Lionheart King's Art

"This Rock Snake wasn't bad. It had even formed a Magic Core."

Yan Qingshan swung down on the rope once more and landed outside the Cave Entrance. After using the rope to pull out the Rock Snake's corpse, he used a Little Knife to slice open its head along the wound and obtained a dark yellow crystal core. After putting away the Magic Core, Yan Qingshan returned to the Cave Entrance.

The hidden Cave Entrance was covered in rubble, vines, and Strange Trees, concealing most of the space and making it impossible for anyone to enter. After testing it again and confirming there was no danger, Yan Qingshan used his Battle Saber to carve out an opening large enough to pass through, then leaped into the cave.

Deep within the cave, Yan Qingshan planted his torch into the nearby rock wall and swept his gaze around. Before long, he found a yellowish Stone Door.

He walked over, crouched down, and found a tiny protrusion. He pressed it lightly with his finger, and after a creaking sound, the Stone Door slowly rose.

As the Stone Door lifted, a faint glow spilled out from within. It was the light of Moonlight Stones. Though not especially bright, it dispelled the surrounding darkness, leaving Yan Qingshan no longer needing the torch.

Yan Qingshan tossed in several stones without triggering any mechanisms. Then, using the Rock Snake's corpse as a shield, he cautiously stepped into the stone chamber.

The stone chamber was exceedingly plain and spacious. Moonlight Stones used for illumination were embedded in the walls, while a seat stood in the center of the chamber.

A skeleton sat upon the seat. Its ghastly white skull had long since fallen from its place and lay by its Thigh Bone. The sideways skull faced the doorway, looking especially sinister and eerie.

Before the skeleton stood a broad, long Stone Table. Three locked Stone Boxes were neatly arranged atop it, while in the other three corners of the chamber lay heaps of glittering Gold Coins and other precious valuables.

The number of Gold Coins alone was astonishing. A rough glance showed no fewer than several hundred thousand, along with other valuable gold, silver, and treasures. Their total value was at least several million.

In another corner of the stone chamber, precious Medicinal Mud had been piled into a small Flowerbed, within which all manner of flowers and herbs had been planted.

A strange fragrance lingered in the air. They were all High-grade Medicinal Herbs that were difficult to find on the market. In terms of true value, these priceless and scarce herbs were the most precious of all.

The most precious among them was a strange herb in the center of the Flowerbed, colored White and Red. Its white stem was covered in specks resembling ice crystals, while its fiery red crown looked like a blazing flame.

A faint mist curled around the plant, making it seem as though it stood amid clouds and rainbows. This spiritual herb, containing two utterly opposing attributes, was called Ice Spirit Flame Grass. It was a true top-grade medicinal ingredient and, like the Blood Lotus Essence in Yan Qingshan's possession, one of the main ingredients needed to refine a fifth-grade Blood Lotus Pill.

Yan Qingshan did not linger over the herbs or valuables. Though these things were precious, they were not what he needed most right now. What he truly wanted was... He turned his gaze toward the three locked Stone Boxes on the Stone Table.

Yan Qingshan walked before the former owner of this place. After respectfully bowing to him, he carefully took three keys from the skeleton's palm.

The owner of this stone chamber was evidently a senior willing to leave opportunities for later generations. He had not set up any trials or similar procedures, saving Yan Qingshan a great deal of trouble.

After obtaining the keys, Yan Qingshan went to the Stone Table and unlocked all three metal locks in turn.

Yan Qingshan opened the three Stone Boxes one after another, revealing their contents. The first contained a Colored Scroll, the second a Black Scroll, and the third a Light Green Scroll.

Yan Qingshan immediately reached for the third Stone Box. When he opened it, the smile at the corner of his mouth could no longer be contained. "Just as I expected..."

"Ding... Unrecorded knowledge detected. Recording and analysis initiated... Creating folders...

Profound-tier High-grade Cultivation Technique: Lionheart King's Art...

Profound-tier High-grade Dou Technique: Roaring Lion's Roar...

Profound-tier Low-grade Dou Technique: Phoenix Soaring Steps...

Dou Qi Cultivation Notes...

Lionheart King's Art Secret Method...

Profound-tier Flying Dou Skill Crafting Method..."

Yan Qingshan's face was full of delight as Shuguang rapidly recorded everything. Just as he had expected, these were the most important cultivation technique and Dou Skill inheritances left behind by the owner of this stone chamber.

In the original story, the third Stone Box in this chamber had been taken by the Wolf Head Mercenary Group of Qingshan Town. Later, the Profound-tier High-grade Dou Technique Roaring Lion's Roar appeared in the hands of Mu She of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group.

Although the original story did not mention the existence of a cultivation technique, the owner of this place had clearly intended to leave opportunities and inheritance for future generations. How could he have left only Dou Skills while forgetting the most crucial Dou Qi cultivation technique?

Many Dou Skills could only display their greatest power when used alongside their matching cultivation techniques. That was why matching Dou Skills and cultivation techniques were stored together. The third Stone Box proved that Yan Qingshan's guess had been correct.

A Profound-tier High-grade cultivation technique was practically the highest-grade cultivation technique one could find within the Jia Ma Empire. Even if a Dou Qi cultivation technique did not completely match one's attribute, it could still be cultivated; at most, the efficiency would be somewhat lower than with a perfectly matched attribute.

However, unless it was a case like someone with a Fire Attribute cultivating a Water System technique—attributes that completely countered one another—the efficiency would not be reduced by much. It would still be better than a same-attribute cultivation technique one tier lower.

