Crow Laughs at Pig's Blackness

"Dummy, don't you recognize me?"

The maiden stood before Xiao Han, her beautiful eyes smiling as she looked at the green-robed youth. His handsome face and the breeze lifting the loose strands of hair before his forehead gave him an indescribably carefree air.

Hearing the maiden's slightly playful voice, Xiao Han came back to his senses and could not help but chuckle.

Xiao Han raised a brow, then reached out and wrapped an arm around the maiden's slender waist. Smiling, he said, "My Goddess, how could I not recognize you?"

The maiden's pretty face flushed slightly. After struggling a little, she let Xiao Han hold her.

"You can cultivate now, right?" Xiao Han asked.

"Mm." Xiao Xueqin nodded, feeling very happy. This was a world of cultivation, and Xiao Han's talent was so outstanding. She too desperately wanted to embark on the path of cultivation. Only then could she keep up with Xiao Han's footsteps.

"That's good. Cultivate well." Xiao Han smiled, inwardly letting out a sigh of relief. At last, Xiao Xueqin's cultivation issue had been resolved.

The night was deep, and all was silent.

A huge full moon hung in the sky. Xiao Han and Xiao Xueqin leaped onto the roof and sat side by side. The maiden gently rested her head against the youth's shoulder as they quietly admired the bright moon. A faint warmth silently spread beneath the moonlit night.

At this moment, time moved slowly, yet it was so beautiful.

After resolving the seal within Xiao Xueqin's body, Xiao Han continued his bitter training alongside Xiao Yan. To gain dignity and glory, one naturally had to cultivate diligently.

Another morning arrived. In an open clearing on the Xiao Family's Back Mountain, two youthful figures lay on the ground, panting heavily and drenched in sweat. Before them floated an illusory figure.

"You two little brats are already done?" Yao Lao floated over and said.

"Teacher, Xiao Han and I have already run dozens of laps around the Back Mountain. You have to let us rest for a while, don't you?" Xiao Yan said between gasps.

"You brat, what do you know? I'm deliberately training your endurance. It's for your own good. Now that both of you have little girlfriends, you need to train a man's endurance even more!" Yao Lao stroked his beard and spoke earnestly.

"..." Xiao Han and Xiao Yan exchanged a glance, speechless. Then they both gave Yao Lao a disdainful look. This old man had no respect for his age.

"Sigh, I can't blame you for not appreciating it. You'll understand this old man's painstaking intentions someday." Yao Lao shook his head with a sigh. Young people these days were far too weak. This training was for their own good.

"Teacher, can't you teach us something useful? Every day, it's either running laps or smashing wooden stakes..." Xiao Yan curled his lips, already silently criticizing this unscrupulous teacher in his heart.

"Yeah, Teacher, could you teach us something more substantial? Like a new high-grade Dou Skill or something?" Xiao Han said. He was now Yao Lao's disciple as well. There was no helping it—after seeing him advance to Dou Zhe in such a short time, the old man had become envious. For several days in a row, he had relentlessly pestered Xiao Han to take him as a disciple, even coming to disturb him in the middle of the night. With no other choice, Xiao Han had yielded to the circumstances and accepted him as his teacher.

What left Xiao Han speechless, however, was that this old man had actually told Xiao Yan that Xiao Han had been the one relentlessly begging to become his disciple. When Xiao Yan told him that, Xiao Han had nearly coughed up blood from anger. This old man truly left him at a loss for words. Sigh, he did not know whether ending up with such an unscrupulous teacher was a blessing or a curse.

"You two tiny One-star Dou Zhes want to learn high-grade Dou Skills?" Hearing their complaints, Yao Lao's expression turned stern as he adopted the bearing of a teacher. "Even with the High-Grade Xuan Tier Dou Skill, Eight Extremities Collapse, the two of you have only grasped a tiny bit of the surface. And you still have the nerve to talk about learning something else."

"Sigh, young people these days just aren't grounded. Back in our day..." Near the end, Yao Lao began sighing sentimentally, as though recalling the past.

"Teacher, stop, stop!" Xiao Han and Xiao Yan's mouths twitched fiercely. They hurriedly climbed up from the ground to stop Yao Lao. That "back in our day" was rather terrifying.

"Teacher, you said we've only grasped the surface of Eight Extremities Collapse, but I'm not convinced. With one punch, I can break rocks and shatter trees. Surely I've learned seven or eight tenths of it?" Xiao Yan said.

"You call what you used a Xuan Tier Dou Skill? The way you throw a punch is no different from a wild boar in heat charging around at random!" Yao Lao curled his lips and shot Xiao Yan a contemptuous glance.

"Uh..." Xiao Yan's mouth twitched. He was immediately criticized into silence.

Xiao Han, standing nearby, secretly snickered.

"And you, you brat, you still have the nerve to laugh? What you use isn't much better than his. Crow laughs at pig's blackness!" Yao Lao glared at Xiao Han and gave him another scolding.

"I..." Xiao Han's mouth trembled fiercely. He truly had no retort to that.

Xiao Yan could not help bursting into laughter. He looked at Xiao Han with a hint of gloating, and Xiao Han shot him a glare. Serves you right for laughing at me.

"Alright, you two. I know you both want to become stronger, but meals must be eaten one bite at a time, and roads must be walked one step at a time. First, build a solid foundation. When the time comes, I'll naturally teach you new things," Yao Lao said seriously.

"Oh." Xiao Han and Xiao Yan both nodded. They naturally understood that trying to swallow too much at once would only lead to indigestion.

"Also, after your Xiao Clan's Coming-of-Age Ceremony ends, I'll take the two of you out for experience. In this tiny Wutan City, you can't learn much, nor can you cleanse your shame at the Misty Cloud Sect three years later," Yao Lao added.

Hearing that Yao Lao would take them out to cultivate, both their eyes lit up. They were young, after all, and naturally filled with anticipation for the outside world. Roaming the world with a sword at one's side was probably a dream every youth had once held in his heart.

"Teacher, where are you taking us for experience?" Xiao Yan asked curiously. Xiao Han naturally knew where they were going. Their first stop was the Magical Beast Mountain Range, and he was immensely looking forward to the stories that awaited there.

"Why ask so many questions? For now, cultivate properly. Otherwise, once you leave, someone will beat you into cripples. Don't say you're my disciples then—you'd be too embarrassing," Yao Lao said.

"Oh." Xiao Yan curled his lips and nodded reluctantly.

"Since you understand, why are you still standing there? Keep running. After you finish, keep smashing the wooden stakes. You've spent so long and still haven't figured out the hidden force of Eight Extremities Collapse, yet you have the nerve to call yourselves geniuses?" Yao Lao poured another bucket of cold water over them. These two proud little fellows needed more tempering.

Hearing this, Xiao Han and Xiao Yan exchanged a glance and shook their heads with bitter smiles. There was no helping it. Time to keep running.

"You two little brats, don't slack off! Run faster! A man must have endurance..."

On the Back Mountain, the two youths cultivated diligently beneath Yao Lao's torment. The process was painful, yet joyful...

Hmph! Robbery!!! Hand over your tickets, rewards, and girls—they're all mine!