Douluo Continent, Holy Soul Village.
The sky was just beginning to brighten, with a faint fish-belly white rising in the east. On a small hill more than a hundred meters high, just outside Holy Soul Village, a strong and upright figure had already appeared.
This figure was a child, about six or seven years old. His body was exceptionally strong, his black short hair appeared neat, and though his clothes were simple, they were very clean.
For a child his age, climbing this hundred-meter-high hill was no easy task.
But strangely, when he reached the top of the hill, he was neither out of breath nor flushed. He appeared completely at ease.
This child was none other than Xiao Yan, who had transmigrated here.
Sitting cross-legged at the summit, Xiao Yan fixed his gaze on the fish-belly white slowly brightening in the east, inhaling slowly through his nose and exhaling gently through his mouth, forming a perfect cycle of breath, inhaling and exhaling evenly.
At that moment, Xiao Yan's eyes suddenly widened. In the gradually brightening fish-belly white, a faint purple aura appeared in the distance.
If it weren't for his extraordinary eyesight and intense focus, he would not have noticed its existence.
The appearance of the purple aura caused Xiao Yan to concentrate fully, his eyes fixed tightly on that streak of purple.
The purple aura only lasted for a short while—just a few minutes. As the morning sunlight covered the fish-belly white, the purple aura completely vanished.
At this time, Xiao Yan slowly closed his eyes and entered a meditative state.
After a while, Xiao Yan opened his eyes again, and his black pupils had become even deeper.
According to the records of the Purple Extreme Demon Eye, his eyes should have turned purple.
However, knowing that he was deeply entangled in dangerous situations from a young age and understanding the flaws of the Purple Extreme Demon Eye, Xiao Yan did not follow the instructions in the Xuantian Treasure Record to the letter when cultivating.
If it were Tang San, who had transmigrated once before, Xiao Yan was certain he would never have dared to engage in such rebellious actions that went against the ancestors' teachings.
The last memory of Tang San before his death in front of Gui Jianchou was: realizing that survival was hopeless, he chose to hand over the Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus to the elders of the Tang Sect, and then jumped off a cliff to end his life, in exchange for a good reputation.
A thief who stole martial arts from a sect actually wanted a good reputation—Xiao Yan couldn't understand Tang San's contradictory nature.
However, with Xiao Yan's possession of this body, everything else no longer mattered.
With over twenty years of cultivation experience and an entire manual of martial arts to study, the original Xuantian Treasure Record, except for its hidden weapon techniques and lightness skills, had been significantly altered.
After these changes, it no longer resembled the original Xuantian Treasure Record.
For example, the Purple Extreme Demon Eye, which should have manifested purple light when cultivated and used, now no longer emitted any noticeable purple glow.
Not only that, this originally eye-based martial skill, which would hurt others once perfected, had now turned into a martial art to cultivate mental strength.
The absorbed purple aura from the east had all merged into his Marrow Palace, enhancing his spiritual power.
The only downside was that the purple aura could only be absorbed during the early hours of the morning.
Xiao Yan's idea was to change the Purple Extreme Demon Eye into a technique that could be used to cultivate spiritual power at all times.
But with his limited experience, he couldn't yet achieve a fundamental change to a martial art.
However, after years of cultivation, he now had a deeper understanding of the Purple Extreme Demon Eye.
With more time spent cultivating, Xiao Yan believed he could eventually realize his goal.
In addition, the Xuan Jade Hand had also undergone changes.
With the help of the medicinal descriptions in the Xuantian Treasure Record and Tang San's knowledge of herbs, through medicinal baths, the Xuan Jade Hand's effect could now be applied to the whole body, making it more resilient. After activation, the body would no longer show a jade-like hue.
Moreover, because of the medicinal immersion, his body looked more delicate than that of an average wealthy family child.
However, this was only on the surface.
In truth, even if he didn't actively use the Xuan Jade Hand, his body was far sturdier than that of an average child.