In other words, unless he obtained a Wood Attribute cultivation technique of Profound-tier Mid-grade or above, this Lionheart King's Art was his best option at present.

Yan Qingshan calmed himself, picked up the Lionheart King's Art cultivation scroll, and carefully studied it. "Profound-tier High-grade, Lionheart Profound Gang, forge unyielding lionheart, condense king's momentum, form Lion King's visage...

Roaring Lion's Roar, Profound-tier High-grade Dou Technique. It contains two kinds of force within its Dou Qi Sonic Wave attack. It is not restricted to weapons, fists, or kicks, and is famed for its overwhelming offensive power. Once cultivated to Great Accomplishment, the Dual Force Transformation and Fusion become one. A furious roar terrifies the soul; Fierce Lion Annihilation. When the dual forces unite, A Gust of Wind and Clouds is thrown into chaos. Its power rivals an Earth-tier Low-grade Dou Skill...

Phoenix Soaring Steps, Profound-tier Low-grade Movement Dou Skill..."

"This Lionheart King's Art is actually Attribute-free..."

After carefully reading the descriptions of the Lionheart King's Art and Roaring Lion's Roar, Yan Qingshan could not hide the joy on his face. His heart leaped with excitement.

On the Dou Qi Continent, the vast majority of high-grade cultivation techniques had Attribute Restrictions. In other words, every technique was best suited to a particular attribute, or was even tailored specifically for that attribute. For example, the number one cultivation technique from the original story, Fennel Art, was a Fire Attribute cultivation technique.

Such attribute cultivation techniques naturally yielded twice the results with half the effort for physiques suited to them, but that did not mean people with other attribute physiques could not cultivate them.

It was simply that cultivation techniques of mismatched attributes were certainly less efficient than compatible ones. Moreover, the resulting Dou Qi would be less pure, making it difficult to bring the technique to its fullest potential or comprehend its true meaning.

Under such circumstances, many of a cultivation technique's core functions could not be used at all. For instance, if someone without a Fire Attribute cultivated Fennel Art, perhaps they would be unable to use it to absorb Heavenly Flames. In their hands, it would be no more than a Yellow-tier Cultivation Method. Would cultivating it even be useful then?

Of course, aside from attribute cultivation techniques, there was another type that was not based on any particular attribute: Attribute-free cultivation techniques. This meant that people of all physiques could cultivate them.

However, such cultivation techniques were generally harder to cultivate, and their power enhancement might be somewhat weaker than cultivation techniques that matched one's attribute.

But to Yan Qingshan right now, this Lionheart King's Art was incomparably precious. Given his background and strength, without a fortunate opportunity, he would never have been able to obtain a Profound-tier Cultivation Technique, much less a Profound-tier High-grade Cultivation Technique. Even to the top factions of the Jia Ma Empire, such a thing was exceptionally precious.

Unable to suppress his excitement, Yan Qingshan sat cross-legged within the stone chamber and circulated the Dou Qi inside his body, beginning to alter his cultivation route.

The Profound-tier High-grade cultivation technique was vastly more powerful than the Yellow-tier Cultivation Method he had previously used as a backup. His Pale Yellow Dou Qi was compressed and condensed into greenish-blue Dou Qi like Green Silk, and his aura became far more concentrated.

Who knew how much time passed before Yan Qingshan slowly opened his eyes. A flash of White Light seemed to pass through the stone chamber, and as he rose, a light breeze swept across the room.

Yan Qingshan felt refreshed from head to toe, his condition exceptionally good. After loosening his muscles and bones, he turned his attention back to the Stone Table.

The other two Stone Boxes lay open on the Stone Table, their seven-colored and pitch-black scrolls waiting for their new owner.

"Ding... Brand-new knowledge detected. Recording and analysis initiated... Creating new folder... Seven-Colored Poison Scripture..."

Yan Qingshan first took out the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture, the seven-colored scroll. The owner of this stone chamber had likely been a physician or Poison Master. Since he had left behind a Profound-tier High-grade cultivation technique and Dou Technique, and had also been able to create a Profound-tier High-grade Flying Dou Skill, he was very likely a Dou Emperor expert.

The Seven-Colored Poison Scripture recorded this suspected Dou Emperor expert's accumulated knowledge of the Path of Medicine and Poison. The knowledge left behind by a Dou Emperor expert, the inheritance of a Dou Emperor expert—within the Jia Ma Empire, these were extraordinarily precious things.

After Shuguang finished recording the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture, Yan Qingshan carefully placed it and the Lionheart King's Art into his Storage Ring. This lowest-grade Storage Ring alone had cost him several thousand Gold Coins. It had truly pained him when he bought it, but without a Storage Ring, how could he have carried away this treasure?

After the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture, Yan Qingshan finally picked up the pitch-black Flying Dou Skill scroll: the Profound-tier High-grade Flying Dou Skill, Wings of the Eagle.

Flying Dou Skills were the rarest type of Support Dou Skill on the continent. Rather than a Dou Skill, they were more like specially refined Wings that allowed people to fly through the sky—something originally possible only for those at the Dou Ling realm and above.

On the Dou Qi Continent, only upon reaching the Dou Ling realm could one barely Levitate and Glide, managing only short-distance flight. True flight required reaching the Dou Wang realm, where one could release Dou Qi to form a pair of energy Wings and soar freely through the heavens, no longer restricted by terrain.

Only Dou Wang experts could fly by forming Dou Qi Wings, yet this Flying Dou Skill allowed experts below the Dou Wang realm to enjoy the same privilege.