Chapter 260: Heterogeneous Flame Dou Technique

The Heterogeneous Flame Dou Technique, as the name suggests, is a Dou Technique exclusive to Heterogeneous Flames, created by Xiao Yan and forming a series.

After creating Buddha Fury Lotus, Xiao Yan continuously refined and perfected it, making this Dou Technique increasingly flawless.

At that time, Xiao Yan realized a problem: for himself, Buddha Fury Lotus had no distinctions of beginner, minor mastery, great mastery, or perfection—he was its creator, and to him, Buddha Fury Lotus was inherently perfect.

For Xiao Yan, there was no concept of proficiency; only continuous improvement of the technique, not cultivation.

This is the advantage of creating a Dou Technique: for the creator, the technique he invented is naturally the most suited to him, and requires little cultivation.

Who could understand or be more proficient in a Dou Technique than its Founder?

Moreover, cultivating Dou Techniques is incredibly difficult; Xiao Yan and Zi Yan sparred for half a year, yet Ancient Dragon Roar and Three Thousand Thunderbolts remained only at the beginner level, still far from minor mastery.

After all, without a master to guide him, even with Xiao Yan's extraordinary talent, he inevitably took some wrong paths.

That was why Xiao Yan conceived the idea of creating his own Dou Technique.

But creating a Dou Technique from nothing is immensely difficult—otherwise everyone would create them—so Xiao Yan chose a shortcut.

He designed a Dou Technique centered on Heterogeneous Flames, one that relies on their use.

Each Heterogeneous Flame possesses Shen Mi Zhi Yi abilities; if these abilities could be transformed into a Dou Technique, wouldn't that be an entirely new kind of Dou Technique?

Xiao Yan cupped the Origin Flame Seed of Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Flame—this was the most frequently used complete Heterogeneous Flame he employed, aside from his Void Devouring Flame's offspring.

Most importantly, Xiao Yan had once harnessed the residual Soul Power of the Eight-Winged Flame Demon Tiger to unleash an immensely powerful Beast Technique, nearly annihilating YaoAo's Seven-Grade Peak Soul Body.

This gave Xiao Yan a spark of Spiritual Perception.

"Heterogeneous Flame Dou Technique—Beast Soul Descent."

When Xiao Yan cupped the Origin Flame Seed of Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Flame, a whooshing sound erupted as a torrent of Soul Force burst from his body.

Unexpectedly, now that his Qi was nearly depleted and his Dou Qi exhausted, his ultimate technique resembled a Soul Technique!

Instantly, a torrent of Soul Force poured forth; though it did not suppress anyone, Xiao Yan's Soul Force was overwhelmingly powerful.

Even Elder Su Qian and Vice Dean Hu Qian trembled.

All other students felt profound reverence from the deepest depths of their Souls.

Six-Grade Peak Soul Force! Even Elder Su Qian, who had reached Dou Zong, was inferior to Xiao Yan in Soul Force.

"Such immense Soul Power!"

"Damn! I forgot this guy is a Six-Rank Alchemist!"

Among the Alchemy Department elders in the Inner Court who knew Xiao Yan could refine Six Rank Pills, everyone slammed their foreheads—they had all forgotten that this freak wasn't just powerful, his Pill Alchemy was even more monstrous; at twenty-one, he was already a Sixth-Rank Alchemist!

Even Xun Er's expression turned grave; as the daughter of the Gu Clan, its most core member, she knew better than anyone present how terrifying Six-Grade Soul Force was—it was harder to cultivate than Dou Huang.

"Is Brother Xiao Yan's technique a Soul Technique?!" Xun Er furrowed her delicate brows; she knew that on the Dou Qi Continent, no Soul Technique lineage existed—only Dan Tower retained a tiny number of Soul Techniques acquired from battles with the Soul Hall.

All other factions possessing Soul Techniques had been purged by the Soul Hall.

"No, this isn't a Soul Technique! What kind of Dou Technique is this?" Xun Er's eyes darkened with gravity; she sensed that Xiao Yan's technique was extraordinarily peculiar.

It consumed Dou Qi, required immense Soul Force, and more terrifyingly, all this power was fused into the Heterogeneous Flame—completely unlike traditional Dou Techniques!

Whoosh! The Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Flame Seed in Xiao Yan's hands seemed to have been fully fed, swelling violently until it transformed into a demon tiger with eight fiery wings.

And this was no illusion—it was a true, tangible entity!

"Is that the Soul Body of the former Mo Shou Shan Mai overlord, the Eight-Winged Flame Demon Tiger?!"

"But it doesn't resemble a Soul Body—even though the flames contain immense Soul Force, it's fundamentally different from a Soul Body!"

Zi Yan was stunned—Xiao Yan had summoned an immensely powerful Beast?!!

"This is not the true Eight-Winged Flame Demon Tiger; it is dead, its Soul long extinguished. I merely used my memories and traced the remnants it left within Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Flame to bring it back."

Xiao Yan still remembered when he fought YaoAo—the Eight-Winged Flame Demon Tiger exhausted all its Soul Power to unleash its final Beast Technique.

Now the Eight-Winged Flame Demon Tiger was dead, but Xiao Yan retained its memories; with his own immense Soul Force, he rediscovered the traces preserved within Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Flame!

"Come, Zi Yan—the Eight-Winged Flame Demon Tiger was a Seventh-Stage Beast. With my power, I can only recreate its strongest strike: Fierce Demon Flame!"

