Strengthening

Old Man Yao must be refining Foundation Building Potion for Xiao Yan to raise his cultivation right now!

Xiao Han looked up at the sky.

Xiao Yan was currently only at Three Stages of Dou Qi. With the help of Venerable Yao, Yao Chen, his cultivation would rise to the Fourth Stage of Dou Qi in half a month.

Xiao Yan was the future Emperor Yan.

Although, half a month later, his cultivation would only be at the Fourth Stage of Dou Qi. Meanwhile, Xiao Han was already a powerful Five-star Fighter. Comparing the two, it seemed Xiao Han held a sure advantage. But that was not the case.

On the Battle Qi Continent, cultivating Dou Qi was extremely difficult at the foundation stage.

Among those Dou Zhes who called themselves geniuses, quite a few spent ten, or even twenty years reaching the ten stages of beginner Dou Qi.

For a Dou Zhe, a year might only bring an increase of one stage of Dou Qi. However, after becoming a Dou Zhe, cultivation speed varied from person to person. There had been unparalleled geniuses who soared to become Dou Wangs, Dou Emperors, or even Dou Zongs in just three short years.

Xiao Yan's talent was quite good. He had already become a One-star Fighter several years ago. It was only because of Old Man Yao, who had absorbed his Dou Qi, that his cultivation had remained at Three Stages of Dou Qi.

Xiao Han knew that it would not be long before Xiao Yan once again became a dazzling star among the Xiao Clan's younger generation.

"This absolutely won't do!"

Because of the system, Xiao Han had no choice but to stand on the side opposing Xiao Yan.

Their enmity had already been forged. Even if Xiao Han wanted reconciliation, the system would never allow it. Besides, Xiao Han was still counting on disrupting the Storyline to gain Experience Points and raise his cultivation.

Xiao Han had also considered simply killing Xiao Yan. However, he only had one Dou Huang Experience Card, and Xiao Yan was protected by Old Man Yao. Killing him would be easier said than done.

What relieved Xiao Han was that, after seeing he had passed his Weakness Period, Old Man Yao had become wary of him and did not come looking for trouble. Otherwise, Xiao Han truly had no confidence that he could face Old Man Yao again.

"In the end, it all comes down to strength!"

Xiao Han took two treasured swords from the System Package.

He had won these two treasured swords from Xiao Ning and Xiao Huangtao the day before yesterday.

Today, Xiao Han had used Extract and Merge on the Black Iron Slab once, leaving him with two more chances to use it. His hopes of becoming stronger rested entirely on it.

"Extraction!"

Xiao Han touched one of the treasured swords with his finger and gave System Xiao Ai an order.

"Ding dong, congratulations. You touched the Purple Sun Sword and extracted an Attack Attribute. Attack Attribute +10."

As Xiao Han's finger left the Purple Sun Sword, a streak of white light emerged from it.

Once the light left the sword, the entire blade rapidly rusted, losing its former luster and turning into a piece of scrap iron.

"Fusion!"

"Ding dong! Congratulations. Attack Attribute Fusion successful. Attack Attribute +10."

After that operation, Xiao Han could feel that the physical Attack Attribute on his Personal Information Interface had increased by 10 points, becoming 116 points.

Although the attribute value had increased by ten points, the sensation it gave Xiao Han was extremely slight.

"Ten points of attack power is quite considerable, but the overall effect isn't strong. If I want to become stronger, it seems I'll need to obtain more attribute points," Xiao Han muttered.

"Master, you can actually strengthen specific parts," System Xiao Ai suddenly said.

"Local strengthening?"

"Yes." Xiao Ai explained, "When fusing attribute points, you can choose Full Body Merge or Local Merge. Without special instructions, Xiao Ai defaults to Full Body Merge. If you choose Local Merge, you can rapidly increase your strength."

"What? I can actually do that?" To Xiao Han, whose combat power was rather low, this was simply a pleasant surprise.

"Yes." Xiao Ai continued, "For example, if Movement Technique-type attributes are fused into the legs, Master's movement speed can quickly increase. If Clarity of Vision-type attributes are fused into the eyeballs, Master can see farther and more clearly."

"Damn it, Xiao Ai, why didn't you tell me sooner?" Xiao Han reproached her.

"Master never asked, so Xiao Ai didn't explain." Xiao Ai's tone sounded somewhat aggrieved as she continued, "Xiao Ai solemnly reminds Master that after using the Local Merge function, the other parts of your body must keep pace as well. For example, if Master's right hand reaches one thousand points of attack power while the defensive power of the rest of Master's body is very low, then after attacking with the right hand, Master will be injured by the recoil of your own attack."

"Uh, that can happen?" Xiao Han clicked his tongue inwardly. If he injured himself with his own attack during battle, that would be downright ridiculous.

"Yes, Master. Strictly speaking, Xiao Ai recommends that Master continue choosing full-body strengthening," Xiao Ai advised Xiao Han.

"Right, you make a lot of sense."

Xiao Han nodded in agreement. After a pause, he added, "But aside from the Bone Spirit Cold Flame, I currently have no other trump cards. Right now, I desperately need another trump card that can save my life."

The Bone Spirit Cold Flame was a Heavenly Flame ranked on the Heavenly Flame Ranking. Unless absolutely necessary, Xiao Han did not want to use this trump card. The reason was simple: Han Feng, Old Man Yao's traitorous disciple, was surely searching everywhere for Old Man Yao's whereabouts. Once he learned that the Bone Spirit Cold Flame was on Xiao Han, Xiao Han in his current state would have no ability to resist Han Feng unless he sought help from the Misty Cloud Sect.

"Extraction!"

"Ding dong, congratulations. You touched the Qing Feng Sword and extracted an Attack Attribute. Attack Attribute +11."

"Fuse into my right hand."

"Ding dong, congratulations. Local Merge selected successfully. Right-hand Attack Attribute +11."

Xiao Han clenched his right hand into a fist and punched the ground, smashing it into a depression and leaving behind a deep fist mark.

"Mm, not bad." Xiao Han was extremely satisfied with his strengthened right hand.

After choosing local strengthening, he could clearly feel the increased attack power.

"Master, you have only increased your Attack Attribute by 11 points so far. The recoil force is not yet very strong. As your Attack Attribute grows stronger, the recoil force will become increasingly powerful," Xiao Ai reminded him.

"Mm." Xiao Han nodded.

He casually tossed aside the Qing Feng Sword, which had become scrap iron. In half a month, Xiao Yan's realm would rise to the Fourth Stage of Dou Qi. Xiao Han was also confident that during this time, he could strengthen his right hand to a terrifying degree.

He had three chances each day to use Extract and Merge. In other words, Xiao Han would need to consume three Yellow Grade High Rank treasured swords every day. Yet only two treasured swords of Yellow Grade High Rank remained in the System Space.

"Hm, what's that?"

Xiao Han had merely glanced casually at the package inventory in the system. He discovered that there was actually a golden ticket inside: "This is... a Lucky Draw Ticket?"

"Yes, Master." Xiao Ai explained, "This Lucky Draw Ticket is an additional mysterious gift rewarded after Master seized Old Man Yao's Heavenly Flame. Whenever Master obtains a Heavenly Flame, the system will reward a Lucky Draw Ticket!"