Starry Sky

In the dead of night, Shi Lan sat before the dressing table, looking through the three manuals Shi Tianlu had given her.

One was a saber manual, one a cultivation technique, and one a secret art.

The cultivation technique could only take one as far as the Tiangang Realm. Shi Lan gave it a cursory glance and set it aside. The saber manual was nothing special, either.

Only the secret art, called the Spirit-Burning Art, caught her interest.

The Spirit-Burning Art was a secret method that could unleash great power for a short time. It was called spirit-burning, but in truth, it burned one's life.

It burned one's life force in exchange for a brief surge of strength. The reason Shi Tianlu had aged so much over the past year or so was surely tied to this secret art.

The secret art wasn't difficult to learn. Put simply, it was just a technique. Before half a quarter-hour had passed, a system notification suddenly sounded in Shi Lan's ear.

[Congratulations, Host, you have learned Spirit-Burning Art (Incomplete)]

Hearing the word "incomplete," Shi Lan pondered briefly, then opened the system panel.

Host: Shi Lan

Cultivation: Late Earthly Fiend Realm

Root Bone: 9 (Innate Spirit Body, a once-in-a-thousand-years rarity.)

Cultivation Techniques: Jade Purity Creation Art (Second Layer), Vajra Divine Fist (Mastered), Jade Forging Art (Perfected), Heavenly Extremity Seal (Not Initiated), Spirit-Burning Art (Incomplete)

Divine Abilities: Heavenly Eye Qi-Observing Technique (Three Stars), Black Domain (Seven Stars)

Strength Evaluation: Somewhat Accomplished

Reputation: 298750 (Famous in the Region)

She hadn't checked her reputation for several days. It had nearly reached the three-hundred-thousand mark, and was still climbing rapidly.

Shi Lan glanced at it and moved on, opening the mission section to check her progress.

[846/1000]

The demonic beasts she had hunted on the way back, along