Battle Through the Heavens: Emperor's Son Xiao Yan

Chapter 20 Cultivating the Burning Technique

Recently, several influential figures in the Starfall Pavilion have fallen into a strange state.

Pavilion Master Yao Chen recently took on a new disciple, who is said to be the young master of a powerful family. He seems to be very capable, but after taking on this disciple, the Pavilion Master went into seclusion.

It is said that some people have occasionally encountered the Pavilion Master in some secluded mountain forests.

Rumor has it that he now has disheveled hair and often mutters phrases like "Battle Saint" and "Ninth Rank".

Some say the Pavilion Master is about to break through, while others say he probably went mad after something went wrong while refining the medicine.

Besides the Pavilion Master, Senior Brother Han Feng's mental state has also been poor lately. He sometimes appears with a bruised and swollen face, and his speech seems to be filled with anxiety.

The only one in relatively good condition is the Vice Pavilion Master, Feng Xian. He has been leisurely traveling around every day, drinking tea, walking his birds, and playing with crickets. When he encounters a disciple he likes, he laughs and gives him some pointers.

As a gift for becoming his disciple and as payment for obtaining the Burning Flame Technique, Xiao Yan gifted Yao Chen and Feng Xian a low-level Heaven-rank fire-attribute cultivation technique and a high-level Earth-rank wind-attribute fighting skill, respectively.

Yao Chen, who had obtained the fire-attribute cultivation technique, chose to go into seclusion under the provocation of Xiao Yan's words, vowing not to leave the Starfall Pavilion until he reached the Dou Sheng level. Feng Xian, on the other hand, only gained happiness.

Even for a Dou Zun, a high-level Earth-rank Dou Technique is quite valuable.

Although he possessed them, he only had one or two sets. How could he not be overjoyed to suddenly acquire a high-level Earth-rank combat skill?

After all, getting something for free is the source of human happiness.

As for Han Feng, his mental state collapsed at one point. When he saw that Yao Chen and Feng Xian had gifts, Han Feng secretly went to Xiao Yan that night to ask if he had a gift for himself.

However, what he got in return was a severe beating from Xiao Yan.

Although Xiao Yan was only a nine-star Dou Huang, his cultivation techniques and fighting skills far surpassed Han Feng's. Even his physical body possessed combat power comparable to a Dou Zong. With the two sages of literature and martial arts watching him intently from the side, it was no surprise that Han Feng was beaten black and blue.

"Senior brother, when you die, can you leave your Sea Heart Flame to me?" Han Feng felt a chill run down his spine as he watched Xiao Yan say these words with such an innocent expression.

Especially the grumpy old man behind him, who seemed to be sharpening his knife, ready to kill him.

Being targeted by a demigod, Han Feng was in a state of constant fear and anxiety, and his spirits were becoming increasingly worn out.

On a mountain peak of the Starfall Pavilion, Xiao Yan sat cross-legged. The surrounding space had been sealed off by the spatial power of the two sages, Wenwu and Yisheng, making it difficult even for a Dou Zun expert to break in.

If he were to break in, he would be met with the fist of a semi-saint.

"Hoo." Xiao Yan took a deep breath to calm himself down, then took out a black scroll. This was the "Burning Technique" that Han Feng had been dreaming of!

"Young Master, are you really going to give up a high-level Earth-rank cultivation technique to cultivate this mere low-level Yellow-rank technique?" Xiao Wen couldn't help but ask from the side.

As we all know, when you switch from a low-level cultivation technique to a high-level one, the quality of your battle qi will improve. Although there will be a brief period of weakness, you will usually recover in a few days.

However, switching from a high-level technique to a low-level technique will not only reduce the quality of your battle qi, but may even cause you to lose stars, a condition commonly known as "dissipating your power".

"Not bad!" Xiao Yan nodded.

When he switches from a high-level Earth Rank cultivation technique to a low-level Yellow Rank technique, the quality of his battle qi will plummet, and his cultivation level will also drop significantly.

However, compared to the bizarre ability to devour different flames to enhance strength and the inheritance of the Dou Di, what is this temporary weakness?

With the protection of the two sages of literature and martial arts, perhaps the difference between being a Dou Wang or a Dou Huang in strength is not that significant.

