Six Months Later, Three-star Great Dou Shi!

The days that followed gradually brought Lu Yu's cultivation onto the right track.

During the day, he studied the Seventh-grade Alchemist inheritance Old Man Yao had given him, while also practicing the Heavenly Dragon Flame Finger he had obtained in the simulation. At night, he dual-cultivated the Great Pagoda Art with Little Fairy Doctor, and the phantom of the Pagoda Tower grew more solid by the day.

Of course, some physical contact was unavoidable during all this, but that was a story for later.

Time flowed like water, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Six months later, Xiao Family Square was packed with noise and activity. The younger generation of the clan had gathered before the Testing Stele, waiting to have their cultivation checked.

"Xiao Xun'er, one-star Dou Zhe!"

"Xiao Ning, eighth stage Dou Qi!"

As names were called out one after another, joy and sighs rose around the square, and the atmosphere gradually grew heated.

At last—

"Xiao Yan!"

The entire square fell silent. Countless gazes gathered on the black-clad young man. His expression was calm as he slowly stepped forward and pressed his palm against the Testing Stele.

"Buzz—"

Light flickered across the stone stele before finally settling.

"Xiao Yan, Dou Qi... eighth stage!"

After a brief silence, a wave of low discussion erupted throughout the square.

"He actually recovered?"

"He was only at the seventh stage of Dou Qi last month! In just one short year, he went from the third stage to the eighth. That speed..."

Xiao Yan withdrew his hand, but there was not much joy on his face. His gaze merely shifted slightly, sweeping through the crowd before finally landing on Lu Yu in the corner.

Their eyes met, and Xiao Yan gave an almost imperceptible nod.

The corners of Lu Yu's mouth lifted slightly as he thought to himself, Looks like Old Man Yao's Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid really was effective. Xiao Yan's recovery is exactly the same as in my memories.

Just as everyone present was still marveling over Xiao Yan's progress, the testing elder's voice rang out once more.

"Next, Lu Yu!"

The square instantly fell silent. Though this mysterious young man was not of the Xiao Family bloodline, he was the most unfathomable existence among the Xiao Family's younger generation. Under the watch of countless gazes, Lu Yu slowly walked toward the Testing Stele.

"Great Dou Shi, three-star!"

The golden characters shining on the Testing Stele instantly sent the entire square into an uproar. In the honored guest seats, several elders from the Gale Family shot to their feet, not even noticing when their teacups fell and shattered on the ground.

"A s-sixteen-year-old Great Dou Shi?!"

"How is that possible?!"

"Even that proud daughter of heaven from the Cloud Mist Sect, Nalan Yanran, had only just broken through to Dou Shi at sixteen!"

With a crack, the teacup in Xiao Zhan's hand was crushed to pieces, his face filled with shock. In a corner, however, the corners of Xiao Xun'er's lips lifted slightly as she murmured, "Brother Yu really did encounter some fortunate opportunity..."

"In one year, he went from a Two-star Dou Shi to a Three-star Great Dou Shi, and his foundation is still so solid. This kind of speed wouldn't be bad even in the Central Plains."

"Brother Lu's speed is practically crushing me!"

Xiao Yan looked at the radiant golden characters on the testing platform and could not help clicking his tongue.

The ancient ring on his finger flickered faintly, and Old Man Yao's helpless voice sounded in his mind. "Kid, don't compare yourself to him. That boy and that little girl dual-cultivate every day. Their cultivation efficiency is even faster than eating medicinal pills."

"Even among the top factions of the Central Plains, this cultivation speed wouldn't be considered bad." Yao Chen paused, then said earnestly, "What matters most for you now is breaking through to Dou Zhe as soon as possible. Once your teacher refines a few special medicinal pills for you, at least..."

"They'll let me catch up to Brother Lu?" Xiao Yan's eyes lit up.

The light on the ring suddenly froze.

After a long while, Old Man Yao said faintly, "Disciple... a person has to keep his feet on the ground. Instead of aiming too high, you'd be better off thinking about how to break through to Great Dou Shi before the Three-Year Pact."

Not far away, atop the high platform, Xiao Zhan slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, the shock in his eyes gradually turning into deep thought. His rough fingers unconsciously rubbed the armrest of his chair as he murmured, "This kind of cultivation speed definitely can't be achieved through bitter training alone..."

