that people were indeed drawn by profit. Once you possessed great value, an endless stream of people would flock to you. After casually dealing with them, Lin Yan quickly arrived at the Martial Arts Hall.

The Martial Arts Hall was located in the Lin family's rear courtyard. It could be considered an important place for the Lin family, and one could generally only enter with permission.

Guards stood watch at the entrance to the Martial Arts Hall. However, after the Clan Competition, they clearly recognized Lin Yan. After nodding to him amiably, they allowed him inside.

The moment he stepped into the Martial Arts Hall, the scent of aged books rushed toward him. Lin Yan swept his gaze around and discovered that the hall was quite spacious. Rows of rosewood shelves stood crisscrossed throughout the room, filled with countless martial arts manuals.

This was the first time Lin Yan had ever seen so many martial arts manuals. His eyes immediately burned with excitement. Although he possessed a strange flame, he knew that if he could pair it with an advanced martial skill, his strength would increase even further.

These martial arts manuals had been gathered by the Lin family only after paying an extremely costly price.

Lin Yan strolled through the quiet Martial Arts Hall, where a dazzling array of martial skills filled his view.

First-grade martial skill, Mountain Collapse Fist.

First-grade martial skill, Whirlwind Leg Technique.

Second-grade martial skill, Wandering Body Palm.

The wide variety of martial skills left Lin Yan somewhat dazzled. However, most of the martial skills he saw were first-grade, while second-grade ones were fewer. As for third-grade martial skills, he had not found a single one.

"The third-grade martial skills are all in the innermost section. You won't find them here..." Just as Lin Yan frowned, a soft female voice suddenly sounded behind him. He quickly turned around, only to see Lin Xia leaning against a bookshelf with her arms crossed, smiling at him.

"Cousin Lin Xia, it's you." Lin Yan was not surprised to see Lin Xia. After all, she had also placed in the top three of the Clan Competition and was qualified to consult the manuals in the Martial Arts Hall.

"Cousin Lin Yan, I really couldn't tell. You and Lin Dong had been hiding yourselves so deeply..." Lin Xia walked up to Lin Yan, brought her pretty face close, and said with a bright smile.

Lin Yan could only respond with a smile. Lin Xia truly had a forthright personality. He had clearly defeated her, yet she seemed to bear no grudge at all.

"Come on, I'll take you to see the family's third-grade martial skills. But Grandfather said that unless one reaches the Earth Origin Realm, it is not advisable to cultivate third-grade martial skills or anything above them.

"Lin Dong had just left shortly after you arrived. That fellow even took an incomplete third-grade martial skill, Mysterious Imprint, with him. No matter what I said, he refused to listen." Lin Xia gave a light snort, clearly dissatisfied with Lin Dong's stubborn temperament. She then walked past Lin Yan, her slender figure exceptionally alluring.

Upon hearing this, Lin Yan revealed an expression that said he had expected as much, but he said nothing. Others might not understand, but he knew Lin Dong's thoughts very well. Even an incomplete Mysterious Imprint was a third-grade martial skill. Once restored by the Stone Talisman's light projection, it would probably become a fourth-grade martial skill. That was no small temptation for Lin Dong.

Thinking of this, Lin Yan also grew anxious. Lin Dong had already gained a trump card, so he could not fall behind.

After following Lin Xia deeper inside for several minutes, the number of bookshelves gradually decreased. Finally, Lin Xia stopped before the last bookshelf and said, "These are all of the Lin family's third-grade martial skills."

Lin Yan curiously leaned closer. On the shelf were ten ancient yellowed manuals, and beside each manual stood a separate wooden plaque containing a detailed introduction to the martial skill.

"Third-grade martial skill, Returning Wind Continuous Hand..."

"Third-grade martial skill, Traceless Claw..."

"..."

Lin Yan's gaze swept across the ten wooden plaques, and his eyes brightened. Just from their names alone, these martial skills sounded far more imposing than the ones he had seen earlier.

