“So…” Gan Jin spread his hands slightly. “I, this failed bloodline awakener, am in fact no longer a descendant of the Gan family. My name won’t be found in the clan registry.”

Fabredis re-examined Gan Jin, a hint of admiration entering his eyes. Before, he had only thought the young man possessed decent aptitude, but he never suspected he had such a past!

Such a past was like a colossal mountain, easily capable of crushing a person entirely. The former pride and glory of his bloodline, extinguished by the failed awakening, were enough to strip away all belief and hope.

Carrying such pressure was far heavier than the burden borne by an ordinary person.

“If that’s the case, bringing your father out…” Fabredis’s eyes betrayed a lack of optimism. “The Gan family is a major clan in the Zhence Dynasty; even the Imperial Family shows them considerable deference. It might be easy for you to leave the Gan family, but for your father to leave…”

Gan Jin frowned. The rigid, archaic Gan family, yet possessing an unparalleled inner pride, would likely never concede on this matter, much like…

If he were to stop because he knew the other party would be difficult to persuade? Gan Jin gently shook his head. Many people notice a mother’s love, yet a son often overlooks a father’s affection. Hadn't he, too, failed to notice? When had his once upright father’s back begun to bend under the weight of life, and when did his dark hair become so streaked with white?

He absolutely could not allow his father, who had labored for him for so many years, to continue to toil! Gan Jin took a deep breath, slightly raising his head. “This isn’t about anything else; it’s about Father.”

“Then…” Fabredis pondered for a moment. “I suppose I should accompany you. The Gan family probably won’t let him go easily. Having an Invoked Saint warrior by your side might…”

Gan Jin nodded. Having an Invoked Saint expert accompanying him would indeed add some leverage, but… Fabredis was needed not just for himself, but also for Luo Qingqing’s entire Luo family.

The Lei family had just lost a Patriarch; no one could guarantee they would simply drop the matter. With Fabredis holding the line, the Lei family would naturally hesitate to make a move, but if Fabredis left Yongliu City, whether the Lei family would refrain from attacking the Luo family out of deference to the Torrential Fortress’s stance was uncertain.

“Uncle, perhaps you shouldn’t,” Gan Jin shook his head. “If you leave with me now, the Luo family will be in a difficult spot. Gan City isn't exactly close to here. Even riding the finest swift horses, at a speed of several hundred li a day, it would take several days to reach Ganzhou, the southernmost region of the Zhence Dynasty.”

Fabredis nodded thoughtfully. Yongliu Province was almost the farthest northwest city in the Zhence Dynasty, and Gan City in Ganzhou was one of the farthest southwest cities. The journey would indeed take considerable time.

Ganzhou… Fabredis’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Hey, Bear Boy…”

“What is it?” Mu Gui Wuxin flicked his gaze toward him. “That nickname… I haven't heard anyone call me that in years.”

Fabredis smiled as he asked, “What lies south of Ganzhou?”

“The Ancient Desolate Sand Sea,” Mu Gui Wuxin replied crossly, glancing at Fabredis. This was one of the famously dangerous regions in the Zhence Dynasty, something any student who had taken even a basic geography course knew well! Moreover, back when he didn’t know how to write ‘death,’ he had even adventured there with Fabredis and nearly perished inside.

“What’s in the Ancient Desolate Sand Sea?” Fabredis pressed again.

“Oh, lots of things,” Mu Gui Wuxin began counting on his fingers. “Like human bones, broken weapons. Large numbers of Demonic Beasts, perhaps hidden, undiscovered mineral veins…”

Mu Gui Wuxin suddenly stopped counting, looking up at Fabredis blankly, finally grasping his meaning. The Ancient Desolate Sand Sea, while notorious as a death trap, also held endless treasures.

“Excellent idea!” Mu Gui Wuxin nodded repeatedly. Although it carried immense risk—the chance of dying instantly—even a Dou Soul-level expert entering the Ancient Desolate Sand Sea wasn't guaranteed to emerge. But he had to admit, it was a place that offered a chance to obtain materials.

“Let’s discuss it first…” Mu Gui Wuxin pulled Fabredis toward the room, frequently looking back at Gan Jin. “Go ahead without worry. I and this flashy fellow will watch over the Luo family; nothing will go wrong.”

With his primary concern settled, Gan Jin entered the Fortress and looked at Luo Jin, who was still asleep. He gently poked the child's delicate cheek and murmured to himself, “Son, Daddy is going to pick up Grandpa this time. I won’t see you for a few days, so remember to miss Daddy, okay?”

Luo Qingqing looked up and offered a gentle smile. “Be careful on your journey.”

“Got it,” Gan Jin scratched his head, feeling a bit awkward, unsure of what else to say. “If there’s trouble, find Uncle and the others.”

“I know.” Luo Qingqing took out a light robe from the wardrobe. “It’s hotter in the south; don't overheat.”

“Understood…”

Gan Jin exited the room and saw Fen Tu Kuang Ge approaching, carrying a wooden crate from which came the clanging sound of metal hitting metal. Without opening the crate, just by hearing the collision, one could tell it was filled with quite a few pieces of bronze, brass, and iron blocks.

Gan Jin took the crate and tossed it into his Dou Realm. The two of them walked out of the Torrential Fortress together, leaped onto the warhorses Duan Feng Bu’er had already prepared, and gently urged the horses toward the city gates.

