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This was a fundamental transformation—newly developed elemental affinity would naturally be repelled by the original element.
Therefore, it was necessary to adapt to that repulsion in advance.
Through continual adaptation, he had to find a state in which both elements could coexist within his body.
Only then could the process of cycling between life and death be carried out more effectively to achieve its intended result.
Otherwise, if he directly underwent the life-and-death cycle, it wasn't just a matter of whether he could endure the sudden pain caused by the fire element forcefully transforming his body. There was also the risk that his body might collapse during the process. Such a collapse would stem from a fundamental conflict with his wind-elemental body, resulting in the complete breakdown of his physical structure.
And at that point, things would become truly troublesome.
Even though Su Yu possessed the ability to control life and death, he would still be unable to restore the foundational structure of Xiao Huo's broken body. Merely keeping him alive in a half-dead state would likely be the absolute limit.
Moreover, this Su Yu was only a wisp of spiritual energy, sustained solely by the spiritual nature of the Ling rune, which could naturally gather and absorb the energy of heaven and earth to nourish this portion of his spiritual power, allowing it to recover after being depleted.
However, the amount of spiritual energy within this wisp was inherently limited.
So the extent of what could be done with it was also very limited.
Xiao Huo, however, had his own ambitions.
"My ambition is even greater than what Senior spoke of!" he thought to himself.
He dreamed of becoming the strongest being on the entire Yangguang Continent—perhaps even one of those legendary gods!
A god!
That wasn't just myth on the Yangguang Continent—it was an officially recorded existence.
After reaching the ninth tier, a magician could potentially break through and ascend to godhood, becoming a Divine Descendant.
Likewise, a warrior at the ninth tier could also achieve godhood and become a Divine Master.
Across the continent, tales of gods were grounded in reality. The Ice Goddess Priestess of the Ice God Tower was a Divine Descendant, and every major empire had its own pillar of national strength, each a Divine Master.
Knowing these legends, Xiao Huo naturally hoped that one day he too could ascend to such a realm and earn the title of god.
Su Yu had said that to become such a powerhouse—and to possess overwhelming strength even among gods—dual cultivation of both Dou Qi and magic was essential.
Xiao Huo couldn't think of any reason to refute that claim.
He had wanted to say that he had never heard of anyone cultivating both Dou Qi and magic at the same time.
But since even Senior Su Yu had said so with such certainty, then there must be a method for it.
Especially when Su Yu spoke of the god realm without the slightest trace of reverence—in fact, with a calm indifference—it made Xiao Huo suspect that Su Yu's true form was at least god-level, perhaps even a particularly powerful one.
Just a single wisp of his spiritual power was capable of so many miraculous feats.
And then there was that Ling rune...
At first, Xiao Huo had believed it to be some kind of treasure, a miraculous object Su Yu had stumbled upon by sheer luck. He had imagined that Su Yu had failed to protect it and lost his life as a result—but that this rune, being heaven-defying in power, had preserved a portion of his spiritual energy and allowed him to continue "existing."
That really was what Xiao Huo had initially thought.
However, over the past month, Su Yu's demonstrated control over the Ling rune and the various techniques he displayed had left Xiao Huo with no choice but to admit: the Ling rune was completely under Su Yu's command. Moreover, it was very likely that Su Yu truly was a god-level powerhouse.
Even the awe-inspiring Divine Descent spells—rumored to be as overwhelming as natural disasters—might not be more shocking than the subtle methods Su Yu had shown.
He could cast magic without reciting a single incantation!
He could conjure pure life force out of thin air to help Xiao Huo recover his physical condition!
And Su Yu was proficient in every elemental magic—he could even harness the power of the stars to help temper Xiao Huo's body!
With all these miraculous feats, Xiao Huo had no doubt left that Su Yu was indeed a god.
"Just because I've never heard of it doesn't mean it's impossible. With the power of a god, cultivating both Dou Qi and magic simultaneously isn't beyond reach."
So right now, the most urgent goal was to change his body's complete rejection of fire-elemental energy.
He needed to improve his affinity with the fire element.
Only then would he be qualified to cultivate magic—only then could he even attempt the path of dual cultivation.
"Senior, I'm willing to try. What do I need to do?" Xiao Huo looked at Su Yu's spiritual form with firm determination.
"You can't actively control fire-elemental energy, but with your perception of the fire element and your wind-element Dou Qi, you should be able to draw in some fire-elemental energy, wrap it in Dou Qi, and circulate it through your body."
Hearing Su Yu's instructions, Xiao Huo felt like this was practically a death sentence.