Xiao Yan roared, waved his hand, and the Eight-Winged Flame Demon Tiger opened its mouth, unleashing a searing flame—just as the original Eight-Winged Flame Demon Tiger had once unleashed its Beast Technique, releasing demonic flame.

This was the strike of a Seventh-Stage Beast—even a replica, it was terrifyingly powerful.

Facing this torrent of flame, Zi Yan gritted her teeth; purple light blazed brilliantly from her body, her beast blood boiling!

At that moment, a voice echoed in Zi Yan's heart: she was the King of Beasts; no beast could challenge her supreme authority!

Suddenly, a faint but potent Dragon Might surged from Zi Yan's body—only Xiao Yan, facing her directly, could feel it: a Dragon Might that made his heart tremble.

"Could Zi Yan's true form truly belong to that race?!"

"Ha!!" In that instant, Zi Yan struck—a single punch, no variation, no technique!

With that punch, Zi Yan's boundless Bloodline Power condensed into one force, as if all of Space itself served her.

Dragon versus Tiger!

Firelight clashed with purple light; an astonishing energy exploded from the center, unleashing a thunderous roar that swept outward as a terrifying storm—where the storm passed, Space trembled!

Elder Su Qian's eyes narrowed; instantly, he activated a defensive Barrier to protect the spectators.

Long after the storm subsided, Elder Su Qian's eyelids twitched—not only was the Arena Stage gone, but the entire Guang Chang had vanished, leaving only a vast black pit.

Xiao Yan and Zi Yan were both blasted backward, crashing into the walls on either side.

Undoubtedly, both had stepped out of bounds simultaneously.

Elder Su Qian sighed helplessly, using faint Spatial Power to pry them from the walls and bring them to the judging platform.

"Take them to the infirmary to rest—they're not seriously injured, just unconscious from excessive depletion of Dou Qi and Bloodline Power."

Elder Su Qian gazed at the unconscious Xiao Yan, his eyes narrowing slightly: "This kid's strength is truly unfathomable—their power must have reached Doubao Peak."

Elder Su Qian smiled with satisfaction; the stronger Xiao Yan became, the greater the chance of successfully seizing the Falling Heart Flame.

Ultimately, the results of the Strong List Conference needed no announcement: Xiao Yan and Zi Yan tied for first place, Xun Er in third.

Two New Students who entered the Inner Court this year—one tied with the demon Zi Yan for first, the other easily defeating Lin Xiuya for third—this alone was enough to be etched into Jia Nan Academy's history.

After the Strong List Conference ended, the entire Inner Court remained immersed in the shock of that earth-shattering battle; everywhere, students discussed the fights of the Strong List—especially the two battles between Xiao Yan and Zi Yan, and between Xun Er and Lin Xiuya, which were the most talked-about.

Especially the former—every time people spoke of the matter, their faces still carried a look of shock.

That night, after his injuries had healed, Xiao Yan returned to his room, sat cross-legged, and carefully reflected on today's battle with Zi Yan. Wisps of energy seeped out from the surrounding world, finally streaming ceaselessly into his body.

"Brother Xiao Yan, are you asleep?" Suddenly there came a gentle knock at the door, and then Xun'er's soft voice drifted into the room.

Hearing Xun'er's voice, a smile unconsciously rose at the corner of Xiao Yan's mouth. He flipped out of bed, and with a creak, opened the door.

"What's the matter, Xun'er? Can't fall asleep?" Reflected in the faint moonlight by the window, Xiao Yan gazed at that elegant, breathtakingly beautiful face, and the faint fragrance drifting toward him made his heart stir faintly.

Hearing Xiao Yan's teasing, Xun'er pouted slightly and gave him a coquettish, soul-stirring glare. This little-woman look was utterly different from her usual composed manner.

"Brother Xiao Yan still treats me like the little girl from before."

After sizing Xun'er up and down, Xiao Yan nodded and said, "Indeed, you've grown up."

A faint blush rose on Xun'er's fair, delicate cheeks; she could feel a trace of heat in Xiao Yan's gaze.

As Xiao Yan's gaze grew hotter, the blush on Xun'er's cheeks deepened considerably. A moment later, Xun'er took out a black Scroll from her storage ring, stuffed it into Xiao Yan's hand, and turned to flee.

But Xiao Yan was quick-eyed and fast-handed—he grabbed her jade-white wrist in one grasp, gave a slight tug, and amid the girl's soft cry of surprise, pulled her into his embrace.

Her delicate body crashed into Xiao Yan's arms. Feeling the warmth of his body seeping through his clothes, the blush on Xun'er's cheeks seemed almost ready to spill over like water. After a slight struggle, she could only abandon the futile resistance and said in a mosquito-thin voice, "Brother Xiao Yan, you can't."

Looking at the bashful Xun'er before him, whose breath was fragrant as orchids, Xiao Yan wrapped his left arm around her slender waist and said softly, "Can't."

Seeing Xiao Yan slowly drawing closer, Xun'er closed her eyes, her eyelashes trembling with nervousness.

Under the moonlight's glow, the two embraced and kissed.

Outside the room, Ling Ying shook his head and sighed, able only to pretend he hadn't seen. If this got back to the clan, the trouble it would cause would be incalculable.

(End of this chapter)