Chapter 72: The Sirius Transfers Power

When Ye Xin returned to the Longteng Martial Academy, all the students had already left; only Xie En remained in the Hanwu Hall, organizing the medicines and elemental stones Ye Xin would need for his cultivation.

Within the entire Jiuding City, apart from the Ironhearted Saint, Ye Xin possessed the richest resources. Though most of his assets were still buried within the borders of the Great Zhao State and currently inaccessible, what he held in hand already far surpassed any aristocratic family.

To secure the help of a certain indispensable person, Ye Xin had not hesitated to offer up eight hundred elemental stones—a fortune beyond measure.

In Tianyuan City, hiring a guide of the mountain cannon's caliber cost merely one elemental stone per assignment. Even a powerhouse of the Pillar State level, risking life and limb on countless high-difficulty missions, would be overjoyed to earn more than fifty elemental stones in a year.

Ye Xin stripped off his shirt, moving his body to accelerate the flow of blood and energy before beginning his cultivation, knowing this would enhance the effects.

Thinking of Wang Meng’s performance, a smile crept to Ye Xin’s lips. He hadn’t expected that after four years apart, Wang Meng would become so shrewd and capable—a talent he absolutely could not let slip away. No matter what, Wang Meng must be pulled onto his ship.

“Boss, what’s got you grinning like that? Looking all sneaky…” Xie En curled his lip.

“It’s nothing. An old friend from the past gave me quite the surprise,” Ye Xin replied, glancing at Xie En with indifference.

Seeing Ye Xin’s unchanged expression, a faint disappointment flickered in Xie En’s eyes. He straightened his chest and said, “Boss, there’s a problem I think you haven’t considered.”

“What problem?” Ye Xin asked.

“After you spoke with us the other day, I've been thinking as you instructed,” Xie En said. “Even if we can turn the stalemate into an advantage, there’s someone who will still be a huge headache for us in the end.”

“Who?”

“The Ironhearted Saint.” Xie En explained, “Neither Han Sanmei, nor Wang Fang, nor even Deng Zhiguo or Shen Wangji would dare make a move against the Ironhearted Saint himself! The charge of regicide is not easily borne, and besides, they’ve all benefited greatly from the Heaven and Earth Jiuding. The Ironhearted Saint has shown them great kindness! In my view, the most they’ll do is help tie down his forces; to strike at him directly—absolutely impossible!”

“Leave the Ironhearted Saint to me,” Ye Xin said.

“Boss, are you truly confident?” Xie En’s eyes shone with anticipation.

“Give me two more months, and I should be ready,” Ye Xin replied. “The Celestial Wolf Technique is unlike ordinary methods, and after years of tempering, I’ve made significant modifications to it. Cultivation… how should I put it? To me, it’s like a great river, and the bottleneck is a dam in its course. Only relentless, year-after-year surges of the river can eventually break it down and allow a breakthrough.”

“That makes sense,” Xie En nodded.

“So, I’ve chosen to build another dam within the river,” Ye Xin took a deep breath and began circulating his elemental veins. A faint golden wolf’s head floated from his chest, only to suddenly collapse into several fist-sized spheres of light, which sank into his brow, throat, shoulders, chest, and below the navel.

Six luminous spheres flashed as, with every breath, a faint golden wolf’s head emerged from Ye Xin, only to instantly dissipate.

“Boss, you actually… locked up your own elemental veins? What are you trying to do?!” Xie En was stunned.

“I’m storing up the water,” Ye Xin smiled. “One day, when I’m ready, I’ll open the dam I built, triggering an artificial flood and causing the river’s power to multiply several times, even dozens of times, breaking through the bottleneck in one fell swoop.”

“But how could your elemental veins withstand such—” Xie En suddenly froze. “Boss, you’re cultivating the Celestial Wolf Technique… I see…”

“It’s risky, but I have to try,” Ye Xin sighed. “The origins of the Celestial Wolf Technique are beyond imagination… It shouldn’t even exist in a place like this, nor should my father have obtained it. To be honest, his talent wasn’t as great as people say. If it had been me…” Ye Xin left the thought unsaid. He wasn’t belittling Ye Guanhai, merely feeling regretful. If Ye Guanhai’s talent and comprehension had been higher, he might have overturned the Nine Kingdoms’ balance long ago.

“No wonder… no wonder you brought Mo Yan along just to deal with a few constables,” Xie En said with a wry smile. “Turns out you’ve locked your own elemental veins…”

Locking one’s own elemental veins isn’t achieved in a day or two, and unlocking them takes even longer. In other words, Ye Xin’s current strength was much less than his peak two years ago.

Ye Xin had earned the title ‘God of Slaughter’—whether friend or foe, all found it fitting, for he truly deserved it. If Xie En had claimed such a title, the Tiansin Battalion would have mocked him to death, and the soldiers of the Great Zhao would use it as a joke. No one dared laugh at Ye Xin.

