Under the pitch-black night sky, a crescent moon hung solitarily, casting a faint, cold glow upon the earth. In the midst of a dark, small forest, a gentle bonfire flickered, bringing a touch of warmth to the silent night. Beside the bonfire, a young man leaned against a tree trunk, idly playing with the fire using a stick. It had been five days since Xiao Yan left Wu Tan City. The initial excitement of the journey had faded, and a hint of contemplation slowly crept into his heart. Adding another piece of wood to the fire, making it brighter, Xiao Yan supported his chin with his hand and lazily asked, “Teacher, where exactly are we going?”
“Magic Beast Mountain Range.” An aged voice responded from the ring on his finger.
“Isn’t there a way to enter the Magic Beast Mountain Range near Wu Tan City? Why must we travel so far?”
“This area is in the eastern part of the Magic Beast Mountain Range. If we cross it, we can reach the Tagor Great Desert, which will be our final destination for training,” the old pharmacist explained.
“Cross the Magic Beast Mountain Range?” Xiao Yan smiled wryly, a crack forming at the corner of his mouth. “With my current strength, I can only handle some young, first-tier magical beasts. At most, I can only wander around the outskirts. To cross it, it seems… somewhat impossible, doesn’t it?”
“One’s potential is unleashed in dangerous situations,” the old pharmacist stated calmly. “I plan to have you advance to Dou Shi in the Magic Beast Mountain Range.”
“Does that mean I’ll have to spend this entire period in the Magic Beast Mountain Range?” Xiao Yan’s face turned bitter upon hearing this.
“My estimated timeline is one year. You will need to spend the remaining six months training in the Tagor Great Desert.”
“Tagor Great Desert?” Xiao Yan mumbled a few times and shook his head in resignation. Well, at least the old pharmacist would be by his side to protect him. He wouldn’t let the magical beasts eat him, right?
Rubbing his chin, Xiao Yan licked his lips and said with a smile, “Teacher… what about the Earth Tier Fighting Technique?”
“You little rascal, asking about it several times a day, aren’t you getting tired of it?” The old pharmacist was both amused and annoyed. After shaking his head, he paused and said, “I will teach you the Earth Tier Fighting Technique after we enter the Magic Beast Mountain Range. There are too many people and eyes here; if someone saw, it might lead to unnecessary trouble.”
Hearing that the teaching would be delayed again, Xiao Yan could only nod with a sullen expression.
“Look at you, lacking ambition. You know the saying, ‘Greed overpowers ability.’ Your ‘Suction Palm’ and ‘Blow Fire Palm’ are indeed well-practiced, but your ‘Eight Extremes Collapse’ is just scratching the surface.”
“How can that be? Last time, when I used the ‘Eight Extremes Collapse’ against Galley Bi, I broke his arm,” Xiao Yan argued indignantly.
“Hehe, yes, you did break his arm, but weren’t your legs completely numb at the time? If he hadn’t been unprepared, both of you would have ended up in a stalemate,” the old pharmacist snorted. “The power of the ‘Eight Extremes Collapse’ can match that of an Earth Tier Fighting Technique. If properly mastered, defeating an opponent two or three levels higher than you isn’t difficult. But in your hands, even fighting an opponent of the same level nearly results in a stalemate.”
Xiao Yan was speechless. His brows furrowed as he thought deeply. Suddenly, he remembered the old pharmacist’s explanation of the ‘Eight Extremes Collapse’ when he first taught it to him.
“Eight Extremes Collapse: A high-level Mystic Tier Fighting Technique, a close-range attack technique renowned for its powerful offensive capabilities. When fully mastered, it unleashes eight layers of force, the combined effect of which rivals that of a low-level Earth Tier Fighting Technique!”
“The eight layers of force accumulate gradually during practice. How many layers do you think you have mastered? Hehe, it seems you only have the surface force, without any hidden force, right?” the old pharmacist continued. “If you could hide a bit of hidden force beneath the surface force, your battle against Galley Bi would have caught him off guard, and it wouldn’t have been so hard.”
“How can I cultivate the hidden force?” Xiao Yan’s face grew serious as he finally began to take this previously ignored issue seriously.
