All Dou Practitioners

"Th-that! That was just an accident back then."

Hearing what Xiao Yu called him, Xiao Yan immediately recalled what had happened years ago. He hurriedly Got Up from Xiao Yu, his face flushing red as he frantically waved his hands in explanation.

"But you did see it back then, didn't you?"

Xiao Yu sat up with a smile. Xiao Yan was instantly Stunned into silence, Lowering his head as he wilted.

"I-I'm sorry."

"Hahaha~"

Seeing Xiao Yan looking like a child who had done something wrong, Xiao Yu's gloom vanished completely, and she laughed heartily.

"Hmm?!"

Suddenly, Xiao Yu's expression changed drastically. She grabbed Xiao Yan's shoulders, her Dark Eyebrows tightly furrowed as she Stared at him. Feeling her burning Line of Sight, Xiao Yan could not help feeling uneasy.

"S-Sister Xiao Yu? What's wrong?"

"Xiao Yan, y-your Dou Qi has recovered? And you've even reached Dou Zhe?!"

"Yeah, I broke through a few days ago."

Xiao Yan nodded in confirmation. Xiao Yu was startled at first, then her face filled with intense delight.

Before coming here, Xiao Yu had been worrying about Xiao Yan's Dou Qi. She had never expected that this worry would not need her concern at all!

Though she did not know what had happened, this outcome undoubtedly delighted her beyond measure.

"That's wonderful!"

In her excitement, Xiao Yu pulled Xiao Yan tightly into her arms. Feeling her nearly mature, voluptuous body, Xiao Yan's face, which had only just returned to normal, reddened again. A faint trace of white steam even seemed to rise from his head.

"S-Sister Xiao Yu!"

As his mind neared the point of blacking out, Xiao Yan struggled to push Xiao Yu away and pointed up the mountain as if changing the subject.

"Everyone's making lunch right now, so Sister Xiao Yu, come up and eat with us."

"Hmm?" Xiao Yu was Stunned for a moment and tilted her head slightly. "Why are you making lunch on the mountain?"

"This is a training camp. We can't just let everyone casually run down the mountain. Other than me taking a few people down every few days to buy ingredients, we've stayed on the mountain for these three months."

After saying that, Xiao Yan picked up the scattered firewood from the ground and led Xiao Yu through layers of bushes, slowly walking in one direction.

Seeing that direction, Xiao Yu was slightly Stunned.

This was where we were when we were children.

Sure enough, just as Xiao Yu had guessed, Xiao Yan led her to the Hot Spring that their group of Xiao Family Disciples had dug together as children. It was also where the incident that made Xiao Yu call Xiao Yan a little pervert had happened.

Beside the Hot Spring, the Xiao Family Disciples were busy with their respective tasks. Some chopped vegetables, while others boiled water. They were so busy that none of them even noticed Xiao Yu's arrival.

At that moment, Xiao Yu noticed that although the Xiao Family Disciples' clothes were relatively clean, more than half of them were already torn. Only then did she realize that Xiao Yan's clothes were in much the same condition.

Could it be... that none of them had gone home even once during these three months?

Xiao Yu's eyebrows twitched wildly. At that moment, Xiao Yan stepped forward carrying the firewood and called out to everyone.

"Everyone! Look who's here!"

The moment his words fell, the Xiao Family Disciples busy with their work all turned their gazes over. At a glance, they saw Xiao Yu behind Xiao Yan, and delight appeared on all their faces.

"Big Sister! You're back?!"

That was right, Big Sister. It was the name all the Xiao Family Disciples used for Xiao Yu, because she was the oldest among their generation of the Xiao Family.

"Older sister! Long time no see!"

Xiao Ning stepped forward and raised a fist. Xiao Yu extended her fist as well, bumping it against his.

"Ah~ Long time no see, little brother."

Then Xiao Yu was slightly Stunned. Her gaze swept over the others again, and her expression became somewhat shocked.

"You... have all advanced to Dou Zhe?!"

"Yeah~ Thanks to Xiao Yan. He forced us to stay on the mountain for three months without letting us go home, and our Improvement Speed increased quite a bit because of it."

Xiao Ning awkwardly scratched his cheek, a trace of misery appearing on his face. The others wore similar expressions.

Their Dou Qi Improvement Speed had indeed been fast, but this training was truly not something an ordinary person could endure. Several times, Xiao Ning and the others had felt themselves on the verge of collapse, only for Xiao Yan to drag them back through exceedingly merciless methods.

Everyone deeply admired themselves for having endured under Xiao Yan until this day.

"Sister Xiao Yu, long time no see."

Xiao Mei and Xiao Xun'er also came forward to greet Xiao Yu. Looking at the two of them, Xiao Yu saw that although their faces had become much more resolute compared to last year, their once-smooth skin was now somewhat rough. The other girls of the Xiao Family were in the same state. One could imagine how much they had suffered during this time.

"You've worked hard." Xiao Yu heartbrokenly rubbed the heads of the two little girls, then turned and glared at Xiao Yan. "I mean, boys are one thing, but they're girls. Couldn't you ease up on them a little?"

"Training should naturally treat everyone equally. How can we differentiate between them?"

Xiao Yan spread one hand and answered with a light smile.

Xiao Yu's eyes were filled with helplessness at that.

She was merely complaining aloud. She was not truly blaming Xiao Yan.

Because Xiao Yu understood that everything Xiao Yan had done was sincerely for the sake of his brothers' and sisters' futures.

"But everything you do always surprises me. You took everyone up the mountain to train for three months, and now they've all reached Dou Zhe. Grandfather and the Clan Leader will definitely be thrilled when they find out."

As Xiao Yu said this, Xiao Yan merely shrugged and did not answer.

How could Dou Qi have improved so quickly through only three months of intensive training?

For the Xiao Family Disciples to have all advanced to Dou Zhe, at least half the credit belonged to the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid. Whenever the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid in the Hot Spring was nearly exhausted, Xiao Yan would secretly go down the mountain in the middle of the night to collect medicinal ingredients from the Miter Auction House. Fortunately, Ya Fei had supplied the ingredients promptly, always keeping up with the rate of consumption.

Moreover, the cost had far exceeded Xiao Yan's original estimate of sixty portions. By his calculations, around one hundred portions of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid had been used over these three months.

Thanks to that, two hundred thousand had already been deducted from Xiao Yan's Black Gold Card, which had contained two hundred and thirty thousand. He had only just tasted the joy of Exorbitant Profit, and before he could enjoy it, it was gone.

However, Xiao Yan did not regret it. As long as he could help these brothers and sisters, no amount of money was too much.

Inside the Ring, Yao Chen, who had watched the entire three-month training camp, was also speechless.

To be fair, Xiao Yan's training was indeed extremely effective. Do not be fooled by the fact that these Xiao Family Disciples had only advanced to Dou Zhe. Even a Da Dou Shi would feel alarmed upon seeing their actual combat strength!

But!

Was that training really something a human could endure?! It was fortunate that not a single Xiao Family Junior had died over these three months. Yao Chen sincerely admired their resilience. If she had been at the same level, she most likely would not have been able to endure it either.

Still, Yao Chen also understood that the prerequisite for Xiao Yan's three-month training was the already outrageous intensity of training the Xiao Family Disciples had been undergoing before this. Without that foundation, they absolutely could not have lasted these three months through mere willpower alone.

"Alright, everyone! Hurry up and finish cooking!" Xiao Yan raised his hand and called out loudly. "After lunch, our training camp will officially be over! We're going home to welcome the New Year!"

"Oohhh!!!"