Outside the city, without the obstruction of the crowds, the horses stretched their legs and galloped wildly. When the sun began to set and the horses grew weary, the group took out simple tents from Gan Jin’s Dou Realm in the wilderness, started a fire, hunted, and set up camp for the night…

Fen Tu Kuang Ge intently held a Dou Stone, silently beginning his attempt to advance his Demon-Slaying Warrior status.

Tenth-level Warrior, Dou Ling Grand Array! The shortcut to becoming a Demon-Slaying Warrior, yet it could only be used once in a lifetime; the second time, the body would become completely immune to the array’s effects.

Watching Fen Tu Kuang Ge’s serious expression, Gan Jin couldn't help but wonder if offering him the Supreme True Gold Dou Qi Secret Method had helped him or harmed him.

Three hours later, Fen Tu Kuang Ge set down the Dou Stone he was holding and let out a long, frustrated breath. He was clearly at the peak of a tenth-level Dou Jin, just one step away from becoming a Demon-Slaying Warrior, yet he had failed. No matter how he urged it, the Dou Jin in his Dou Aperture refused to rotate on its own to completely shatter the Dou Jin and convert it entirely into Dou Qi.

The greatest advantage of the Dou Ling Grand Array was its ability to stimulate the Dou Apertures within the body, shattering the Dou Jin and mixing in Dou Energy to transform it into Dou Qi.

Dou Qi… Dou Qi… Fen Tu Kuang Ge stood up and looked up at the sky. He didn't lack Dou Energy. Although dispersing his energy had consumed a massive amount of Dou Qi, the remaining Dou Jin in his body was far more than that of an ordinary tenth-level Warrior—it was truly the peak of the peak. Once he shattered this Dou Jin, he could achieve Dou Qi and return to the realm of a Demon-Slaying Warrior.

Duan Feng Bu’er handed Fen Tu Kuang Ge a roasted chicken and said softly, “It’s alright. If it doesn’t work today, we’ll try again tomorrow.”

Fen Tu Kuang Ge took the chicken and nodded lightly. Self-crippling one’s Dou Qi to try and become a Demon-Slaying Warrior was far more difficult than for a Warrior practicing Dou Jin for the first time. No wonder people who had developed superior Dou Qi Secret Methods didn't simply abandon their Dou Qi to re-cultivate.

Perhaps, after several years, they could surpass their former realm, but the prerequisite was that the one who crippled their Dou Qi must first break through the threshold of being a Demon-Slaying Warrior.

If the initial attempt to shock his way into becoming a Demon-Slaying Warrior through Dou Jin was a threshold, then the second attempt—transforming Dou Jin after crippling his Dou Qi—faced a wall! A wall so impossibly high that one couldn't even see the top.

Gan Jin lowered his head and gnawed on his roasted chicken, his gaze unintentionally sweeping across the leaping, dancing flames. A scene he had encountered not long ago flashed through his mind.

Flames… Dou Jin… Transforming Dou Jin into Dou Qi, boiled down, was merely using rotational force to shatter the Dou Jin and make it self-sustaining.

So… If the Dou Jin could be shattered, not by grinding it, but by melting it with fire…

Gan Jin nodded thoughtfully. Perhaps the Blacksmith’s Breathing Technique was a path worth trying. Burning! Since he couldn't rotate and grind it like the Dou Ling Grand Array did, why not just burn it!

“Kuang Ge…” Gan Jin put down his roasted chicken. “Perhaps I have a method we can try, but I must warn you, it will hurt a little. And it might not succeed, but we can give it a shot.”

Hurt? Fen Tu Kuang Ge laughed. Did a Warrior ever shy away from pain? Having a chance was better than having no chance at all, right?

“My method is rather strange…” Gan Jin stood up and stretched his limbs beside the fire. “Except for some special moments where it can be used while remaining perfectly still, at all other times, constant movement is required to utilize it.”

The three young Warriors exchanged confused glances but showed no great surprise. They followed Gan Jin; they had long grown immune to his bizarre abilities. Even if the contemporary Great Demon King stood before them, they would probably just raise an eyelid and say, “Oh, hello, Great Demon King. Have you eaten dinner? If not, please sit down and join us?”

Fen Tu Kuang Ge moved closer to the fire and sat cross-legged, closing his eyes. Gan Jin stood behind him, taking deep, forceful breaths. The dormant Blacksmith’s Breathing Technique inside him instantly began to churn. The rising flames seemed to encounter a strong gale, roaring loudly and growing taller, as if trying to fly directly into Gan Jin’s nostrils.

Duan Feng Bu’er’s eyes widened. He noticed Gan Jin’s skin instantly turning bright red, like a boiled crab, as if flames were about to erupt from his pores.

Zha Yao, Xia Ma! Lun Chui! (Belt tight, dismount! Swing the hammer!)

Although he held no actual smithing hammer, Gan Jin unleashed the first strike of the Ascending Peaks Eighteen Hammers. Just as it neared Fen Tu Kuang Ge’s body, the force abruptly weakened, and his fingertips pressed onto the Dou Aperture on Fen Tu Kuang Ge’s back. A trace of scalding heat—whether it counted as Dou Qi or not—rushed into Fen Tu Kuang Ge’s back.

“Ah!”

Fen Tu Kuang Ge, who was sitting quietly cross-legged, a Warrior who wouldn't cry out even if stabbed, suddenly opened his mouth and shouted to alleviate the intense pain after the first point of contact. Visible white vapor spewed from his mouth. His pale neck instantly turned crimson, this redness swelling like a rising tide until it reached his face and then rushed straight to his forehead.

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