Awakening the Clan Mark

Before setting out, Xiao Yan visited his mother Ling Yao's grave in the Xiao Clan Ancestral Grounds.

"Mother, I'm about to leave Wutan City and carve out a place for myself in the world. When I return someday, I'll definitely give Father a great surprise."

With that, Xiao Yan kowtowed three more times, his forehead striking the ground audibly, then rose to leave.

As he was leaving, the ancient jade shard hidden on his person suddenly began to glow.

At the same time, a similar light flickered in the distance within the Ancestral Grounds.

Xiao Yan looked toward it. That was the deepest part of the Ancestral Grounds, supposedly where the Xiao Clan's ancestor was buried.

Curious, and aware that something unusual was happening, Xiao Yan walked deeper into the Ancestral Grounds, one step at a time.

At the very front stood the legendary Nameless Tomb of the Xiao Clan's ancestor, and the emerald-green light was shining from that very tomb.

However, it was actually a cenotaph containing only clothing and personal effects. So much time had passed that no one knew the identity of this Xiao Clan ancestor.

Suddenly, the light from the Ancient Jade on Xiao Yan's person merged with the light above the Nameless Tomb.

Xiao Yan felt the scenery around him blur, then transform into a strange space.

Within that space, a tall young man stood twenty or thirty meters away from Xiao Yan, his hands clasped behind his back.

"Hm? A descendant of my Xiao Clan actually managed to enter this place?"

The young man turned around. His figure was illusory, but every movement carried the commanding air of a sovereign reigning over the world.

"I am Xiao Yan of the Xiao Clan. May I ask who you are, Senior?"

The young man before him stirred an inexplicable sense of closeness in Xiao Yan.

The young man glanced at Xiao Yan, then laughed. "Of course. So much time has passed that even the people of the Xiao Clan no longer remember me. My name is Xiao Xuan, and I was the Xiao Clan Leader a thousand years ago."

A thousand years ago?

Disbelief filled Xiao Yan's face. Although a sufficiently high cultivation level could extend one's lifespan, even a Dou Emperor could live for only a mere five hundred years. To survive for a thousand years, one would have to be at least a Dou Zong.

Yet the man before him was not even whole. He seemed more like a wisp of a remnant soul, and even that had survived for so long. Xiao Yan could not imagine how powerful he had been while alive.

Still less could he imagine how the man had ended up in his current state.

"Young descendant, since you were able to come here, fate must have brought us together. Tell me, how many people remain in the Xiao Clan, and what realm has its strongest member reached?"

Even after more than a thousand years, Xiao Xuan still worried about the Xiao Clan.

"Ancestor, counting the collateral branches and our direct bloodline in Wutan City, the Xiao Clan should have a little over three hundred people left. The strongest is my father, who is currently a six-star Da Dou Shi."

After Xiao Yan finished describing the Xiao Clan's current circumstances, the aura of the unfathomable man before him turned utterly furious for an instant.

"Good, good, good! The Gu Clan took our Xiao Clan's Heavenly Tomb quotas and raised countless experts, and this is how they looked after us!"

But that fury gradually subsided. Xiao Xuan knew perfectly well that there were no eternal friendships in this world, only eternal interests.

The fact that a branch of the Xiao Clan's bloodline still survived was already the best news he could have hoped for.

Back then, Xiao Xuan had spared no effort in absorbing the bloodline power of his entire clan to break through to Dou Di, but he ultimately failed. He was besieged by the Hun Clan and died.

Back then, Xiao Xuan had gone so far as to absorb the bloodline power of his entire clan in an attempt to reach Dou Di. Ultimately, he had failed, been surrounded and attacked by the Hun Clan, and perished.

In truth, he had anticipated that possibility long ago, so he had deliberately left this contingency behind.

A contingency that would allow the Xiao Clan Bloodline to endure.

He had fused a wisp of his remnant soul into an object he had owned in life and instructed the Xiao Clan to protect it for generations.

Although the Xiao Clan had steadily declined over several hundred years, they had still taken great care to preserve this ancestral relic.

Then Xiao Xuan pointed a finger at Xiao Yan, and a strange power slowly began to revive within him.

A Divine Pattern appeared on Xiao Yan's forehead!

At that moment, Xiao Yan felt the Dou Qi within him grow more active, while new insights into flames came to him.

"Ancestor, what is this?"

Xiao Yan looked at Xiao Xuan excitedly. Although his cultivation had not increased directly, his combat strength had unquestionably risen.

