With the birth of the Emperor Flame Seed, Xiao Yan could already tell that devouring heavenly flames in the future would be countless times easier.
Under the flow of the Flame God Art, the strand of Bone Spirit Cold Flame in his palm pulsed like a living creature. Even in his hands, its power was no weaker than Yao Lao's.
Of course, with his current Dou Qi reserves, Xiao Yan couldn't wield that flame as recklessly as his teacher once did.
Still, having this trump card meant that even if he faced a Dou Ling-level opponent, he could still take one or two down if he struck first.
"Now that my Emperor Flame Seed is complete," Xiao Yan whispered, a smile tugging at his lips, "it's time to step into the realm of the Dou Zhe."
The Bone Spirit Cold Flame, refined into a core source within his body, moved at his command. Guided by Dou Qi, threads of bone-white fire streamed into his meridians, burning away the remnants of the Little Earth Spirit Pill and transforming that power into pure Dou Qi that flowed toward his dantian.
Breaking through from the Dou Qi stage to the Dou Zhe was the process of gathering all that scattered energy into a single spinning vortex of Qi.
From that point onward, the cyclone would circulate on its own, continuously refining and condensing new Dou Qi—its strength and endurance far beyond anything before.
Most people failed here. They didn't understand the rhythm of their Dou Qi or the perfect moment to condense it.
But for Xiao Yan? With the insight of countless lifetimes, this "difficult" step was hardly worth mentioning.
His Dou Qi surged like a flood. The Bone Spirit Cold Flame devoured and refined the pill's power endlessly, turning it into more Dou Qi. The cycle continued—burn, refine, gather—until his energy reached its absolute peak.
Then, with a flicker of will, his powerful soul commanded the entire storm of energy to converge in his dantian.
A deep boom echoed within his body. The Dou Qi compressed, condensed, and finally spun into a palm-sized vortex, rotating quietly at his core.
"Dou Zhe… achieved."
The moment he crossed that threshold, Xiao Yan's flesh and soul surged with new strength. His soul had always been formidable, but until now his body couldn't bear its full might—restricting him to the level of a second-tier alchemist.
Now, that barrier was gone. His soul power expanded, rising smoothly to the level of a third-tier alchemist.
A third-tier alchemist—already someone of influence in the Jia Ma Empire.
But Xiao Yan couldn't care less about such titles. What thrilled him was what came with that power—two abilities that only appeared once the soul reached this realm:
The power to influence matter with the soul.
The power to transmit knowledge through the soul.
From this point on, he could fight using spiritual force—and more importantly, teach directly through it.
Ordinary third-tier alchemists could barely nudge objects with their souls. Their attacks couldn't even scratch a Dou Zhe.
But Xiao Yan's mastery was different. His arsenal of soul-based techniques made him dangerous even without lifting a hand.
Still, what truly pleased him was the second gift: soul transmission.
It meant he could finally pass down the vast knowledge and refined methods from his previous life directly to Yao Lao.
Once Yao Lao grasped those techniques, his strength would skyrocket faster than any pill could manage.
For now, Xiao Yan set those thoughts aside and continued refining the lingering medicinal energy of the Little Earth Spirit Pill.
Though it wasn't a ranked pill, it was derived from the Earth Spirit Pill formula—and the energy within it was no less than that of a fourth- or even fifth-grade elixir.
The residual energy was more than enough to spare him weeks of cultivation.
Each wisp of purified energy transformed into blazing Dou Qi under the Flame God Art. Though he had refined only a single wisp of Bone Spirit Cold Flame, his cultivation method had already reached the High Yellow Rank.
He sat in meditation until the night fell. When he finally opened his eyes, a breath of turbid air tinged with faint white flame escaped his lips. He stood, Dou Qi rushing through his body like a river.
His eyes gleamed with vitality.
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