The Strange Flame Rekindles in Battle Through the Heavens

Chapter 10 A Victory Without Suspense

"I'll kill you!" Faced with this unfair treatment, Xiao Ning could no longer endure it. His palms curved into claws, his fingers gleaming with a chilling aura, and he stomped his foot on the ground, charging straight towards Xiao Yan. As he neared Xiao Yan, he extended his right claw, swiftly attacking Xiao Yan's throat, intending to kill him with a single blow.

Faced with the attacking claws that resembled eagle talons, Xiao Yan naturally wouldn't choose to foolishly take them head-on. His first attempt to take them head-on was to test the results of his month of grueling training.

During this month of grueling training, the old master not only whipped him mercilessly with a long whip imbued with strange fire, but also placed him in a carefully prepared medicinal liquid. The liquid's ingredients were meticulously crafted and possessed excellent body-strengthening effects. Of course, its drawbacks were equally obvious: it was incredibly painful, almost indistinguishable from being soaked in chili water.

Although the training was painful, the results were also very gratifying. Xiao Ning's full-force punch only left a red fist mark on him. His body only felt a little pain, but of course, this pain was nothing compared to his training; the two were not even in the same league.

Seeing Xiao Ning attacking again, Xiao Yan threw a punch. The wind howled and the sound of air being torn apart filled the air. His fist slammed into Xiao Ning's shoulder, causing Xiao Ning to vomit blood and retreat rapidly.

The training ground fell silent again. Xiao Ning had suspected Xiao Yan of cheating and tore his clothes, but found nothing.

Xiao Yan's attack, however, caused Xiao Ning to cough up blood and fly backward. After that, the audience had no more doubts about Xiao Yan's strength.

"But why?"

This was the question on everyone's mind, including the three elders on the high platform to the left and Xiao Zhan. In just one month, a seemingly useless person with only the third level of Dou Qi had improved so much. With a single punch, he could make Xiao Ning vomit blood and fly backward. This person's strength must be at least the seventh level of Dou Qi!

How is this possible? Increasing one's Dou Qi by four levels in a month—no one could do that! For an ordinary person, increasing their Dou Qi by one level in a year is already considered genius, and increasing it by two levels is the mark of an unparalleled genius. But to increase it by four levels in a month—even the former Xiao Yan couldn't do that! What terrifying cultivation talent that is!

The three elders on the high platform to the left all looked at Xiao Zhan, assuming that Xiao Zhan had done it, that he had forcibly infused Xiao Yan with battle qi. However, after observing for a while, they discovered that Xiao Zhan, apart from being initially shocked by Xiao Yan, was also caught in the same confusion as them.

Only Xiao Xun'er, watching from below the stage, seemed to understand somewhat. She realized that Xiao Yan's cultivation was only at the fifth level of Dou Qi, and that he was only practicing some kind of body-tempering Dou Technique. However, she also understood that cultivating such Dou Techniques was extremely arduous, requiring immense suffering, and the results were not necessarily good. This was because at the Dou Shi or Great Dou Shi level, one could obtain Dou Qi Robes and Dou Qi Armor, both of which had excellent defensive effects, so most people didn't particularly like cultivating such defensive Dou Techniques.

Seeing that Xiao Yan had achieved such results in just one month, Xun'er felt a little sorry for him.

Seeing the power of a single punch, which had such an effect, Xiao Yan smiled with satisfaction.

Now, Xiao Yan not only has amazing defense, but his strength has also increased a lot. He can achieve such an effect by using only the first level of Ming Jin of Bajiquan.

"The Eight Extremes Collapse truly lives up to its reputation as an attack power comparable to a low-level fighting technique. I wonder what kind of power it will unleash when it is fully mastered. It seems that Xiao Yan in the original work only mastered one level of Ming Jin and one level of An Jin."

"How was it? I didn't make you suffer for nothing!" Yao Lao's somewhat mocking voice suddenly rang in my mind.

Xiao Yan nodded, glanced at Xiao Ning lying on the ground, seemingly questioning his existence, shook his head, and turned to leave the training ground to continue training in the back mountain. He didn't want to rest any longer; he wanted to become stronger. Xiao Ning was just an insignificant character to him; Nalan Yanran was the one he would defeat a year later. He didn't want to be publicly jilted, playing some kind of "fortune changes every thirty years" trick.

As Xiao Yan approached, the crowd quickly parted to the sides, and Xiao Xun'er hurriedly ran towards him. She hadn't been with Xiao Yan for a month and knew he was cultivating, so she was just making breakfast for him so he wouldn't waste his time on such trivial matters.

Xiao Zhan, who was on the high platform on the left, also smiled and walked down the platform, wanting to ask his son how he had cultivated so quickly in such a short time.