Seeing Xiao Yan's firm choice, the two sages of literature and martial arts stopped trying to dissuade him. After spending some time together, they naturally realized that this imperial prince was not only not stupid, but also quite intelligent.

Since he is willing to cultivate this low-level Yellow Rank technique, he must have his own reasons. If we were to delve into the details, it would be a dereliction of duty on the part of the two protectors.

After adjusting his mindset, Xiao Yan opened the scroll and gently touched the text on it with his finger. The next moment, a stream of information flowed into his mind along with his soul power.

After carefully memorizing the mantras, mental techniques, and meridian pathways, Xiao Yan closed his eyes.

The next moment, his body surface lit up with a deep red light.

These are the battle qi emanating from his body, the battle qi cultivated from the high-level Earth-rank technique "Blazing Eight Desolations Technique," which is extremely strong and yang, and incomparably powerful.

However, the next moment, guided by Xiao Yan's soul, these fighting energies moved in another direction.

This was a completely new meridian route. As soon as he entered, Xiao Yan's original Dou Qi began to protest.

Fortunately, these fighting spirits were all painstakingly cultivated by Xiao Yan. Although they struggled a bit, they still obediently followed Xiao Yan's will.

The powerful fighting spirit was quickly guided by his strong will into a completely new, unexplored path. Even so, Xiao Yan felt a slight pain in his meridians.

However, his body had been immersed in rare and precious materials since childhood, and he had also cultivated the Crimson Flame Demon Body, making him extremely resilient and unafraid of these things.

Soon, the deep red fighting spirit traveled through Xiao Yan's body again according to the meridian diagram of the Burning Technique. When the route was completely completed, Xiao Yan's forehead was already slightly sweaty.

When all the fighting energy had circulated and returned to the vortex, Xiao Yan clearly felt that the fighting energy had weakened and even its color had dimmed slightly.

"Continue!" Xiao Yan calmed himself down slightly, and then guided his fighting spirit to continue following the path of the Burning Technique. Each time he ran it, a lot of fighting spirit would be wasted, and Xiao Yan's aura would weaken a little.

After nine repetitions, the deep red Dou Qi had turned dark red. Xiao Yan's aura paused, then rapidly declined, suddenly dropping to the level of an eight-star Dou Huang.

A sense of weakness emanated from his body, as if he had just survived a major battle.

"Continue!" Xiao Yan gritted his teeth.

After nine more repetitions, the dark red battle qi turned crimson, and Xiao Yan's aura weakened again, dropping another star.

Every nine cycles, the color will fade by one level, and Xiao Yan's aura will decrease by one star accordingly.

When the process reached the 81st transformation, Xiao Yan's aura had dropped to the first star of Dou Huang, and the Dou Qi in his body had turned into an extremely weak pale yellow.

At the summit, Xiao Yan lay pale-faced on a large rock. His face was pale, his eyes were sunken, and his figure had become thinner.

Beads of cold sweat trickled down his forehead.

"I feel so weak, like my body has been completely drained."

Xiao Yan's left hand trembled as he continuously took out pills from his storage ring to replenish his fighting spirit and physical strength, and put them into his mouth.

"Liuwei Dihuangwan"

"Golden Cabinet Qi-Boosting Pill"

After consuming four or five pills, a trace of color returned to his face.

"Did he drop to a one-star Dou Huang?" Xiao Yan frowned slightly. Losing a star wouldn't be a big deal, but when the Dou Qi in his body also became low-level Yellow Rank Dou Qi, the feeling was completely different.

That feeling is like a vigorous, energetic man being brutally drained, suddenly going from young and strong to weak and exhausted. The sense of loss in strength is the most unbearable.

If we remove fighting skills and physical strength, and only rely on pure fighting spirit, I estimate that I might not even be able to defeat a peak Dou Wang.

With a helpless sigh, a green flame rose in Xiao Yan's hand.

"Although my Azure Lion Demon Flame is not a strange fire, it can still be considered a top-tier beast fire. After absorbing it, my cultivation technique should be able to evolve to the advanced Yellow Rank without any problem."

"Phew, I can't go on, I need to rest for a bit, I'm sweating from walking." Xiao Yan wiped the sweat from his brow.

(End of this chapter)