His gaze unconsciously turned below the platform, where Xiao Xun'er was watching the young man in the square with a smile. Her usually cool eyes now rippled with a rare gentleness.

Xiao Zhan frowned slightly and suddenly recalled how inseparable the two had been all these years, as well as the mysterious methods Xun'er occasionally revealed.

"Could it be..."

An astonishing guess surfaced in his mind, and Xiao Zhan nodded thoughtfully.

"Being able to live off a woman is also a kind of ability."

Not long after, the Xiao Family's Back Mountain.

Lu Yu sat cross-legged atop a blue stone, crimson flames flickering in his palm as he instantly refined a stalk of Purple Leaf Orchid Grass into emerald liquid droplets. His movements flowed as smoothly as clouds and water. He tossed in several more medicinal ingredients in succession, and the mass of liquid inside the Medicine Cauldron slowly grew larger.

"Hiss—"

Scorching tongues of flame licked at the medicinal liquid, and the impurities turned into wisps of green smoke under the high temperature before dispersing. The originally fist-sized green liquid mass gradually condensed to the size of a thumb, crystal clear and translucent like jade.

"Magic Crystal." Lu Yu stretched out a hand without raising his head.

Xiao Yan, standing beside him, immediately handed over the prepared Wood-type Magic Core. Crimson flames coiled up around it, and the Magic Core, hard as iron, softened at a speed visible to the naked eye, finally turning into a pool of pale green spring water.

"Condense!"

Lu Yu's hand seals changed abruptly, and the medicinal liquid rose into the air. Xiao Yan was quick-eyed and swift-handed; the jade bottle traced a graceful arc through the air, catching every drop of the falling spirit liquid.

"Tsk, tsk, this quality..." Xiao Yan swirled the emerald-like liquid in the bottle, his eyes full of amazement. "Brother Lu's alchemy is getting more and more refined. This Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid is no worse than Teacher's."

Lu Yu put away the Medicine Cauldron and shook his head with a smile. "I only just became a Second-grade Alchemist. I'm still far from Old Man Yao. Brother Yan, you're overpraising me."

Xiao Yan grinned and did not argue. He simply put the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid into his Storage Ring as if it were a treasure.

Yao Chen's illusory figure drifted over, stroking his beard with a smile. "You brat, you're modest enough. With your current level, in any city of the Jama Empire, you'd count as a top-tier Second-grade Alchemist."

"Find some time to go to the Alchemist Guild and get a badge."

"What makes alchemists so frightening isn't merely that they can refine all kinds of pills. More than that, it's because they possess an extremely vast network of connections. Sometimes, a small alchemist badge can save you a great deal of trouble."

Old Man Yao spoke with deep meaning.

Lu Yu nodded thoughtfully. The night wind brushed over the cliff, carrying a trace of chill. As if suddenly remembering something, he turned his head and asked, "When is Brother Yan planning to break through to Dou Zhe?"

Hearing this, Xiao Yan rubbed his nose and said, "I'm still far off. The final stage of Dou Qi is the hardest to break through. I'm afraid it'll take me several months."

"In half a year, it'll be Jia Nan Academy's enrollment, right?"

Lu Yu's gaze narrowed slightly as he pondered.

"Yeah? What's wrong, Brother Lu?"

"Nothing. In half a year, I'm planning to go take a look at Jia Nan Academy."

Xiao Yan's eyes lit up, and he said excitedly, "That's a good thing! Jia Nan Academy is famous throughout the entire Northwest Continent. I heard that the students who graduate from the Inner Academy are at least Dou Ling experts..."

"Will Brother Yan go?"

Lu Yu narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze deep as he spoke.

"I..."

Xiao Yan yawned. "Haha, I'm not sure either. Maybe I'll go..."

Old Man Yao's voice sneered in Xiao Yan's mind, "Silly boy, you think he can't tell you don't want to go?"

Xiao Yan's ears flushed slightly, and he hurriedly changed the subject. "Speaking of which, isn't little sister Xun'er going to apply to Jia Nan Academy too?"

Lu Yu smiled and said, "Maybe she'll go..."

"I'm not sure either..."

As the words fell, Xiao Yan paused. Why did that sound so familiar?