Breakthrough to Dou Master

"I'm sure!" Yun Shu said seriously.

"Leave this kind of good fortune to Little Yan!" Yun Shu said with a smile, patting Xiao Yan on the shoulder.

"Senior Brother!" Xiao Yan looked at Yun Shu with tears in his eyes. He had thought Yun Shu had deliberately given up the Flame Devouring Art for his sake.

He had thought Yun Shu was leaving the miraculous cultivation technique, the Flame Devouring Art, for him to cultivate.

"Don't get all sentimental. I just don't want to cultivate it because I'm afraid of hardship!" Yun Shu waved a hand.

Even Yao Lao found that hard to believe. You were afraid of hardship?

Someone who could stay cooped up at home for more than half a year without coming out, doing nothing but cultivating Dou Qi, was saying he feared hardship? Wasn't cultivating Dou Qi, such a tedious thing, itself hardship?

Yun Shu's words made Yao Lao regard him in a new light this time.

The matter of the Flame Devouring Art had finally come to an end, resolving the concern that had been weighing on Yao Lao's mind.

Next, he only needed to properly teach these two students and turn them into strong experts in a short time.

Half a year passed in the blink of an eye. At last, it was time for Canaan Academy's recruitment.

As a prestigious institution renowned throughout the Dou Qi Continent, Canaan Academy was practically a holy land in the hearts of all young people. As long as one could enter the academy and complete their studies there, their future path would basically be smooth sailing. Not only could they return home in glory, they might even become sought-after talents fought over by various factions.

Thus, this recruitment drive thoroughly enlivened Wu Tan City.

Canaan Academy's admissions did not take one's background into account, only talent.

"Setting Little Shu aside for now, Xiao Yan, the Strange Fire needed for the evolution of the Flame Devouring Art you cultivate happens to be in Canaan Academy!" Upon learning that Canaan Academy was recruiting students, Yao Lao looked at Xiao Yan and said.

"Strange Fire!!" The moment he heard those words, Xiao Yan became interested. He immediately stopped cultivating, ready to listen to Yao Lao tell the story.

As for Yun Shu, since he already knew about this matter, he did not stop cultivating. He was accumulating Dou Qi, preparing to break through into the Dou Shi Realm in one go.

Over the past half year, he had spent more time refining pills than cultivating, so although Yun Shu had thought he could break through to Dou Master before Canaan Academy's recruitment, he had still failed to make it in time...

Fortunately, the past half year had not been without gains. Under Yao Lao's guidance, Yun Shu's pill-refining skills had improved rapidly. He could now rely on the flames generated by his own Dou Qi to refine Third Grade Pills.

Xiao Yan, meanwhile, could barely refine First Grade Pills.

Yun Shu reaching Nine Star Dou Zhe two months ago had stimulated Xiao Yan, causing him to focus all his attention on cultivating Dou Qi.

Xiao Yan was now a Five Star Dou Zhe.

"Then, Teacher, are we still going out to gain experience?" Xiao Yan had long known that Yao Lao planned to take him and his senior brother out for training soon, all for the sake of the Three-Year Agreement.

Now that Yao Lao had mentioned a Strange Fire, Xiao Yan did not know whether they should first go out to train or first search for the Strange Fire...

"Of course! These two matters do not conflict in the first place! Once you've dealt with your personal affairs, it won't be too late to go to Canaan Academy and obtain that Strange Fire!" Yao Lao said with a chuckle.

But immediately afterward, Yao Lao's expression changed.

He had suddenly sensed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth nearby beginning to surge rapidly, and its target was Yun Shu!

"Not good! Little Shu is breaking through from Dou Zhe and advancing into the Dou Shi Realm!" Yao Lao said to Xiao Yan, his expression changing.

"What! Senior Brother is actually about to break through to Dou Master!" Xiao Yan stared at Yun Shu in bewilderment. Hadn't he only reached Nine Star Dou Zhe two months ago? He was already breaking through again so soon!

"Xiao Yan, go stand guard around the area for Little Shu! I'll watch over him!" Yao Lao waved a hand at Xiao Yan.

"Got it!" Xiao Yan ran into the distance. He needed to stop anyone from approaching and disturbing Yun Shu's breakthrough.

Yun Shu had already realized it as well. The frenzied influx of energy into his body was more than enough proof that he was about to break through.

Yun Shu continuously guided the external energy through a circuit of the meridians in his body before sending it into his Dou Qi vortex. However, there was simply too much violent energy, and for a moment, Yun Shu could barely keep up...

He could only let that energy crash through his body and strike his meridians. If he succeeded, all would be well, but if he failed, Yun Shu's strength would not only regress, he might even suffer far more serious injuries.

"Little Shu, steady your mind!" Yao Lao's voice sounded beside Yun Shu's ear.

"Damn it!!" Just as Yun Shu was unable to resist the violent energy, a familiar fluctuation suddenly appeared in his lower abdomen.

"This is! Fallen Heart Flame!" Yun Shu stared in shock at the transparent Strange Fire near his Dou Qi vortex. It had helped deal with the attack on his soul when he cultivated the Purple Cloud Wings last time, and now, as the surging external energy battered Yun Shu's Dou Qi vortex, the Fallen Heart Flame appeared once again.

It began frantically absorbing the motley energy flooding into Yun Shu's body from outside, converting it into the purest Dou Qi before delivering it into his Dou Qi vortex...

"There's actually such a good thing!!" Yun Shu suddenly said in delight.

This way, he no longer needed to waste his focus guiding that energy. Thus, Yun Shu began frantically absorbing the energy of heaven and earth around him.

"Has this kid gone mad! Absorbing energy so recklessly will scatter the Dou Qi vortex in his body!" Yao Lao's expression changed drastically when he saw Yun Shu begin to wildly absorb external energy as though he did not care about his life.

But the breakthrough was Yun Shu's own affair. Outsiders could not interfere, or they would cause the one breaking through to fail at the final step. Thus, Yao Lao could only look on anxiously and pray that Yun Shu would safely break through to Dou Master.

Meanwhile, seeing the incredibly efficient conversion rate of the Fallen Heart Flame, Yun Shu was grinning from ear to ear. "Absorb! Absorb it all!!"

Yun Shu frantically absorbed the external energy, intending to directly skip past One Star Dou Master.

Such a leap would not make his Dou Qi unstable, because all the energy absorbed into his body was purified by the Fallen Heart Flame and transformed into the purest Dou Qi energy within Yun Shu's body. This energy was even purer than the energy Yun Shu cultivated himself.

Finally, after frantically absorbing energy for about half an hour, the rotation of the Dou Qi vortex gradually slowed. Then, as Yun Shu stared in bewilderment, the vortex actually began rotating in the opposite direction.

The pure energy that had previously been absorbed was also ejected under the vortex's pull, rushing toward every part of Yun Shu's body. When this energy came into contact with his flesh, bones, and meridians, it miraculously fused into them.

Yun Shu could also sense that the places infused with this energy had nearly undergone a transformation, brimming with immense power.

The vortex's reverse rotation lasted for roughly half an hour before its speed gradually began to slow. Once the suction force within his body ceased, Yun Shu slowly opened his eyes.

"Ding! Congratulations on obtaining the Dou Shi Realm Gift Pack!"