While I was chanting a curse, the system said I was Xiao Yan?

[Side quest triggered: Faced with the unwarranted provocation from the clan elders, you, as the future Flame Emperor, decide to strike back with full force!]

[Defeat the clan elder. Reward: Burning Technique (Low-tier Yellow Rank).]

[Task completed, reward issued.]

This task had already been triggered before, and now another piece of information appeared in my mind, which was a technique called the Burning Technique!

The vortex rippled slightly, and the curse power within his body began to circulate along specific meridians. Tianyan's complexion visibly changed from pale to rosy.

His overall mental state immediately recovered from the lethargy caused by excessive consumption of magical power!

Tianyan stood there, panting heavily, blood still seeping from the wound on his left shoulder, staining half of his clothes dark.

He glanced down at his shattered bone armor, then looked at the Zen Temple Fan, which was slowly rising from the ground a dozen meters away.

They didn't say anything more.

Tianyan turned around, walked to Yamada who was still kneeling on the ground trembling, bent down, and stretched out a hand to him.

"stand up."

Yamada looked up, his face covered in tears and dust, his eyes swollen and red like two peaches. He looked at Tianyan's outstretched hand, then at the figure standing behind him, his lips trembling, but he couldn't utter a single word.

"I said, get up." Tianyan's voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable certainty. "Can you walk?"

Yamada was stunned for a long time before he shakily reached out and grasped Tianyan's hand.

The palm of that hand still had unhealed wounds, and it felt a little slippery to the touch, but the hand was very steady, and it steadily pulled him up from the ground.

Tianyan didn't let go; he supported his shoulder with his other hand, half-carrying and half-supporting him as they walked out.

As Tianyan passed by the Zen Temple Fan, he paused for a moment without saying a word.

She walked right past him and went out.

"Lord Tianyan..."

Yamada's voice was hoarse, like sandpaper scraping against wood: "Why...why did you do this to me..."

"A...what?" Tianyan tilted his head and glanced at him. "A member of a Zen family?"

Tears welled up in Yamada's eyes again: "But I'm just a useless piece of trash! I'm even afraid of a level four cursed spirit, I can't even hold a sword properly, I..."

"You just haven't found your way yet."

Tianyan interrupted him, his tone as calm as if he were talking about something completely ordinary.

"The people of the Zen family are all too impatient. They are eager to become stronger, eager to prove themselves, and eager to trample others down. In the end, they even forget why they want to become stronger in the first place."

Tianyan helped Yamada continue walking forward: "Remember, you are not alone in this family. As long as you continue to work for the Zenin family, as long as you still consider yourself a member of the Zenin family, I will take care of you."

Yamada opened his mouth, but it felt like something was blocking his throat, and he couldn't utter a single word.

He just nodded frantically, tears dripping from his chin onto the stone pavement.

As the two walked out of the bamboo forest, they ran into several members of the "Body-Staying Team".

When those people saw Tianyan covered in blood and helping Yamada out, they were first stunned, and then their faces showed a variety of expressions: shock, admiration, confusion, and worry.

"Lord Tianyan! What's wrong...?"

"It's alright." Tianyan waved his hand. "Yamada's punishment is off. Take him back to rest."

The team members exchanged glances and quickly stepped forward to take Yamada from them.

Yamada was helped a few steps, then suddenly turned around and bowed deeply to Tenyan.

"Lord Tianyan... I, Yamada, will never forget your kindness in this lifetime!"

Tianyan smiled and waved his hand, then turned and walked towards his own courtyard.

When I returned to the courtyard, it was already broad daylight.

Tianyan closed the door, leaned against it, and let out a long breath before grimacing as he examined his injuries.

His left shoulder was badly slashed by the Zen Temple Fan. After the bone armor shattered, the blade cut into his flesh, leaving a wound about a palm's length long. In some places, the muscle texture could be seen.

Fortunately, the bones weren't broken, or rather, they were broken but he used his magic to reconnect them.