"This is our Xiao Clan's Clan Mark, a power contained within our bloodline. Unfortunately, our Xiao Clan Bloodline has now been completely exhausted and can no longer accelerate your cultivation. But with this Divine Pattern, you can use special flames to strengthen your power.

"Once you activate the Clan Mark, even fighting above your level will be as easy as turning over a hand for a member of our Xiao Clan."

"It's that powerful? Then you have my thanks, Ancestor!"

Xiao Yan was thrilled and instinctively touched the Divine Pattern on his forehead.

However, as his Dou Qi settled, the Divine Pattern gradually faded from sight.

“Don’t celebrate too soon. Your bloodline power can only activate a One-Pattern Divine Pattern right now. A single pattern can raise your strength by no more than one or two stars.”

“Back then, our Xiao Clan’s founding ancestor, the Dou Di Xiao Yang, attained the Dao through Fire-Proving the Dao and awakened a ten-pattern Divine Pattern. Like the blazing sun in the heavens, he illuminated the entire Dou Qi Continent!”

"And if you wish to complete this Divine Pattern, you must gather the fiercest, hottest flames beneath the heavens-Heavenly Flames!"

Xiao Xuan's mention of Heavenly Flames jolted Xiao Yan once again. Most importantly, he actually had some information about a Heavenly Flame in his possession.

"Every time you collect a Heavenly Flame, your Divine Pattern will gain more lines. The day you complete all ten lines will be the day our Xiao Clan rises again!"

As he said this, a trace of pride appeared in Xiao Xuan's eyes for the first time in many years.

Xiao Xuan had been born with a nine-lined Divine Pattern. Only after subduing three Heavenly Flames had he completed it and touched the Emperor Realm, yet the absence of a certain crucial thing had caused his breakthrough to fail.

Now, the only thing he could awaken in Xiao Yan was a One-Pattern Divine Pattern, far weaker than what the Xiao Clan could awaken in its heyday.

In fact, the Xiao Clan's members back then had not relied entirely on Heavenly Flames to awaken their patterns. They had used various beast flames, and their Divine Patterns had generally reached a maximum of three to six lines.

But circumstances were different now. The Xiao Clan Bloodline had been completely exhausted, and ordinary beast flames were nowhere near enough.

Only Heavenly Flames could awaken all ten lines within a short time!

Xiao Xuan also had his own motives for doing this. The Hun Clan was now powerful and had already entered the final stage of its plans. Once all its arrangements were complete, not only the Xiao Clan, but even the living beings beneath the heavens

would likely see fewer than one in ten survive.

The wisp of his remnant soul he had left behind had been waiting for a descendant with exceptional soul power and talent for Dou Qi, someone upon whom he could stake everything to bring about a final reversal.

Of course, Xiao Xuan knew that even with the power of his Xiao Clan Bloodline, facing a Heavenly Flame would mean nine chances of death and one of survival. But he had no other option. Only this path offered even a one-in-ten-million chance of turning the tables.

"Heavenly Flames are the most violent and untamable flames in the world. Countless people would be reduced to ashes merely by approaching them.

"But you are a member of our Xiao Clan. The power in our bloodline comes from fire itself. When you encounter a Heavenly Flame, do not shrink back or be afraid. Try to conquer it. When it feels that you are stronger than it is, it will fear you and submit to you!"

"Go, child. I believe you will find the right path."

Xiao Xuan gave his sleeve a gentle flick, and Xiao Yan's vision blurred again. When he came to his senses, he was already back in the Xiao Clan Ancestral Grounds.

Everything that had just happened seemed like a dream, but Xiao Yan could feel that the bloodline power within him had been activated.

"The Xiao Clan? Divine Patterns?"

Although his encounter with Xiao Xuan had been brief, Xiao Yan was still digesting the information he had received.

The Xiao Clan's power came from fire, and to awaken a complete Divine Pattern, he would have to collect Heavenly Flames.

As it happened, he had detailed information about one such Heavenly Flame on him!

Xiao Yan took out the map marking the Heavenly Flame's location. It recorded the whereabouts of the myriad beast spirit flame, ranked twenty-second on the Heavenly Flame Ranking!

"Since I have to cross the Magical Beast Mountain Range to reach the Tagor Desert anyway, spending a little extra time there shouldn't be much of a problem."

Xiao Yan put away the Heavenly Flames Coordinate Map, bade his mother farewell once more, and formally began his journey away from Wutan City.