Body Strengthening Technique

Body Strengthening Technique

Seeing that Xiao Yan did not refuse, Yao Wan smiled.

"All right, then do as I say."

After Xiao Yan left, Yao Wan finally let out a breath... at least she had not dropped the ball.

However, when she had been smoothing Xiao Yan's meridians just now, she had also subconsciously taken a brief look with her divine sense.

...It seemed he had already awakened.

Only, why had he still not shown himself?

Was he continuing to observe, or was the Dou Qi he had absorbed still not enough for him to appear?

Yao Wan was somewhat unsure, but after thinking it over, she had no intention of trying to force things along. With this kind of matter, letting nature take its course was best.

Over the following half year, things were just as Yao Wan had promised Xiao Yan. Xiao Yan focused on cultivating, while she supplied him with the spirit medicine most suited to him, whether it was medicinal liquid for marrow cleansing or pills for tempering the body.

Yao Wan had never given Xiao Yan any pill that could directly raise his Dou Qi cultivation. After all, he was not even a Dou Zhe right now. Giving him that sort of pill would be no different from ruining his future; it was better to take things slowly and truly build a solid foundation.

As for Xiao Yan, he followed Yao Wan's advice, settled his state of mind, and proceeded step by step in an orderly fashion.

If he could not cultivate, there was no need to rush. He would train his body first. In any case, for him, no matter how one looked at it, it was not a loss.

During this half year, the younger generation of the Xiao Clan also noticed that Xiao Yan, who had long since become a "cripple" unable to cultivate, was always hurrying back and forth between his own residence and the Xiao Clan's guest rooms.

Perhaps he was busy with something.

But what could he possibly be busy with?

In the end, he was already someone who could not cultivate. His final outcome would likely be failing to reach Dou Qi Stage Seven after the Coming-of-Age Ceremony, then being casually sent off somewhere to do odd jobs for the clan.

Aside from the mockery of those taking pleasure in his misfortune, most people watched all of this coldly from the sidelines.

To them, it was nothing more than a farce about a genius falling from the clouds and thereafter becoming utterly obscure.

Although Xiao Yan's hurried comings and goings drew sidelong looks from passersby, in the end, no one took it to heart.

In the Xiao Clan's Guest Room Courtyard, over the past half year, he had already become very familiar with coming here.

"Mm, although your build hasn't changed, your bones and muscles have indeed become much sturdier."

Yao Wan stood quietly in the small courtyard, looking at the heaven-and-earth difference in bearing that the young man before her had undergone over the past half year, and could not help saying this.

"By my estimate, when you cultivate some more powerful Dou Techniques in the future, you'll also get twice the result with half the effort."

"...It's just that although my physical strength has gone up, because I have too little Dou Qi, Dou Techniques and the like are still too early."

Xiao Yan said.

"True, there's no rush for Dou Techniques and the like. But I can teach you a little simple body-strengthening method."

As she spoke, Yao Wan slowly walked toward Xiao Yan.

"A body-strengthening method?"

"Your Xiao Clan should have people teaching it too, right? It's that sort of Body Strengthening Technique that even people without Dou Qi can practice. They say it strengthens the body, but using it for a bit of self-defense is no problem either."

"With your current physical strength, if you move quickly, taking down a One-Star Dou Zhe before he has time to act shouldn't be a problem."

"Really?"

Xiao Yan was startled, then reacted to what Miss Wan meant by Body Strengthening Technique. Wasn't that just martial arts?

It was only that without Dou Qi circulating, in the end, it could not compare to Dou Techniques.

"Want to learn? I'll teach you."

Yao Wan said in a light tone.

"But I'm still a little curious. Miss Wan, you even know this?"

"Mm, I know a thing or two. At the very least, teaching you shouldn't be any problem."

"Come, stretch out your hand."

Xiao Yan obediently stretched out his hand.

"Ah—pain!"

With the spirit medicine Miss Wan had newly refined tucked inside his clothes, Xiao Yan hurried back.

Very good. Miss Wan's teaching had been extremely useful, and he had learned very quickly. He had even earned another bottle of spirit medicine because of it.

But if possible, next time he should still avoid this kind of thing as much as he could.

Under the night, the lights were thinning. As he turned down one path, a burst of young girls' laughter drifted over from another small road.

The quiet atmosphere disturbed, Xiao Yan frowned slightly. Following the sound with his gaze, he looked toward the group of laughing young girls walking over.

Surrounded by several pretty young girls, one young girl with a somewhat bewitching appearance was pursing her lips in a faint smile. The charming allure revealed on her small face made the few inexperienced young girls beside her feel somewhat inferior.

That was Xiao Mei.

His gaze calmly swept over this beautiful young girl who had once followed at his side, constantly calling him cousin. A trace of mockery flashed across Xiao Yan's still youthful face. He shook his head lightly and withdrew his gaze without the slightest lingering attachment.

When they reached the end of the road, Xiao Mei's rather seductive laughter suddenly weakened. She had seen the young man not far away.

The lights by the roadside shone on the young man, whose arms were pillowed behind the back of his head and whose face was calm, making him seem especially captivating.

A pair of somewhat soul-stealing eyes stared at the young man drawing closer and closer. Looking at the shallow curve on his small face that seemed neither mockery nor smile, Xiao Mei's mind suddenly fell into an inexplicable daze.

Three years ago, when that genius had shone like a star, that young man had often worn this slightly intoxicating smile.

Watching the young man slowly walk over, Xiao Mei and the others all stopped in their tracks, and the sound of laughter gradually weakened by quite a bit.

The few pretty young girls beside Xiao Mei opened their large eyes and looked at the young man slowly walking over against the lamplight, the one who had once been considered the clan's glory. The expressions on their faces were hard to say whether they were pity or something else.

Xiao Mei froze in place, her heart somewhat tangled.

Deep down, she actually wanted to have a proper chat with this young man who had once made her admire him endlessly. However, reality told her that the gap between the two of them was now growing larger and larger.

Putting her thoughts on a cripple was not very appropriate.

Forget it. She would greet him again. No matter what, he could at least be considered her cousin.

Xiao Yan did not know the thoughts in Xiao Mei's heart. He merely walked past.

Looking at Xiao Yan, who was now close at hand, Xiao Mei's pretty little face was just about to reveal a smile. But the young man's actions made that smile, which had yet to fully appear, stiffen on her pretty face, looking somewhat comical.

Xiao Yan acted as though no one else was there, looking straight ahead as he walked directly past the several young girls, without showing the slightest trace of reluctance to leave.

Parting her rosy little mouth slightly as she watched the young man's back, Xiao Mei was somewhat stunned. With her looks, when had she ever received such treatment? A faint, inexplicable shame and anger welled up in her heart, and she could not help calling out, "Cousin Xiao Yan."

His footsteps paused slightly. Xiao Yan did not turn around. His indifferent tone was like a conversation between strangers: "Something wrong?"

That flat and distant tone made Xiao Mei freeze. She shook her head awkwardly. "Nothing."

The tip of Xiao Yan's brow lifted slightly. Too lazy to pay her any more attention, he continued walking away.