"Bloodline... bloodline..." Qian Wuqing tightly clenched his fists. In the eyes of outsiders, Bloodline Warriors stood above all else, but only Bloodline Warriors knew the extent of their dependence on awakening. Few could break through the limits of bloodline awakening to reach higher tiers. Qian Wutian was lucky; he possessed superior innate talent.

"You must defeat Qian Jin to wash away the disgrace, which is why I severely injured him."

"Severely injured?" Qian Wuqing sneered. At least Qian Jin could still stand. Now, my father, you are lying down!

"Hidden Thunder, I shattered Qian Lei's Qi ranking; it is a lost Saint-level Dou Technique!" Qian Chenyu's eyes held a rare pride, completely unmarred by the weakness of severe injury. "You must have heard of 'Hidden Thunder 1,' right? I once stumbled upon ruins and obtained the Likus skeleton, the creator of Hidden Thunder. I learned this technique from his remains. I kept it secret, never even telling the family, all for you, my son!" Qian Wuqing's cold sneer instantly froze; he stared blankly at the father he had secretly resented for being incompetent so many times since childhood.

"You are still young, and there are many Qian family rules and Warrior matters you do not yet know." Qian Chenyu laboriously raised his broken arm to gently stroke Qian Wuqing's cheek. "Perhaps you don't know yet? The Dou Heart can be inherited to a certain extent, though the requirements are very high..."

Qian Wuqing stared blankly at Qian Chenyu, feeling the scorching heat of his father's blood on his face, shaking his head slightly. The inheritance of the Dou Heart was a secret to many, but not to him.

The so-called Dou Heart Inheritance meant a warrior possessing a Dou Heart forcibly gifting it to another warrior, but they had to be true, direct blood relatives, and the donor had to be at the peak of their prime. If physical degeneration had already begun, the gifting could not be accomplished.

The donor would die within three years! No matter how strong their body, no matter what medicinal concoctions or mystic elixirs were used, death would come within three years!

The recipient was not guaranteed to receive the Dou Heart; perhaps they would only gain a slight boost in Dou Qi stimulation, or perhaps they would receive a Dou Heart, but one whose power was incomplete. The donor might have mastered the Nine Wars of Demon Slaying, yet the recipient would only acquire the first or second war.

In the best-case scenario, they received a complete Dou Heart, including its entire Qi ranking.

"Son, this is all my life amounts to now." Qian Chenyu's finger suddenly pierced the back of Qian Wuqing's neck, and a powerful force instantly rendered him unconscious.

"I can no longer improve my strength. I know you always resented me in secret—why wasn't Qian Chenfeng your father? Why didn't Qian Chenfeng's blood flow in your veins? As my son, that easily restricted your number of awakenings."

Qian Chenyu managed to support his body with his two already broken arms and reached out to stroke the unconscious Qian Wuqing. "Son, I am sorry. To have such a useless father as me. I don't have much I can give you, but I am willing to give you everything I possess, even my life! You will certainly become a true powerhouse, never again feeling inferior because of a father as incompetent as I am..."

"When you wake up, I will teach you 'Hidden Thunder 1' to give you an extra bargaining chip to challenge Qian Wutian and Wushuang..."

In the spacious room, a surging, powerful Dou Qi erupted violently from the heavily injured Qian Chenyu's body...

Thump-thump-thump... thump-thump-thump...

The sound of rapid hoofbeats colliding continuously with the ground filled the air. Qian Jin lay on the jostling padding, and every jolt caused the Hidden Thunder within him to erupt anew.

In a short time, although his Dou Meridians were not severed, every single one was riddled with holes, and his various internal organs had suffered damage to varying degrees, yet he could find no way to suppress this power.

Hidden Thunder! Just as its name suggested, every burst was as powerful as a raging thunderclap, but when the explosion ceased, it would completely conceal itself. Even Qian Jin, the body's owner, could not locate where the Hidden Thunder resided or what its ranking sequence was.

If it weren't for years of training with Volcanic Elixirs, if it weren't for the self-recovery ability of Wind and Cloud Dou Qi... if it weren't for the Wind and Cloud Golden Body training even the internal structures of the body...

Qian Jin suspected that even if he possessed nine lives, they would all be extinguished by now. The power of this Saint-level Dou Technique, Hidden Thunder, was indeed immense, and it didn't kill the victim in one go. It erupted with every physical tremor, clearly designed to make the targeted opponent injure themselves upon every subsequent action in combat.

The creator of this Hidden Thunder technique must have been a psychological deviant! Qian Jin wanted to cry out in pain but couldn't; he could only curse inwardly in secret hatred.

In the mysterious, vast expanse of yellow sand sea, even Lucifer Flow could not casually choose a spot as an entrance. As usual, he searched for the entrance point from the last time.

In the distance ahead, urgent hoofbeats sounded repeatedly. Duan Fengbuer narrowed his eyes against the dazzling sunlight, frowning slightly as he watched the approaching figures. People from the Pan family? Why were they here?

The two parties approached rapidly. The Pan family members riding warhorses suddenly dismounted, knelt on one knee, and looked up, shouting, "Family Head, His Majesty the Emperor has issued an imperial edict! The Family's Grand Elder requests your presence to receive it."

