After hearing Yan's account, both Xie Yue and Hu Liena showed expressions of disbelief especially Hu Liena.
Her once confident eyes now held a trace of unwillingness.
The three of them had grown up together. Whether in the training grounds of the Spirit Hall or in the vast Death Canyon, they had fought side by side and grown together.
But at this moment, Hu Liena realized that the gap between her and Yan seemed to have widened overnight.
The last time they parted, she had been full of confidence, believing she would obtain her fourth spirit ring before Yan.
But now, seeing that Yan had already reached Rank 42 while she was still struggling below Rank 40, she couldn't help but feel disappointed.
Xie Yue, on the other hand, had a gleam of excitement in his eyes.
He regarded Yan as his best friend, but also as his greatest rival. Even though he was recognized as the leader of the Golden Generation of Spirit Hall, he had never let down his guard against Yan.
Among the young spirit masters in Spirit Hall, Yan was the one most likely to catch up to him or even surpass him.
Now that they had both obtained their fourth spirit ring, Yan's spirit power had surpassed his. This was the first time since they had met that Yan had overtaken him.
This made Xie Yue feel exhilarated. He loved competition and the thrill of a challenge.
Xie Yue smiled and said, "I thought absorbing that five-thousand-year-old spirit ring was already pushing the limit. I never expected you to challenge a six-thousand-year-old spirit ring and succeed. Now, your spirit power has surpassed mine by half a rank. I will definitely work hard to catch up and surpass you."
Yan humbly shook his head.
"Like I said, it was just luck."
He then recounted in detail how he had encountered the Skyfire Fox, its battle with the Two-Headed Demon Serpent, and how he ultimately hunted down the Skyfire Fox.
When Yan finished, the sibling duo fell into a brief silence.
Although Hu Liena was unwilling to accept it, she had to admit that Yan's strength and luck were both exceptional.
"You really were lucky," Hu Liena pouted, pretending to be upset.
"If that Skyfire Fox hadn't already been injured, there's no way you could have successfully hunted it."
Xie Yue glanced at his sister, understanding that she found it hard to accept being surpassed by Yan.
He gently patted Hu Liena's shoulder and comforted her.
"Nana, luck is also a part of strength. We should have faith in Yan. Even without that stroke of luck, he still had the ability to take down the Skyfire Fox."
Xie Yue knew his sister's personality well—she had always looked down on Yan.
In the past, Yan never seemed to mind.
However, Xie Yue could sense that Yan had changed. His attitude toward things had become more serious than before.
Yan didn't respond to Hu Liena's dismissal, merely smiling faintly.
Suddenly, Hu Liena recalled something and curiously asked, "What was that Rain of Sparks? Was it your fourth spirit skill?"
Yan shook his head and said casually, "That was just a new attack method. My fourth spirit skill is called Blazing Wild Slash a single-target attack."
He planned to wait a bit before revealing the existence of his External Spirit Bone to the siblings.
External Spirit Bones were extremely rare and highly coveted treasures among spirit masters. Unlike regular spirit bones, they could evolve alongside their owner's spirit power, making them a dream acquisition for countless spirit masters.
Yan was well aware that once such a rare treasure was exposed, it could bring unnecessary trouble. Until his strength was formidable enough, he needed to keep a low profile.
Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, he would not easily reveal his Blazing Wings in front of others.
Xie Yue joked, "Yan, when you get serious, you're actually pretty amazing. Looks like I'll have to work even harder to surpass you again."
After speaking, he turned to look at Hu Liena.
"Nana, Yan is already this strong. You need to catch up."
Hu Liena's fighting spirit reignited at these words.
"Don't underestimate me. I'm about to break through Rank 40. Once I obtain my fourth spirit ring, we'll have a proper match."
With that, she turned and left.
Mere cultivation was not enough she needed to hunt fierce beasts and push herself to the limit in dangerous situations to break through to Rank 40 as soon as possible.
Xie Yue watched his sister's departing figure, feeling both concerned and pleased.
He turned to Yan and said, "Nana is like this sometimes too stubborn. I hope you won't take it to heart."
"It's fine. We grew up together. I'm used to it."
The two exchanged a smile. Yan wouldn't let Hu Liena's attitude affect him.
Xie Yue then asked, "Are you going to travel with us?"
"No. Let her face the challenge on her own."
Xie Yue nodded.
"Then we'll part ways for now. Once Nana reaches Rank 40, we'll meet up again."
"Alright."
After that, the two went their separate ways.
Once alone, Yan found a secluded spot in the vast canyon and began cultivating.
He knew that if he wanted to become a true powerhouse, he had to keep pushing his limits and exploring new possibilities.
As a fire-attribute spirit master who also possessed earth as a secondary attribute, his talent was unique.
In the world of Douluo, spirit masters could not only acquire skills from spirit rings but also create their own techniques.
Of course, creating a self-made spirit skill was no easy task it was not something that could be accomplished overnight.
Yan considered the potential of his dual fire-earth attributes and saw new possibilities to explore.
Though he couldn't create a full-fledged technique immediately, he could experiment and refine new offensive methods instead of relying solely on spirit ring abilities.
Over the next few days, Yan fully immersed himself in developing a new technique.
He experimented with ways to perfectly merge fire and earth, striving to unleash greater power.
After continuous trials and refinement, he finally made a breakthrough.
On this particular day, he once again focused his spiritual power and attempted to simultaneously mobilize fire and earth elements.
As his spirit power flowed within him, the surrounding air grew scorching hot, and the ground beneath him began to tremble faintly.
Then, flames erupted from his palm.
At the same time, loose sand and stones on the ground were drawn toward the fire, merging into it.
In the blink of an eye, a swirling vortex of blazing fire and sand formed, enveloping the entire area around Yan.
This was his newly developed killing move Blazing Sand Cage!
If it were just flames, it wouldn't be enough to trap an opponent, but by fusing earth into the mix, the cage now had defensive properties as well, making it both offensive and defensive.
This technique not only restrained enemies but also inflicted continuous burning damage.
What made it even more formidable was that with Yan's intent and spirit power control, the Blazing Sand Cage could expand or contract at will.
When compressed, the oxygen inside would be rapidly consumed by the searing flames. If the trapped target couldn't break free in time, they would suffocate and perish.