Even though his eyes were still empty sockets, thanks to the Basic Clairvoyance Talisman, Lan An could now see far clearer than any ordinary person. He could perceive every tiny detail around him, even the smallest ant crawling on the ground.
Lan An began to examine his own body. The first impression was that it was thin and frail. However, having lived in the eighth-grade Lan Clan, where spiritual energy was abundant, his skin remained fair. Years of hard labor since childhood had also made his body exceptionally tough. At sixteen years old, he was already close to 1.8 meters tall. This was probably the most valuable thing the previous "Lan An" had left him.
Only now did Lan An inspect his surroundings. He was in a small wooden shack containing nothing but a pile of straw on the ground — his sleeping area. Beside it was a half-eaten bowl of rice and a cup of plain water.
With a thought, his vision pierced through all obstacles within a 300-meter radius. His field of view instantly expanded. He discovered he was in the servants' quarter of the Lan Clan. There were countless rooms here, but his was undoubtedly the most rundown. Even normal servants had proper beds to sleep on.
Lan An showed no strong emotion. Compared to everything this body had endured, this was nothing. He also spotted two men hiding in the shadows about 200 meters away, staring intently toward his small room. Thanks to the Basic Clairvoyance Talisman, he could clearly see their cultivation: both were at the mid-stage of Qi Refining.
"Hmph, they must be Lan Yu's watchdogs," Lan An sneered coldly. With Lan Yu's current power and status, he still could not feel at ease with a useless waste like him and even sent two mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators to monitor him. It was clear just how narrow-minded that brat was.
Qi Refining was the first realm of cultivation. Those at this stage could absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to temper their bodies and souls, thereby increasing their strength. Someone at the early stage of Qi Refining could already lift objects a hundred times their own weight with ease.
The previous Lan An had been constantly tortured by the Lan Clan's young disciples who had just entered Qi Refining. That was what eventually killed him. Although they had not used full strength and only tormented him for fun, he still carried the blood of the Clan Master. As long as Lan Polei had not given the order, no one dared to truly kill him. That was also why Lan Yu had spared his life.
According to Lan An's memories, cultivation realms on the Ice Heaven Continent were divided into eight major stages: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Soul Transformation, Void Refinement, Body Integration, and Tribulation Transcendence. Each stage was further divided into early, middle, late, and perfection phases.
His cold-blooded father, Lan Polei, was a late-stage Void Refinement expert. On the entire Ice Heaven Continent, those who could stand shoulder to shoulder with him were all overlords who dominated their own territories. As for his cheap younger brother Lan Yu, at only fifteen years old, he had already reached early-stage Core Formation. Possessing dual-attribute Spiritual Roots, he was recognized as the number one genius of the Lan Clan, admired by all.
"It's time to start the summons. Let's see what can help me step onto the path of an Overlord," Lan An thought. He had originally planned to use the Minor Teleportation Talisman to leave the Lan Clan first before doing the summons. However, the talisman only teleported him to a random location. For a mortal body like his, that was extremely dangerous. If he was sent into a dangerous area or a desolate forest, he would surely die under the claws and fangs of savage beasts — not to mention creatures far more cruel than beasts.
"Sometimes, the most dangerous place is the safest. Although there are two people monitoring me, as long as I don't leave this room, they won't know what I'm doing," Lan An decided to carry out the summons right inside his small shack.
"Young Master, I advise you not to summon the Forbidden-grade cultivation method first," Kim Nhi floated beside him and spoke with extreme seriousness.
"Why?" Lan An knew Kim Nhi meant well but still asked.
Kim Nhi took a deep breath and said gravely:
"Every Forbidden-grade cultivation method is unique across the entire universe. They stand proudly above the nine heavens and suppress the ages. Since the primordial era, whenever news of a Forbidden-grade technique appears, it has always triggered rivers of blood and mountains of corpses. Billions of lives have perished fighting over them. That is why Forbidden-grade techniques are rejected by the Heavenly Dao. Whenever one appears, it invites Heavenly Punishment, and the person who possesses it will be relentlessly hunted down by the Heavenly Dao."
Lan An secretly wiped cold sweat from his forehead. It was fortunate he had not impulsively summoned such a terrifying existence right away. However, he believed that since the System had given him this opportunity, it would surely have a solution.
Sure enough, Kim Nhi continued:
"Forbidden-grade techniques possess their own spirit. With your current state, even with the System's help, you cannot fully suppress it. Therefore, after the summons, the System will seal the Forbidden-grade technique in a separate space. You will only be able to comprehend small portions of it over time to steadily increase your strength. This also avoids drawing the attention of the Heavenly Dao."
Lan An nodded. This was probably the best solution. He had no desire to become someone constantly targeted by the Heavenly Dao.
"I understand. Then let's start with the Profound-grade martial skill first," Lan An commanded.
"Ding! Does the host confirm summoning a random Profound-grade martial skill?"
"Confirmed," Lan An answered without hesitation.
"Ding! Beginning random Profound-grade martial skill summon: 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…"
"Ding! Host has obtained Profound-grade Peak martial skill << Four Spirits Soul Guardian Art >>. Temporarily stored in the System space."
"Excellent!" Lan An was overjoyed. He had not expected to get a Peak-grade one right away. It seemed his luck was not bad at all.
Without wasting any time, with a thought, a four-colored jade pendant appeared in his hand. The pendant was carved with four mythical beasts intertwined together. They looked so lifelike it seemed as though they truly possessed souls: a majestic and murderous Tiger, a steady and mountain-like Turtle, a powerful and unyielding Bear, and a noble and peerless Phoenix.
