With lightning beneath his feet, Xiao Yu moved to the Crimson Flame Python's flank and flicked a finger. The enormous magical beast's body instantly shattered into shards of ice that scattered across the ground.
Suddenly, Xiao Yu slapped his forehead and said regretfully, "Damn it! Now even the Magic Core's gone. What a massive loss."
Only then did he remember that magical beasts all had Magic Cores. Much like the Dou Qi vortex or Dou Crystal in a human's dantian, they were the source of a magical beast's power.
The Magic Core of a fourth-order magical beast could sell for over a hundred thousand, or even several hundred thousand gold coins.
He had been so busy showing off that he had completely forgotten about it. Sure, he had looked cool, but the loss was enough to make him bleed.
The freezing aura rapidly receded, and the surrounding ice and snow melted. Xiao Yu withdrew his Blue-Silver Cold Lightning and extreme-breaking ice flame, then darted back the way he had come.
"Luckily, there's still an Origin-Nourishing Fruit. At least I'm not leaving empty-handed."
Returning to where the Origin-Nourishing Fruit grew, Xiao Yu picked it and began making his way back to camp.
He had wasted so much time today that he had yet to cultivate. No matter what, he had to make up for it.
Ordinary fourth-order magical beasts could no longer do anything to Xiao Yu. Here at the boundary between the outer and inner regions, nothing threatened him anymore. Over the past month or so, he had also gathered nearly all the medicinal herbs within a hundred-li radius. Those remaining were either unripe or low-grade, and he had no interest in them.
Since this place could no longer meet his training needs, his only choice was to venture into the depths of the Magical Beast Mountain Range. Danger lurked on every side there, and a single careless moment could cost him his life.
Xiao Yu would rather not go unless he had to. But he had yet to break through to Dou Ling, so leaving the Magical Beast Mountain Range now would be premature. He could only steel himself and brave the inner region.
Besides, he had ways to preserve his life. Even if he encountered a fifth-order magical beast, he was confident he could escape.
He might have dealt with a fourth-order magical beast effortlessly, but an attack like that consumed an enormous amount of Dou Qi.
That single strike had used up one-fifth of his Dou Qi. In other words, he could unleash an attack of that caliber only five times before his Dou Qi ran dry.
That was fine against a fourth-order magical beast, but against a fifth-order one, his earlier attack would probably struggle to inflict a fatal wound.
Still, encountering a fifth-order magical beast would not mean Xiao Yu was done for. He had other methods, enough to escape its clutches.
This was where Divine Thunder and origin flames came in.
Xiao Yu had lived alone on the Xiao Clan's Back Mountain for more than ten years without ever coming into contact with Dou Techniques. After his Coming-of-Age Ceremony, he had headed straight out to train without learning a single one.
Dou Techniques could be considered skills that brought out the power of Dou Qi. The higher their rank, the greater the power they could unleash. Some high-ranking Dou Techniques could even touch upon the level of laws.
From this, it was easy to see that Dou Techniques were indispensable to every cultivator on the Dou Qi Continent.
A Dou Zhe who had never practiced a Dou Technique could not defeat another of the same level who had. There was no question about that.
At the same cultivation level, whoever possessed higher-ranking Dou Techniques and understood them more deeply would be stronger. This had been an accepted truth throughout the Dou Qi Continent's history.
Yet Xiao Yu had never practiced a single Dou Technique. How, then, could he kill a fourth-order magical beast above his own level? The answer lay in his Divine Thunder and origin flames.
Each type of Divine Thunder and origin flame had its own traits and effects. Since they were born within Xiao Yu's body, he could command them as easily as his own limbs, and each manifested differently when he used it.
Just as every Dou Technique differed in power and form, so did Xiao Yu's origin flames and Divine Thunder.
Each origin flame and Divine Thunder could be considered an innate Dou Technique of Xiao Yu's. By that reckoning, as a Nine-Star Great Dou Master, he already possessed six Dou Techniques.