"hiss!"

He tried to move his left arm, and a dull pain came from his shoulder, making him gasp.

"That was a really vicious cut."

The right arm was in no better condition. The bone at the elbow was almost completely shattered, with only some fragments still clinging to the skin. The skin at the elbow joint was cracked in several places, and blood beads seeped out from the cracks, densely covering the entire forearm.

But more than these superficial injuries, what concerned him was the vortex of cursed energy within his body.

The cyclone has now almost stopped rotating, like an engine that has been drained of fuel, with only a last bit of residual heat slowly running.

That attack had almost exhausted all his magical power reserves. If the system hadn't given him a reward at the last moment, and that sudden surge of power had allowed him to barely stand, he would probably be lying on the ground like Yamada right now.

"Burning Technique..." Tianyan closed his eyes, feeling the new flow of information rushing into his mind.

Just like the previous Eight Extremes Collapse, the information of the Burning Technique was also etched into the depths of his consciousness in an almost instinctive way.

It wasn't words, nor images, but something that came from his very bones, as if he was born with it.

He carefully considered the information, his brows gradually furrowing.

Burning Technique, a low-level Yellow Rank cultivation method.

Cultivators can devour strange flames to advance their cultivation level. The stronger the strange flame, the higher the level of the cultivation technique, which can evolve to the highest level, the Heavenly Rank!

"Devouring the strange fire..."

Tianyan's lips twitched: "Brother Tongzi, tell me, where can we find a different kind of fire in this world of sorcery? There are plenty of cursed spirit fires, but can you eat that stuff?"

He took a deep breath and turned his attention back to the three crystal cores in his pocket.

One is full, one is half full, and one is empty.

"Submit," Tianyan silently recited in his mind.

[One Tier 1 Monster Core Detected. Submit?]

[Note: After submission, the crystal core will be recycled by the system and used to refine Foundation Building Elixir.]

"submit."

As soon as he finished speaking, the milky white crystal core in his palm trembled slightly, its surface luster quickly dimmed, and the energy inside seemed to have been drained away by an invisible hand, turning into a dull gray, lifeless stone in the blink of an eye.

At the same time, Tianyan felt a familiar touch in his pocket.

It's a small bottle.

He took it out and glanced at it. It was pure white, with a transparent bottle, and inside lay a drop of liquid with a greenish luster.

Foundation Building Elixir!

Tianyan placed the bottle of Foundation Building Elixir on the table, then looked at his own injured body and decided to treat his injuries before soaking in the medicine.

He found a roll of bandage, simply applied medicine to his left shoulder and right arm, bandaged them, and then started boiling water, emptying the bucket, and adding warm water.

Once the water temperature was adjusted to the appropriate level, he poured in an entire bottle of Foundation Building Elixir.

The moment the emerald green liquid entered the water, the entire bucket of water turned a light blue, with emerald green light patterns flowing beneath the surface, and a refreshing medicinal fragrance spread out.

Tianyan tested the water temperature and then sat down in the wooden tub.

"hiss!"

It's the same voice, the same feeling!

The cyan liquid reached above his chest, and the cool medicinal power seeped into his body through every pore. The moment the wounds came into contact with the liquid, the burning pain quickly subsided, replaced by a comforting sensation that penetrated to the bone marrow.

Tianyan leaned against the barrel wall, closed his eyes, and let his consciousness sink into his body.

The medicinal power of the Foundation Building Elixir gathers from all parts of the body, like a thin layer of blue mist, swirling around the vortex and being slowly absorbed.

He could feel his muscles, fascia, bones, and skin, every cell greedily absorbing the drug's power.

Those damaged in the battle are repairing at an accelerated pace, and those parts that are not yet strong enough are being strengthened.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, illuminating the half of Tianyan's face that was above the water.

He closed his eyes, his breathing steady and long.

The wounds on my left shoulder and right arm are healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.