Leaving Wutan City

"Heavenly Flames? No..." After his initial shock, Yao Lao quickly recovered. Aside from the mysterious flame ranked first, he knew every flame on the Heavenly Flame Ranking like the back of his hand. A few were black, but all were vastly different from the flame before him.

Moreover, Yao Lao sensed a certain ferocity in this flame that belonged only to magical beasts. In other words, this should have been a beast flame. But if it was merely a beast flame, why did it feel every bit as powerful as heavenly flames?

"Little fellow, where did you get this flame?" Yao Lao could not help asking.

"Well... I don't know either. When I circulated the Flame Mantra, I discovered an extra flame inside me, so I decided to try refining it and see whether it could evolve the Flame Mantra." Xiao Yan put on a bewildered expression. He could hardly tell the old man that he had brought this thing over from his previous life, could he?

"Then did your Flame Mantra evolve?" Yao Lao continued. Compared with the origins of this black flame, whether the Flame Mantra truly possessed the ability to evolve was far more important. Without that ability, its value would at most equal that of a Black Tier cultivation method.

"It did. The Flame Mantra should now be at Profound Tier Low Grade." Xiao Yan revealed a rare smile. Before ending his cultivation, he had already assessed the Flame Mantra's current level and confirmed that this so-called Flame Mantra really could evolve!

Although it was only Profound Tier Low Grade, the Flame Mantra's unique properties allowed it to perform almost as well as some middle-grade Black Tier cultivation methods. With that, the greatest problem he faced in the early stages of cultivating it had been solved as neatly as a blade splitting bamboo. At least until he reached Dou Wang, he would no longer need to worry about his cultivation method falling behind.

"It seems that black flame of yours really is extraordinary. It actually raised the Flame Mantra by an entire tier." Yao Lao marveled at Xiao Yan's black flame once again.

This alone showed that even if the black flame was not a heavenly flame, its power was probably comparable to one. At the very least, ordinary beast flames-even the highest-level ninth-rank beast flames-could never evolve the Flame Mantra by an entire tier.

Xiao Yan had no doubts about that. He had experienced this flame's power in his previous life. What Yao Lao did not know was that the black flame Xiao Yan was displaying now was still only in its infancy. When Xiao Yan encountered it in his previous life, it had been countless times stronger than it was now.

If it fully matured, its power would probably shock even Yao Lao in his prime!

What surprised Xiao Yan most, however, was that his strength had also increased considerably. He had actually reached Nine-Star Dou Zhe outright! Even Xiao Yan himself was left dazed by such an increase. He had only recently broken through to Dou Zhe, yet now he was already on the verge of becoming a Dou Shi?

This leap of nearly an entire stage also made Xiao Yan uneasy. He hurriedly examined his body again and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that his Dou Qi had not become insubstantial and his foundation remained stable. If this little increase had damaged his foundation, the loss would have outweighed the gain...

"It must have been that pure energy from earlier." After thinking it through carefully, Xiao Yan understood the cause. While refining Black Flame, he had also absorbed a considerable amount of the pure energy it extracted. Perhaps that energy was what had raised his strength so much.

What Xiao Yan did not know was that the pure energy would indeed have raised his level, but only by one or two stars at most. The true reason he had reached Nine-Star Dou Zhe was the automatic increase in level brought about when the Flame Mantra devoured a flame.

In fact, the increase should have been even greater. However, Xiao Yan was currently too weak, and advancing too many levels would have harmed his body. Thus, the remaining energy lay dormant within him for the time being, waiting for the right opportunity to erupt in full.

Once he found that there was nothing wrong with his body, Xiao Yan immediately pushed open the door and headed straight for the kitchen... This was no joke. He had gone three whole days without eating. If he did not get some food soon, he might starve to death. He was no longer the Demon Fury Sage of his previous life, and he was still far from being able to live without food.

It was only because Xiao Yan had yet to grow up and his mouth was too small that circumstances would not permit it. Otherwise, he really could have performed the legendary feat of "a whole pig in three bites" on the spot.

Thus, when Xiao Yan's nominal older cousin, Xiao Yu, came to the kitchen looking for him, she found a skinny little figure clutching a roast chicken. Beside him stood a small mountain of bones from all kinds of meat. At the sight, Xiao Yu could not resist blurting out, "Damn, were you a starving ghost in your past life?"

