Back Mountain Pond

Back Mountain Pond

On a small hill at the back of the mountain, Xiao Yan lay bored on the grass with one leg crossed over the other, basking in the sun.

This was his secret base. He often came here alone to cultivate or relax, and if he was lucky, he could sometimes catch the girls of the clan bathing.

Suddenly, Xiao Yan caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye. He noticed a figure in the distance heading toward the Back Mountain Pond.

He got to his feet and looked closely. "Isn't that Xiao Ning's sister, Xiao Yu? She's even carrying a towel. Is she going to take a bath?"

Xiao Yan perked up. It seemed Xiao Yu really was going to bathe. He had never liked her younger brother anyway, so today he would see what his sister looked like. It seemed he had come to the right place.

He climbed up, bent low, and sneaked toward the pond. Spotting a large boulder ahead that could conceal him, he rolled behind it, exposing only one eye as he stared fixedly at Xiao Yu in the pond.

Not far away, Xiao Ling had also arrived. Spreading out his Soul Perception, he quickly grasped the situation.

"Looks like the day Xiao Yan peeked at Xiao Yu in the original story was today." Xiao Ling rubbed his chin and looked in Xiao Yu's direction.

By the pond, Xiao Yu was about to untie her clothes, seemingly preparing to enter the water for a bath.

Behind the distant boulder, Xiao Yan swallowed at the sight. He stared straight at Xiao Yu, completely unwilling to look away.

How could Xiao Ling continue standing by after seeing this? I, Xiao, am an upright gentleman. I absolutely won't allow something like this to happen right before my eyes.

With a flick of his finger, a ball of blazing red Dou Qi shot toward Xiao Yan's kidney. Although he had only just become a Dou Zhe, Xiao Ling's exceptional Soul Perception made controlling Dou Qi effortless. The Dou Qi tore through the air and struck Xiao Yan directly in the kidney.

Xiao Yan had been staring intently at Xiao Yu, so how could he have paid attention to anything else? He only heard a sharp "whoosh," then felt a sudden burning sensation in his kidney, followed by pain. He clutched his kidney with both hands and cried out.

"Ah! It hurts like hell!"

Xiao Yu had just undone one button when she heard a commotion behind her. She hurriedly stopped what she was doing and turned around in panic, only to see half of Xiao Yan's head sticking out from behind the boulder as he grimaced in pain.

Seeing this, how could Xiao Yu not understand what was going on? Her face flushed red with anger as she rushed toward Xiao Yan in a single stride and slapped him hard across the face.

"You little thief! At your age, instead of learning proper things, you've learned to sneak around and steal! And now you've even learned to peek at people bathing!"

Still not satisfied, Xiao Yu delivered two more heavy punches, one to each of Xiao Yan's kidneys. The pain made Xiao Yan clutch one with each hand as he fled frantically down the mountain.

Xiao Ling, who had hidden himself nearby, swallowed. "Women really are ruthless when they lose their temper. I must never provoke a hot-tempered woman in the future."

Shaking his head and no longer dwelling on it, Xiao Ling saw that both of them had left the back mountain. He circulated his Dou Qi and ran toward his own small courtyard.

"Xiao Yu, I'll definitely trample you beneath my feet! And Xiao Ning too—you just wait!"

Back in his small courtyard, Xiao Yan sat on his bed with a gloomy expression, wrapping bandages around himself. He set some goals for himself, then began that day's cultivation.

He would definitely not tell his Clan Leader father about this. If Xiao Zhan learned that his son had intended to peek at Xiao Yu bathing, then for the Great Elder's sake, he would surely punish him severely. He could only cultivate silently on his own and take revenge once he became powerful.

Although cultivation was tedious and dull, Xiao Yan had gradually adapted after being transported to the Dou Qi Continent for so long.

"I'm about to break through!"

Feeling the somewhat surging Dou Qi within his body, excitement appeared on Xiao Yan's face. He focused his mind, preparing to break through to the Sixth Stage of Dou Qi in one go.

A week passed in the blink of an eye.

Xiao Ling, who had been cultivating in his room, formed the hand seal to end his cultivation and stood up. Feeling the Dou Qi within his body, he shook his head and sighed. "This Yellow-grade Low-tier Cultivation Method is truly terrible. The Dou Qi cultivation speed is slow, and its quality is poor too. I need to use Beast Fire to slightly raise the method's grade. If I still can't reach the Xuan Tier, I'll have to ask Xun'er for help. She's my future wife anyway, so it's not embarrassing to live off my future wife. I've also learned Absorption Palm. As expected of a Profound-grade Dou Technique—it's really useful." Clearing his mind of distractions, he left his room and rushed toward the Mietel Auction House.

As he neared the auction house, he put on a black robe and gloves as usual.

When he entered the main hall, the same cool sensation greeted him. He looked around but saw no familiar faces.

Xiao Ling found a maid and took out the token Guni had given him last time. "I'm looking for Master Guni of your auction house. Please show me the way."

The maid accepted the token and examined it. With a professional smile, she gestured with her hand. "Sir, please wait in the VIP lounge first. I'll go find Master Guni immediately."

The two entered a lounge. The maid brewed a cup of tea and left. Xiao Ling sat down and took a sip, feeling his Dou Qi become slightly more active. "As expected of the Mietel Auction House. They really are rich. Even the tea used to entertain guests can slightly improve cultivation efficiency."

After a while, Guni entered. Seeing that it was the black-robed man from last time, a faint smile appeared on his face.

"Sir, the Beast Fire you requested has been prepared. They are Earth Flame Fire from a fourth-tier Earth Rock Turtle, Peach Blossom Fire from a fourth-tier Kui Mu Beast, and Azure Water Flame from a fourth-tier Nether Sea Flood Dragon Beast. The first two cost one hundred thousand gold coins each, while the last costs two hundred thousand gold coins. The Jia Ma Empire's royal guardian beast is a sixth-tier Nether Sea Flood Dragon Beast." With a wave of Guni's hand, three porcelain bottles appeared on the table, each containing a Beast Fire.

Xiao Ling slightly activated Absorption Palm, and the three porcelain bottles flew before him. With a sweep of his sleeve, he stored them one by one in his belt, leaving Guni stunned.

Secretly delighted that this really was a divine skill for showing off, Xiao Ling smiled and said, "I trust the Mite'er Family's reputation. If there's another deal in the future, I'll come to you again."

With that, he turned and left the lounge, walked out of the Mietel Auction House, and headed toward the Xiao Family.

After returning to his room, he eagerly took out the three porcelain bottles and examined the three Beast Fires.

Earth Flame Fire was yellowish in color, a flame carrying the heavy nature of the Earth Attribute.

Peach Blossom Fire was pinkish, giving off a faint fragrance that made it feel gentle and approachable.

Azure Water Flame was dark blue. It contained the most energy and was the finest in quality among the three flames.

Xiao Ling cleared his mind, adjusted his breathing, and prepared to begin absorbing the Beast Fire.