Body Tempering Eighth Level

Pale moonlight shrouded the earth like an illusory veil of silver gauze.

Within the secluded little courtyard, bathed in the bright moonlight, everything seemed so tranquil, beautiful, and peaceful.

This time, however, Lin Yan did not spare the moonlight a glance. Instead, he stared intently at the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire in his hand, his expression tense.

That afternoon, he had thoroughly read through the Fire Departure Skill. Yet, just as Lin Xia had said, it was only a fragmented manual. The first half—the most crucial section on how to refine origin power into fire—was missing.

However, this did not affect Lin Yan much, since he possessed an unusual flame. The killing techniques in the latter half were what truly mattered. Even so, learning something so complex and cumbersome was exceedingly difficult.

Thus, his studies that afternoon had yielded little result. The Fire Departure Skill was indeed different from the other martial arts Lin Yan had encountered. Stone Crushing Fist and Eight Desolations Palm, for example, both had fixed forms and routines. The Fire Departure Skill was different. It required the use of a particular hand seal to draw forth the flames refined within one's body. When the flames combined with the hand seal, they could take on the forms of countless beasts and unleash tremendous power.

The Fire Departure Skill had three levels: wolf, leopard, and tiger—the three beast-form killing techniques.

By Lin Yan's estimate, the first level of the Fire Departure Skill, Wolf Thrust, already possessed the power of a third-grade martial art. The third level, Tiger Pounce, was even comparable to an ordinary fourth-grade martial art. If he used an unusual flame in place of flames refined from origin power, its might would likely approach that of a fifth-grade martial art!

Of course, that was assuming Lin Yan could first master the Fire Departure Skill completely. After all, it was a third-grade martial art. Even though Lin Yan had replaced the flames that needed to be refined from origin power in the first half with his own unusual flame, he still had no clue how to use the first level.

"I'll try one last time. If it still doesn't work, I can only set it aside for now..."

In the courtyard, Lin Yan slowly closed his eyes and sensed the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire in his palm. Then he drew in a breath, tightened his abdomen, and spread his hands into a rather complex series of seals, his movements carrying a trace of stiffness.

As the hand seals were gradually completed, the Origin Power Seed moving through Lin Yan's meridians suddenly gave off faint fluctuations. Yet those fluctuations were extremely slight, vanishing in a flash.

Amid those smooth, flowing movements, Lin Yan unexpectedly gained a trace of insight. The first level of the Fire Departure Skill, Wolf Thrust, which he had never managed to grasp, finally began to show progress.

Delighted, the youth abruptly changed his hand seals. Scarlet flames surged wildly from his palm, then, following the changes in his seals, instantly condensed above his head into a Flame Giant Wolf several yards in size.

"First level of the Fire Departure Skill, Wolf Thrust!"

Combined with the might of countless beasts contained within the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire, the wolf-shaped flaming beast seemed like a true wolf king of the forest, radiating a terrifying and fearsome aura.

The next moment, under Lin Yan's control, the Flame Giant Wolf suddenly charged forward. Like a starving wolf pouncing on prey, it lunged fiercely ahead.

Bang!

In the next second, the previously intact ground was smashed into a gigantic crater several yards wide. Flame-scorched traces stretched across hundreds of meters around it, while the Flame Giant Wolf dissipated after unleashing that immensely powerful strike.

"What incredible power..."

Seeing the terrifying damage caused by the Flame Giant Wolf, Lin Yan nodded with a faint smile. A third-grade martial art truly was extraordinary.

Although Lin Yan had now memorized the hand seals, he still needed much practice before he could make the flames and seals operate together in perfect coordination. Still, no matter what, the first level of the Fire Departure Skill counted as a third-grade martial art.

"The first level of the Fire Departure Skill is already comparable to a third-grade martial art. If I can learn the second level, Leopard Strike, then even if it cannot compare to a fourth-grade martial art, it should still rank among the very best of third-grade martial arts. The third level, Tiger Pounce, is probably no weaker than a fourth-grade martial art. And when the might of countless beasts within the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire is combined with these flaming beasts, it produces an entirely different kind of power. Looks like I really picked up quite a bargain this time."

Thinking of this, a smile appeared at the corner of Lin Yan's mouth. Who would have thought that this martial art manual, neglected for more than a decade within the Lin Family, would shine so brilliantly in his hands? It truly was his good fortune.

