A cluster of towering buildings appeared before Xiao Yan. They walked to the largest mansion, where, above the huge gilded gate, a gleaming plaque read: Lin Academy. The two characters, Lin Academy, were like shadows in the wind, subtly exerting a powerful pressure. When one's eyes moved away, the pressure vanished completely. However, the moment the peripheral vision touched the characters, the pressure returned with full force. It seemed that these were words left by a true powerhouse. It was true, the Land of Arts was ruled by the Arts!
Seeing that Xiao Yan could withstand the characters written by the ancestor using Art Energy, the burly men were clearly surprised. They thought to themselves, "This lad is not simple." Before they could think further, the gate was opened. "Welcome, new arrival." Several civilians, who looked like sweepers, welcomed Xiao Yan, startling him. Was this level of fanfare really necessary? Hearing this, the burly men snorted, "Go, go, go, don't be gloating. Do what you're supposed to do. I'll take this kid to register."
What gloating? Xiao Yan, confused, looked at the crowd who were chuckling. "Hurry up, what are you staring at?" The roar of the burly man interrupted Xiao Yan's confusion, and he jogged to catch up with them. Deep inside the academy, Xiao Yan's group arrived in front of a large, red-beamed room. The burly man respectfully called out to the inside, "Third Uncle, the person is here." His attitude was completely different from what he had shown Xiao Yan earlier.
"Hmm, you all can go back now. Let him come in!" An old voice came from inside. "Yes..." "Quickly go in!" The burly men responded, pushing Xiao Yan into the room. ...After the burly men left, Xiao Yan was very displeased. Since arriving on this continent, why was he only being bullied? He straightened his clothes and looked into the room. It was pitch black. Strange, who was this Third Uncle, and why was he looking for him?
"Young friend, don't look around. Just come in." The old voice came again. Fine, I don't believe you can eat me. Thinking this, Xiao Yan walked into the room. But once inside, Xiao Yan suffered. There was no light, and he couldn't sense anything. "Bang, slap, boom, crack..." All sorts of collisions almost formed a symphony. Suddenly, Xiao Yan's head, hands, feet, and back were covered in bruises.
Xiao Yan couldn't even tell north from south, just blindly stumbling around by feel. Finally, the collisions stopped, and a faint light appeared in Xiao Yan's eyes. As he got closer, the light grew stronger.
Upon closer inspection, the light was actually emanating from the body of an old man, who was also closing his eyes tightly. At Xiao Yan's arrival, the old man's body moved slightly, and he opened his tired eyes, gazing directly at Xiao Yan. Immediately, Xiao Yan felt a sensation like an electric shock throughout his body, trembling uncontrollably.
What's going on? Xiao Yan was bewildered by the unknown situation, and after sizing up Xiao Yan, the other party actually revealed a harmonious smile. Xiao Yan had originally wanted to get angry, but considering their disparity in strength and seeing the other party's amiable smile, he could only suppress his anger and wait for him to speak.
"My name is Lin Hu, you can call me Third Uncle from now on. What's your name?" The old man said. Xiao Yan thought about what the big man had told him, "My name is Lin Yan!" Lin Hu paused when he heard his answer, "Oh, not a bad name! You may prefer your old name, but in Lin Academy, you must use Lin as your surname. If you reach a certain level of strength one day, you can change it back." Xiao Yan was originally dissatisfied with Lin Academy's requirements, and what Lin Hu said was also nonsense to him, "I know all this. No need to remind me. I will reach that level one day."
Hearing that Xiao Yan was not afraid of him and even spoke in such a dismissive tone, Lin Hu was slightly shocked, "Hahaha, young Lin Yan, your words are sharp! Don't be too arrogant, but I admire your ambition, hahaha..." Xiao Yan was speechless; was there something wrong with this old man? He always spoke in a strange way.
After laughing, Lin Hu looked at Xiao Yan, "Kid, if you want to become stronger, you must cultivate Art." More nonsense. "I know about cultivating Art, but how exactly do I cultivate it?" Xiao Yan asked unhappily. "Hahaha, don't worry, kid, let me explain. In the Land of Arts, Art reigns supreme. Our ancestor, the Artisan of Arts, created Art. It combines multiple elements, such as Dou Qi (Internal Energy), Magic, and Zhen Qi (True Energy). These are all part of Art; they are considered branches of it.
Under the guidance of the Artisan of Arts, many people on this continent mastered powerful Art, and some animals were no exception. Therefore, this continent became the Land of Arts. However, with the increasing population, Art became less and less pure, leading to the decline of the Land of Arts. To solve this problem, the Artisan of Arts established a rule of bloodline inheritance, keeping the pure bloodlines and sending out the lower bloodlines.
However, the lower bloodlines were also his people. The Artisan of Arts couldn't bear to see them perish, so he carved out space for them, creating another space within the stable space surrounding the Land of Arts. The Dou Qi (Internal Energy) Continent you're on is part of that. After building the space, the Artisan of Arts sent those with lower bloodlines there and gave them a cultivation technique to pass down to their descendants.
Dou Qi (Internal Energy) is one of them, and it is divided into levels. If someone reaches the peak of the technique, the Artisan of Arts will send Void Transmitters to transport them to the Land of Arts. These people are only considered Hidden Artists, meaning they have the potential to cultivate Art. Whether they can truly master Art depends on their strength. If they fail to cultivate Art, they are left to their own devices.
Now for the important part: cultivating Art. It sounds simple, but it's different from being a Dou Qi (Internal Energy) practitioner. Dou Qi (Internal Energy) is something that most people can obtain through diligent cultivation, it just varies in quantity. However, cultivating Art is not something everyone can do.
Even if you meet the qualifications, if you don't have the aptitude for Art, you won't possess an Art Body. Only those with an Art Body are considered true Art Practitioners. And to possess an Art Body..." Speaking to this point, Lin Hu stopped his explanation. Xiao Yan, who was immersed in the explanation of the origin of the Land of Arts and the Dou Qi (Internal Energy) Continent, suddenly dozed off. Seeing his lapse, Xiao Yan said awkwardly, "Sorry, I was too engrossed in listening. Please continue."
Interesting. Lin Hu felt that the young man in front of him was indeed different, as the Void Transmitters had said. However, he didn't know if he truly was. Although Xiao Yan had passed all sorts of tests, it was still difficult to connect him with that other identity. "To possess an Art Body, you must make a sacrifice, but there's no guarantee of a reward after the sacrifice. Because the sacrifice means you must exhaust all the energy in your body, converting all the existing energy in your body into Art Energy, and then integrating this Art Energy into your body. Only then will you possess an Art Body and become a quasi-Art Practitioner."
"What!?" Xiao Yan couldn't believe his ears. He needed to know that all the Dou Qi in his body was the result of his many years of hard work. To just get rid of it like that... how could he bear it? Lin Hu knew Xiao Yan would react like this and continued, "In your current state, you must convert the energy in your body into Art Energy because, in this Land of Arts, you are the weakest. Moreover, the continent you come from cannot accommodate an energy body like yours. So, you have no choice. Why not choose a path with hope? This is the Art Transformation Technique. Think carefully and cultivate diligently!" As Lin Hu spoke, he handed a book to Xiao Yan.
Looking at this Art Transformation Technique, do I have no choice? Since that's the case, I'll start over. What's so amazing about Arts? I'll still reach the peak. ... This sentence echoed repeatedly in Xiao Yan's mind...