A Century Early in the Battle of Dou Qi

While Zhao Li was learning blacksmithing, back in Fiery Sun City, inside the City Lord's Mansion, within the underground stone chamber.

Shangguan Yan watched the plump woman beneath him rapidly shrivel, his eyes devoid of any emotion. With a casual wave, he tossed her in front of the stone gate.

A figure, as if having waited for a long time, instantly appeared before the gate. Without a word, he picked up the shriveled corpse and left, disappearing into the dark passage in a few leaps.

Shangguan Yan sat cross-legged, converting the surging Dou Qi within his body. After a long while, he opened his eyes, feeling himself grow a bit stronger. A hint of fanaticism flickered in his dark pupils as he murmured to himself:

"Still too slow! I need more women. I can't wait any longer..."

Within the secret chamber, a faint, crazed laughter lingered for a long time.

...

Zhao Li had no idea about the series of actions Shangguan Yan took after obtaining the Blood Burning Realm Breaking Technique, which stirred up thoughts he had never had before.

He was simply immersed in learning, not just Equipment Refining, but also Talisman Crafting and Formations.

As time passed, Zhao Li's Equipment Refining skills steadily improved, reaching the point where he could inscribe Formation Patterns and Rune Patterns onto artifacts.

But he discovered a problem: he didn't know much about either Formations or Talisman Crafting, feeling like he didn't know where to start.

Becoming a powerful refiner was indeed not easy. One had to not only learn Equipment Refining but also be proficient in Formations and Talisman Crafting. Difficult!

Of course, these weren't big problems for Zhao Li. After studying for a while, his powerful control began to show its fangs. Arranging formations and drawing talismans, communicating with heaven and earth, came almost effortlessly.

What truly bothered Zhao Li was the old problem: they weren't systematic and were too simple. Even with his current strength, he was still limited by their upper limit.

Zhao Li looked at the mist gathering in his palm and gently shook his head, feeling a bit helpless.

The energy he could summon with a thought was enough to crush Great Qian, but the effect achieved through Formation Patterns was less than one ten-thousandth of that.

"No wonder no one studies these things. Time is spent, the effect isn't good, who would still want to bother? Isn't it better to use this time to cultivate, advance further, and master more powerful strength?"

Zhao Li also felt a bit weary. He finally understood that compared to Dou Qi and Alchemy, Equipment Refining, Formations, and Talisman Crafting were almost still in the primitive stage.

"This Battle Through the Heavens Universe is really strange. The Great Thousand World has everything, but do the lower worlds specialize in one thing? Dou Qi Continent plays with medicine, Tianxuan Continent plays with talismans. I wonder if there are any that specialize in Equipment Refining or Formations."

Zhao Li thought of the talismans in Wu Dong and started complaining inwardly.

But that hint of desire to explore other worlds was something even he didn't notice, or rather, he dared not believe it.

Complaining was one thing, but he still had to learn what needed to be learned. Zhao Li thought randomly for a while, then threw himself back into studying:

"Sigh~ Let's take it slow. There's still time. If worst comes to worst, I'll just muddle through for a hundred years, cling to a strong thigh, and ascend to the Great Thousand. Hmm, before that, the most important thing is strength, otherwise, I won't even have the qualifications to ascend."

Thinking of this, Zhao Li cast aside the restlessness in his heart, calmed down, and immersed himself in research.

When focused, one always forgets the passage of time. Sun and moon alternated, seasons changed, time flew like an arrow, and in the blink of an eye, two more years passed.

With continuous research, Zhao Li gradually discovered the joy and grandeur within Talisman Crafting and Formations.

It was the joy of slowly researching and analyzing heaven and earth.

Whether it was Formations or Talismans, they were about studying heaven and earth, and then using everything one possessed to maximize its use, or to modify it.

As he delved deeper, Zhao Li also encountered problems one after another, and then slowly solved them.

During this process, Zhao Li unexpectedly discovered that his understanding of Rules became deeper, and at the same time, the improvement of his Soul Power was also much faster than before.

Although reaching the Emperor Realm was still a long way off, being on the road meant getting closer and closer to the destination.

At this time, on the mountaintop of the back mountain of the Zhao Family, Zhao Li carefully sensed the interaction and changes between himself and heaven and earth, feeling greatly comforted.

He had only studied at the Treasure Forging Pavilion for a little over three months before reaching its limit, so he left.

Later, exploring on his own, facing various difficulties, he did not give up and kept learning and researching.

During a certain cultivation session, he had a flash of inspiration and a sudden idea: why not treat himself as a finished Formation or Talisman, and then research and analyze the process of him mobilizing heaven and earth energy, record it, and then continuously look for other alternative methods.

His Soul Power was strong, his control was finer, and with his high-level perspective, the effect was remarkable.

Now, he could already set up formations that could exert one-thousandth of his strength. Compared to two years ago, it was a huge leap forward.

Of course, the materials used to set up formations of this level were not simple, and were even extremely precious.

"Although there's some progress, it's not much. Overall, the things I've researched so far are still useless."

Zhao Li withdrew his perception and made a judgment.

The power of the formations was not weak, but the materials needed to set them up could only be gathered by those with strong power or large forces. But no matter which, their destructive power exceeded the formation itself. It was truly a series that the weak couldn't afford and the strong didn't need.

Perhaps for those families and sects with heritage and strength, they might take out resources to set one up to add a layer of protection to their base camp.

"Forget it, being able to reach this level in such a short time is already quite good."

Zhao Li chuckled, feeling that he was a bit too anxious. His current progress was indeed not slow.

Moreover, during the process of analysis, his strength had improved quite quickly.

After a moment of thought, Zhao Li pondered his future plans. On one hand, he would continue to study the interaction and control between himself and heaven and earth, aiming to be able to exert 100% of his strength with formations. On the other hand, he would study the materials used, aiming for them to be as simple as possible, preferably something even mortals could set up and still have a certain effect.

A little later, Zhao Li suppressed the thoughts in his heart, and with a flash, he disappeared from the mountaintop.

Great Qian Empire, Danyuan City, Danxia Peak!

Inside the Sect Master's Grand Hall, the high-ranking members of the Danyuan Sect were all present, mostly old men and women. A young man was quite conspicuous, none other than Li Ling.

Lin Lan sat at the head of the Grand Hall, holding a child of about three or four years old in his arms. The child's dark eyes flickered, and his head swayed from side to side, curiously looking at the elders sitting on both sides.

As soon as Zhao Li appeared, he saw Lin Lan on the high seat, a look of joy on his face. He bowed and said:

"Teacher, you're back."

Then he saw the little guy Lin Lan was holding, and was slightly startled, his heart filling with curiosity.

Lin Lan nodded:

"Mm, have a seat first. We were just waiting for you."

He pointed to a chair nearby, indicating for Zhao Li to sit down first.

Zhao Li sat down and looked inquiringly at the Great Elder beside him. He had sensed that the jade token he left for the Great Elder had been crushed, and fearing something had happened to the sect, he had returned suddenly.

The Great Elder winked and gestured, trying his best to convey his meaning.

Seeing him beaming with excitement, Zhao Li could only tell he was in a good mood and couldn't discern anything else.

He immediately stopped thinking about it. Since Master had gathered everyone, whatever it was would naturally be explained later.

Lin Lan lightly coughed, and the Grand Hall fell silent. Everyone sat up straight. In such an atmosphere, even the little guy Lin Lan was holding held his breath.

"Everyone, I have gathered you here today for only one matter. I intend to relinquish my position as Sect Master and pass it to my disciple, Zhao Li. Does anyone have any objections?"

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