Burning Technique

"Level 12..."

Tang Ya was somewhat shocked. Both youths before her were only nine years old, yet they already met the entrance requirements for Shrek Academy. Furthermore, the fact that they were old acquaintances meant they came from the same village.

Heavens, how incredibly lucky was it for a tiny mountain village to produce two geniuses at once?

Looking at the Tang Sect, for ten thousand years, the sect master had been a Blue Silver Grass user, and every year the sect declined a little further. Never had a powerhouse like their ancestor Tang San appeared.

It had even reached the point where, by her generation, only she and Beibei remained.

Thinking of this, Tang Ya's mood inevitably sank once more.

Xiao Yan naturally did not know what the Sect Master was thinking, nor did he realize how much of a shock he and Xiao Yulü had caused. If he had known, he would have only scoffed.

Worrying about the decline of the Tang Sect in the world of Peerless Tang Sect was like worrying that the character you pulled in a gacha game would be power-crept in the next version.

Moreover, there was Beibei, Huo Yuhao, and the potential future addition of Wang Dong'er...

Any one of them, if taken out individually, could help Tang Ya solo that so-called Iron Blood Sect. Yet she, on the other hand, insisted on running off to Heaven Dou City alone, only to eventually fall and become an Evil Soul Master.

Of course, while Xiao Yan didn't harbor pure hatred for Evil Soul Masters, if this young girl were to fall into that path in the future...

Then don't blame my Buddha Fury Fire Lotus for being heartless.

"Speaking of which, Xiao Yulü, since you're already level 12, why not come with me to Shrek City to handle the enrollment? With our talent, staying at a primary soul master academy is truly a waste."

Xiao Yan looked at Xiao Yulü. The entrance requirement for Shrek Academy was level 15 at age 12; Xiao Yan naturally met this standard, not to mention he had the qualification for admission without examination.

As for Xiao Yulü, although he was only level 12, with his potential finally beginning to bloom, his cultivation would surely advance by leaps and bounds. Coupled with the Xiao Clan's mutated martial soul, getting into Shrek shouldn't be a problem.

Hearing this, Xiao Yulü pondered for a moment.

His original purpose for this trip was to obtain a soul ring, cultivate diligently after the breakthrough, join Shrek Academy, and then have a fair and square battle with Xiao Yan.

Now, the soul ring had been obtained, and the escort team led by the Soul Saint that the Xiao Clan had sent to protect him was currently missing, their fate unknown. If he were to return to the Xiao Clan, not only was the journey long, but he would have to traverse the Star Dou Forest again, which was simply too dangerous.

In that case, Xiao Yan's proposal did indeed seem to have its merits.

"Agreed."

And so, the group grew by one, and they all headed toward Shrek City together.

Most of the Star Dou Forest fell within the territory of the Star Luo Empire, with only a small portion belonging to the Heaven Dou Empire. As for the core area, that was a lawless zone where none of the three empires held sway.

Shrek Academy was located to the northwest of the Star Dou Forest, not far from the forest itself, but... Beibei, Tang Ya, and the others had not entered the forest from the front.

Due to the hatred between soul beasts and humans, a large number of powerful soul beasts resided in the section of the Star Dou Forest facing Shrek City; therefore, students below the rank of Soul King were not permitted to enter from the front.

Of course, this was just like the Forbidden Forest at a certain Hogwarts—you say don't enter, so we don't?

At worst, we'll take a detour. I'm officially heading to the three great empires, and the academy can't manage that. As for once I'm outside the academy?

Heh, it's none of your business where I go.

For safety reasons and various other considerations, the five of them ultimately traveled through the Star Luo Empire, and after a detour of nearly a thousand miles, they were finally about to see Shrek City.

Along the way, the Tang Sect members chatted and laughed. Beibei and Tang Ya taught the Mysterious Heaven Skill, Purple Demon Eye, and other techniques to Huo Yuhao. Naturally, this also inspired Xiao Yan.

