"A Heavenly Flame? No... something's off."
After his initial shock, Yao Lao quickly composed himself. Of the Heavenly Flames ranked on the Heavenly Flame Ranking, he was familiar with all of them—except the mysterious number one. Although there were a few black-colored flames among them, none bore resemblance to the one Xiao Yan had just revealed.
Moreover, Yao Lao could sense a certain violent, beast-like savagery within this flame—something typically only found in flames born of magical beasts. In other words, this wasn't a Heavenly Flame, but a beast flame. Yet if that were the case, why did it feel just as powerful as a real Heavenly Flame?
"Kid, where did this flame come from?" Yao Lao couldn't help but ask.
"That… I don't know either. I only discovered it while circulating Flame Mantra. I figured I'd try refining it to see if the Flame Mantra could evolve." Xiao Yan wore a deliberately puzzled expression. No way was he going to tell Yao Lao that the thing had reincarnated with him from his previous life.
"Did the Flame Mantra evolve, then?" Yao Lao pressed. More important than the origin of the black flame was whether Flame Mantra actually possessed the ability to evolve. If it didn't, then its value would barely be on par with a Profound Rank technique.
"It did. It should be at the Low Profound Rank level now," Xiao Yan replied, smiling faintly. Before ending his cultivation session, he had checked on the technique's progress and confirmed that Flame Mantra had, indeed, evolved.
Although it was still only Low Profound Rank, the unique properties of Flame Mantra made it nearly as powerful as some Mid Profound Rank techniques. This meant the major issue he would've faced—his cultivation technique falling behind—was now resolved, at least until he reached the Dou Wang realm.
"Seems like your black flame really is no ordinary fire—it managed to raise the technique by a whole tier." Yao Lao marveled again.
This alone showed that the black flame, even if it wasn't a Heavenly Flame, was close to one in power. A typical beast flame—no matter how high-level, even a ninth-rank beast flame—would never be capable of evolving the Flame Mantra by a full rank.
Xiao Yan wasn't surprised. He had experienced the destructive power of this flame in his past life. What Yao Lao didn't know was that the black flame he now wielded was still in its juvenile state. When Xiao Yan had first encountered it in his previous life, it had been many times stronger than this.
If it fully matured, its strength would likely even shock Yao Lao in his prime.
The most surprising thing, though, was that Xiao Yan's strength had increased dramatically. He was now at the nine-star Dou Zhe level! Even he was slightly stunned by the leap—he had only recently broken through to Dou Zhe, and now he was nearly at Dou Shi?
This near one-tier jump made Xiao Yan a little uneasy. He quickly inspected his condition and, finding no signs of unstable Dou Qi or a weak foundation, he finally relaxed. A surge of power that damaged one's roots would have been a terrible trade-off.
'It must've been from that refined energy earlier.' Xiao Yan thought. During the refinement of the black flame, he had absorbed a lot of purified natural energy. That must've been what pushed his strength up so dramatically.
What Xiao Yan didn't know was that while the refined energy did contribute to his improvement, it alone could've only raised him one or two stars. His leap to nine-star Dou Zhe was actually a result of Flame Mantra automatically upgrading after devouring a flame.
In fact, the upgrade should have boosted him even further. But since his current body was still too weak, the excess energy had temporarily gone dormant, waiting for a more suitable time to be fully absorbed.
Once he confirmed his body was stable, Xiao Yan didn't hesitate to throw open his door and head straight for the kitchen.
No joke—he hadn't eaten in three days. He wasn't the Wrathful Saint of his past life anymore, and he definitely hadn't reached the point of fasting through cultivation. If he didn't eat soon, he'd starve to death.
If his jaw had been a bit bigger, he might have staged a scene like "three bites, one whole pig."
So when Xiao Yan's so-called cousin, Xiao Yu, came to the kitchen looking for him, what she saw was a skinny figure hugging a roasted chicken. Beside him was a mountain of bones—clearly leftovers from a carnivorous feast.
Seeing this scene, Xiao Yu couldn't help but mock, "Damn, were you reincarnated from a starving ghost?"
"Oh, it's you. What's up?" Xiao Yan polished off the chicken in just a few words and now held a massive pig's head. Looking at this cousin with no blood relation, he asked innocently.
If there was anyone he had the worst relationship with, it was this so-called cousin. She had barged into his usual training area once to bathe and, upon discovering him, falsely accused him of spying.
If it had been his past life, Xiao Yan probably would've killed her without a second thought. But since she was a member of the Xiao Family, he had merely "taught her a lesson"—by stealing all her clothes.
Had Xun'er not passed by at the right moment, Xiao Yu would've suffered public humiliation that day.
Ever since, she held a deep grudge and, along with her younger brother Xiao Ning, constantly tried to provoke him.
Thanks to her, Xiao Ning ended up in a wheelchair at a very young age.
After that, Xiao Yu became even more furious, swearing to make Xiao Yan pay.
Xiao Yan had mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, he always acted harmless and kind; on the other, he had "sincerely connected" with Xiao Ning once he recovered enough to walk again—giving the poor kid a mummy-like experience.
