"I'm wounded now, and I need fresh blood and flesh every day to restore my strength and nourish my injuries. So you must prepare ten animals like that white deer for me every day!"
"Ten?!" Little Leopard nearly jumped out of his skin. In a place like the Vast Cang Mountains, danger lurked at every step. Heaven only knew what dangers lay in the old forests around them. He was only a ten-year-old boy, yet this man demanded ten animals in one breath. Did he really think that giving him the manual for the Nine-Dragon Divine Fire Art today would make him a Seventh Grade expert tomorrow?
"I know it won't be easy, but I have no time to wait. We of the Demon Sect defy heaven, place ourselves on the brink of death to find life, and do what we know cannot be done. Since I've taken you as my disciple, you must naturally undergo the Demon Sect's trials. They're only ten witless beasts. If you can't even manage that, you might as well die!"
Little Leopard pulled a miserable face. "Whatever Master orders, this disciple will accomplish even at the cost of his life. But if I delay the healing of your injuries, even a hundred lives wouldn't be enough to make amends!"
"You certainly know how to talk. But since I've given you a task, naturally I have my reasons. The Nine-Dragon Divine Fire Art takes time to cultivate; you won't be able to master it right away. I'll now teach you a lightness technique. I also noticed two throwing darts on you, so I imagine you're fairly good with hidden weapons. I'll teach you a hidden-weapon technique as well. With those and the Black Gold Short Sword I gave you, if you still can't meet my demands, don't come back to see me!"
Little Leopard thought to himself, I really don't want to see you again!
After that, Blood Wuy a carefully explained a lightness technique and a hidden-weapon technique to Little Leopard. He spent more than two hours explaining them. Only when Little Leopard said he had memorized everything did Blood Wuy a, whose face had turned deathly pale with a bluish tinge, hurry into the secluded valley to recuperate.
"Ah, forget it. Since I'm here, I might as well settle in!"
Once Blood Wuy a left, Little Leopard finally sighed, as though resigning himself to his fate. He glanced around, walked to the Great Camphor Tree, and climbed to its crown using both hands and feet. Then he crawled backward along a horizontal branch until he reached the rock face. Sure enough, there was a small cave halfway up the cliff. Little Leopard crawled inside and let out a long breath. Whatever else happened, at least he now had somewhere to shelter from the wind and rain.
The cave was small, about ten feet high and thirty or forty feet deep, but it was enough for Little Leopard to rest and recover. Dampness permeated the cave, and a thick layer of moss covered the ground. Little Leopard paid it no mind. He sat down cross-legged and began cultivating the Nine-Dragon Divine Fire Art.
During his year in the Wu Household, he had learned only the introductory methods of the Nine-Dragon Divine Fire Art. Although he now had the complete cultivation instructions, he could still practice only the foundational techniques. They were, however, far more profound than what he had learned before. On top of that, an expert of Blood Wuy a's caliber had just given him thorough guidance. Naturally, their subtle profundities were beyond the understanding of a Third-Rank Martial Artist like Qin Xuanlong.
The Flameheart Method and the Nine-Dragon Divine Fire Art I cultivate are both foundations for fire-attribute internal arts. There's really no essential difference between them. The Flameheart Method simply emphasizes the quality of internal energy, while the Nine-Dragon Divine Fire Art emphasizes its accumulation. Compared with the Flameheart Method, it lacks one refining step and adds one storage step. Each approach is different. If I could combine the Flameheart Method's refining technique with the Nine-Dragon Divine Fire Art, it might produce some good results! Little Leopard thought. Then he laughed at himself. I'm really fucking dreaming. The Flameheart Method isn't hard to find. With the strength of the Heavenly Dragon Way and the Wu Household, obtaining it would be easy. If it really could be done, wouldn't they have done it long ago? Why would it be left to me to sit here daydreaming? I'm not some genius from those unofficial histories and tales of the strange, born knowing everything. Nor am I the protagonist of a Qidian novel who grasps the laws of heaven and earth the moment he's reborn!
