Chapter Thirteen: The Fire Fist Technique

Lei Yan stood stiffly in the open space like a wooden post. At his Foundation Establishment stage, his perception of the surroundings was only somewhat clearer, far from truly understanding the “Dao.” So, his attempt to integrate the “Dao” into his martial arts could only be by analogy, hoping to glean some insight from the attacks of the monk and Yu Yang.

Recalling Yu Yang’s assault, Lei Yan noticed that Yu Yang seemed to channel lightning into his sword using his footwork and swordsmanship, then unleashed the lightning through the blade. It was as if he had harnessed the very thunder of heaven and earth for his own use. Lei Yan wasn’t certain if this was a genuine application of the “Dao.” He then recalled the monk’s strike: the monk’s left hand traced a motion in the void, forming a seal, and then unleashed an attack powered by true essence—Buddhist yuan, akin to true essence—activated through that seal. Could this also be an application of the “Dao”?

Frowning in deep thought, suddenly a flash of insight illuminated his mind. “Resonance. Yes, resonance! Through resonance, the ‘Dao’ is merged with the martial technique. Yu Yang uses swordplay and footwork to resonate with heaven and earth, infusing his attack with the ‘Dao.’ The monk must be using true essence to resonate with his spell formation to launch his attack.”

“If I want to integrate the ‘Dao’ into my attacks, I need to achieve that kind of resonance,” Lei Yan mused silently. Suddenly, he recalled a glow from his mind. The last time he tried to bring out that red light, a burst of flame appeared, but it dissipated immediately. In hindsight, he realized it was likely due to failing to achieve resonance.

With a focused will, Lei Yan tried again to slowly draw the red light from his mind, moving it outwards at a deliberate, gradual pace.

A flash of light appeared and vanished instantly.

“Try again,” he commanded his mind, attempting to control the red glow to emerge instantly.

Boom!

Previously, when he moved it slowly, nothing had happened except a brief flicker of flame. But this time, as he rapidly pulled the red light out, a flare erupted before him, singeing his hair and eyebrows slightly. The acrid smell of burnt hair made him furrow his brows in displeasure. Touching his charred eyebrows, a surge of frustration welled up within him.

After numerous attempts, Lei Yan still couldn’t successfully resonate the red light with the outside world. Every time the red light emerged from his mind, a burst of flame appeared, scorching the hair before him completely.

“Could it be that I’m not supposed to move this red light outward, but inward instead?” A bold hypothesis formed in Lei Yan’s mind. Without hesitation, he slowly guided the red light inward.

Within a single breath, Lei Yan was stunned. Peering inside himself, he saw every organ, every capillary, every cell glowing fiery red. Even his true essence had turned a blazing crimson. A warm sensation flowed through his body with the movement of the true essence, comforting as if immersed in a hot spring.

Suddenly, Lei Yan felt the surroundings glowing with the same fiery red hue as his inner true essence. Slowly opening his eyes, he found the world outside looked unchanged, yet the sensation of fiery redness persisted—a feeling deeply familiar. Suddenly, realization struck him. “The spiritual energy of heaven and earth! This must be the spiritual fire energy of heaven and earth!”

“Could this red light be allowing me to perceive the spiritual fire energy of the heavens and earth? If so, then my true essence has become fire-attribute true essence,” Lei Yan speculated. Instantly, he infused his right hand with the fiery true essence to test his theory. His hand suddenly glowed a scorching red, like molten iron. The fire energy surrounding his hand ignited instantly. Flames burst forth, yet they didn’t burn painfully; instead, a comforting warmth radiated from his palm.

“Resonance—the resonance of fire,” Lei Yan’s heart quickened with excitement. The appearance of fire proved his method correct. At least, unlike before, the fire no longer vanished instantly. As the true essence flowed steadily, Lei Yan felt that as long as his true essence was sufficient, the flames would never extinguish.

Boom!

Flames erupted from the surface of his body, engulfing him as if he were set ablaze. Yet, the fire seemed contained by the true essence, bringing no real heat.

“I see now. That Li Lie must have used fire-attribute true essence,” Lei Yan mused.

Having found the method, Lei Yan punched the air repeatedly. His fist movements were casual, each strike sending flaming spheres soaring skyward like fireworks, bursting brilliantly in the heavens.

At this moment, inspiration dawned on him. With a flash, he struck a nearby tree with a punch. The tree exploded, the area where the fireballs struck reduced to charred charcoal.

“Fire-Form Fist—like cannon fire suddenly bursting,” Lei Yan smiled with satisfaction, examining his fists. “This is the true Fire-Form Fist.”

Lost in his reverie, Lei Yan suddenly noticed a gaze fixed upon him from behind. Turning, he saw Qing Ling resting her chin in her hands, her eyes dreamy and distant, as if lost in thought.

“Ling’er, you’re awake,” Lei Yan said softly, approaching her. Immersed in his thoughts and cultivation, he had paid little attention to the outside world.

Qing Ling nodded, then asked, “Brother Lei, what technique were you just practicing? It even produced flames—especially when your whole body was on fire. It’s quite similar to that Li Lie’s style. Hahaha...” Suddenly, Qing Ling noticed Lei Yan’s singed eyebrows and hair, and she couldn’t help but laugh. “Brother Lei, how did you manage to burn off your eyebrows and hair? Haha…”

Lei Yan instinctively touched his eyebrows, having completely forgotten about it. “Don’t mention it. I accidentally did that while practicing. Looks like I’ll have to shave both my head and eyebrows.”

Qing Ling covered her mouth to stifle her laughter, imagining Lei Yan with a shaved head and no eyebrows. The more she thought about it, the funnier it seemed. After this little incident, the tension in the air eased considerably.

Seeing Qing Ling’s continuous laughter, Lei Yan resignedly pulled a dagger from his demonic artifact storage and then took out a heavy blade. Without a copper mirror nearby, he used the blade’s polished surface as a mirror, carefully shaving off his burnt hair and eyebrows.

When he finished, Qing Ling burst into laughter again. Lei Yan’s bald head made him look like a monk, especially without eyebrows—it was surprisingly amusing.

“Brother Lei, if you go out like this, you’ll be laughed to death,” Qing Ling said between giggles. “Let me help you.”

She walked over to the tree that Lei Yan had struck down, picked up a piece of charcoal, and skillfully drew thick, bold eyebrows on Lei Yan’s face. In no time, two strong brows appeared.

“Hmm, definitely better,” Lei Yan said, pleased as he looked at the charcoal-drawn brows reflected in the blade’s surface. Though still slightly noticeable up close, it was far better than having no eyebrows at all.

“Let’s eat quickly, then continue our journey,” Lei Yan said, pulling some steamed buns from his demonic artifact storage and handing them to Qing Ling. These were supplies they had purchased when passing through Eight Directions Town.

Qing Ling took a bun and began to eat.