Yet with Su Yu supporting him, he felt oddly reassured. After all, this was someone who could conjure life force by hand.
"Hmm, using fire-elemental energy to refine your body will help increase compatibility, and also better temper your physique. With the aid of starlight refinement and my conversion of life energy to heal you, your Dou Qi cultivation speed will increase significantly," Su Yu explained.
Hearing that, Xiao Huo's eyes lit up.
This sounded promising!
Visible benefits and tangible progress were the greatest motivators for any cultivator.
Following Su Yu's guidance, Xiao Huo tried wrapping fire-elemental energy in his Dou Qi and drawing it into his body.
"Circulate the elemental energy through the route I've just given you."
Su Yu transmitted a meridian flow diagram into Xiao Huo's mind while simultaneously activating the Ling rune to help him sense the condition of his meridians, using spiritual insight to guide the flow of elemental energy.
With Su Yu's assistance, Xiao Huo painstakingly mobilized the elemental energy, circulating it through the designated meridians within his body.
"Ah!"
A searing sensation from within made him scream out in pain.
The fire-elemental energy scorched his meridians and burned through his internal organs. Even with gritted teeth, he couldn't suppress the agony and cried out involuntarily.
As Xiao Huo endured the torment of fire energy burning through his organs, Su Yu infused starlight energy into Xiao Huo's Dou Qi. Alongside the fire energy, it further tempered the meridians within his body.
Ah! Could you at least act like a human?!
Xiao Huo cursed in his heart.
Even though he knew this method would be more efficient, the pain was simply unbearable!
Once again, Su Yu drew in external elemental energy and transformed it into life force.
On the Yangguang Continent, there was no separate life element—only light magic exhibited life-like traits.
However, life as an attribute was a fundamental principle of the world. Even without an elemental force to represent it, the attribute itself still existed.
Using near-law-level manipulation of various elemental forces, Su Yu directly converted them into pure life energy.
As life force entered Xiao Huo's body, the meridians that had just been scorched and refined were immediately soothed and nourished.
However, to Xiao Huo, this was yet another form of torture.
Just when the pain had numbed him to the point of unconsciousness, the life force healed his wounds, restored his meridians, and sharpened his sensations all over again.
Even worse, the healing process of the life force was accompanied by a wave of comfort that amplified his perception of the affected areas.
One month later.
"See? One must endure bitterness to rise above others."
Under Su Yu's guidance, Xiao Huo had overcome the inability to cultivate and, in just one month, had become a first-tier warrior.
By continuing to channel fire-elemental energy to refine his meridians and combining that with starlight energy and healing through life force, he broke through yet again within the same month.
Now, he could truly be considered an Advanced Warrior.
Warrior cultivation wasn't purely about realm breakthroughs; it was distinguished by mastery of martial techniques. One who could perform techniques of a certain grade was deemed to have reached that corresponding level. Of course, to execute such techniques, one's Dou Qi and physical condition had to meet specific standards—making it a comprehensive classification.
The same applied to magicians. A mage's rank was determined by the level of spells they could cast. Being able to cast a certain tier of spells reflected both spiritual strength and accumulated magical power.
As an Advanced Warrior, Xiao Huo's physical attributes and Dou Qi had reached the level required to perform high-level warrior techniques.
Although he hadn't studied magic due to a lack of magical energy over the years, Xiao Huo had studied martial techniques.
Unfortunately, the martial techniques he had been able to study were only at the Advanced Warrior level. Higher-tier techniques weren't something a child who couldn't cultivate could access freely, and the Xiao family certainly wouldn't casually pass down their advanced techniques to just any clan member.
What use would high-level techniques be to someone who couldn't even cultivate?
To leak the family's secrets?
"Senior, can I start learning magic now?" Xiao Huo, though now an Advanced Warrior, still eagerly longed to become a mage.
"Not yet. Right now, you've only just started experiencing the body-tempering effects of fire-elemental energy. Your adaptation to it has only just begun," Su Yu said, shaking his head.
Xiao Huo was visibly disappointed, but Su Yu added, "However, that's not to say there's no way for you to start learning magic."
Oh?
Xiao Huo's eyes immediately lit up.
What way?
Although Su Yu's tone and expression gave him the feeling that this might be some sort of exploit or trick, just being able to cultivate magic was already a huge deal.
"Since you can already forcibly manipulate fire-elemental energy using your Dou Qi, if you combine that with your spiritual perception of elemental force and incantations, there might be a way for you to cast magic."
Hearing this rather unorthodox suggestion, Xiao Huo frowned.
Could that really work?