“Your use of the ‘Eight Extremes Collapse’ has always been a straightforward, all-out attack, lacking any technique. I didn’t mention it before because your strength was too weak, and you never discovered it on your own,” the old pharmacist replied calmly.
Xiao Yan awkwardly scratched his head. He had never thought about the hidden force, as the sheer power of the ‘Eight Extremes Collapse’ had satisfied him enough.
“Close your eyes, focus your mind!” The old pharmacist’s words made Xiao Yan quickly assume a meditative posture. Beside the bonfire, the young man closed his eyes, and the surroundings became quiet once more, with only the soft crackling of the firewood and the low chirping of insects.
After a long silence, Xiao Yan’s eyes suddenly opened, and he frowned, pondering the old pharmacist’s words. After a moment, his frown slowly relaxed, and he nodded slightly, clenching his fists. A faint yellow fighting aura enveloped them. After a brief pause, he struck a large tree trunk nearby with a fierce punch.
“Eight Extremes Collapse!”
*Boom!*
A dull sound echoed, and the spot where Xiao Yan’s fist hit turned scorched yellow, with cracks spreading from the small crater created by the punch.
*Boom!*
Soon after the first dull sound, a deeper, more resonant sound erupted from the tree trunk.
*Creak…*
The force of the second sound was pushed deep into the tree, and in an instant, it exploded from within, causing the massive trunk to shake dangerously.
“Such a strong hidden force!” Xiao Yan was stunned by the magnified destructive power, even though this hidden force had consumed a third of his fighting aura. The effect was clearly proportional to the energy spent.
“Only with the hidden force does the ‘Eight Extremes Collapse’ live up to its reputation of rivaling Earth Tier Fighting Techniques,” Xiao Yan exclaimed, slowly retracting his fist.
“Not bad, being able to use a bit of hidden force on your first try. However, it was quite rough. The timing of the hidden force’s release was too delayed. If your opponent were perceptive, they could neutralize your hidden force before it could fully unleash,” the old pharmacist praised, then added, somewhat unsatisfied.
Hehe, it’s alright, it’s just the first time. With more practice, I’m sure I can control the timing of the hidden force better,” Xiao Yan said confidently, delivering a few swift punches.
The breakthrough with the hidden force tonight significantly boosted Xiao Yan’s combat power, filling him with confidence and joy. The old pharmacist nodded, hesitated for a moment, and said, “Although the ‘Flame Decree’ has the unique ability to evolve, its initial rank is too low. The fighting aura stored in your qi vortex can only support a few uses of the hidden force. So, when battling, you must always aim for a decisive strike. The ‘Eight Extremes Collapse’ is, after all, a fighting technique that moves like thunder, meant for killing.”
Xiao Yan nodded solemnly, fully aware of his weakness. He couldn’t sustain prolonged battles, and if he couldn’t defeat his opponent before his fighting aura ran out, he would be the one defeated.
“It seems we need to find a way to speed up your cultivation of fighting aura. Once we enter the Magic Beast Mountain Range, I will guide you to find some rare medicinal herbs for alchemy. Besides relying on your innate talent, you also need the help of elixirs,” the old pharmacist mused.
Xiao Yan smiled and raised an eyebrow, saying, “Nalan Yanran probably plans to do the same, doesn’t she?”
“Heh, so what? Gu He is the best alchemist in the Jia Ma Empire, but to me, he’s nothing. Compared to my alchemy, there are hardly five people in this continent who can match me!” the old pharmacist said, his tone brimming with pride and disdain.
Xiao Yan rubbed his nose, becoming increasingly curious about the old pharmacist’s identity.
“Oh, by the way, wear this thing. Even when you sleep, you’re not allowed to take it off,” the old pharmacist said, pondering for a moment. A large, black object suddenly flew out from the ancient ring, crashing to the ground and stirring up a cloud of dust.
“Uh…” Xiao Yan stared at the black object, which was as tall as he was, beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead. “What… what’s this for?”
“This is forged from Flame Meteoric Black Iron. There’s probably only one in the entire continent. It’s extremely hard and incredibly heavy. Most importantly, it has the miraculous effect of suppressing fighting aura. If you can adapt to it, when you remove it during a battle, your strength will shock everyone,” the old pharmacist explained, adding with a smile, “Moreover, the Earth Tier Fighting Technique I will teach you later is related to this object.”
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