Shen Shihuang was quite pleased with the Dou Techniques Chu Shanwang had given him. Body-tempering Dou Techniques weren't exactly rare, but they were certainly scarce.
They were even comparable to methods of soul cultivation.
Thinking back to the Dou Qi Continent, Shen Shihuang knew a little about it. Yet when it came to body-tempering Dou Techniques, even Xiao Yan had only ever possessed one.
The Diamond Glazed Body.
Of course.
His current Wild Prison Heaven-King Force naturally couldn't compare to the Diamond Glazed Body. After all, the latter was a Heaven-Rank Dou Technique.
Whoosh!
Shen Shihuang slowly exhaled a breath of stale air and took the Dou Technique scroll containing the Wild Prison Heaven-King Force in his hand. The other two Dou Techniques were optional as far as he was concerned. Of the three, the one he liked best was still the Wild Prison Heaven-King Force.
Who wouldn't want a powerful body?
Powerful enough that their own body was a divine weapon, and every punch and kick rivaled a Dou Technique?
The moment Shen Shihuang gripped the scroll,
something unexpected happened.
The Taisui Flame inside Shen Shihuang suddenly surged out, raced down his arm, and lunged at the scroll.
In the blink of an eye,
before Shen Shihuang could even react, the Taisui Flame had burned the scroll in his hand to ashes.
"Goddammit...!!!"
Shen Shihuang saw what had happened and immediately let out a string of curses.
He glanced at the two remaining Dou Techniques and promptly put them away without a word, afraid the Taisui Flame would burn those as well.
"What a huge loss!"
Shen Shihuang nearly wept. He knew the Taisui Flame was a little different from the other Heavenly Flames, but this was too much!
It could actually burn Dou Technique scrolls on its own?
Just as Shen Shihuang was about to leave, his body suddenly shuddered. Then a look of wild delight appeared in his eyes.
Because
the Taisui Flame had actually sent a powerful stream of information flooding back into his mind.
One ancient, seemingly immortal character after another appeared in his consciousness, as if they had always been part of his memories.
The forceful, magnificent characters glittered before his eyes.
"Taisui True Flame Body?"
In an instant, Shen Shihuang absorbed all the information contained in the characters.
A body-tempering Dou Technique.
Earth-Rank High-Level Dou Technique: Taisui True Flame Body.
The Taisui Flame tempered the meridians until they reached the True Flame Realm, gathering them into a True Flame Body. It could withstand all techniques and resist every poison; with a lift of the hand or a step of the foot, one could shatter mountains and rivers.
"A Dou Technique connected to the Taisui Flame?"
Shen Shihuang was stunned.
On the Dou Qi Continent, Heavenly Flames were merely a means of attack—or, one could say, a weapon.
What Shen Shihuang had never expected was that his Taisui Flame could produce something like this.
"Could it be that the Taisui Flame can evolve the Dou Techniques I obtain into the strongest Dou Technique best suited to me?" Shen Shihuang guessed.
Then
Shen Shihuang took out the other two Earth-Rank High-Level Dou Technique scrolls. With the Taisui Flame appearing in one hand, he tossed one of the scrolls into it.
Roar~~~~~~~~~
The scroll was instantly burned to nothingness in the Taisui Flame.
Then Shen Shihuang patiently waited for a new Dou Technique to appear.
A quarter of an hour later,
Shen Shihuang's expression turned rather grim.
"My Dou Technique!!!"
No information about any Dou Technique appeared in his mind. Looking at his empty hands, Shen Shihuang's heart ached. That had been an Earth-Rank High-Level Dou Technique! And now it was just gone?
"Hiss!"
Shen Shihuang sucked in a sharp breath. "Looks like my theory was wrong!"
"But..."
"Even after losing a Dou Technique, getting the Taisui True Flame Body made it worth it!"
Shen Shihuang consoled himself.
At least
he no longer needed to cultivate it himself. All he had to do was use the Taisui Flame to slowly temper his meridians, and the True Flame Body would form on its own.
Time flew by.
One month later.
Jia Nan Academy.
The Inner Academy.
Inside a pavilion,
Shen Shihuang sat cross-legged. The skin on his body visibly changed little by little. Beneath it, black flames seemed to flow endlessly, like blood.
In the hall,
Earth Fiend and Heng General quietly drank tea. Of course, Heng General licked his.
Earth Fiend watched Shen Shihuang cultivating. At first, he hadn't understood why Shen Shihuang was staying here. Even if this was an academy, Shen Shihuang's strength was clearly beyond the level of its students.
But when he saw the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower, he seemed to understand.
He himself had no idea how many years he had been burned by the Taisui Flame. Still, he could sense the auras of Heavenly Flames with exceptional clarity.
Inside the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower,
there was a powerful energy of destructive fire.
And in the Dou Qi Continent, only one thing possessed this kind of destructive fire energy.
Heavenly Flames!
Whoosh!
An hour later,
Shen Shihuang exhaled a breath of black flame. A black flame-shaped mark appeared faintly between his brows, but it was very shallow. The instant it appeared, it quickly disappeared again.
"Taisui True Flame Body."
Shen Shihuang felt the pure strength of his body and watched the light flicker in his eyes. He had been right not to immediately choose to raise his strength. After being tempered by the Taisui Flame, he discovered that his Dou Qi had been compressed yet again. His strength was still at the Four-Star Dou Zong level, but compared with a month ago, his Dou Qi energy had increased by at least thirty percent.
This would only make his strength more and more solid, bringing him nothing but benefits when he eventually advanced to a higher realm.
"If you ask me, we should just strike and seize that Heavenly Flame."
Seeing Shen Shihuang wake,
Earth Fiend spoke calmly.
As for the Heavenly Flame inside the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower, Earth Fiend's principle was simple: just take it.
Shen Shihuang glanced at Earth Fiend.
"If we'd tried to seize it earlier, it would have been difficult. With your help, of course, it wouldn't be hard."
"But..."
"What I need is the energy of the Heavenly Flame Origin Seed. Even if we seize it, I won't be able to subdue it. Once that happens, the Heavenly Flame will erupt completely. It would be an absolute disaster for Jia Nan Academy."
Seizing it
was an approach Shen Shihuang had considered too. It was feasible, but of the academy's students, probably only a handful would survive. The entire Inner Academy might even have to be rebuilt.
Most importantly, even if he seized it, he wouldn't be able to subdue it. As for Earth Fiend?
Heh.
After being burned by the Taisui Flame for so many years, he could fight a Heavenly Flame, sure. But making him absorb one into his body?
Impossible.
Besides,
his Taisui Flame had absorbed the Origin Flame Seed energy of the Sea Heart Flame, but it still hadn't advanced in rank. Every time it advanced, Shen Shihuang would receive a massive boost. Compared with keeping his strength stable,
the Heavenly Flame wasn't going anywhere.
Waiting a little longer cost him nothing.
And
if he could get it for free, why do it himself?
"My dear little brother Xiao Yan, by my reckoning, you should be arriving soon, right?"
A faint smile appeared on Shen Shihuang's face.
He had experienced the Heavenly Flame's violent nature firsthand. Because of the Taisui Flame, he could absorb one, but absorbing a second was unlikely. A Sea Heart Flame already occupied that unique space inside him.
It was like a Naling. Since there wasn't a second one, Shen Shihuang absolutely wasn't willing to risk his life.
When making your way through the world, there was one thing to keep in mind:
Safety!