The 'Ice Devil,' that's what Yun Lan was known as in her younger years. She was born with Earth Core Realm talent, along with an ice affinity. At a young age, she had a great interest in business, as her family also dabbled in it, but her second love was cultivation and fighting.
While her talents were great, her combat prowess and understanding of Qi were even more formidable. She was a combat genius and a battle junkie. Her understanding of her affinity and her comprehension of her own Qi was amazing. Moreover, she exuded a cold and powerful aura.
In her younger days, she was a force to be reckoned with. She went around challenging many and brutally fighting and killing those who stood in her way. Due to her natural affinity for ice, she always maintained a poker face. Only with her family would she reveal her true self. Xiao is certain that if his mother had been born in the upper world, she would have definitely become someone great.
But sadly, her talent was limited to the Earth Core Realm. If she wanted to increase it, the effort required would be immense. Even using treasures on her would be challenging because a significant amount of heavenly treasures would need to be used to enhance her talent, and it would be wasted on her. But Xiao didn't care. He would ensure that his mother's wishes were fulfilled in this life.
"So, a fire-related cultivation manual... huh?"
"That's right."
Xiao nodded in response to his mother's question. He could see some disappointment in her for him not inheriting her ice affinity. If he had, it would have been easier for his mother to teach him. But sadly, Xuanyin inherited it instead, although she couldn't cultivate it. Well, life is always filled with twists and turns.
"If I remember correctly, there might be some good cultivation techniques in the family for you."
Yun Lan spoke, and Xiao raised his head in surprise, listening intently to his mother. Well, it couldn't be helped. He already knew the type of cultivation technique he wanted to cultivate. The book "Heavenly Opposers" he read provided detailed explanations of several cultivation techniques and moves.
In fact, there were explanations for many hidden and powerful techniques that were part of several influential factions. For example, the one he had used, the technique from the Zerkian family. Xiao was well aware that if any other faction got wind of this, he would be hunted down mercilessly. That's why he had to be cautious about the technique he chose to cultivate.
After all, what if he encountered someone from the faction whose cultivation technique he was using, even though he wasn't a part of their faction? Yeah, well, that could get dangerous very soon. In normal cases, a person wouldn't be able to remember everything they read clearly, but that wasn't a problem for Xiao.
During his time in Ingrid, Xiao was found to possess five skills, which was an extraordinary achievement. Unfortunately, none of them were suited for combat. They were {Connection}, {Forgotten}, {Mind Split}, and his fourth skill, {Record And Analyze}.
It was the {Record And Analyze} skill that allowed him to remember everything he read and analyze it as he wished. This power also led him to create the most powerful mercenary group back in the world of Ingrid. Setting aside his past, he had already made up his mind about the cultivation manual he wanted to practice. From what he remembered, it could be found in a lost Ancient legacy world of the Beginning Era, a legacy belonging to a species that leads to the first use of fire itself.
In the story, the main hero found it and used it as a bargaining chip, but a battle broke out in the end, leading to the destruction of the technique. Thankfully, the book "Heavenly Opposers" provided a clear explanation of the contents found in the book as the main character read it.
The fact that it was related to fire was a huge plus. It was one of the few things that were well-detailed, a flame cultivation technique that might be useful to him. It was well-explained, and luckily, he had the power to remember it completely. Even more fortunately, he was born back with the chance to use the said technique. Yeah, that's quite unbelievable! Xiao wasn't foolish enough not to recognize that he was being pulled into a very dangerous scheme. His actions seemed to align with the invisible threads of fate, and everything he did appeared to match the desires of some entity. Right now, he was unwittingly playing into its hands.
And truthfully, he couldn't do anything about it. Well, who was he to complain? He had been given a second chance and a great future to become powerful. He was determined to climb to the top. So what if he was following a predetermined path? According to him, he was doing what he wanted to do.
No one was forcing him, and if he ever gained the strength desired by this entity, he might lend a helping hand if it was something easy. However, if it came at a great cost to him, he would refuse. So what if he might have to fight to the death? He would do it, and even if he failed, he wasn't afraid of death.
"So, do you understand?"
"Yes, mother."
Xiao nodded in response to his mother, even though he had no idea what she had said until now. Seeing the understanding look in her child's eyes, Yun Lan nodded her head in relief. Little did she know that her son hadn't heard a word she had said and had planned to do the complete opposite of everything she had advised.
"Good, then you can go to the cultivation treasury room and choose the one you like. And remember what I said, don't bite off more than you can handle."
"I know, Mother."
Xiao nodded his head. He was quite lucky that they didn't check affinities openly. Well, that was because it didn't matter much. Lying about one's affinity wouldn't bring any benefits, as anyone could cultivate any affinity with ten times the hard work. However, the chances of surviving would be different.
For example, one could acquire a lightning affinity by staying in a place with dense lightning elements. However, the chances of coming out unscathed were very small. The same applied to the death element, but no one had ever been able to use that element without being born with it.
So, there was no reason to lie about one's element. It would only create problems for oneself.