"Oh, it's you. What's wrong? Need something?" In the time it took to exchange a few words, Xiao Yan finished the roast chicken in his hands. Hugging a large pig's head, he looked at this older cousin, who shared no blood relation with him, and asked with an innocent expression.

If there was anyone with whom he had the worst relationship, it was probably this so-called older cousin. She had barged into the place where he most often cultivated to take a bath, yet upon discovering Xiao Yan, she had turned around and accused him of peeping at her.

In his previous life, Xiao Yan might have casually slaughtered her. But the girl was a member of the Xiao Clan, and killing her would have been difficult to explain, so he had merely taught her a small lesson by taking away all her clothes.

Had Xun'er not happened to pass by, Xiao Yu would certainly have suffered a tremendous humiliation that time.

Ever since then, Xiao Yu had held a grudge against Xiao Yan, frequently seeking trouble with him alongside her younger brother.

Thanks to her, Xiao Ning had ended up in a wheelchair at a tender young age.

After that incident, Xiao Yu became even angrier and swore to make Xiao Yan pay.

Xiao Yan felt rather helpless about this. While insisting that he was naturally amiable and believed in showing mercy whenever possible, he had another friendly exchange with Xiao Ning, who had finally managed to get out of his wheelchair, giving this older cousin the rare experience of becoming a mummy on the Dou Qi Continent.

After that, Xiao Ning trembled all over whenever he saw Xiao Yan. At one point, he even threatened to sever his sibling relationship with Xiao Yu, finally making her let the matter rest.

What Xiao Ning did not know was that this action had inadvertently saved his life. By that stage, Xiao Yan had already been planning to kidnap the poor sucker and sell him to human traffickers for some extra cash...

Although Xiao Yu no longer came looking for trouble, however, their relationship was still far from good. That was why Xiao Yan was surprised that she had come to find him of her own accord.

"Uh... nothing. Right, the clan leader wants you to go see him." Xiao Yu instinctively backed away several steps. The reason was simple: the way Xiao Yan looked at her always gave her the impression that he intended to devour her alive-and in the literal sense...

"Got it." Xiao Yan nodded, then resumed his close-quarters battle with the enormous pig's head. Seeing this, Xiao Yu hurried out of the kitchen. She felt that if she stayed any longer, the brat might actually start gnawing on her...

Only after eating and drinking his fill did Xiao Yan go to see his father. Upon seeing Xiao Yan, Xiao Zhan set aside the work he was handling and scolded him with a smile. "You little brat, where have you been these past few days?"

"I went into secluded cultivation," Xiao Yan answered.

"Secluded cultivation, with your temperament...? Do you even know what that means?" Xiao Zhan shook his head, unsure whether to laugh or cry. Then he lightly touched his Storage Ring, and a red scroll appeared in his hand. "You'll be leaving soon. As your father, I don't have much to give you. Take this."

"This is..." Xiao Yan accepted the red scroll, opened it, and glanced inside, then gave a start. "Lion Mountain Split?"

"That's right. I noticed that although you've broken through to Dou Zhe, you still don't have many decent Dou Techniques. With your Dou Qi cultivation, you're qualified to learn any of the Xiao Clan's Yellow Tier Dou Techniques, but if you're going out to gain experience, Yellow Tier Dou Techniques won't quite be enough." Xiao Zhan stroked Xiao Yan's hair and smiled. "Spend this time learning Lion Mountain Split. If there's anything you don't understand, just ask me. Once you've mastered it, you can leave the Xiao Clan."

Holding the scroll, Xiao Yan felt a jumble of emotions. He knew very well that Lion Mountain Split was currently the highest-grade Dou Technique in the Xiao Clan. Although it was only Profound Tier Low Grade, it was the best resource Xiao Zhan could provide. Even as clan leader, he had no authority to teach it to others at will.

Moreover, several elders in the clan were still eyeing his position. Once they learned that he had privately passed this Dou Technique to Xiao Yan, they would inevitably subject him to a round of denunciations. Although he would not lose his position as clan leader over it, his reputation would still suffer considerably.

"I understand. Thank you, Father," Xiao Yan said slowly. In all honesty, Xiao Yan did not consider himself particularly attached to Xiao Zhan. Although he knew that Xiao Zhan and his two older brothers had treated him very well, the experiences of his previous life had made him reluctant to entrust anyone with his true feelings. This time, however, a subtle new emotion stirred within his heart.