"You don't intend to cultivate a third-grade martial skill too, do you?" Lin Xia asked in surprise when she saw Lin Yan's expression. Lin Dong had just selected a third-grade martial skill, and now Lin Yan seemed interested in them as well. Since when had it become ordinary for those in the Body Tempering Realm to cultivate third-grade martial skills?

Lin Yan replied calmly, "Since Cousin Lin Dong chose a third-grade martial skill, why can't I?"

Lin Xia choked at his words. Then she gritted her silver teeth and said, "Hmph, Lin Family Double Heroes? I think you two are a pair of monsters."

Hearing that title, Lin Yan merely shook his head indifferently before turning his attention back to the martial skills.

After looking through them several times, Lin Yan still could not find a suitable one. Just as he was about to randomly pick a martial skill to bring home and cultivate, his gaze suddenly landed on a corner of the wooden shelf. There, he found a pale red martial arts manual.

"What is this?"

Lin Yan walked over and looked in puzzlement at the wooden plaque beside the manual.

Third-grade martial skill, Fire Departure Skill, incomplete.

Lin Yan stared blankly at the description on the plaque. He had not expected this third-grade martial skill to be incomplete as well, just like Lin Dong's Mysterious Imprint.

"This martial skill was supposedly acquired by Grandfather by chance. But just as it says, it is only an incomplete portion of a martial skill. The most important section, the one that transforms one's own Yuan Power into flames, has been lost.

"Otherwise, once the skill was mastered, one could shape the flames condensed from one's body into the forms of wolves, leopards, and other beasts. Its destructive power would be extraordinary." Lin Xia stepped closer and explained.

At those words, Lin Yan's eyes immediately lit up. He already possessed a strange flame, so he had no need to condense flames with his own Yuan Power. Moreover, a strange flame was far more powerful than flames condensed from Yuan Power. In that case, this martial skill was exceptionally suitable for him.

In Lin Yan's view, the complete Fire Departure Skill had to be at least a fourth-grade martial skill, since it could use Yuan Power to condense flames. And with his strange flame, its power when combined with the Fire Departure Skill would likely approach that of a fifth-grade martial skill.

A fifth-grade martial skill had already surpassed the lower tier and entered the realm of middle-tier martial skills!

The entire Lin family did not possess a single fifth-grade martial skill. They had only one fourth-grade martial skill, and even that had been secretly taken by Lin Zhentian from the Lin Clan Main Family back then.

If Lin Yan could master the Fire Departure Skill, then even against an opponent at the Body Tempering Ninth Level, he had absolute confidence that he could defeat them!

Besides, Lin Dong's Mysterious Imprint was only a fourth-grade martial skill. In this regard, Lin Yan would be one step ahead.

"I'll take this martial skill." Lin Yan turned to Lin Xia, his voice calm yet determined.

Lin Xia froze upon hearing this. She was just about to stop him, but then she recalled the mysterious flame he had displayed during the Clan Competition. The words of persuasion that had reached her lips halted, and she could only say helplessly, "Sigh, forget it. Do as you please. You and Lin Dong are the Lin Family Double Heroes.

"It's good that you have third-grade martial skills to protect yourselves. At the very least, you'll have a much better chance against the younger generation of the Lei and Xie Families."

Lin Yan nodded noncommittally. He had never placed the younger generation of the Lei and Xie Families in his eyes. What concerned him most now was the Ancient Tomb that would open soon. The younger generation of the Four Great Clans of the Great Yan Dynasty were his true formidable enemies. After all, he was determined to obtain the Extreme Fiend Yin Dragon Saliva.

"Come on. It's getting late. You need to register it before you can take this incomplete martial skill away." Seeing Lin Yan's distracted look, Lin Xia turned around and placed her jade-like hands behind her back. Her ponytail hung down to her slender waist, swaying back and forth, brimming with a young girl's liveliness and vitality.

Following behind Lin Xia, Lin Yan completed the registration and successfully brought the incomplete Fire Departure Skill out of the Martial Arts Hall.

After leaving the Martial Arts Hall, Lin Xia chatted with Lin Yan for a while longer before departing. Lin Yan, meanwhile, hurried back to his little home without stopping. He could not wait to test whether his strange flame could work in tandem with the Fire Departure Skill...