There was no need for brothers to spell everything out.
Xiao Ce knew that the question Xiao Yan had posed was the very choice he himself faced.
Xiao Yan also knew that Xiao Ce could guess.
Neither brother exposed the truth.
Xiao Ce looked at Xiao Yan, his expression serious. "Fourth Brother, before choosing a cultivation method, let's assume you're the one who has to make the choice.
"On that assumption, let me ask you something first.
"Do you know how precious Heavenly Flames are, and how difficult they are to obtain?"
Xiao Yan froze for a moment. He started to nod, only to shake his head halfway through.
In truth, his understanding of Heavenly Flames came from a few brief remarks by Yao Lao. He had no clear grasp of them.
"Not really," Xiao Yan answered honestly.
Xiao Ce nodded, then laid out the facts. "Heavenly Flames are divine wonders of heaven and earth. Even when the conditions for their birth are met, at least a thousand years must pass before heaven and earth might produce a single one.
"Ordinary alchemists could spend their entire lives without obtaining a Heavenly Flame. Even those who get to see one with their own eyes are an exceedingly rare few.
"In other words, our Jia Ma Empire and the several surrounding empires could muster tens of thousands of alchemists, each one a one-in-ten-thousand talent, yet to this day, not one of them possesses a Heavenly Flame."
Xiao Yan's eyes widened slightly. For the first time, he felt just how scarce Heavenly Flames were, and some hesitation arose in his heart.
Noticing Xiao Yan's hesitation, Xiao Ce pressed his advantage and continued, "Fourth Brother, you said that cultivation method can evolve. Then how many Heavenly Flames must it absorb to evolve? Has anyone actually practiced this cultivation method and made it evolve?
"Given the gaps between cultivation methods, starting from the lowest level, Initial Yellow Tier, how many Heavenly Flames would it take to reach a Heaven Tier cultivation method? Toward the end, would it need high-grade Heavenly Flames near the top of the Heavenly Flame Ranking?
"Heavenly Flames are already hard to find, let alone high-grade ones. When the time comes, if you can no longer find a suitable Heavenly Flame and the cultivation method's tier gets stuck, leaving your cultivation unable to advance, what will you do?
"To take an even more extreme case, if you never find a Heavenly Flame and the cultivation method stays stuck at Initial Yellow Tier, your whole life will be ruined!"
As Xiao Ce broke it all down and laid the difficulty of evolving the cultivation method plainly before him, Xiao Yan truly began to waver.
That's right. The Flame Mantra only says it can evolve. Just how many would it take to make it evolve successfully?
Besides, even Yao Lao has never practiced it himself. Who could guarantee that this cultivation method really can evolve?
Finally, given how scarce Heavenly Flames are, I really might never find a single one in my entire life. What would I do then?
Would I stay stuck as a Dou Zhe or Dou Shi just because my cultivation method's tier was too low?
Even more frighteningly, switching away from the Flame Mantra required abandoning all his existing cultivation. If he had already attained a certain level of cultivation by then and wanted to change cultivation methods, the accumulated burden would be too hard to reverse. It would be too late for regret!
At that moment, Xiao Yan was already ninety percent inclined to abandon the Flame Mantra. Only one last shred of stubborn longing remained: to rely on this cultivation method to reach the pinnacle of the continent.
And Xiao Ce's next words erased even that last shred.
"Finally, Fourth Brother, let's make another assumption. Suppose your luck really is bursting at the seams, and you manage to find one Heavenly Flame after another.
"Then you'll face another problem. Heavenly Flames are divine wonders of heaven and earth, and they're incredibly violent!
"Unless your cultivation utterly overwhelms them, absorbing a Heavenly Flame means facing a trial with nine chances of death and one chance of survival. Can you guarantee, with absolute certainty, that you'll endure it?
"By contrast, if you choose that Early Earth Tier cultivation method, both your reserves of Dou Qi and your cultivation speed will far surpass those of people practicing other, lower-tier cultivation methods.
"Once you grow stronger in the future, if you want to change cultivation methods, you'll only need to spend some resources to obtain one. Compared with absorbing Heavenly Flames to evolve a cultivation method, the difference in difficulty is like heaven and earth, and the danger will be reduced countless times over."
After hearing Xiao Ce's words, Xiao Yan had already made his decision. He cupped his hands toward Xiao Ce. "Third Brother, I've taken your words to heart. I have something to do, so I'll leave first."
Xiao Ce did not try to keep Xiao Yan. After more than a decade as brothers, he could tell that Xiao Yan was essentially no longer going to choose to practice the Flame Mantra.
He did not deny that part of the reason he did not want Xiao Yan to practice the Flame Mantra was that he did not want Xiao Yan competing with him for Heavenly Flames. It was not that he thought Xiao Yan could actually beat him to them, but that he did not want the two of them to turn against each other as brothers.
Beyond that, his genuine wish was indeed to keep Xiao Yan from risking near-certain death to absorb Heavenly Flames.
In the original story, Xiao Yan had faced the pressure of the Three-Year Agreement and encountered several opportunities along the way, only then managing to absorb a Heavenly Flame through good fortune. Later, with both his father and teacher abducted, he had continued absorbing Heavenly Flames through sheer willpower.
The Green Lotus Core Flame, the Fallen Heart Flame, the Three Thousand Burning Flame-each one could have taken his life.
Reality was not a novel. Xiao Ce could not be sure that Xiao Yan would still absorb Heavenly Flames as successfully as he had in the original story. Practicing the Flame Mantra, one careless mistake could easily cost him his life. He would not stand by and watch Xiao Yan walk into a pit of fire!
With him, Xiao Yan's third brother, backing him, Xiao Yan had no need to risk his life so desperately. There would naturally be a more comfortable path for him in the future.
After leaving Xiao Ce's courtyard, Xiao Yan returned to his own residence. With no one around, he asked his Storage Ring, "Teacher, was everything my third brother said correct?"
Yao Lao's soul form floated out. He looked at Xiao Yan with a complicated expression. "Your third brother was entirely right. The Flame Mantra is precisely that sort of chicken-rib cultivation method-little meat to eat, yet hard to throw away.
"But for me to be resurrected, someone must gather three kinds of Heavenly Flames. No one but a practitioner of the Flame Mantra can meet that requirement.
"If not for that, I would never even have shown you the Flame Mantra as an option."
Xiao Yan immediately thumped his chest. "Teacher, don't worry. The Dou Qi Continent is so vast. There must be other ways to refine a body!
"I'll definitely do my best to find a new method for refining a body!"
Yao Lao smiled and nodded. "It's enough that you have the heart to do it.
"Having you practice the Flame Mantra was only a gamble on a slim chance to begin with. Reduced to a soul form as I am, resurrection is nothing more than a little hope.
"It's good enough that you have the heart."
Xiao Yan said, "Teacher, then I'll choose that Earth Tier Cultivation Method."
Yao Lao murmured his assent, took out the fiery-red scroll, and handed it to Xiao Yan. "Normally, a High Xuan Tier cultivation method would suit you best. But Yan'er, your talent is outstanding and your soul power is formidable, so you can also try practicing a Low Earth Tier cultivation method.
"Later on, I have a high Earth Tier cultivation method you can switch to. We won't need to find another solution until you reach Heaven Tier."
Xiao Yan took the scroll and, somewhat excited, immediately began reading it and cultivating.
As Yao Lao watched, he suddenly heard a soul transmission reach his ears.
"Venerable Yao, please come over for a talk."
Yao Lao's gaze sharpened, for he had heard that voice only a short while ago.
It was the voice of Xiao Yan's third brother, Xiao Ce!
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