Why could Tang San bring the Mysterious Heaven Skill and the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record over from another world, but he, Xiao Yan, couldn't?

After much thought, Xiao Yan settled on a technique that suited him best and was the easiest to replicate on the Douluo Continent.

The Burning Technique.

To devour all the fires in the world, allowing the technique to continuously evolve, starting from the lowest grade and rising step by step.

One might ask, who is Xiao Yan?

He is a commoner.

He is just a little villager from Xiao Family Village, with no father or mother. The only reason he could awaken a martial soul was because Xiao Family Village was on the Xiao Clan's land, and they sent people every year to awaken the villagers' souls.

If not for that, he, Xiao Yan, would still be unaware of the existence of martial souls, likely still believing this was just an ordinary medieval world of swords and magic.

So, what does Xiao Yan lack the most?

Resources, of course!

Although he had the backing of the Xiao Clan, he was not a true member of the main family, so the resource support he could receive was bound to be limited. Furthermore, growing up in such a way would mean he would always be under the thumb of the Xiao Clan and would have to pay them back.

That was why Xiao Yan had gone to such lengths to get into Shrek Academy. Regardless of the academy's reputation, it remained the only path for a commoner like him to catch up to, or even surpass, the disciples of noble families.

And at this very moment, the Burning Technique he envisioned was likewise a method that would allow him to catch up to and surpass those noble disciples.

Because, to a certain extent, it could be converted into resources.

What were the resources provided by Shrek Academy? It was the teachers who guided your cultivation, the classmates who studied alongside you, and the environment of the Inner Court, which was rich in soul power.

But the Burning Technique only required the absorption of exotic fires to increase cultivation speed, boost fire damage, enhance recovery speed, and so on.

If he absorbed enough exotic fires, he could even match the speed of a simulated cultivation environment under normal conditions.

Xiao Yan himself had not made any progress for three full years; in fact, all the soul power derived from the Xiao Clan's techniques had almost entirely gone into the body of the Little Fire Dragon. He himself was merely sharing the soul power level with the Little Fire Dragon.

Therefore, the inherent flaw of the Burning Technique—that one cannot practice multiple techniques simultaneously—had no impact on him whatsoever.

So, what reason did Xiao Yan have not to practice it?

Action followed thought. On the way back to the city, Xiao Yan scoured his memories, drafted a rough outline, and now, all that remained was to try practicing it himself.

Of course, such a dangerous undertaking could naturally not be performed in the perilous wilderness; if a compilation error were to occur, his meridians could be severed inch by inch, leaving him to die like a stray dog in the Star Dou Forest...

After traveling for several days as if waiting for the stars and moon to align, the group finally arrived at Shrek City.

This city was established upon the Lima Plain, covering an incredibly vast area, with major thoroughfares extending in all four cardinal directions, making it a true hub for north-south travel.

This place was not only the location of Shrek Academy but also the most important commercial city among the three great empires. Because of the existence of Shrek Academy, transactions conducted within Shrek City were generally considered to be under the supervision of the academy; therefore, trade here was not only fairer but also much more reliable.

Shrek City had four city gates in total; among them, the south, west, and north gates could be entered and exited freely, while only the east gate was reserved exclusively for Shrek Academy students.

However, despite this restriction, the crowd at the east gate was by no means small at this moment.

Tang Ya explained that this was precisely the period when Shrek Academy was recruiting new students, and students like Xiao Yan and Huo Yuhao, who held recommendation letters, would arrive just in time for this intake, sparing them from having to join as transfer students.

As for Xiao Yulü, although his Soul Power Level was still slightly lacking, after these few days of cultivation, he had already touched the bottleneck; he was confident that he could break through to level 15 before the recruitment ended and join the academy in the same cohort as Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan, meanwhile, could no longer wait to test his cultivation technique, so he simply parted ways with Beibei, Tang Ya, Huo Yuhao, and the others, planning to enroll together once Xiao Yulü achieved his breakthrough; this window of time was perfect for experimenting with his new technique.