"Relax. As long as your understanding of magic is deep enough, even if you're using Dou Qi as the driving force, you should theoretically be able to complete the casting of a spell."
Su Yu activated the Ling rune again, enhancing Xiao Huo's elemental perception.
"Focus and feel carefully."
As he spoke, Su Yu forcibly drew in external fire-elemental energy using Xiao Huo's Dou Qi, circulating the element without using any incantation or hand gestures whatsoever.
The entire process was transmitted clearly into Xiao Huo's senses.
Boom!
A fireball nearly one meter in diameter began to slowly condense, the intense heat and blinding light reflected off Xiao Huo's face, illuminating his wide-eyed, awestruck expression.
"This… is incredible!"
Magic!
At that moment, Xiao Huo felt as if he had glimpsed the true essence of magic.
No incantations—just pure manipulation of elemental force resulting in a spell.
And the power wasn't diminished in the slightest.
Of course, even though Xiao Huo could clearly perceive the process thanks to the state triggered by Su Yu and the Ling rune, he couldn't make sense of it at all.
Once he exited that state, he couldn't even recall one-tenth of what had occurred.
Even within that state, he couldn't fully memorize the process.
Let alone replicate it himself.
"See? This is what it means to truly understand magic. At my level, I can cast spells with a mere wave of my hand."
Xiao Huo listened intently as Su Yu explained, determined not to miss a single detail.
He fully immersed himself in understanding Su Yu's explanation, forcing himself to commit every word to memory.
He could feel it—this was undoubtedly the true essence of magic.
"What is magic? Is it only considered magic when one uses magical power to control elemental energy and casts spells like Fireball? Then what about the technique I just performed? Does that not count as magic? So then, what truly defines magic?"
Xiao Huo fell into deep thought.
Looking at it this way, if using Dou Qi to control elemental energy works, then couldn't what Su Yu just did be classified as a martial technique?
"Senior, then what do you think defines magic? And what defines martial technique?" he asked sincerely, eager to learn.
Su Yu nodded.
At first, his intention had simply been to use Xiao Huo's training process as a way to experience this world's cultivation environment and understand its unique systems.
However, the various methods he had devised to help Xiao Huo progress in his training ended up deepening Su Yu's own insights as well.
And gradually, as he nurtured Xiao Huo, he began slipping into the role of a true teacher.
Even back on the Douluo Continent, Su Yu had never guided Bai Feng this intensively for two months straight.
Still, Bai Feng's development had been nearly flawless. Su Yu's training plans for him had been perfectly tailored and didn't suffer from any gaps or neglect.
In fact, Su Yu's core-level guidance in terms of cultivation principles and expanding Bai Feng's horizons had been highly effective.
Though Xiao Huo's progress might seem more dramatic in terms of pace, Bai Feng's overall potential still exceeded Xiao Huo's—even if breaking through to the divine rank was impossible on the Douluo Continent.
"In my understanding," Su Yu began, "magic is the act of manipulating external elemental energy to create a technique. Martial arts, on the other hand, are rooted in the power of the self."
One seeks power from outside, the other from within.
"I see…"
Xiao Huo internalized the explanation, linking it with his own knowledge and burning it into his memory.
"So that's what it means—magic is the art of channeling elemental energy from outside oneself, while martial arts enhance the body through Dou Qi to unleash explosive power."
Even at higher levels, when martial techniques begin to draw on elemental energy, their essence still revolves around the warrior's own body and power.
Seeing that Xiao Huo had absorbed the point, Su Yu continued, "So yes, magic that uses spiritual power and incantations to guide and control elemental energy is one form of magic. But what I just performed—manipulating elemental energy directly and giving it properties—is also magic."
"Of course, when you add spiritual power and chants, the process becomes much easier, allowing elemental energy to be shaped into magic with less effort.
What I did was far more difficult—it required me to manipulate elemental energy entirely with my own strength.
But if you could create a template that fixes the elemental pathways and energy flow, then all you'd need to do when casting is to activate the template. The element would follow the predefined route, and the spell would form easily and reliably."
As Su Yu explained, Xiao Huo felt his worldview expanding endlessly.
So that's what it was.
This world, at its core, revolved around the manipulation of elemental energy.
And yet… something about the term template triggered a strange sense of familiarity.
Xiao Huo furrowed his brows, thinking hard.
Then, his eyes widened as he looked at the radiant glyph floating before him, glowing with a mystical light.
Hsss~~~
He drew in a sharp breath.
"Senior… is the Ling character rune the 'template' you're talking about?"
(End of chapter)