From then on, Xiao Ning would tremble at the mere sight of Xiao Yan and even tried to cut ties with Xiao Yu. That finally got her to stop.
What Xiao Ning didn't know was that he had accidentally saved his own life. Xiao Yan had already been planning to kidnap and sell him to traffickers for some side income.
Though Xiao Yu no longer picked fights with him, their relationship wasn't exactly warm, so Xiao Yan was surprised that she would come looking for him.
"Uh… nothing really. The patriarch wants to see you," Xiao Yu said, unconsciously taking a step back. Xiao Yan's gaze always gave her the disturbing illusion that he might actually eat her—literally.
"Got it." Xiao Yan nodded, then returned to battle with the pig head. Seeing this, Xiao Yu quickly fled the kitchen. She felt like if she stayed any longer, she'd be served as dinner.
After stuffing himself, Xiao Yan went to meet his father. When Xiao Zhan saw him, he put down his work and scolded him with a smile, "You little brat, where've you been these last few days?"
"I was in seclusion," Xiao Yan replied.
"You, in seclusion? Do you even know what that means?" Xiao Zhan shook his head in amusement. Then, reaching into his storage ring, he pulled out a red scroll. "You're about to leave soon. As your father, I don't have much to give you—but take this."
"This is…" Xiao Yan opened the scroll and his eyes lit up. "Lion Mountain Split?"
"Exactly. You may have broken through to Dou Zhe, but you don't have any decent dou techniques yet. With your strength, you qualify to train in our Xiao Family's Yellow Class techniques. But for training outside, Yellow Class just isn't enough." Xiao Zhan ruffled his son's hair. "Use this time to learn Lion Mountain Split well. If you run into problems, come ask me. Once you master it, you're free to leave."
Xiao Yan held the scroll tightly, feeling a complex mix of emotions. He knew this technique, although only Low Profound Rank, was currently the Xiao Family's strongest dou technique. And even though Xiao Zhan was the patriarch, he didn't have the authority to casually pass it down.
If the elders found out, there'd definitely be a political backlash—not enough to strip his title, but damaging to his reputation.
"I understand. Thank you, Father." Xiao Yan said slowly. Though he didn't feel much familial warmth toward Xiao Zhan, he admitted that his father and brothers treated him well. Still, his past life's experiences had left him wary of opening his heart. This time, though, he felt… something different.
Over the next few days, Xiao Yan focused entirely on cultivation. In addition to Lion Mountain Split, Yao Lao taught him another technique—Eight Extremities Collapse, a powerful close-range technique of High Profound Rank. At full mastery, it rivaled even some Earth Class techniques.
Xiao Yan also secretly trained in a movement technique called Burst Step, which he had looted from a sect he exterminated in his past life. Though he'd once dismissed it, it now proved surprisingly useful.
Thanks to his Dou Sheng peak experience, Xiao Yan quickly mastered all three Profound Rank techniques within days—something that even Yao Lao found astonishing.
Yao Lao had expected it to take at least a month to fully grasp one technique. Xiao Yan cut that time by a factor of ten.
In Yao Lao's estimation, Xiao Yan, though only a nine-star Dou Zhe, could now match a three- or four-star Dou Shi when using his evolved technique and powerful skills—and that didn't even factor in the black flame.
Let alone… the battle experience of a former Wrathful Saint.
When Xiao Yan told Xiao Zhan he had already learned Lion Mountain Split, his father thought he was joking—until Xiao Yan demonstrated it on the spot. Only then did he realize his son's insane talent in both cultivation and dou skills.
After returning the scroll to Xiao Zhan, Xiao Yan returned to his room, packed all his supplies into his storage ring, and slipped it onto his finger.
Then, quietly, he shut the door… and left the Xiao Family.
"Kid, you're not going to say goodbye to that Xun'er girl or your cousin Xiao Mei?" Yao Lao teased in his mind. After staying with Xiao Yan this long, he knew well that both girls were very close to him.
"What's there to say? It's not like I'm never coming back." Xiao Yan replied flatly. In truth, he was deliberately avoiding Xun'er. If she knew, she'd cry—and cling to him, begging him not to leave…
Xiao Yan left without alarming anyone. Xiao Zhan only found out several days later. A pang of melancholy hit him.
He had long known that Wutan City couldn't contain a talent like his son, but he hadn't expected this day to come so soon.
Here in Wutan, no matter what trouble Xiao Yan got into, Xiao Zhan could cover for him. Outside… he'd be on his own.
Even so, amid the sorrow, Xiao Zhan felt a flicker of hope.
He had a hunch—when his son returned, his strength might already surpass his own.
And maybe, just maybe… that would be the day the Xiao Family truly rose again.
What he didn't know… was that his son already had the power to defeat him.
Right now, Xiao Yan was more concerned about something else—
How to calm Xun'er, who was about to throw a tantrum over his disappearance.
That brat didn't just leave. He left behind a mess too…
(End of Chapter)
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