Their effects and power would also improve as Xiao Yu's familiarity and understanding deepened and his cultivation advanced.
With extreme-breaking ice flame and Blue-Silver Cold Lightning alone, Xiao Yu could become invincible within his cultivation realm, and even fight above his realm and win.
Of course, Blue-Silver Cold Lightning and extreme-breaking ice flame were both highly offensive forms of origin flame and Divine Thunder, which was why they could achieve such results.
The Myriad Transformation Flame and Returning-to-Truth Lightning were different. These two Origin Flame and Divine Thunder were more supportive in nature and did little to improve his fighting strength.
Meanwhile, the Divine Thunder Origin Flame born when Xiao Yu broke through to Da Dou Shi leaned toward control and disruption.
One was Three Thousand Puppet Thunders.
Three Thousand Puppet Thunders: dark red in color, it could attach itself to all things, control their forms, and turn them into puppets.
Put simply, it could control all things and make them his slaves. However, it demanded tremendous strength. The stronger he was, the more targets he could control, and it worked only on people whose soul power was weaker than his. If used on someone with greater soul power, failure to control them would be the least of his worries. In severe cases, the backlash could injure his soul.
The other was blazing sun heart flame.
Blazing sun heart flame: fiery red in color, it could attack another person's heart, create inner demons, and throw their mind into turmoil.
It was unlike fallen heart flame, which could accelerate a cultivator's cultivation.
The defining feature of blazing sun heart flame lay in the word "heart." It could produce a child flame that scorched a cultivator's inner heart. If that cultivator had a flaw in their character or harbored an inner demon, blazing sun heart flame could magnify it without limit. Anyone unable to overcome it would remain trapped beneath an immense shadow for life.
This severed a person's path of cultivation and was exceedingly insidious. Unless his opponent was a mortal enemy, Xiao Yu would not use it.
Xiao Yu now had six abilities, and once he broke through to Dou Ling, he would have eight. He had not even fully figured out the first six, so why would he study Dou Techniques? Would that not be picking up sesame seeds while throwing away a watermelon?
Having read countless novels, how could Xiao Yu fail to understand that biting off too much meant being unable to chew it all?
Blue-Silver Cold Lightning and extreme-breaking ice flame alone would be enough for him to roam unhindered across the Dou Qi Continent, provided Xiao Yu could fully unleash their power.
Thus, Dou Techniques were useless to him. They would even slow his cultivation and weaken his fighting strength.
If he practiced Dou Techniques, he would have no time to study his Divine Thunder Origin Flame. Would that not weaken his fighting strength?
The stronger Xiao Yu became, the more he realized just how terrifying his built-in cheat truly was.
No other freakish genius like him could be found anywhere on the Dou Qi Continent. It was only because Xiao Yu kept a level head that he had not already let it all go to his head.
In the past, he had sometimes wondered whether his transmigration to the Dou Qi Continent had been arranged or accidental. Now, however, he was almost certain it had been no accident.
A soul from another world had meshed so perfectly with a native body, and their union had produced such terrifying talent. Even Xiao Yu himself could not believe it was a coincidence.
The question was, why? Why did his soul fit Xiao Yu's body, rather than someone else's soul or someone else's body?
It all seemed as though someone had arranged it beforehand. If so, his transmigration had been inevitable.
But Xiao Yu would not dwell on these matters now. His strength was what it was; even if he wanted to find out, he had no way to do so.
Perhaps once he stood at the pinnacle of the Dou Qi Continent, he would learn some of the answers.
To unravel the whole story, even becoming a Dou Di might not be enough.
Yet even if there was only the faintest sliver of hope, Xiao Yu refused to give up. It was his only road home. No matter how difficult it became, he would keep walking!
I know this chapter is mostly filler, but it had to be written. Earlier, I only gave a rough explanation of Divine Thunder Origin Flame, so I needed a chapter to explore this framework in greater depth. As the story progresses, I'll continue fleshing it out.
Before you continue