Cultivating the Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler

Stellar Transformation gathered the strength of his entire body, but after one move, it would leave him in a brief period of weakness.

Facing Mu She's ceaseless blade shadows, Xiao Yan's soul perception could see through them, but he no longer had much strength left to block them.

Relying on his sharp perception, Xiao Yan wielded the incomparably heavy Black Heavy Ruler as lightly as a wooden branch.

As he dodged left and right, his movements seemed comical, yet he defended against Mu She's unending web of blades.

Still, Xiao Yan was forced back several steps in succession. Compared to his fierce momentum at the beginning, he now looked utterly drained.

Having completely suppressed a genius who had slain over a dozen mercenaries in an instant, Mu She cast a sinister glance toward Xiao Yan's back.

"Men of the Blood Battle Mercenary Group, aren't you tempted by an Earth-tier cultivation technique? Kill this man, and you'll also gain the right to cultivate an Earth-tier technique!"

The successive powerful attacks gave Xiao Yan a deep understanding of the flaws in his combat techniques. His heaven-defying comprehension allowed his constant thoughts of refinement to finally reach a conclusion at this moment.

[You deeply comprehended the flaws of Stellar Transformation and Reincarnation Tribulation. You had an epiphany and comprehended Void Extinction: Wolf King Seal.]

[Void Extinction emphasizes defense, steadiness, and strength. The qi cyclone disperses qi until it is full yet empty; it embraces all rivers, accommodating and storing them. Plant both legs in the two-character Goat-Clamping Stance, counter moves as they come, and strike back after stopping the attack, emphasizing defense. Whether the counterattack after redirecting force can unleash sufficient power depends on the user's own dou qi strength.]

[Move: Wolf King Seal]

As Mu She's words fell, Ka Gang's face turned livid. "The Blood Battle Mercenary Group is not made up of people who stab their friends in the back!"

Most of the others in the Blood Battle Mercenary Group also looked furious, but one man in white robes quietly began circulating his dou qi.

Although Xiao Yan knew of the Blood Battle Mercenary Group, he did not let down his guard. His soul perception remained focused on their movements at all times.

"I can't cultivate Yellow-tier techniques for the rest of my life!" Mu Lan roared. Golden dou qi gathered in his palm as he struck directly at Xiao Yan's back.

A sinister curve appeared on Mu She's lips. Before absolute benefits, no one could resist.

Yao Lao sighed inwardly. Xiao Yan's comprehension was indeed heaven-defying, but he was still too young.

Seeing the figure shoot out in a streak of golden light, Ka Gang's eyes widened in fury and disbelief. "Mu Lan, you!"

This was the genius of the Blood Battle Mercenary Group, a one-star Dou Practitioner at such a young age. Who would have thought he was such a despicable man!

There was no time to stop him. Ka Gang shouted a warning, "Brother Xiao Yan, that is the Yellow-tier High-level combat technique Vajra Palm! Its palm force is incomparably powerful, capable of splitting mountains and shattering steles. Be careful!"

Seeing Mu Lan's attack draw close, Mu She quietly retreated.

The desperate counterattack of a dying lion was not so easy to face.

Hearing that old man Ka Gang's warning by his ear, Mu Lan's lips curled into a cold smile.

So what if they knew his combat technique? Could they defend against it?

He pushed his dou qi to its limit, and the golden light blazing from his palm slammed into Xiao Yan's back.

"Hahaha, die! Hand over the Earth-tier cultivation technique!"

Ka Gang lowered his head in sorrow. Mu Lan's palm strike had landed solidly. Even an incomparably thick rock could hardly withstand it. Xiao Yan's path as a genius... was likely over.

Yet Mu She keenly noticed something strange. Why had Xiao Yan not coughed up blood?

"Void Extinction!" Xiao Yan shouted deeply. His legs settled into the two-character Goat-Clamping Stance, instantly dissipating the Vajra Palm's force into nothingness.

The Black Heavy Ruler in his hand plunged into the ground. His body suddenly spun, and Xiao Yan grabbed Mu Lan's arm, fiercely yanking him forward before slamming out a palm. "Wolf King Seal!"

Xiao Yan brought the counterattack after stopping the attack to its fullest extent. With the terrifying foundation of a six-star Dou Practitioner, the force of his palm produced a crisp sound of bones shattering.

Mu Lan's limbs drooped limply. Xiao Yan casually tossed him onto the ground, blood flowing from his seven orifices.

"H-How... is that possible!" Mu Lan stared blankly at the sky.

Even until his death, he could not understand why his full-force palm strike, aimed at someone completely defenseless, had failed to injure Xiao Yan at all. Even a Dou Master could not have emerged completely unharmed!

It was not just Mu Lan. Even Yao Lao, who had been about to intervene, was dumbfounded.