"How do I cultivate it?" Lan An asked impatiently.
"For martial skills in jade pendant form provided by the System, Young Master only needs to drip your blood to claim ownership," Kim Nhi answered casually. With her vision, even Heaven-grade martial skills were nothing special.
Lan An bit his fingertip and let a drop of blood fall onto the jade pendant. The blood was instantly absorbed. At the same time, four-colored lights shot out from the pendant and entered the space between his eyebrows. A vast amount of information poured into his mind. The jade pendant quickly dimmed and finally turned into dust. Clearly, this martial skill could only be transmitted once.
Four Spirits Soul Guardian Art Grade: Profound-grade Peak martial skill Origin: A martial skill that brought fame to the Beast-Martial Heavenly Venerable during his youth. Effect: Condenses the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to form soul beasts. Each soul beast corresponds to one attribute: Tiger for Metal, Turtle for Wood, Bear for Earth, Phoenix for Fire. Those who possess all four types of Spiritual Roots can command four soul beasts at once. They will be unstoppable in battle, with few equals at the same realm…
The pain from the flood of information did not bother Lan An. However, his expression turned rather unpleasant when he saw the harsh requirements of the technique.
"It actually requires four types of Spiritual Roots to display its full power. This condition is even stricter than some Heaven-grade martial skills I've heard of."
"Of course. When all four soul beasts erupt together, their combined power likely surpasses ordinary Heaven-grade martial skills. It's just that the cultivation requirements are too demanding, which is why it's only classified as Profound-grade Peak. Young Master has truly profited this time," Kim Nhi explained with a sweet smile.
"So that's how it is. But I currently have no Spiritual Root, so I can't cultivate it for now. Let's continue with the Earth-grade treasure summon," Lan An said. He was not in a hurry. He trusted the System would not disappoint him.
"Ding! Does the host confirm a random Earth-grade treasure summon?"
"Confirmed."
"Beginning Earth-grade treasure summon: 8… 7… 6… 5…"
"It's taking longer?" Lan An asked Kim Nhi.
"Yes. The higher the grade being summoned, the longer it takes," Kim Nhi confirmed.
"Ding! Summon successful. Host has obtained Earth-grade Middle-grade treasure. Temporarily stored in the System space."
"Earth-grade Middle-grade?" Lan An muttered. A bead the size of a lemon appeared in his hand. The bead was a brilliant emerald green, smooth and glossy enough to reflect one's image. It emitted a faint glow. Strangely, Lan An could also smell a faint, intoxicating feminine fragrance from it. His expression turned odd, and even his lower body reacted slightly.
"It doesn't look very powerful," Lan An said awkwardly, glancing at Kim Nhi and waiting for her explanation. This little girl's knowledge was extremely vast.
"Young Master, don't be disappointed. This is probably an auxiliary cultivation treasure," Kim Nhi said, immediately reassuring him.
"Alright, I'll know after claiming ownership." With prior experience, Lan An once again dripped his blood onto the bead.
A wondrous feeling of bloodline connection with the Spirit Realm Bead emerged in Lan An's heart. The bead now felt like a part of his own body, completely under his control. If not for the System, it would have been nearly impossible for a mortal body like his to claim ownership of an Earth-grade treasure. Not exploding to death would already be considered lucky.
Spirit Realm Bead: Earth-grade Middle-grade treasure Origin: One of the personal treasures of the Empress of Eras during her youth. Effect: Creates its own independent space capable of housing living beings. Increases the speed at which those inside absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth by three times compared to the outside world.
The information about the Spirit Realm Bead automatically flowed into Lan An's mind.
"Damn, as expected of an Earth-grade treasure," Lan An laughed heartily. The bead's functions had completely exceeded his expectations. Even in an eighth-grade force like the Lan Clan, clan juniors usually cultivated on Gathering Spirit Arrays that only tripled spiritual energy density. However, those arrays were extremely expensive and fixed in place. His Spirit Realm Bead had the same effect but could be carried anywhere. Even Lan Yu did not enjoy such treatment, not to mention the bead's ability to house living beings.
Unable to wait any longer, with a single thought, Lan An's figure instantly vanished. The bead shrank countless times in the blink of an eye, becoming smaller than a speck of dust as it fell onto the floor of his shack. Even if Lan Polei himself came here, unless he searched with full effort, he would never discover it.
…
After stabilizing himself, Lan An began examining the space inside the Spirit Realm Bead. It was like a large room of about five hundred square meters, with ground and sky similar to the outside world, only without a sun.
"What a miraculous treasure. Unfortunately, I still can't cultivate, so I can't sense the spiritual energy here," Lan An sighed.
"The space is too small. The Empress of Eras was quite stingy when she was young," Kim Nhi appeared beside him and pouted in disdain.
"It's only Earth-grade Middle-grade. This is already very good," Lan An smiled bitterly. This little girl's standards were truly high.
Recalling the intoxicating feminine fragrance on the bead, he pretended to ask casually, "Who are the Beast-Martial Heavenly Venerable and the Empress of Eras? Their names sound very powerful."
Kim Nhi replied indifferently with a pout, "They are naturally hundreds of thousands of times stronger than Lan Polei. However, they do not belong to this continent. Whether Young Master can meet them will depend on fate. Of course, they might already be dead. No one can say for sure."
"That makes sense," Lan An smiled wryly and shook his head, pushing the alluring feminine scent out of his mind. He had no time to dwell on such things now. The most important thing was to increase his strength as quickly as possible.
Taking a deep breath, his eyes filled with determination, Lan An spoke solemnly:
"Begin the Forbidden-grade cultivation method summon."