Fighter

Three days later.

By cultivating the Crimson Flame Art, Wei Yang successfully transformed the milky-white, attribute-less Dou Qi in his Dantian into pale red Fire-attribute Dou Qi.

Within his Dantian, the pale red Qi Cyclone appeared quite ordinary, yet it gave off a faint sense of scorching heat.

Through cultivating the technique, not only had his Dou Qi become far more condensed, improving its quality, but it had also increased in quantity. Even its power had strengthened considerably.

This was the benefit brought by cultivating a technique, even if it was merely a High-Grade Yellow Tier Cultivation Technique.

The Fire-attribute Dou Qi he cultivated was vastly superior to the initial milky-white, attribute-less Dou Qi, both in quality and quantity.

Wei Yang clenched his fist, clearly able to feel how much stronger he had become than before.

But he quickly forced down those feelings.

"Keep cultivating. I'm only a mere Dou Zhe right now. I can't be arrogant."

"Until I become a Dou Master, I will not leave seclusion!"

Wei Yang closed his eyes and continued cultivating, circulating the technique and steadily strengthening his Qi Cyclone.

Perhaps because of his excellent talent, or perhaps for some other reason, this High-Grade Yellow Tier technique seemed to circulate slightly faster than he had imagined.

This was perhaps a typical case of having exceptional talent but an inadequate technique. His talent and technique did not match, preventing him from fully unleashing all his potential. Yet because his talent was simply too good, even the cultivation speed of this ordinary technique had been raised somewhat.

If talent was lacking, technique could make up for it.

But if talent was too good while the technique was inadequate, it was like using a small horse to pull a heavy cart—strenuous and inefficient.

Twice the effort for half the result.

Time passed.

In the blink of an eye, another three years went by.

In the slightly dim room, a handsome youth dressed in black sat cross-legged with his eyes closed.

Suddenly, the youth's body trembled slightly, and a powerful aura surged forth before gradually fading several seconds later.

Wei Yang opened his eyes, and a faint red glint flashed through his dark pupils.

Huff~

His lips parted slightly as he slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

"Six-Star Dou Master!"

Clenching his fist and feeling the surging Dou Qi within his body, Wei Yang could not help but smile.

Another three years of hard work.

Using a High-Grade Yellow Tier technique, without any fortuitous encounters or any pills to aid cultivation, he had trained bitterly behind closed doors.

At most, he occasionally used the Body Tempering Spiritual Liquid he concocted himself with his knowledge of medicinal principles for bathing.

Yet he had forcibly cultivated to the level of a Six-Star Dou Master. Just one step further, and he would become a High-Level Dou Shi.

This speed was already very fast.

Moreover, over the past three years, Wei Yang had constantly compressed his Dou Qi, focusing on solidifying his foundation. Every time, he suppressed it again and again until it could be compressed no further, only then allowing himself to break through naturally.

Otherwise, he would likely have already reached the Peak Nine-Star Dou Shi by now.

Wei Yang had only just turned fifteen, yet he had already become a Six-Star Dou Master.

A Dou Master had already surpassed the level of the common masses.

Although a Dou Master's level could still only be considered lower-tier across the entire continent, in the Jia Ma Empire—especially in Wu Tan City—he was undoubtedly part of the upper-middle class.

At the very least, compared to Dou Zhes, who were practically at the bottom of the hierarchy, he was unquestionably far more powerful and superior.

Wei Yang rose to his feet and clenched his fists.

An unprecedented sense of powerful, abundant strength flowed through every part of his body.

Only after personally stepping into the Dou Master realm could one understand just how great the gap between a Dou Zhe and a Dou Master truly was.

It was a difference of tenfold, even dozens of times.

He slowly stretched his body.

Crack, crack, crack~

His bones let out a series of sounds like popping beans.

Standing where he was, Wei Yang extended his right palm. With a thought—

Pale red Dou Qi, faintly tinged with a blurred pale gold hue, abruptly emerged in his palm before rapidly spreading across the surface of his body.

Then, the Dou Qi contracted once more. In an instant, the pale red Dou Qi formed a layer of defense over the surface of his body.

Dou Qi Armor—this was the signature skill of a Dou Master powerhouse, as well as the most practical one.

It provided certain boosts to speed, defense, attack, and more.

And because Wei Yang was already a Six-Star Dou Master, this Dou Qi Armor was exceptionally solid, completely covering every corner of his body.

At this level, a Dou Master's Dou Qi could already leave the body and attack enemies.

These were things a Dou Zhe did not possess.

Standing where he was, Wei Yang was covered in a rather handsome and imposing pale-red Dou Qi Armor. A scorching heat radiated from him, raising the temperature of the surrounding air noticeably.

He swiftly threw several punches at the air before him.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~

With nothing but the strength of his physical body, his fists produced sharp whistling sounds as they tore through the air.

Wei Yang nodded in satisfaction. "Over these past three years, I've used my knowledge of medicinal properties to concoct body-tempering liquid for soaking baths, making my physique far stronger than that of an ordinary Dou Master of the same level."

Regular soaks in body-tempering liquid, combined with the World Energy Infusion that had cleansed and strengthened his body when he broke through to Dou Master last year, had forged his current powerful physique.

"Xiao Yan is almost twelve now. Not long ago, he broke through to become a Dou Zhe, becoming a renowned genius throughout the Jia Ma Empire. His reputation has already spread far and wide."

"However, judging by the timeline, he should soon be facing the trouble of having his Dou Qi absorbed by that old trickster, Elder Yao."

"Hehe, falling from heaven into hell in a single day. The higher you're held up, the harder you fall. The more smug you are now, the more miserable you'll be later."

Wei Yang withdrew his Dou Qi Armor. His aura receded, making him seem like an ordinary person as he chuckled inwardly.

In other words, there were still three years before the plot officially began.

Wei Yang could make good use of those three years to plan things out for himself.

Wei Yang had no hostile thoughts toward Xiao Yan, nor did he intend to vilify him or deliberately target him.

After all, they had neither grudges nor enmity between them. Besides, they could be considered fellow townsmen.

There was no need to flatter him, but there was also no reason to deliberately offend or target him. They could cooperate for mutual benefit.

If he could not become an alchemist in the future, then he could simply become friends with alchemists.

Going against the protagonist, the Child of Destiny, took a great deal of courage.

It was practically the same as courting death.

At the very least, Wei Yang personally felt there was absolutely no need for it.

He wasn't Long Aotian.

Xiao Yan's personality was not particularly likable, but neither was it bad. At the very least, he treated his friends well.

Other than being somewhat indecisive in matters of love, he was fine in other respects. He was not an ungrateful wretch. Everyone was selfish to some extent; no one was a saint.

Xiao Yan was someone he could trust as a friend.

As for opportunities, of course he still had to seize whatever should be seized.

"Now that I'm already a Six-star Dou Master, I have some initial means of self-preservation in the Jia Ma Empire. I can head out and search for some opportunities."

"As long as I'm careful and don't provoke anyone I shouldn't, there shouldn't be much of a problem," Wei Yang thought.

"For my first stop, I'll go to Green Mountain Town."