"An imperial edict?" Pan Hongji lifted the curtain of the carriage, his brows furrowed with faint confusion. The Zhence Imperial Clan rarely issued edicts to the Bloodline Families. It usually only happened when the Demon Race launched a major war, or when they were about to launch one.

"Yes, Family Head," the Pan family members replied loudly from their kneeling positions without lifting their heads. "The Grand Elder said this edict was written specifically for you by His Majesty, so only you can personally go to receive it."

"Understood."

Pan Hongji jumped out of the carriage and brushed down his long robe. Keeping the imperial messenger waiting too long was certainly not a good thing. However, Qian Jin was currently in a critical stage of injury. Although his Dou Qi could not expel the Hidden Thunder technique from him, it could still help him hold on a bit longer.

"How about this," Pan Hongji turned back to look at Duan Fengbuer. "Kid, you guys head into the Ancient Desolate Sand Sea. If it doesn't work, come straight to the Pan family. I will also look for people everywhere when I return..."

Duan Fengbuer nodded, flicked his whip, and continued to speed forward. Now, it was a race against time to save a life; any superfluous pleasantries were unnecessary.

The carriage rattled violently at high speed. In the absence of others, Lucifer Flow activated the Fallen Angel War Form and retrieved the 'Pain Suppression Scroll' from the Dou World, tossing it onto Qian Jin.

Dual Cultivation of Demon and Martial Arts was not the sole patent of the Elven King's bloodline! The Fallen Angel bloodline possessed high proficiency in this aspect as well.

"We're here!" Duan Fengbuer dropped his whip, yanked the carriage reins, rapidly opened the door panel, and placed Qian Jin onto Chek (Chèk Fúlìtè), who had already activated his Fallen Angel transformation, rushing into the Ancient Desolate Sand Sea at high speed.

Fast! Fast! Fast!

In the endless Ancient Desolate Sand Sea, several figures charged forward rapidly, no longer moving with the extreme caution they had last time, wary of the high-level magic beasts that might suddenly appear on the periphery.

The colossal mountain peak of the metal ore deposit stood year-round, unchanging, amidst the endless yellow sands. The golden sand had already buried and obscured the peak once more. If they didn't know the approximate location of this mountain, Duan Fengbuer suspected he would easily overlook this metal mountain concealed by the sand.

Pfft! As soon as Qian Jin was placed on the sand, a mouthful of blood sprayed from his throat. He finally regained a brief moment of clarity. The familiar warmth, the familiar environment, and that familiar dryness—everything brought an indescribable comfort.

Dou World, Open! Qian Jin forced himself to summon the Nine Yang True Flame Iron, which could instantly turn a person into roasted meat, from his Dou World. The Hidden Thunder erupted once more at this moment, immediately knocking Qian Jin unconscious again.

Hidden Thunder or whatever it was! After all, it was merely a technique utilized by Qian Chenyu, a warrior of the Nine Wars of Demon Slaying! Qian Jin vaguely contemplated that even in the Endless World, Adams probably couldn't handle this state, and Oulala's mystic elixirs were too potent, likely offering no good solution either.

Hidden Thunder was indeed troublesome, but its most vexing aspect was its concealment. If its location could be found, perhaps there would be a way.

Heat it up! Although Qian Chenyu's Dou Qi was formidable, it had a clear drawback: due to the formation of the Dou Heart, this strand of Dou Qi was, in a sense, a living entity. Intense heat might force its location out.

Operating independently from Qian Chenyu's control, deep within his body, the Hidden Thunder must have some limit, right?

The surrounding air grew hotter and hotter. Qian Jin felt as if his body had been thrown into a massive melting furnace. Countless grains of sand piled onto him, feeling as if someone were massaging his body.

He must be buried by now! Qian Jin calculated secretly. The Nine Yang True Flame Iron should also be placed deep beneath his body.

"Is Qian Jin going to be alright?" Duan Fengbuer looked at the buried sand with a worried expression, his tone somewhat uncertain as he looked at Chek. "That Hidden Thunder is a Saint-level technique used by a near-Saint expert who killed a Saint-level Martial Knight while fighting above his level!

Qian Chenyu's strength was slightly superior to Qian Jin's. This Saint-level technique, capable of killing opponents above one's level, would only be even more potent when used against someone of relatively weaker strength—and not just a little stronger, either. The fact that Qian Jin could hold on this long without dying showed that the sturdiness of his body far exceeded imagination. Even the physical strength of a Behemoth Bloodline Warrior from the Barbarian Race probably wouldn't surpass his.

The Nine Yang True Flame Iron, now free from Qian Jin's and the Dou World's suppression, began to gradually release its inherent high temperature after its initial frantic absorption within the scorching golden sands, causing the temperature of the surrounding sand to rise continuously.

Good, very good! A little more... a little more! Qian Jin barely adjusted his breathing, slowly urging the Wind and Cloud Golden Body. Years of survival in the Four Seasons Valley had accustomed him to the method of guiding hot air from boiling water bit by bit into his body to temper his physique.

P.S. Readers, are you satisfied with this chapter? This is a chapter I am quite pleased with myself. If you are also satisfied, please cast your monthly votes for me.