On the Burning Art

Back Mountain, dawn had just broken.

A young man and woman stood atop the mountain, close together in an intimate posture.

"When your Dou Qi reaches this meridian, start compressing it, like this."

Xiao Yan placed his hand on Xun Er's delicate arm and used his soul power to guide and compress her circulating Dou Qi.

Since he had said he would teach her hands-on, Xiao Yan did not hesitate in the slightest. He truly dared to put his hands on her.

Of course, they were both still young and had no other thoughts. Using his soul power to guide Xun Er's Dou Qi was inherently extremely dangerous and demanded the utmost concentration, leaving no room for distraction.

Had he not become a First-Rank Alchemist and greatly trained his fine control over soul power, and had he not tried as a child to imitate the transmission-of-power scenes from television by placing both palms against Xun Er's back and using Dou Qi to clear her meridians, Xiao Yan would not have dared to help her this way. After all, he was already familiar with her meridians.

Fortunately, Xun Er's talent was genuinely exceptional. Though she was slightly inferior to Xiao Yan when it came to cultivating Dou Techniques, she was still a genius among geniuses. With Xiao Yan's help, she learned quickly.

"Mm, I think I succeeded?"

A moment later, Xun Er sensed the compressed Dou Qi in her meridians, filled with explosive power, and her eyes lit up.

"Mm. Remember this feeling and rhythm. Once you master this technique, the power of your Dou Techniques will definitely multiply!"

Xiao Yan nodded, a broad smile on his face.

Over the past half month, he had brought Xun Er to the Back Mountain every morning to help her become familiar with compressing Dou Qi. Now, she had finally achieved initial success.

In another half month, even without his guidance, Xun Er would be able to master this method proficiently.

"Alright, Brother Xiao Yan!"

Xun Er nodded obediently, then slowly dispersed the compressed Dou Qi back into her Dou Qi Vortex under Xiao Yan's guidance.

"How does it feel?"

Xiao Yan asked gently.

"Brother Xiao Yan is amazing! Thanks to you, Xun Er was able to get started with this Dou Technique so quickly!"

Beaming, Xun Er gave Xiao Yan a thumbs-up.

"It's because you work hard and have talent that you got started so quickly. I only provided a little assistance. Alright, let's eat. Jia Nan Academy is coming to Wutan City to recruit new students today. Besides, Eldest Brother and Second Brother have been gone for over half a year. They should be back by now, so let's go take a look together."

Xiao Yan reached out and lightly scraped Xun Er's little nose, then took her hand and headed down the mountain.

"With Brother Xiao Yan's talent, if the people from Jia Nan Academy knew about it, they would probably beg you to attend their academy!"

On the way down, Xun Er said with a soft smile.

"Mm, I'm not going. I don't think Jia Nan Academy's teaching is better than my teacher's."

Xiao Yan shook his head.

"Jia Nan Academy is the most famous academy on the continent. Does Brother Xiao Yan truly have no interest at all?"

A trace of disappointment flashed through Xun Er's eyes. She had originally wanted to attend Jia Nan Academy with Xiao Yan.

"It's not that I'm uninterested. I just don't plan to go for now. If I do go, it will be for the Inner Academy. The Outer Academy would not help me much."

Xiao Yan shook his head and explained,

"I've already asked my teacher. The Inner Academy of Jia Nan Academy has elders at the Dou Wang and Dou Emperor levels guiding the students' cultivation. Their knowledge and ability are far beyond those Da Dou Shi-level instructors. Since I promised you that I would break through to Dou Emperor within six years, naturally I cannot waste my precious time."

"Mm, then it seems Brother Xiao Yan's teacher does not know that much about Jia Nan Academy either."

Xun Er spoke thoughtfully.

"Oh?"

Xiao Yan put on an interested expression. Old Yao within the Storage Ring also perked up his ears, wanting to hear what information this generous little rich girl could provide.

Xun Er slowed her pace considerably. After giving it some thought and organizing her thoughts, she began speaking.

"In the Inner Academy of Jia Nan Academy, there is a cultivation sanctuary called the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower.

"It is said that at the bottom of the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower, a mature Fallen Heart Flame is suppressed. Within the range of the tower, it can project Heart Fire into everyone's bodies, allowing them to use the Heart Fire to temper their Dou Qi and improve their cultivation!

"If Brother Xiao Yan wants to speed up his cultivation, then he truly should head straight for the Inner Academy of Jia Nan Academy!"

"Fallen Heart Flame?!" Old Yao's startled voice rang out in Xiao Yan's mind. "Little Yan, you have to go to Jia Nan Academy! This Fallen Heart Flame is a cultivation accelerator. Once refined, even if you do not actively circulate your cultivation method, it will automatically help you purify your Dou Qi.

"The earlier you obtain it, the better its effects on you will be. However, a mature Heavenly Flame will not be easy to deal with. With your current strength, even if the Heavenly Flame were placed right before you, you could only stare at it helplessly."

The corners of Xiao Yan's mouth curled upward slightly.

You finally couldn't hold it in anymore, Teacher!

"Teacher, I could only stare helplessly at it anyway! I already have a Heavenly Flame in my body. Even if another one came along, I wouldn't dare devour it. It would kill me."

Xiao Yan spoke in his heart.

"This... there is no harm in telling you. Your teacher possesses a cultivation method, an exceedingly strange one. It can allow multiple Heavenly Flames to coexist within a person's body and evolve by devouring Heavenly Flames. Though it begins only at the low Yellow Tier, as the number of Heavenly Flames it devours increases, advancing the cultivation method to the Heaven Tier would not be difficult!"

Only after a moment of silence did Old Yao slowly speak.

"Uh, Teacher, have you cultivated it?"

After thinking for a moment, Xiao Yan asked.

Old Yao said, "No."

"Then how do you know it can evolve?"

Xiao Yan appropriately displayed a hint of confusion.

"That is how the cultivation method describes it. This thing is also why I lost my life."

Old Yao's voice sank.

"Mm, then I am rather interested in this cultivation method. But I am currently cultivating the Spirit Flame Tempering Technique. If I switch to the Burning Art, it seems I would be losing out too much."

Though Xiao Yan did not state it openly, Old Yao understood what he meant.

"Switching to a low-tier cultivation method will cause some of your Dou Qi to disperse, lowering your Dou Qi realm. However, with the aid of medicinal pills, your fallen realm can recover somewhat, so the impact is not great. The reason I brought up this cultivation method is for another matter."

At this point, Old Yao paused, and his voice grew increasingly heavy.

"From my perspective, I truly hope you can cultivate this Burning Art. You should know that I am merely a soul body now, right?

"I do not like this illusory existence. There are things I must personally accomplish, so I need to escape this state of being a soul."

"Teacher wants to be resurrected?"

Xiao Yan asked in his heart.

"Yes. According to some obscure descriptions in the Flame Mantra, if one succeeds in cultivating it, it seems that at least three mutually compatible Heavenly Flames can be used to forge a body capable of housing a soul. At that time, with a new body, I could be considered reborn in another way...

"I endured for so many years within the ring's pitch-black, sunless space because I hoped that one day I would encounter someone whose soul power met the requirements. Fortunately, I met you."

A touch of anticipation entered Old Yao's tone.

"Then please prepare, Teacher. When there is another chance to find a Heavenly Flame, I will begin switching cultivation methods and cultivate this so-called Burning Art!"

Xiao Yan's laughter rang faintly through his heart.

Hearing that laughter, Old Yao's eyes reddened for a moment.

This time, he had finally not misjudged someone.