What kind of heaven-defying comprehension was this?!

Mu She and the mercenaries' siege had pushed Xiao Yan to break through himself again and again, allowing him to repeatedly comprehend moves in the heat of battle!

Looking at the still-open eyes of Mu Lan's corpse, Ka Gang and the others felt no pity whatsoever.

If Mu Lan could ambush Xiao Yan for profit today, then tomorrow he might betray the mercenary group for profit as well.

Mercenaries hated such petty villains most of all!

Even Qing Ling, who had always admired Mu Lan, felt that she had been blind to worship such a scoundrel.

The lightning-fast turn of events made Mu She say "good" three times in a row. The stronger Xiao Yan was, the greater the opportunity he possessed.

However, Mu She no longer had any desire to fight Xiao Yan head-on. He silently retreated behind the other mercenaries.

"Stay!" Xiao Yan stomped hard on the ground. With a thunderous boom, the air erupted in sonic blasts, and his body shot toward Mu She like a meteor chasing the moon.

"Stop him! Stop him for me!" Seeing Xiao Yan charging like a tiger descending the mountain, terror surged through Mu She like a tide. As he retreated, he shoved the mercenaries beside him in front of himself.

In the blink of an eye, six human shields stood before Mu She.

Facing layer after layer of obstacles, Xiao Yan did not try to leap over them. Instead, he threw an extremely simple punch.

"Eight Extremes... Sky Cannon!" Vast dou qi erupted like a mountain flood. The eight hidden forces of Eight Extremes Fist converged into a single point and exploded in an instant.

The wall of six mercenaries instantly collapsed under Xiao Yan's punch.

Eight Extremes Sky Cannon emphasized moving with the force of thunder, giving the enemy not the slightest time to react.

Mu She had barely breathed a sigh of relief when, almost at the instant Xiao Yan unleashed Eight Extremes Sky Cannon, his chest was struck by an incomparably heavy force.

With a bang, Mu She flew backward like a kite with its string cut.

The force carried by his body snapped a large tree in half, and he slid down the trunk.

After coughing up a mouthful of blood, Mu She's face turned pale as paper. His body felt as though it had been struck by a heavy hammer, and he could barely stand.

Compared with the fatal injuries on his body, the fear in Mu She's heart surged like a raging river.

How could he possess such terrifying strength!

How could a mere youth possess such terrifying strength!

Even if he had begun cultivating in his mother's womb, it would have been impossible for him to possess both such dou qi cultivation and mastery of several exquisitely profound combat techniques!

As Mu She breathed his last, Xiao Yan also let out a heavy breath.

The consecutive high-intensity combat techniques had not been easy on him either.

If his cultivation technique had not advanced to the Mystic tier, today's battle would absolutely not have been handled so easily.

With Mu She's death, the mercenaries of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group fell into complete panic.

The outer-circle mercenaries had only barely managed to fend off the magical beasts by risking their lives. Now that they had lost their backbone, they no longer had the will to resist the magical beasts' assault.

After swiftly dealing with the remaining mercenaries, Xiao Yan found himself surrounded by more than a dozen magical beasts, all as docile as cats.

Ka Gang and the others could hardly believe their eyes. Were these really the mighty magical beasts from before?

Patting Little Red on the head, Xiao Yan turned to the members of the Blood Battle Mercenary Group and smiled faintly.

"The smell of blood here is too strong. Let's part ways here."

After looting the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's little treasury, Xiao Yan mounted Little Red and led the group of magical beasts grandly toward the Magical Beast Mountains.

Ka Gang had a strange feeling that if they met Xiao Yan again, he would have grown to a terrifying height that others could only look up to.

After running through the night, Xiao Yan's view suddenly opened up. The rumbling sound of a waterfall filled his face with delight.

Emerging past the last giant tree blocking his way, Xiao Yan looked at the sight before him and could not help taking a deep breath.

Within Xiao Yan's field of vision, an enormous waterfall crashed down from a towering mountain peak like a silver ribbon. Water smashed against huge rocks, filling the sky with mist.

On both sides of the waterfall stood somewhat steep cliffs. The naturally formed caves scattered across those cliff faces filled Xiao Yan with joy.

As long as he piled some stones at the cave entrances, he could keep magical beasts outside. He would no longer have to worry about waking from cultivation to find a vicious venomous snake coiled beside him.

"I've finally found the best place to cultivate." Xiao Yan spread his arms, deeply inhaled the moist air, and muttered with a smile as he urged Little Red forward.

After entering the valley, Yao Lao's figure appeared. He glanced around and nodded slightly. "This is indeed an excellent place for cultivation."

With that, Yao Lao's hand seals formed a series of afterimages. The space above the valley suddenly began to ripple strangely.

