The Life-Devouring Pill, a miraculous pill that shocked the entire continent many years ago, should be considered a peak seventh-grade elixir. Its creator was a renowned alchemist.
Once used, this miraculous pill could elevate the user from a Great Dou Shi to a Dou Wang, but at the cost of only three years of lifespan.
For Lin Yuan, after obtaining the Life-Devouring Pill by chance, he immediately revised his plans, using it as the core of a new strategy.
Lin Yuan's past life's blessings—the information he possessed about the future of the Dou Qi Continent—were undoubtedly of immense value. However, lacking a powerful background and possessing limited strength, he found it difficult to effectively utilize this information to maximize his own interests. In this Dou Qi Continent, where strength reigns supreme, the weak have no voice.
In this world, the strong need little justification to seize the wealth and even lives of the weak. Lin Yuan's own wariness of people and the world prevented him from revealing his greatest secret.
Through intelligence gathered from Hu Jia, Xiao Yu, and the Canaan Academy's enrollment plans, he established a relatively precise timeline, deducing that he and Xiao Yan were close in age.
He considered intercepting Xiao Yan's various opportunities in Wutan City, but dismissed the possibility. Yao Lao was Xiao Yan's greatest opportunity, not only providing him with the foundation for becoming an Emperor, the "Burning Technique," but also providing all the elements for Xiao Yan's growth through his teachings, and serving as his protector in the early and middle stages of his cultivation.
Yao Lao's existence allowed Xiao Yan to participate in the top-level competition within the Jia Ma Empire during his Dou Zhe and Dou Shi stages. He and Yao Lao were essentially competing with the Jia Ma Empire's top combat power. Even the Monster Forest, a place capable of killing Dou Ling, was like a playground for Xiao Yan, forming the basis for his numerous opportunities in the early stages.
The fact that he was close in age to Xiao Yan, the presence of Xiao Xun'er, and the uncertainty of Yao Lao's awakening time eliminated the possibility of Lin Yuan seizing Yao Lao as his greatest opportunity.
Lin Yuan's original plan was to cultivate a relationship with Xiao Yan at the opportune moment, gathering suitable intelligence and following a similar path to investment guru Hai Bodong to ride on Xiao Yan's coattails.
However, during his training with the enforcement team, he nearly found himself in a deadly predicament and realized the naivety of his thinking. Besides the major events recorded in the books, countless other events and coincidences on the Dou Qi Continent could be fatal. The aftershocks of battles between the strong were often devastating for the weak.
No matter how powerful others were, they were still just others. What he should do was to strengthen himself as much as possible and face all challenges with his own strength, rather than relying on others.
Therefore, when Lin Yuan obtained the Life-Devouring Pill, he decided he would definitely use it. This Life-Devouring Pill was his reliance for seizing opportunities in the current situation. With it, Lin Yuan would have a way to transform the information in his mind into resources for his own growth.
The time has come. With just over a year until Canaan Academy's enrollment, and Xiao Yan's departure from his family for training, Lin Yuan needs to strengthen his empire's strategic layout beforehand.
After checking that the Life-Devouring Pill was intact, Lin Yuan placed it back in his storage ring, sat on his usual meditation cushion, and began to switch his cultivation technique. His hands formed hand seals, preparing to transform his cultivation method into the *Spirit Flame Technique*.
Three days later, in Lin Yuan's courtyard.
A powerful burst of battle qi erupted from Lin Yuan's closed eyes, then quickly receded. With the receding battle qi, Lin Yuan's aura grew even stronger. A moment later, accompanied by a faint, shattering sound, Lin Yuan's aura completely stabilized.
A short while later, Lin Yuan opened his eyes, a look of satisfaction in them.
"The Spirit Flame Technique truly lives up to its reputation as a top-tier technique even among advanced Xuan-rank cultivation methods. My current battle qi, in both quality and quantity, far surpasses that of a mid-level Xuan-rank technique. Moreover, switching from a low-level to an advanced technique definitely has many benefits; this switch actually increased my strength by one star, making me a two-star Great Dou Master."
Lin Yuan raised his right hand, circulating his battle qi. A blue flame materialized in his hand, splitting into four, transforming into four small, agile fire beasts: a tiger, a leopard, a dragon, and a phoenix. The four fire beasts moved and leaped as if alive. Then, Lin Yuan used his powerful soul force and spiraling energy to control the four fire beasts, converging them into a high-speed spinning fire cone.
"The Dan Fire Technique—Flying Star." After addressing a few questions about cultivation and alchemy, he bowed and turned to leave.
After Lin Yuan left, Elder Huo glanced at Lu Mu, whose expression had returned to its usual languid state, and was immediately filled with anger. He scolded, "Lu Mu, you brat! Lin Yuan is younger than you and has accomplished so much, yet you're still so lazy and unambitious! You're driving me crazy! If you don't learn the Dan Huo technique within a month, I'll skin you alive!"
Watching Lu Mu's languid expression turn into a bitter look, Elder Huo finally smiled, opened his notebook, summoned a ball of crimson flame, and began experimenting.
(End of Chapter)