The True Protagonist Knows How to Cheat

"Forgive me, Senior Chisongzi. This junior means no disrespect, but cultivation in this era is arduous, so I borrow the power of the Solar Trueflame for my own use."

Yan Kuan stood beneath the Celestial Chime Bells, offering careful reverence. The great figure within the tomb chamber was considered benevolent, but he could not lack his own proper attitude.

This journey from home in search of opportunity was not for any treasure, but for environmental resources that could aid his own cultivation.

Mount Lu and Mount Ba Ling were his two final choices of location. In the end, he chose Mount Ba Ling because there was no malice from the powerful here—this point was extremely important.

The underground palace at Mount Lu had imprisoned and killed a sage. The strong who set up the restrictions there were ruthless in their methods and would show no mercy to outsiders. Without some means, it was best not to go there.

As for the Ancient Sage Tomb at Mount Ba Ling, in terms of the originator's reputation and methods, it far surpassed the Mount Lu underground palace. Yet it was not too dangerous. That ancient sage had not set traps in the tomb to ambush reckless intruders—a rare thing among the tombs of the mighty.

Most tombs of the powerful, to avoid disturbance from later comers, left all sorts of measures to deal with uninvited guests. In the burial grounds of ancient great sages, even great cultivators could lose their lives.

Yet in the original story, this sage tomb at Mount Ba Ling was actually opened by mortals, and a group of low-level cultivators even charged into the deepest parts of the tomb. Thinking about it now, it was simply unbelievable.

Of course, those intruders in the original story also paid the price, but that was purely because they overestimated themselves. With their meager cultivation, they still forced their way in. If they didn't die, who would?

How good it was to have self-awareness like Yan Kuan. Don't recklessly barge in, and those Sword Qi and Sword Intent that could slaughter great cultivators would not attack on their own.

From deep within the sage tomb, wisps of celestial music reached his ears, and Yan Kuan's heart gradually calmed. He adjusted his state, suppressed the excitement within, felt the vast information in his mind, pondered carefully, and slowly closed his eyes.

His hands formed a cultivation seal, his eyes watching his nose, his nose watching his heart. His mind and spirit gradually relaxed and sank into his body.

His inner awareness traveled through his meridians along the energy pathways, finally arriving at the Battle Qi Cyclone in his lower abdomen. The fiery red Sea of Bitterness churned endlessly, with visions gestating within.

His current Battle Qi Cyclone, or Sea of Bitterness, was slightly smaller in volume than when it was first opened. But with careful observation, one could detect that the power contained within the cyclone sea was now denser and more condensed.

His mind circled the cyclone once. After finding no problems, he followed the plan in his heart and began his first adventure.

Before entering the ancient tomb at Mount Ba Ling, Yan Kuan had thought a lot. With his foreknowledge, special flame physique, and the Burning Art inheritance, he could cultivate step by step, waiting until the Nine Dragons pulled the coffin to follow the group and develop the plot. Even if he laid low until then, he would still have a considerable advantage in the early stages.

But after careful consideration, he abandoned this idea. The universe of Shrouding the Heavens was a world that emphasized "contention." For those with ambition to attain the Dao, the imperial road of struggle was unavoidable.

Walking between heaven and earth, you never knew if you would encounter some natural disaster or be killed by the aftermath of a battle between the powerful.

The universe was vast and dangerous. Clinging to the plot and thinking only of following the group was definitely not viable. If Yan Kuan truly wanted to grasp his own destiny, he had to become a strong one. With enough strength, he could ignore everything. So, how to become a strong one?

Very simple—cheat. Among all the top powerhouses of the Myriad Heavens, which one didn't cheat? Using ordinary methods, you could never catch up to the top prodigies in a lifetime. To become a strong one, don't think about hard work, desperate effort, or learning. Those things were the basics, and sometimes not even necessary.

If Yan Kuan wanted to rapidly transform in cultivation, he had to take shortcuts, to cheat. This was a necessary condition for becoming a top expert, the basic quality of a top expert.

Compared to most people in this world, Yan Kuan still had advantages. Foreknowledge allowed him to stay one step ahead at every turn. The Burning Art and the Flame Emperor's inheritance were his capital for cheating.

And now, he was going to put this capital into practice, allowing himself to progress quickly in this End of Dharma era.

His mind sank into the Sea of Bitterness in his dantian. His trained soul perception began to stir the Flame Divine Power within the sea to rotate. The divine power flowing through his meridians also began to react. At the center of his Sea of Bitterness, tiny voids gradually took shape.

Yan Kuan suddenly raised his head. Firelight flickered in his eyes. Two beams of flame brushed through the air, narrowly passing the crisscrossing sword lights and Sword Qi ahead, and plunged into the blazing mass of Solar Trueflame.

With a dull boom, the two beams of flame sinking into the Solar Trueflame seemed to produce no reaction. But soon, the temperature inside the entire ancient tomb soared sharply.

A bright blaze quickly filled Yan Kuan's vision. Scorching waves of heat rushed toward him, making him feel as if he were staring directly at the sun.

At that moment, Yan Kuan immediately held his breath and focused his mind. The Burning Art Wheel Sea Chapter spun wildly, greedily absorbing the increasingly dense flame power in the air. The growth rate of the divine power within his body was astonishingly fast. Under this special flame eruption, his aura surged significantly.

The surging Solar Trueflame ultimately did not rush before Yan Kuan. The Trigram Treasure Box floated and spun in front of him.

This was his last line of defense. At a critical moment, it could whisk him away and flee. But fortunately, his plan was successful. So far, everything was proceeding according to his thoughts.

Yan Kuan's eyes flickered. Two beams of flame rolled back a trace of special energy containing a hint of Solar Trueflame power and brought it before him. At this moment, he was extremely cautious. His heart pounded wildly.

Solar Trueflame—a powerful flame capable of incinerating a Dao-Slaying King. Even a single wisp could easily reduce Yan Kuan, at the Wheel Sea Realm, to ashes.

Ordinary cultivators would never dare to touch such terrifying power. But he possessed the Burning Art, which could devour all flames to evolve. Perhaps he wasn't yet capable of swallowing the entire sea of Solar Trueflame to condense a flame seed, but with just this tiny bit of trueflame power, he could try to make it his own.

"Sizzle..."

Yan Kuan's hands carefully reached out. Strands of fiery red divine power, in a form resembling rising flames, wrapped around the two beams of fire. The moment they touched, they reacted violently, like oil thrown onto a blazing fire. Yan Kuan's face instantly turned deathly pale.

A fierce burning pain swept through his entire body, but he forced himself to endure it. This was a necessary step on the path to becoming a strong one. To grow in this End of Dharma era, one had to experience pain. Every opportunity here was precious and had to be fought for.

Yan Kuan's spiritual power gradually spread and merged into the flame light in his palms. That tiny bit of trueflame power was, after all, ownerless dead matter. In the end, it was suppressed and controlled by him. Steadying his mind slightly, he carefully absorbed this special mass of "flame" into his body.

A wisp of Solar Trueflame power, wrapped in Flame Divine Power, passed through his meridians and finally entered the tiny void he had just opened in the Sea of Bitterness in his dantian.

At that instant, Yan Kuan's Sea of Bitterness trembled violently and boiled over again, startling him into urgently mobilizing all his power to calm it down once more.

Within the Sea of Bitterness, the Flame Divine Power enveloping the Solar Trueflame gradually dispersed. This external flame power instantly erupted with immense might. But now, inside Yan Kuan's body, the power of the Burning Art had already begun to circulate, mobilizing all the Flame Divine Power within.