Just then, Xiao Ning, lying on the ground, revealed a ferocious and terrifying expression. He had originally intended to strike back at Xiao Yan today, but instead of succeeding, he had become the laughingstock. If others knew he had been defeated by a mere third-stage Dou Qi weakling, how could he ever face anyone again? He quickly drew his dagger, its blade gleaming with a chilling light, clearly incredibly sharp.

Xiao Ning gripped the dagger tightly and stabbed straight at Xiao Yan's back.

"Brother Xiao Yan, be careful!" Because they were far away, Xun'er could only shout to warn Xiao Yan.

"How dare you!" Seeing that someone actually dared to kill his son, Xiao Zhan roared and charged towards Xiao Ning like a sharp sword.

"Stop!" The Grand Elder hurriedly called out to stop his grandson Xiao Ning when he saw him do something so foolish. Judging from Xiao Yan's performance, his cultivation talent had recovered and become even more terrifying. If Xiao Yan were injured now, Xiao Zhan would definitely tear his grandson apart.

Even if Xiao Zhan wouldn't harm his grandson, he still didn't want Xiao Yan to die. Given the talent Xiao Yan had shown, his future achievements were sure to be remarkable. The Xiao family could even rely on Xiao Yan to return to the capital and become a truly powerful clan.

Unfortunately, the three of them were quite far away, so all they could do was offer a reminder.

Did Xiao Yan need a reminder? They were just blinded by concern; with Xiao Yan's soul perception, how could he not know what was happening behind the scenes? Xiao Yan raised his right palm, slowly circulating his internal Dou Qi, channeling it towards the acupoints and meridians of the Cloud-Dispelling Palm. This time, he used only one hand and only a third of his strength, afraid of killing Xiao Ning outright. This wasn't out of kindness, but simply because Xiao Ning's sister had always been good to him. Even when his talent disappeared, she often took care of him, so he held back some of his strength.

"Cloud-Dispelling Palm!" Xiao Yan suddenly turned around and shouted.

With a deafening "boom," the eardrums of those nearby in the audience throbbed with pain. Xiao Ning, struck by the Cloud-Dispelling Palm, was sent flying backward as if he had been hit by a grenade. Blood streamed from his chest, and his clothes were torn to shreds by the powerful force, though they still provided some modesty and prevented any exposure.

A deathly silence fell over the entire venue once again; those present were somewhat numb. The unbelievable scenes kept assaulting their fragile senses.

Xiao Yan's Dou Qi wasn't that powerful; it was already good enough that it could blow Xiao Ning away. It was mainly caused by the force of the Bajiquan.

"I didn't expect the Eight Extremes Collapse to have a clothes-ripping effect. What if I used this on a girl!" A smile appeared on Xiao Yan's face as he unconsciously glanced at Xun'er. Their eyes met, and Xun'er instantly understood what Xiao Yan meant. Her face turned red, and she raised her little fist, glaring fiercely at Xiao Yan, as if to say, "If you dare use this on me, you're dead."

"Yan'er, are you alright?" Xiao Zhan didn't even look at Xiao Ning lying on the ground, and hurriedly asked Xiao Yan if he was injured.

Looking at his father, who was so concerned about him, Xiao Yan smiled and said, "I'm fine! I'm perfectly alright!"

"Luckily you're alright, otherwise..." He glanced coldly at the eldest elder who was examining his grandson and said indifferently.

Seeing Xiao Zhan's somewhat unfriendly gaze, the First Elder gave a wry smile and said, "Xiao Ning actually dared to violate the competition rules and even used a weapon. He will be confined for three months."

Given Xiao Ning's injuries, he would definitely be bedridden for three months. His chest was blasted to pieces, and several of his ribs were broken. Although these were all external injuries, the saying "it takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone" applies everywhere.

Faced with the punishment proposed by the Grand Elder, Xiao Zhan snorted coldly and instead asked Xiao Yan, "Yan'er, what do you think?"

Looking at Xiao Ning lying motionless on the ground, Xiao Yan didn't want to go too far, so he nodded, of course, out of consideration for her sister Xiao Yu.

Seeing Xiao Yan nod, Xiao Zhan loudly addressed the three elders, "Yan'er is kind-hearted and won't hold it against you. But don't think I don't know what you did today. If this happens again... Humph!"

Knowing Xiao Yan possessed such extraordinary cultivation talent, they were too busy currying favor to do such things. As for Xiao Ning, although his injuries were severe, they were all external wounds. The healing medicines in this world were quite good; he only needed two or three months of rest. The Grand Elder quickly took his grandson to treat his injuries, as delaying treatment could lead to long-term complications.

Seeing Xiao Yan's cultivation talent recover and even become more terrifying, some people were happy while others were worried! Xiao Mei, who had been watching the battle from the sidelines, did not look very good; in fact, she looked quite ugly.

Xiao Zhan grabbed Xiao Yan's hand and, ignoring Xiao Yan's objections, headed straight for his study. He wanted to examine Xiao Yan thoroughly and see what was wrong with him.

(End of this chapter)