Then he pushed the idea aside.
Self-awareness was a precious quality, and Little Leopard was a man who knew his own limits.
What he did not know was how profoundly this idea would influence his future growth when it surfaced again.
After several cycles of internal energy cultivation, Little Leopard's flameheart inner qi had evaporated all the moisture from the moss beneath him. Even the damp, musty air filling the little cave had grown much drier.
After finishing his internal cultivation, Little Leopard carefully read through the manual for the Nine-Dragon Divine Fire Art. The more he read, the more delighted he became. The little booklet contained not only the complete Nine-Dragon Divine Fire Art, but also Blood Wuy a's annotations and personal insights. In the blank spaces on the pages, he had even recorded insights gained from comparing the Nine-Dragon Divine Fire Art with the bloodflame true astral energy he cultivated. Little Leopard benefited enormously from reading them!
Condense baleful intent into Astral Qi—so that's how it works! No wonder he can fly. Astral Qi actually has such marvelous uses!
After skimming through the section on flameheart divine astral energy, Little Leopard finally found the answer to the question in his heart.
There were countless rumors about Astral Qi in the martial world: leaping to great heights, flying beyond mortal reach, possessing unmatched power, and so on. Little Leopard had heard them so often that his ears had practically grown calluses. In Records of Strange Beings, unofficial histories, and rumors, experts who had cultivated to the Seventh Grade or above were practically immortals, capable of anything. Little Leopard had always thought these were merely legends. He had never imagined that after reaching the Seventh Grade, one could gather the killing intent between heaven and earth, blend it with internal energy, and refine it through secret methods into Astral Qi that truly resembled what he had read about in cultivation novels. The Astral Qi condensed by these experts was like the clouds immortals rode and the mists monsters mounted—it actually allowed them to fly beyond mortal reach.
The streak of blood-red light Blood Wuy a had transformed into earlier was an effect of his bloodflame true astral energy. Once cultivated, the nine-dragon divine fire mystic astral energy condensed through the Nine-Dragon Divine Fire Art in Little Leopard's hands could likewise carry him in flight, straight into the azure heavens.
Of course, flight was not its only use. Apart from flying, Astral Qi possessed many other marvelous properties.
Looking at it this way, condensing baleful intent and refining Astral Qi is rather like an immortal refining a Magic Treasure. It can attack, defend, and even grant flight beyond mortal reach. No wonder everyone in the martial world says the art of refining Astral Qi reigns supreme among unusual arts. Now that I've seen it, its reputation truly is deserved!
Little Leopard closed the booklet of the Nine-Dragon Divine Fire Art and let out a long breath. Blood Wuy a is far too generous. Even if he wants me to do things for him, he doesn't need to give me such enormous benefits. This booklet contains not only the method for condensing nine-dragon divine fire mystic astral energy, but also his own cultivation methods. If it leaked out and fell into the hands of someone with an agenda, they could very well discover weaknesses in his cultivation art and exploit them. Even killing him with a single strike might be possible.
Only a fool would place something like this in another person's hands. Yet now he had placed it in Little Leopard's hands, which left only one explanation!
It seems Blood Wuy a never truly intended to take me as his disciple. He wants to use me, then kill me to silence me once I've served my purpose!
If Little Leopard had still harbored a sliver of hope before, he was now utterly certain that Blood Wuy a did indeed intend to kill him. Once he understood this, conflicting emotions flickered across his face. Finally, he sighed helplessly. "Forget it. Blood Wuy a is badly wounded. Even if he wants to kill me, he'll wait until he's mostly recovered. I'd better find him some fresh blood and flesh first, before I anger him and he crushes me to death right now!"
Little Leopard stood, activated the lightness technique Blood Wuy a had taught him, and jumped down from the cave entrance in the cliff.
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