The Azure Dragon Aura is the pinnacle of auras within the Great Qian Dynasty.
No.
To be more precise.
It stands in a league of its own.
The so-called aura is a product of the transformation of a martial artist's vital energy and blood after stepping into the innate realm. Its nature and power are closely tied to the martial artist's own cultivation techniques.
For instance, Xu Xi's previous aura, due to his practice of the Thunder Blade technique, transformed into a thunderous blade aura.
Similarly.
Wu Yingxue's Azure Dragon Aura.
With its horns, tail, and distinct scales, exuding the might of a dragon's roar with every movement, is closely related to the imperial family's cultivation techniques.
The problem lies precisely in this perfection.
"Why..."
"Even though it's a cultivation technique of a human dynasty, why does it deliberately mimic the Azure Dragon?"
"Why not other dragon species, or blade auras or sword auras?"
"In the martial world, there's no shortage of aura techniques that imitate demons and monsters. During the border skirmishes, one of the Great Qian generals wielded a turtle-snake aura."
"But the level of imitation in those auras pales in comparison to the Azure Dragon Aura."
Pingshui County.
The top floor of the official residence.
Xu Xi pondered deeply, his brows furrowed as he gazed at the sharp vertical pupils of the Azure Dragon and the vividly clear dragon scales before him.
Such a meticulous level of imitation.
It didn't seem like a conventional imitation of demons and monsters.
It was more akin to standing directly before a demon, copying the entire essence and form of a true Azure Dragon, and making it one's own.
The Great Qian Dynasty...
The Ten Thousand Mountains...
Humans and demons...
Multiple pieces of information, different clues, collided in Xu Xi's mind.
"From the known intelligence, there must be some hidden connection between the Great Qian Dynasty and the demons. And this Azure Dragon Aura..."
"Could it be that the Great Qian Emperor, who ostensibly protects humanity, is actually a traitor colluding with demons?"
"This conjecture is bold, but it's not without possibility."
Xu Xi pondered for a long time.
He decided to set aside this thought for now.
At the moment, the most pressing matter was to devise a new cultivation technique for the girl.
Otherwise, her martial talent would be wasted, hindering her progress and depriving the Survival Army of a fierce warrior.
"Yingxue, what are your thoughts on the new technique?"
"Fire!"
The girl blurted out without hesitation.
Her name was Yingxue (Reflecting Snow), but her temperament was fiery.
The girl had an innate passion and love for fire, evident even in her attire, which was dominated by large swathes of red.
"Fire, huh..."
"Alright, I understand."
Xu Xi nodded and had people gather all fire-related techniques available in the county.
He planned to use the foundation of a hundred techniques to deduce the principles of an innate aura.
...
[Your deduction has officially begun]
[Creating an innate technique from scratch is no easy task]
[Even with the inner world characteristics of the Myriad Furnace, even with the Martial Deduction trait, even with the Azure Dragon Aura as a reference]
[It remains an immensely difficult endeavor]
[Your daily routine became chaotic]
[You often stayed up all night researching]
[Your prolonged study of fire techniques gave you some insights into technique creation, and your martial theory improved slightly]
[Your prolonged study of the Azure Dragon Aura gave you some understanding of the imperial family's techniques, and you began to grasp the strengths and weaknesses of the imperial techniques]
[Your exhaustion from researching techniques worried Wu Yingxue]
[You smiled and reassured her, telling her not to worry about you]
[Creating a technique isn't the hard part; the challenge lies in creating one that can rival the Azure Dragon Aura]
[Fully aware of the difficulty, you decided to lower your expectations and first meet the girl's cultivation needs]
[After fourteen days]
[You created the prototype of a technique]
[It perfectly met Wu Yingxue's requirements, with fire as its primary element, giving the aura a scorching and fierce nature]
[The girl tried circulating it and instantly fell in love with the technique, twirling her spear, its tip tearing through the air like the cries of a fiery phoenix]
[You incorporated some aspects of the Fool's Technique into the new technique]
[Allowing the girl to grow stronger through battle, continuously amplifying her strength with heightened fighting spirit, and even healing her wounds in the process]
[Wu Yingxue, overjoyed, asked you for the name of the new technique]
"Master, master, what's this technique called?"
"I haven't really thought about it yet. After all, it's just a prototype, not a complete technique."
"Is that so... Master, how about calling it 'The Supreme Divine Technique of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths'!"
"...That's a bit too arrogant."
[After much discussion with the girl]
[You decided to temporarily forgo naming the new technique]
[Planning to give it a proper name in the future, when the technique is truly perfected]
[With that, the girl's cultivation dilemma was resolved, and her progress became faster than ever, like a true flame, constantly burning forward]
[Harvest season arrived, with golden autumn hues]
[You stayed in Pingshui County for some time, witnessing the autumn harvest with the girl]
[The people of the Survival Army, crying and laughing, joyfully reaped the golden rice fields]
[You had a bountiful harvest]
[Seeing the longing in people's eyes, you gritted your teeth and decided to indulge in a rare luxury]
[After the harvest, you organized a communal feast]
[Every member of the Survival Army, every 'criminal' who had fled the border, received a steaming bowl of white rice]
[The bowls held only a thin layer of rice]
[But the snowy white glow and the rising steam mesmerized everyone]
"Gulp—"
"Gulp—"
It started with someone.
Then it continued, unceasingly.
The sound of swallowing echoed throughout Pingshui County.
"Everyone, eat," Xu Xi's voice rang out, and immediately, everyone eagerly picked up their portion of rice, taking a small pinch and savoring it slowly.
The rice was too precious.
They couldn't bear to eat it all at once.
Such a delicacy had to be enjoyed slowly, chewing every grain thoroughly.
Letting the sweetness of the rice linger in their parched mouths.
"White rice, so sweet!"
"I've finally eaten white rice!"
Niu, eating the white rice and licking his fingers, laughed foolishly.
He still remembered his earlier conversation with Xu Xi.
White rice was something only the city's wealthy ate.
Now that Niu had eaten white rice.
It meant Niu was one of the wealthy.
In his not-so-bright mind, Niu happily concluded this, then poured the rest of his rice into his elderly mother's bowl.
"Mother, you eat. I'm not hungry."
The simple-minded man said this, coaxing his mother to eat the rice.
Similar scenes played out across the Survival Army. Their stomachs were still empty, but the fire in their eyes had been rekindled.
"Master, will our lives get better in the future?"
"They will."