Over the next few days, Xiao Yan devoted himself to practicing Dou Techniques. Besides Lion Mountain Split, which Xiao Zhan had given him, Yao Lao also taught him a Dou Technique called Eight Extremes Collapse. It was a close-combat Dou Technique renowned for its formidable offensive power, ranked at high-grade Black Tier. If mastered completely, it could even rival the offensive power of an Earth Tier Dou Technique, which suited his tastes quite well.

In addition, Xiao Yan secretly practiced a Dou Technique called Burst Step. He had looted it after slaughtering a sect in his previous life. Because it was rather unusual, he had studied it for a while, but at the time he was already using Earth Tier Dou Techniques. Naturally, he had thought little of a Black Tier Dou Technique and discarded it. He had never expected it to prove useful now.

With Xiao Yan's experience and insight as a Peak Dou Sheng, he needed only a few days to more or less master both Black Tier Dou Techniques. His progress shocked even Yao Lao, who had originally thought Xiao Yan would need at least a month or two to thoroughly grasp a single Black Tier Dou Technique. Instead, Xiao Yan had shortened that time by more than tenfold.

According to Yao Lao's estimate, although Xiao Yan had only just reached Nine-Star Dou Zhe, his cultivation method, which had evolved to Profound Tier Low Grade, and the power of several Black Tier Dou Techniques were enough for him to match a three- or four-star Dou Shi! That was without accounting for the uncanny black flame. After all, it was something capable of rivaling heavenly flames. If used in battle, how could the boost it provided be anything less than extraordinary?

However, Yao Lao had overlooked one more thing: Xiao Yan's wealth of combat experience. As the Demon Fury Sage who had once awed the continent, his combat experience far surpassed even Yao Lao's in his prime. The advantage that experience of such a caliber brought at the Dou Zhe stage needed no explanation.

When Xiao Yan told Xiao Zhan that he had already mastered Lion Mountain Split, Xiao Zhan thought he was trying to fool him. Only after Xiao Yan performed Lion Mountain Split before his eyes did he believe that, besides his outstanding cultivation talent, his youngest son also possessed an exceptional gift for Dou Techniques.

After returning the Lion Mountain Split scroll to Xiao Zhan, Xiao Yan went back to his room and put all the supplies he had prepared into his Storage Ring. Over the past few days, besides practicing those two Dou Techniques, Xiao Yan had also wheedled a cultivation method out of Yao Lao and auctioned it off. He had bought this Storage Ring and everything else inside it with the gold coins from the auction.

After carefully slipping the ring onto his finger, Xiao Yan gently closed his room's door and walked out of the Xiao Clan.

"Little fellow, aren't you going to say goodbye to your little sister Xun'er and your younger cousin Xiao Mei?" Yao Lao's teasing voice rang out in Xiao Yan's mind. Having resided with Xiao Yan for so long, he naturally knew that two young girls in the Xiao Clan were very close to him.

"What's there to say goodbye for? It's not as though I'm never coming back," Xiao Yan said flatly. In truth, he was deliberately avoiding Xiao Xun'er, lest she find out and start crying, then cling to him through her tears and refuse to let him leave...

Xiao Yan's departure alerted no one. Even Xiao Zhan only learned of it several days after he had left. He felt rather wistful about it. He had long known that, with Xiao Yan's talent, Wutan City could not hold his son, but he had never imagined that this day would come so soon.

Though Wutan City was small, Xiao Zhan could shoulder any trouble Xiao Yan caused here. Although Xiao Yan was not the sort to stir up trouble, at least the Xiao Clan could still serve as a harbor sheltering him from the storm. Once he left the Xiao Clan, however, he would have to bear whatever trouble came his way alone...

Besides his reluctance to part, Xiao Zhan also felt a little anticipation. He always had a premonition that when this son of his returned to the Xiao Clan, his strength might already surpass his father's. Perhaps that would be the moment when the Xiao Clan truly began to rise.

What Xiao Zhan did not know, however, was that his precious son already possessed the combat strength to defeat him head-on. At present, he was worrying over another matter... namely, how to soothe Xun'er, who was throwing a tantrum because Xiao Yan had left. That brat could have simply gone, but he had to leave such a mess behind...