Da Dou Shi!

Xiao Yan probed his consciousness into the gray space within his cyclone, observing the golden flame that had swelled several times in size over the past month; it was now comparable to the Green Lotus Core Flame.

"The time is ripe." Xiao Yan opened his eyes and said to Yao Lao.

"Mm, then let us begin. You must be careful. Although it is only a pseudo-Heavenly Flame, it is, after all, a sub-flame split from the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame, which ranks fourth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking."

Yao Lao took out the Pulse Protection Pill, Ice Heart Pill, and Blood Lotus Pill, speaking to Xiao Yan with a grave expression.

"Understood!"

Xiao Yan swallowed the Blood Lotus Pill, and a layer of blood-colored horny membrane immediately grew over his internal membranes and skin surface. He then steadied his mind and issued a command to the Green Lotus Core Flame within his body.

Inside the gray space, the cyan flame suddenly lunged at the golden flame to the side, completely enveloping it. The golden flame struggled violently, seemingly caught off guard that its neighbor, with whom it had coexisted peacefully for the past month, would launch a sneak attack.

The Green Lotus Core Flame clung tenaciously to the golden flame, nimbly swimming out of the gray energy membrane. It dove headfirst into the surging river of Dou Qi flowing through the meridians outside the gray space with a splash.

Once inside the Dou Qi torrent, the Green Lotus Core Flame instantly merged with the energy, transforming into a river of cyan flame. The surging current carried the golden flame, now trapped in its center, toward the circulation path of the Flame Mantra.

"Whoosh!"

Upon entering a specific meridian route, the golden flame seemed to sense danger and began to struggle violently. In his trance, Xiao Yan could almost hear the sound of a large fish thrashing helplessly in the turbulent current, sending droplets of water flying.

However, the power of the cyan flame river seemed inexhaustible, firmly pinning the golden flame down. After several futile attempts to break free, the golden flame finally gave up in despair.

After one full cycle of the Flame Mantra, the golden flame's body appeared to have shrunk significantly, and the color of the cyan flame river quietly took on a golden hue. Watching the gratifying changes within his body, Xiao Yan curled his lips into a silent smile, then continued to pour more soul power into guiding the Dou Qi river.

As the golden flame continuously dissolved into the cyan flame river, strands of gentle energy quietly dispersed into some remote meridians, slowly eroding and impacting the blocked channels. As more and more meridians were cleared and connected, Xiao Yan felt the speed of his Dou Qi circulation increase significantly.

Eventually, the golden flame completely dissolved into the cyan flame river; everything fell into place naturally. At this moment, the aura around Xiao Yan began to churn, and he knew the time to break through to Da Dou Shi had arrived.

The restless aura suddenly began to surge, and after breaking through to an eight-star Dou Shi, it easily pushed toward the nine-star Dou Shi level. After lingering briefly at the peak of the nine-star Dou Shi realm, it charged directly into the Da Dou Shi realm, finally coming to a halt at the early stage of the two-star Da Dou Shi realm as the energy was exhausted.

Xiao Yan did not stop; continuing with this momentum, he used the fused Heavenly Flame to evolve the Flame Mantra. Xiao Yan worked hard to circulate the Flame Mantra, but unfortunately, the energy level of the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame sub-flame seemed too weak to trigger an evolution, and the grade of the Flame Mantra remained unchanged.

Just as Xiao Yan was about to give up on circulating the Flame Mantra, its grade suddenly seemed to advance by half a step.

"Is this a success?" Xiao Yan asked, probing with his soul power in delight.

"Uh..." Xiao Yan looked at the strange scene within his body with a peculiar expression.

Xiao Yan then opened his eyes and looked at Yao Lao, saying, "Teacher, with the help of the Green Lotus Core Flame this time, it seems the Ice Heart Pill and Pulse Protection Pill were not needed after all."

"Heh." Yao Lao chuckled.

"The Da Dou Shi realm seems to have been reached naturally, but the Flame Mantra didn't successfully evolve, did it? It seems there wasn't enough energy." Yao Lao asked with interest.

"Teacher, I don't even know if this counts as a breakthrough. You should see for yourself." Xiao Yan gave a wry smile and began to circulate the Flame Mantra.

Feeling the change in aura as the Flame Mantra circulated, Yao Lao's expression became quite colorful.

"So it did break through, but only by half a level, evolving from a Xuan-Tier Advanced technique to a Quasi-Earth Tier technique."

"Still, this can be considered a pleasant surprise, kid. After all, we didn't hold out much hope for the Flame Mantra to evolve during our initial assessment." Yao Lao comforted him.

"Yes, Teacher." Xiao Yan adjusted his mindset and replied.

"Dou Qi Armor." Xiao Yan stood up and gave a low shout.

"Whoosh!" Powerful Dou Qi erupted from every part of Xiao Yan's body, condensing on his surface into a solid cyan-gold armor. The armor appeared exceptionally sturdy, with mysterious patterns carved into the joints, looking both mysterious and magnificent.

Xiao Yan jumped off the bed, moved his limbs to feel the intense sense of security and power the Dou Qi Armor provided, and then, unable to wait, clenched his right hand and struck the ground with a fierce blow.

"Bang!"

A basin-sized crater instantly appeared on the sturdy, smooth bluestone floor of Xiao Yan's room.

"You brat, are you trying to destroy your room?"

Yao Lao looked at Xiao Yan's destruction, speechless.

"Heh." Xiao Yan retracted the Dou Qi Armor, and it dissolved back into pure Dou Qi energy, flowing into his body.

"Young Master Yan, does the subordinate need to enter?"

Outside the courtyard, a Xiao Clan Dou Shi who had been diligently keeping watch heard the commotion from Xiao Yan's room and stepped forward to ask in a deep voice from outside the door.

"No need, stand down."

Xiao Yan, ignoring the look of disdain Yao Lao was projecting, replied with a straight face.

"Yes, Young Master Yan."

The area outside the courtyard returned to silence.

"Teacher, let's go to the back mountain; I can't really let loose here."

Xiao Yan's interest had clearly not waned, and he was eager to try it out.

"Let's go." Yao Lao said, slipping into the Storage Ring.

Xiao Clan back mountain.

As soon as Xiao Yan climbed up to the back mountain, he saw an elegant, graceful figure leaping nimbly through the jungle.

"Earth-Tier Dou Technique: Roaming Dragon Eight Trigrams Palm!" A delicate shout echoed from the air.

"Bang!"

In the clearing at the center of the small woods, a slab of bluestone several feet wide was instantly pulverized into powder that scattered in all directions.

"Clap, clap, clap!"

A round of applause suddenly echoed through the empty forest.

"Not a bad Dou Technique, Xiao Xun'er." Xiao Yan walked into the clearing.

"Brother Xiao Yan!"

Seeing her Brother Xiao Yan arrive at the back mountain while she was hard at work training, Xiao Xun'er flew toward him like a swallow returning to its nest. However, as if remembering something, she stopped in front of Xiao Yan and looked up at him.

"Brother Xiao Yan, why are you here?" Her joy was written all over her face.

Xiao Yan cast a knowing glance toward a secluded corner of the woods before turning back to Xiao Xun'er. "To see you, of course."