Testing Combat Techniques

"Is this the benefit of having a strong body?" Although Xiao Yan had not slept all night, his eyes were still bright and spirited, and he did not feel the slightest bit tired.

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Now that he had entered the Dou Zhe realm, it was time to test the true power of all the combat techniques he had mastered. After all, while he had been in the Dou Qi stage, he had been unable to bring out their full might.

Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes and circulated the Dou Qi within his body along the meridians and acupoints of the Blazing Fire Palm, then thrust both hands forward.

"Blazing Fire Palm!"

A violent gale burst from his palms. In an instant, sand and stones flew everywhere, the surrounding air churned endlessly, and the ground before him was swept spotlessly clean.

Xiao Yan nodded in satisfaction. This counted as the first combat technique he had mastered. It was, after all, a low-level Profound Rank technique, and its power was fairly decent. Sweeping the floor and lighting fires for cooking would be much more convenient in the future.

Xiao Yan suddenly crossed his hands, and a fierce suction force emerged from his palms. A massive boulder weighing nearly a thousand pounds flew rapidly toward him. When it reached him, Xiao Yan threw a punch.

"Eight Extremes Collapse!"

With a thunderous bang, an immense force erupted instantly and shattered the boulder.

Xiao Yan had completely mastered all eight layers of Manifest Force in the Eight Extremes Collapse. With one punch, he had smashed the stone to pieces.

Xiao Yan took a deep breath. Dou Qi coursed through the acupoints and meridians of the Cloud-Discharging Palm he had created himself as he fiercely thrust both palms toward a large tree roughly a meter thick.

"Cloud-Discharging Palm!"

"Boom..." Explosions rang out one after another as fierce waves of force struck the tree continuously. Each impact sent wood chips flying. After the eighth strike, the tree finally could not endure any longer. The entire tree swayed precariously, and after a violent tremor, its trunk snapped and leaves fell in a flurry.

Xiao Yan slowly exhaled and sank his awareness into his Qi vortex. He discovered that after using four combat techniques in succession, he had consumed only a quarter of his Dou Qi, and it was recovering rapidly. Before long, it was full once more.

"So not only can it cultivate on its own, it recovers unbelievably fast too. Isn't this basically a built-in mana buff? Unlimited firepower? And because the Dou Qi is constantly circulating through my meridians, it's even more convenient and faster to use. This feels amazing!"

But could the Flame Mantra still evolve like this? Although Xiao Yan had gained many benefits, if it could not evolve, then it would only be a high-level Profound Rank technique.

"Teacher, is my current condition good or bad?" Xiao Yan asked worriedly.

"You finally remembered me! I thought you'd forgotten your master!" Medicine Elder rolled his eyes.

"Didn't I just break through to the Dou Zhe realm? I was excited and wanted to test the strength of a Dou Zhe," Xiao Yan said with a smile.

Medicine Elder naturally understood Xiao Yan's feelings. When he had first broken through to the Dou Zhe realm, he had been no different from Xiao Yan. After lowering his gaze in thought for a moment, Medicine Elder finally said, "There are only two possibilities. First, the Flame Mantra devoured the Heavenly Flame, though that is unlikely. Even if the Flame Mantra devoured the Heavenly Flame in your body, it would not circulate on its own. The second possibility is that the Heavenly Flame in your body devoured the Flame Mantra and mutated. It gained the ability to 'devour,' allowing it to continuously absorb the energy in the air to strengthen itself. Most of that energy was probably absorbed by the Heavenly Flame in your body. As it absorbed the energy of heaven and earth to grow, it also helped raise your strength as a side effect. That would explain why your cultivation method is circulating on its own. As for whether this is good or bad, I cannot say for sure. But it is most likely a good thing!"

"But if it really is the second possibility, then Teacher... how will you revive?" Xiao Yan said, frowning.

"Haha! You needn't worry about that. Since the Heavenly Flame in your body can grow stronger on its own, it can naturally devour other Heavenly Flames as well, and the danger of the process will be greatly reduced. In my estimation, the stronger the Heavenly Flame in your body becomes, the stronger the cultivation method will naturally become too. So just be secretly happy! Dawn has come, and your clan's test is about to begin. I should rest as well." After speaking, Medicine Elder turned into a ball of light and entered the ring.

Listening to Medicine Elder's explanation, Xiao Yan gradually relaxed. Although the Heavenly Flame had devoured the Flame Mantra, wasn't a path whose direction could not be seen more exciting?

Xiao Yan turned and looked toward the Misty Cloud Sect. Narrowing his eyes, he murmured inwardly, Nalan Yanran should be arriving soon too, right?

The annual clan test had begun once again. In the training ground stood an enormous Black Stone Stele for testing. Beside it stood the middle-aged tester, who looked as he always did: cold-faced and unapproachable.

More than a hundred young men and women stood in the training ground. Yet unlike before, they were not noisy. Instead, they kept looking around as though searching for something. On the high platform to the left of the training ground sat several members of the clan's inner circle. At the center were Clan Leader Xiao Zhan and the three elders.

"Why haven't we seen Yan'er? Didn't you notify him? How could he miss such an important clan test ceremony?" the First Elder, seated behind Xiao Zhan, asked him. The fact that the First Elder called Xiao Yan Yan'er naturally showed his recognition of Xiao Yan's strength. He was also eager to know just how far the young man who had effortlessly defeated Jia Lie Ao half a year ago had progressed.

"Hehe, I don't know either! When I went to check his room yesterday, he wasn't there. Yan'er has been gone for half a year now. If the kitchen steward hadn't told me that Yan'er came to get food from him every ten days or so, I would have thought he had left the clan," Xiao Zhan said with a bitter smile.

How could they know that ever since Xiao Yan's body had been strengthened to a certain degree, his energy had become exceptionally abundant and he rarely needed rest? Even when he did rest, he merely sat in meditation to cultivate. He often stayed in the mountains for more than ten days at a time, only coming down when he ran out of food or exhausted his body-tempering medicinal liquid.

"But the testing time has already arrived! Must we postpone it?" The First Elder felt rather helpless about Xiao Yan's disappearance.

"Hehe, that won't be necessary. Yan'er must have been delayed by something. He should arrive soon," Xiao Zhan said with a smile.

"Then that is all we can do!" The First Elder rose and signaled the tester below the platform, indicating that the test could begin.

The tester opened the testing roster in his hand and shouted to the people in the field, "The test begins! I will now call names. Whoever is called must quickly come forward for testing. Once you are finished, go directly to the end of the line. Do not interfere with the others."

With more than a hundred people to test, even if each person took only three minutes, it would still require more than five hours to finish.

"Has Brother Xiao Yan not come? I haven't seen Brother Xiao Yan in such a long time..." A beautiful young girl in a pale purple dress murmured softly beneath the platform. Ever since Xiao Yan had accidentally teased her, she had kept avoiding him and did not dare see him. Even if she happened to spot him, she would immediately run away, never giving him a chance to speak. Yet half a year had passed, and unfamiliar feelings had naturally begun to grow in her heart. Her longing for Xiao Yan had finally overcome her shyness.