For this drastically altered Xuan Jade Hand, which mainly relied on internal energy to strengthen the body, Xiao Yan had given it a new name—Xuantian Body Refining Technique.
As for the technique to capture the crane and subdue the dragon, Xiao Yan didn't learn it in full but only took the essence from it.
Having watched many martial arts television shows, Xiao Yan had many ideas in his mind. Combining these with his martial arts experience, he was able to easily realize a technique from the television shows.
The key to the Crane and Dragon Subduing Technique involved releasing internal energy to grab and control an enemy out of thin air.
Xiao Yan absorbed the key points of this method and began studying the Six Meridian Sword technique from the martial arts world.
The Six Meridian Sword, paired with excellent lightness skills, sharp perception, and experience with hidden weapons, was the most suitable martial art for him—a style of close combat that conflicted with his martial arts experience.
Xiao Yan had opened the Eight Extraordinary Meridians before he was even six months old, making it easy for him to practice the Six Meridian Sword, which required opening the meridians. His cultivation speed was astonishing.
Moreover, having cultivated internal energy from a young age, and with the meridians already open, even though he had only been training for six years, his internal energy was comparable to that of a warrior with over twenty years of hard training. His internal energy was deep enough that even first-rate martial artists might not outmatch him.
This was one of the benefits of opening the Eight Extraordinary Meridians—faster cultivation speed.
Apart from the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, Xiao Yan's natural talent and the mutation of the Xuantian Technique were also significant factors.
However, the Six Meridian Sword required an enormous amount of internal energy, and at its peak, it reached the realm of being able to defeat an opponent without a sword, like Dugu Qiubai, requiring hundreds of years of internal energy to use it flexibly.
Duanyu, who practiced the Six Meridian Sword, had absorbed the internal energy of many experts to easily learn it.
However, Duanyu, who hadn't learned martial arts from a young age, struggled with the sword techniques, which worked intermittently.
In contrast, Xiao Yan's situation was the opposite. His flexibility was excellent, but his internal energy was insufficient.
"Fortunately, I modified the Xuantian Technique, so I can cultivate with every breath, 24 hours a day without interruption. The cultivation speed is even faster than that of geniuses," Xiao Yan smiled, raising his right index finger. His mind connected with his internal energy, and naturally, he performed the Shangyang Sword technique.
A powerful surge of internal energy shot towards a rabbit grazing in the distance.
Thanks to his experience with hidden weapons, Xiao Yan's pale energy shot into the rabbit's small ear canal.
There was a soft pop, and the rabbit's head exploded instantly, killing it on the spot, without damaging its fur.
After killing the rabbit, Xiao Yan raised his left pinky and shot out a Shaoze Sword in the direction of the left. He quickly dispatched another rabbit with precision.
"Looks like I'll have delicious roasted rabbit again," Xiao Yan smiled, getting up to collect the two rabbits and skillfully begin skinning them.
The rabbits weren't originally on the hill. He had traded work with the village elder Old Jack for a few rabbits, which he then released on the hill. A few months later, the rabbits had multiplied.
The rabbit skins could be sold to Old Jack for some money.
Since his rabbit skins were so well-preserved, they fetched a good price each time.
After stringing the rabbits with two branches, Xiao Yan started a fire to roast them.
After learning the language of this world, he understood his current situation.
He was still stuck with that unfortunate name, Tang San.
Moreover, the man who fed him hot porridge as a child was indeed his father.
However, Xiao Yan didn't fully believe what that man, Tang Hao, had said.
Drinking heavily every day and occasionally forgetting to feed him, this was far from what a father should be like.
If it weren't for him roasting rabbits for himself to supplement his nutrition, who knew how weak he would have become.
In his heart, Xiao Yan increasingly believed that Tang Hao was his enemy, someone who had taken him away from his real parents since childhood.
After all, his name was Xiao Yan, from Deep Blue Star, and he had his own parents.
Although his family wasn't rich or noble, they had raised him with great care.
What was Tang Hao even supposed to be?!
However, having suffered once, he didn't show it on the outside.
(End of Chapter)