Ye Xin had been unable to withstand a single strike from Zhuang Buxiu simply because he couldn’t use the Celestial Wolf Technique. Zhuang Buxiu had used his ultimate move, while Ye Xin hadn’t dared to use his own signature skill—there was no way he could win, and there was no shame in losing.

Ye Xin’s cultivation method was astonishing—no rational person would so cripple their own power. Moreover, such a method couldn’t be imitated: the Celestial Wolf Technique allowed him to resist the elemental torrent, but any other warrior trying this would be courting death.

Ye Guanhai was upright and followed the rules. He never attempted the second step of the Celestial Wolf Technique before mastering the first, nor did he seek shortcuts. Ye Xin, on the other hand, was adept at finding new paths, making versatile use of all the knowledge he encountered. Thus, the value of the Celestial Wolf Technique manifested completely differently in their hands.

“Anyway, we shouldn’t face any major trouble for the time being,” Ye Xin paused, then looked suspiciously at Xie En. “Wait a second… Xie En, you were always the least inclined to think deeply. What’s gotten into you today?”

“I just suddenly felt much sharper, so I started considering a lot of things,” Xie En replied with a cheeky grin.

“All of a sudden?” Ye Xin eyed him up and down. “You broke through your bottleneck?”

“Exactly!” Xie En puffed out his chest even more. “From now on, please address me as Lord Pillar State!”

“Heh… You dare act so haughty in front of me? Even with my elemental veins locked, I can still pin you down and give you a thrashing. Want to try?” Ye Xin teased with a wicked grin.

“Boss, you always say violence isn’t the answer to everything,” Xie En protested.

“But it can solve you,” Ye Xin retorted. “When did this happen?”

“When else? This afternoon. I suddenly felt a surge of inspiration and thought I should go into seclusion. After just two hours of cultivation in the Hanwu Hall, I broke through the second-grade elemental barrier,” Xie En replied. “The whole academy was in an uproar, even the main campus came over. Boss, did you see Xiao Ling? I got so many gifts today, ha ha… And now I’m an honorary vice dean! The vice dean post isn’t vacant, so for now, it’s just honorary. Boss, you should have seen Wu Man’s old face—he looked as sour as a donkey, ha ha ha…” Xie En, still elated, recounted the events with great animation.

“I came from Xinyi Pavilion and didn’t see Xiao Ling,” Ye Xin said, sighing a little. “Not bad, Xie En, you must be the fifth to break through the bottleneck…”

“Boss, you and Mister Ghost are monsters, not human, so you two don’t count,” Xie En said quickly. “Little Fish was first, then the second, and I’m the third, ha ha… At least I held a top-three position!”

“Sit down,” Ye Xin instructed.

Xie En paused, then became visibly excited and obediently sat cross-legged on the mat.

Ye Xin moved behind Xie En, closing his eyes to adjust his breathing. After about ten minutes, his elemental veins were operating at their peak. Ye Xin extended his right hand, golden brilliance flowing swiftly between the backs of his hand and his fingers, growing faster and finally becoming golden lightning.

In the next moment, Ye Xin pressed his right palm onto the crown of Xie En’s head, the golden lightning seeping into Xie En. Xie En’s body convulsed violently.

Celestial Wolf Transmission!

The soldiers of the Tiansin Battalion cultivated at remarkable speeds—partly because they had to constantly face battles, partly because, under Ye Xin’s leadership, they had intercepted a vast trove of resources, ensuring their cultivation was well supported. Most importantly, Ye Xin could use the Celestial Wolf Transmission to aid them.

The Celestial Wolf Force was a unique combat technique: against enemies, it could lock their elemental veins, rendering them powerless in moments; against friends, it could temper their elemental veins, harming or helping at Ye Xin’s whim.

Of course, the Celestial Wolf Force couldn’t forcibly promote advancement—true progress depended on oneself. But tempered elemental veins made cultivation far more efficient.

Here, the difference in ability was clear. Ye Guanhai could only attend to a dozen or so people, who became the core of the Celestial Wolf Corps and were absolutely loyal to him, with only one exception. Ye Xin, at his peak, had cared for over three hundred, though the relentless wars and lack of respite meant less than a hundred ultimately survived.

A band of fierce, violent convicts could steadfastly rally around Ye Xin, not because he was the strongest or the smartest, but because he represented their hope.

After more than two hours, Ye Xin slowly withdrew his hand. Xie En opened his eyes, drenched in sweat, his hair soaked, his face pale, and lips bloodless.

“You’ll need two days to recover,” Ye Xin said.

“I’m fine…” Xie En grinned weakly. “I just took up your cultivation time…”