Night fell.
The moonlight was bright and clear, dotted with countless stars.
In the courtyard… inside a room… the bedroom.
Hun Xiu sat cross-legged on the bed, holding in his hands the Devouring Flame Codex he had received earlier in the day from his "cheap old man," Hun Tiandi.
He directly skipped over the first and second pages. In Hun Xiu's opinion, those pages were just filler—content meant to pad the codex's length.
Who knew what kind of mindset the original author had?
Page one boldly stated: "If you wish to cultivate divine power, you must first castrate yourself."
Was this written to deliberately trap future readers?
Luckily, Hun Xiu hadn't fallen for it… although he had come dangerously close.
Skipping past those pages, Hun Xiu flipped quickly through the rest of the codex, scanning its contents with incredible speed.
And the more he read, the more his eyes burned with passion—because he realized:
This was an unparalleled technique.
It was a cultivation method that surpassed even Heavenly Rank techniques. Although he hadn't seen the Burning Art used by the original story's protagonist, Hun Xiu was confident:
This codex might even be superior.
"Whew…"
Hun Xiu closed the codex, stored it back into his storage ring, and let out a long breath.
Having lived two lifetimes, his soul strength was unusually powerful, and he possessed an eidetic memory. By now, the entire codex was engraved deeply into his mind.
He muttered,
"So the Devouring Flame Codex has three stages."
Flame Devouring Chapter – As the name implies, it allows one to devour flames, including Heavenly Flames (异火), and make them one's own.
Flame Creation Chapter – Allows the user to absorb power from the heavens and earth and convert it into flames. The stronger the cultivator, the stronger the resulting flames. This was somewhat similar to ordinary fire-type cultivation techniques.
Flame Replication Chapter – Replication, as in duplication. Once a sub-flame is obtained, it can be nurtured within the body. Given enough time, it becomes an independent, terrifying flame—completely separate from the original.
"For now, I'll focus on cultivating the Flame Creation Chapter, since it suits me best."
Even though the codex emphasized Devouring flames, followed by Creation, and then Replication, Hun Xiu believed:
"That order doesn't have to be fixed."
"I'll focus on Creation, support it with Replication, and treat Devouring as secondary."
Having made his decision, Hunxiu closed his eyes and began cultivating along the meridian flow of the Flame Creation Chapter.
His breathing became steady. Hand signs changed rapidly.
The powerful energy of heaven and earth began gathering around him.
With every breath in and out, a terrifying aura radiated from his body.
The next day.
"Whew…"
Hun Xiu slowly opened his eyes, stopped the hand seals, and exhaled a long breath.
He was overjoyed to discover that not only had he stabilized his Dou Spirit level, he had actually advanced by another star!
Now, he was a Two-Star Dou Spirit cultivator.
Although this level of power was insignificant among the elite of the Soul Realm, within the younger generation, he was already considered top-tier.
"This Devouring Flame Codex is truly extraordinary," he exclaimed. "In just one day, I've stabilized my cultivation and advanced to Two-Star Dou Spirit!"
Overjoyed, he followed the Flame Creation Chapter's flow to condense a flame in his palm.
The flame was only palm-sized, but Hunxiu could feel that the power it contained was on par with his full strength.
This flame… had the destructive might of a full-force strike from a Two-Star Dou Spirit.
"Such terrifying flames…"
Then he sighed.
"But what a pity—this powerful technique… has a major flaw."
Thinking about the flaw, Hunxiu gave a bitter smile.
The codex required the cultivator to be pure-bodied—in other words, a virgin.
Once the body was "defiled," the consequences were unclear, but likely disastrous.
Still, he thought—
"Try to remain pure as long as possible…"
That said, if one could reach Dou Emperor level, this flaw could be resolved.
If not pure-bodied, the only other way to cultivate the codex was to…castrate oneself.
Otherwise, the user would explode and die.
That's why the first page had those golden words:
"If you wish to cultivate divine power, you must first castrate yourself."
Only later did Hunxiu realize—at the very bottom of that page, in tiny print, it added:
"Those who are not pure-bodied must castrate themselves to cultivate."
"Pure-bodied cultivators, please proceed to the next page."
The text was small and hidden at the bottom—if not examined carefully, it could easily be missed.
Hun Xiu had only discovered this after repeatedly re-reading the codex the night before.
Hun Xiu got up and left his bedroom.
Today was the day to select a Dou Technique.
Those who had awakened their Dou Emperor bloodline were to go to their family elders and receive a suitable cultivation method to stabilize their enhanced bloodline powers.
The next day, they would enter the Dou Technique Pavilion and choose Dou Techniques according to their elemental attributes.
Cultivation methods formed the foundation of a fighter's strength, so they were carefully selected by elders.
As for Dou Techniques, although also important (as they determine the power of one's skills), they were considered slightly less vital than cultivation methods.
Thus, elders rarely interfered in Dou Technique selection, allowing the younger generation freedom of choice.
After all, everyone had the right to choose their own path. The elders weren't so rigid as to force their ideals upon them.
Dou Technique Pavilion.
On the plaza outside, many young people had already gathered, waiting for the doors to open.
Hun Xiu saw the crowd and wisely found a quiet corner to wait.
From a young age, he had been focused solely on cultivation, which made him stand out as odd among his peers. He had no friends in the Soul Clan.
But he was used to being alone.
After all, true strength often comes with solitude.
Usually, Hun Xiu could hide quietly in the corner without anyone noticing.
But after yesterday's bloodline awakening, everything changed.
He had revealed an Eleventh-Grade Bloodline—surpassing even the Divine Grade.
Now, no matter how low-key he tried to be, it was impossible to go unnoticed.
Even standing silently in the corner, many had already noticed him when he entered the plaza.
Among them were Hun Feng, Hun Yu, and others.
Their gazes were hostile, because if it weren't for Hun Xiu's shocking breakthrough yesterday…
They would have been the stars of the younger generation.
But because of Hun Xiu …
They became his stepping stones.