Breakthrough to Dou Zhe, Achievement Reward

It was quite a coincidence. Although he and Lu Yunxiao had merely met by chance—and had glared wide-eyed at each other the moment they met—they somehow found themselves remarkably compatible.

Hai Bodong was ruthless and eccentric, yet he had taken a liking to Lu Yunxiao at first sight.

Lu Yunxiao had only just left the Gu Clan, and his guard was at its highest, yet he too felt an inexplicable affinity for Hai Bodong.

Though the old man looked a little lecherous, he was surprisingly not unpleasant.

It was precisely because of this affinity that Lu Yunxiao and Hai Bodong had come together. They bickered constantly, but their relationship was exceptionally good.

One called the other "Stinky Kid," while the other shouted "Stinky Old Man," yet their bond only grew deeper.

They both claimed not to care, but in truth, each had already taken the other to heart.

To Hai Bodong, Lu Yunxiao was no different from his own son.

To Lu Yunxiao, Hai Bodong was a teacher, a father figure, and a friend all at once—their relationship was rather unique.

Both of them valued their feelings deeply, so after eight years, they had grown increasingly natural around each other, and their place in each other's hearts had become ever more important.

Hai Bodong drew stroke by stroke, making maps. It was meticulous work that required great care; even the slightest error could affect the accuracy of the entire map.

Other shops might not care about such minor deviations, but Hai Bodong was a perfectionist. He would not allow even the tiniest flaw in his work.

After about the time it took to drink two cups of tea, Hai Bodong set down his pen. Another new map had been completed.

"Finished? Then come eat. The roasted meat won't taste good once it gets cold."

At the entrance to the inner room, Lu Yunxiao held a tray and spoke in a soft voice. It was piled high with roasted meat and fruit.

"Alright!" Hai Bodong answered, turning and walking toward the inner room.

In the afternoon, at around 1:45 PM, Lu Yunxiao sat quietly cross-legged in a somewhat dim secret chamber.

The chamber was slightly cold. These underground chambers had all been built by Hai Bodong for his cultivation, and their temperatures were extremely low. The cultivation chamber he usually used was even covered in ice.

Although Lu Yunxiao's chamber was some distance from Hai Bodong's cultivation chamber, it was still significantly affected. A faint chill hung in the air. Ordinary people would not last long in such an environment unless they wore thick cotton clothes.

But to Lu Yunxiao, this was nothing. His strong physique was enough to withstand such cold.

Moreover, the underground chamber was incomparably quiet, making it the perfect place for a breakthrough. He did not need to worry about anyone coming to disturb him.

Lu Yunxiao sat cross-legged, his hands forming seals. The Dou Qi within his body moved at his will and began circulating rapidly.

Threads of pale white Dou Qi gathered toward Lu Yunxiao from the outside world. For a time, they flowed without end like a stream of water.

He could have broken through to Dou Zhe long ago, but he had been suppressing himself. Now that he released those restraints, his Dou Qi surged like a wild horse breaking free of its reins.

His entire body became like a funnel, frantically devouring the surrounding Dou Qi.

To advance from the ninth stage of Dou Qi to Dou Zhe, the most important step was condensing a Dou Qi Cyclone. Once the Dou Qi Cyclone was successfully formed, one would become a true Dou Zhe.

As Lu Yunxiao released the Dou Qi he had painstakingly suppressed within his body and crazily absorbed the surrounding Dou Qi, the Dou Qi inside him began expanding rapidly, rushing through his meridians.

The Dou Qi swelled until it quickly filled most of Lu Yunxiao's meridians, reaching the limit of what they could contain.

That should be enough. Lu Yunxiao's thoughts shifted, and his hands began forming seals at high speed.

As the hand seals changed, the Dou Qi within Lu Yunxiao's body seemed to receive an order and rapidly surged toward his lower abdomen.

The pale white Dou Qi condensed in his lower abdomen, turning a dense milky white.

Lu Yunxiao focused his mind, his soul perception spreading wildly as he forcefully compressed the mass of milky white Dou Qi in his lower abdomen.

The milky white Dou Qi resisted fiercely, but Lu Yunxiao ruthlessly forced it down with an absolutely overbearing stance.

When that mass of Dou Qi shrank to no more than the size of a palm, it suddenly solidified and began rapidly revolving in a fixed direction with a steady rhythm.

At the same time, a powerful energy burst from Lu Yunxiao's body. His white robe fluttered without wind, producing wave after wave of rustling sounds.

The Dou Zhe realm—achieved!

At the very moment Lu Yunxiao completely entered the Dou Zhe realm, the system's voice rang out in his mind.

"Ding! Congratulations, Host, on breaking through to Dou Zhe and completing the achievement: Dou Zhe. Reward: one Flying Rainbow Sword and one sword technique, 'Immortal's Flight Beyond the Heavens.'"

"Flying Rainbow Sword, Fourth Grade Initial. Forged from Millennium Cold Iron Essence stored in the deep seas beyond the ocean. Net weight: Six Jin Four Liang."

"'Immortal's Flight Beyond the Heavens,' High Profound-tier. A supreme sword technique created by the Sword Immortal Ye Gucheng. Like an immortal descending upon the mortal world, it is breathtakingly beautiful, flawless and pure, leaving no trace to follow. This is the most beautiful sword technique in the world, a sword move that does not belong to the mortal realm. Though this sword technique is High Profound-tier, when brought to its absolute peak, it is no weaker than an Earth Tier Dou Technique."

As the system's voice faded, a sheathed longsword suddenly appeared in Lu Yunxiao's hand. At the same time, a stream of information entered his mind.

Lu Yunxiao closed his eyes in contemplation. A moment later, he fully understood every profound mystery of Immortal's Flight Beyond the Heavens.

He already possessed exceptional comprehension. After comprehending Immortal's Flight Beyond the Heavens once, he had learned it.

"Immortal's Flight Beyond the Heavens truly lives up to its name. Its power is far inferior to Sword Separating Worlds, but it is indeed much stronger than the Tide-Watching Fist."

Lu Yunxiao smiled. While its claim of rivaling an Earth Tier technique was merely a joke—Earth Tier was Earth Tier, and Profound-tier was Profound-tier, with an enormous gap between them—Immortal's Flight Beyond the Heavens was indeed powerful.

Though it came from a martial arts world, that did not mean it was weak.

What the martial arts world limited was only a martial artist's cultivation, not the realm of their martial intent.

Though Ye Gucheng himself was not particularly strong, that was due to the limitations of his world. He was a natural genius of the sword, and his attainments in the Sword Dao were astonishing. This move, Immortal's Flight Beyond the Heavens, represented the pinnacle of his Sword Dao. Its power was unmatched, and beneath the Earth Tier, it was absolutely among the very best.

And what Lu Yunxiao liked most was not merely its formidable power. The sword technique was beautiful—that was what mattered most.

After all, whether one was strong only mattered for a while, but whether one was handsome mattered for a lifetime.

Today's two updates are complete!