Over the following month, Lin Yan once again became someone who rarely left his home. He was seldom seen moving about the Lin Family, as he devoted all his time to cultivation.

Under such tireless cultivation, his progress in the Fire Departure Skill advanced rapidly as well.

After around a month of day-and-night training, Lin Yan's coordination between the hand seals and flames gradually became more natural. He had already mastered the first level of the Fire Departure Skill, Wolf Thrust, while the second level, Leopard Strike, had begun to take shape. As for the third level, Tiger Pounce, he still had absolutely no clue.

Overall, though, this month of arduous cultivation had brought him considerable gains.

Within the dense forest of the Back Mountain, Lin Yan sat cross-legged atop a stone pedestal with his eyes shut. Quite a few bloodstains covered his body, suggesting that he had gone through many fierce battles.

As Lin Yan sat there with his eyes closed, strands of origin power stirred in the heavens and earth around him. They followed his breathing into his body, nourishing his flesh, blood, and skin.

Naturally, this trickle-like flow of origin power was clearly insufficient for Lin Yan's needs. Therefore, he summoned the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire, which had just eaten its fill nearby, back into his body.

The Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire was now as large as half a head. Its vivid scarlet color resembled blood, and it emitted a terrifying aura of desolation and extinction.

After completely mastering the first level of the Fire Departure Skill, Lin Yan had come to the Back Mountain and begun his Slaughtering Wild Beasts Journey. Over the past half month, countless wild beasts had died by his hand. Even quite a few beasts comparable to the Body Tempering Ninth Level had perished beneath the first level of the Fire Departure Skill, Wolf Thrust.

After absorbing and devouring so many wild beasts, the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire had grown considerably. At the same time, Lin Yan felt that the time had come for him to break through.

As the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire entered his body, vigorous energy immediately erupted. The impact sent waves of comfort through Lin Yan's flesh, bones, and muscles.

Pure energy surged like a tide. As it tempered his bones and internal organs, it also transformed into threads of origin power that merged into the Origin Power Seed.

"Buzz, buzz."

As more and more origin power poured into the Origin Power Seed, the seed, which had remained motionless until now, suddenly began to tremble faintly. The thin mist that had originally surrounded it actually transformed into pale rings of light that revolved around the Origin Power Seed.

As the mist formed those faint rings, Lin Yan clearly sensed the Origin Power Seed beginning to travel along his meridians toward his lower abdomen. However, just as it was about to reach the end of one meridian, an invisible resistance emerged, like an unseen wall blocking the moving Origin Power Seed.

Facing the obstruction of that invisible wall, the Origin Power Seed rammed against it several times, but achieved no significant result. It could only give up helplessly...

"Body Tempering Eighth Level..."

When the Origin Power Seed was stopped by that invisible barrier, Lin Yan slowly opened his tightly shut eyes and let out a long breath. Joy flickered in his gaze.

The Origin Power Seed had grown several times larger than it had been during the Clan Competition. Its current state had reached the Body Tempering Eighth Level.

"That barrier must be the so-called Dantian barrier. If I can break through it, the Origin Power Seed will be able to enter the Dantian and take root there, completely stabilizing my cultivation foundation..."

Lin Yan muttered to himself. The mark of the Body Tempering Ninth Level was for the Origin Power Seed to take root in the Dantian. Judging by the current situation, though, he would still need to work hard for some time before accomplishing that.

Still, rising from the Body Tempering Seventh Level to the Body Tempering Eighth Level in only a month and a half was already extremely impressive. As for the ninth level, that was thinking too far ahead. After all, one had to eat one bite at a time...

Yet during his cultivation, Lin Yan suddenly discovered a problem that he had not paid much attention to before. As he drew closer and closer to the Earth Origin Realm, his body seemed extremely repulsed by any Yin Fiend Energy.

After entering the Earth Origin Realm, the most important task was to absorb Yin Fiend Energy from heaven and earth into one's body and fuse it with one's origin power. Doing so would greatly strengthen the offensive nature of one's origin power. Upon reaching the Heavenly Origin Realm, one would then absorb Pure Yang Energy from heaven and earth. In the end, only when yin and yang intertwined within the body could one condense an Origin Core.

But he did not seem to be like that at all. He was somewhat like Qingtan, though he was the complete opposite extreme...