The Gap

Before those double pupils, these beings had almost no secrets to hide.

Shi Yi focused his gaze on the few disciples who were wholly absorbed in practicing their precious techniques.

A Stone-surnamed Disciple wore a solemn expression as brilliant light appeared around his hands. Symbols imbued with the power of the Great Dao surged from his fingers and palms, joining in a peculiar configuration. In an instant, a crescent moon slowly rose, shedding sacred radiance as a powerful aura spread outward.

The next moment, he swept his hands, directing the sacred crescent moon toward a boulder as tall as two adults.

Boom!

After an earth-shaking crash, the boulder shattered into pieces, sending fragments flying.

The disciples around him had long since grown accustomed to this, and only a handful exclaimed in admiration. Relatively speaking, the disciple who had unleashed the crescent moon was outstanding, with considerable mastery of this precious technique.

Yet Shi Yi, separated from them by a thick wall, shook his head slightly.

Although this was his first time seeing this precious technique, he could still spot the flaws in the disciple's execution at a glance. Not only were there slight deficiencies in the runes, but the way they were constructed and combined also had substantial problems.

Shi Yi pondered briefly, then activated his double pupils. Within them, chaos energy swirled and runes interwove, evolving there. In just a few breaths, an elementary precious technique took shape within his double pupils.

Then Shi Yi extended a hand. Vital essence circulated through his body, and symbols rapidly formed before surging outward, combining and arranging themselves in the air. In an instant, an almost perfect crescent moon appeared, thin as paper yet exuding an astonishing aura.

With a flick of Shi Yi's finger, the crescent moon wreathed in sacred radiance shot forth, silently sweeping past a stone pillar.

Hiss!

After a barely audible sound, the upper half of the stone pillar tilted and crashed to the ground with a boom. A smooth cut was clearly visible on the remaining half.

In so little time, Shi Yi had mastered a precious technique, producing a crescent moon far more powerful than that of the disciple who had practiced for over ten days. This was what made the double pupils so terrifying.

They could help Shi Yi deduce the Great Dao and precious techniques. Even when a precious technique was incomplete, his double pupils could restore it to a certain extent.

Soon, Shi Yi fixed his gaze on another disciple. His ten fingers resembled ten fiery snakes, continually spewing flames that gathered in the air and transformed into a mighty, lifelike fire flood dragon. The moment it appeared, the temperature throughout the courtyard began climbing steadily.

This disciple was clearly somewhat stronger than the one who had unleashed the crescent moon. His fire flood dragon seemed like a real creature, its momentum surging like a rainbow, its power immense.

"Excellent!"

A disciple shouted, cheering him on.

Across the wall, Shi Yi watched it all calmly. In his eyes, this fire flood dragon was riddled with flaws.

Even though that Martial King Manor disciple's cultivation far exceeded his own, Shi Yi could easily defeat him in a clash of precious techniques.

He shook his head.

Martial King Manor was a major power on the level of kings and marquises, and its disciples were by no means lacking in talent. But compared to someone like Shi Yi, a born sage and Primordial God, they fell far short. The difference was simply that between heaven and earth.

From his brief observation, Shi Yi had already learned the runes required to execute the Fire Flood Dragon precious technique, as well as how they operated.

His double pupils glowed as he once again employed their deductive power. Before long, he had grasped the essentials of this precious technique and even worked backward to deduce its core mysteries.

Boom!

Shi Yi extended his right hand. His five slender fingers poured forth great quantities of flame, which gathered in the air and transformed into a flood dragon that shook its head and swished its tail.

Compared to that Martial King Manor disciple's, his fire flood dragon was more lifelike. Its densely packed scales blazed with heat, and its eyes were cold and merciless, as though it had come alive.

Most terrifying of all was the dreadful heat radiating from the fire flood dragon. Wave after wave of heat, visible to the naked eye, swept through the courtyard.

After playing with it for a while, Shi Yi dispelled the fire flood dragon.

Watching Martial King Manor's talented disciples practice their precious techniques, Shi Yi came to appreciate ever more deeply how heaven-defying his double pupils were.

Before someone with double pupils, the prodigies of royal manors, primordial remnants, and pure-blooded beings all fell short.

Among the entire younger generation of the lower realm's Desolate Region, only Shi Hao could truly be considered Shi Yi's opponent. Calling the other beings clay chickens and pottery dogs would be no exaggeration.

He shook his head slightly and stopped watching the Martial King Manor disciples in the neighboring courtyard. Those simple precious techniques could be mastered at a glance. Learning more of them served no purpose, as their power was limited.

What truly deserved Shi Yi's attention were the precious techniques of primordial remnants and heaven-tier ferocious beasts.

He withdrew his gaze and turned it toward the few primordial rune bones Shi Yuan had left behind. Seen through his double pupils, the secrets of those bones revealed themselves one by one.

Roar!

Primordial symbols erupted from one rune bone, condensing in the air into an enormous wolf that howled at the full moon high in the heavens.

Clearly, this primordial rune bone had come from a ferocious wolf. Judging by the bone's aura, the creature must have been very close to becoming a primordial remnant in life, and exceptionally powerful.

Shi Yi remained silent. His double pupils spun rapidly, analyzing the primordial imprints and symbols hidden within the rune bone. Under his deductions, a precious technique of considerable power slowly took shape, perfectly reproduced by him.

"Sky Wolf Howls at the Moon."

He murmured its name slowly, then turned his gaze toward the other three primordial rune bones.

With the heaven-defying power of his double pupils, Shi Yi comprehended the core mysteries of precious techniques in an extremely short time, while others needed dozens of days or several months to grasp their essence.

There were four precious techniques of considerable power. Besides "Sky Wolf Howls at the Moon," they included "White Rhino Charge," "Thunderbird Wing," and "Fire Toad."

Although these precious techniques had yet to reach the level of primordial remnants, they were sufficient for his current stage. Once he truly stepped onto the path of cultivation, Shi Yi would gain access to more profound precious techniques with even more terrifying power.

He clearly remembered that Martial King Manor possessed two precious techniques that served as its foundational treasures.

And Martial King Manor was not the only place where Shi Yi could acquire precious techniques. If he wanted to learn the Rain Clan's foundational precious technique, it would not be difficult.

As a powerful great clan of kings and marquises, the Rain Clan could not possibly possess only one formidable precious technique.

Besides these, Demon Spirit Lake, where Shi Yi's father had taken a master, was another option. It was an ancient power comparable to a primordial divine mountain, and a Heavenly God had once arisen among its ancestors.

The clan Shi Yuan had mentioned, from which he would seek the true blood of a primordial ferocious beast, was none other than Demon Spirit Lake.

Those three powers could all provide Shi Yi with a substantial number of powerful inheritances. Anything else would depend on his own fortuitous encounters.

However, while these precious techniques were useful in the lower realm, they would pale in comparison once he reached the Upper Realm. Even all of them combined would fall short of a single precious technique of the Ten Fiends.