A moment later, the entire stretch of space became distorted.

"Space Lock!"

As the spatial ripples grew more intense, Yao Lao's hand seals suddenly changed, and he shouted in a deep voice.

As his shout fell, the surrounding space abruptly froze. An unusual fluctuation swiftly spread outward, eventually enveloping the entire sky above the valley.

Looking at the energy barrier in midair, Xiao Yan raised a hand and rubbed his nose.

He wondered how much strength Yao Lao had recovered under the nourishment of his terrifying dou qi.

From the looks of it, he had at least reached the strength of a Dou Sect.

"Stop standing there. Watch carefully. I'm about to teach you an Earth-tier combat technique."

Yao Lao reached out and grabbed, instantly bringing the thousand-pound Black Heavy Ruler into his hand.

Once the Black Heavy Ruler left him, Xiao Yan's body felt lighter. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and rolled his shoulders.

Holding the heavy ruler, Yao Lao slowly rose into the air. When he reached the center of the lake, he lowered his head and stared sharply at the water's surface.

With a step on empty air, his figure vanished from its original position and appeared beneath the enormous waterfall.

The black ruler in his hand blazed with light as though it had gathered endless energy. He gave a low shout. "Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler!"

In an instant, Yao Lao shot toward the waterfall like lightning. His momentum was like that of a fierce tiger descending a mountain, shaking heaven and earth.

Just as Yao Lao was about to collide with the waterfall, an invisible force burst from the black ruler, instantly forming an enormous red radiance.

The red radiance streaked over the lake like lightning, kicking up waves ten meters high before crashing fiercely into the rushing waterfall.

Rumble!

The explosion echoed through the valley, as if the entire world were trembling.

A massive column of water shot into the sky, and the scattered mist instantly obscured the entire lake.

His vision was completely blocked. He could only hear the waterfall's roar and the rolling thunderous explosions echoing through the valley.

A wild wind howled, and the water vapor quickly dispersed, revealing the waterfall's true form.

On the enormous rock behind the waterfall, a deep, long ravine stood out glaringly.

Fine cracks filled the edges of the ravine, spreading outward like creeping vines.

[You carefully observed the execution of the Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler. You had an epiphany and learned the low-level Earth-tier combat technique, Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler.]

[When cultivated to great mastery, the Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler can split mountains and sever waves with every gesture.]

Yao Lao returned the Black Heavy Ruler to Xiao Yan and smiled. "Earth-tier combat techniques are qualitatively superior to Mystic-tier combat techniques. From today onward, you must persist in chopping at the water three hundred... no, one thousand times. By then, you will be able to initially wield the Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler."

"However, with your dou qi, even if you enhance it with the Flame Seal, you can unleash its greatest power at most three times. Therefore, do not use it casually unless it is the final moment!"

Xiao Yan's cultivation technique had advanced, but as his dou qi increased, the power of each Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler he unleashed would grow stronger, naturally consuming even more energy.

"Training by chopping water?" Xiao Yan shook his head. "There's no need for such trouble!"

Grasping the Black Heavy Ruler's handle, he suddenly pulled it free. Xiao Yan's palm gently stroked the ruler's body, while the dou qi within him began to surge violently like boiling water.

Seeing Xiao Yan's movements, Yao Lao was startled inwardly. Could this little fellow have mastered an Earth-tier combat technique after seeing it only once? How was that possible?

As dou qi surged within Xiao Yan's body, the pitch-black ruler suddenly turned fiery red, like a piece of heated iron.

It was Xiao Yan's first time using a true Earth-tier combat technique, and a flush instantly rose on his face. His dou qi cyclone continuously sent dou qi into his meridians, pouring it all into the Black Heavy Ruler.

As a large amount of pure dou qi flooded into it, a mystic yellow radiance emerged from the Black Heavy Ruler. The scorching temperature made the surrounding air appear distorted.

Due to the evolution of his cultivation technique, Xiao Yan's dou qi should now accurately be called heavenly flame dou qi. More precisely, it was Mystic Yellow Flame heavenly flame dou qi.

As Xiao Yan comprehended more heavenly flames, this heavenly flame dou qi would become stronger and stronger.

"Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler!" Xiao Yan grinned, and the heavy ruler in his hand crashed down toward the waterfall like a setting sun.

In an instant, the scorching heat caused the water mist to boil and rise, and the massive waterfall was once again cleaved apart horizontally.

However, Xiao Yan's current strength was far inferior to Yao Lao's. The waterfall only stopped for two seconds before continuing to flow downward.

This was vastly different from Yao Lao, who had halted the waterfall for over twenty seconds.

Even so, Yao Lao was left staring in shock.

This exceptionally rare Earth-tier ruler technique had truly been learned by Xiao Yan after watching it only once!