The Sky Had a Well, Empty and Alone

"I'm not fighting you. I, Xiao Lang, never fight women," Xiao Lang said with a curl of his lip.

There was nothing to gain if he won, and it would be embarrassing if he lost.

With that, Xiao Lang turned to leave, but halfway through, he came back and said with a righteous expression, "Sometimes, it's acceptable to beat disobedient women."

"..."

Seeing this, everyone's mouths twitched. There really was something wrong with Xiao Lang's head.

But they were already used to it.

What they anticipated more was the fight itself.

After all, Xiao Yu was at the peak of the ninth stage of Dou Qi. Rumor had it that she would soon condense a Dou Qi Vortex and become a Dou Zhe!

"Third Brother, let me handle this."

Seeing this, Xiao Yan immediately stepped in front of Xiao Lang. At the same time, the Dou Qi of a Three-star Dou Practitioner suddenly erupted from him, waves of fiery red energy mixed with hints of green appearing around him.

The pressure of a Three-star Dou Practitioner made both Xiao Yu and Xiao Ning retreat involuntarily.

In the original story, Xiao Yan should have been chased around and beaten by Xiao Yu. But with the help of Xiao Lang's Foundation Building Spirit Liquid, he cultivated faster than in the original, and now the situation had reversed.

If not for the mission, Xiao Lang really wanted to sigh over how great it felt to win without doing anything.

But the choice had already appeared, so he had no choice but to rely on himself.

"Choice One: Accept Xiao Yu's challenge. Reward upon mission completion: Level up by one! Ten Complete Great Tonic Pill!"

"Choice Two: Refuse Xiao Yu's challenge... Reward upon mission completion: Level up by one."

"Choice Three: Let Xiao Yan fight in your place. Reward upon mission completion: Level down by one."

Looking at those three options, anyone with half a brain knew to choose the first.

The Ten Complete Great Tonic Pill was unimportant. He just wanted to teach her a hard lesson and let her know who the big brother was!

Still, it was a pill produced by the system, so he had no idea whether its effect was really what he imagined.

"Little brother, leave this sort of thing to your big brother. If I avoid battle, it'll damage my Dao heart." Xiao Lang discreetly glanced at Xiao Yu's chest and spoke with a righteous expression.

Xiao Yan beside him clearly caught his Third Brother's gaze, and his expression turned strange. Third Brother, is your Dao heart really all about looking at that?

But he had long known that his Third Brother was an old pervert. After all, for the past eight years, he had gone to the pleasure quarters every day to listen to opera, even becoming a "Dou Emperor" member there.

As for how he knew, that was a long story.

Sometimes, Xiao Yan even suspected that his Third Brother had transmigrated too. But after testing him with phrases like "If the parity changes, the symbol follows the quadrant," reciting pi, and other things, his Third Brother had finally patted him on the shoulder and said:

"Little brother, I know you're under a lot of pressure, but there can't be something wrong with your brain. I'll take you to the pleasure quarters to listen to music and ease your stress."

After that, Xiao Yan no longer suspected that his Third Brother had transmigrated alongside him. After all, if he could not even continue the phrase about parity changes, then he definitely was not one.

What Xiao Yan did not know was that Xiao Lang was an absolute academic failure. But if someone said, "The sky had a well, empty and alone,"

He could immediately continue:

"The sky had a well, empty and alone; stars fell upon Heavenly River, reflecting distant eyes.

A brook and spring reflected floral hues; on Song River's lone isle stood a single maple leaf.

By the South Sea's rippling pool grew apricot trees; cherry blossoms fell crimson and soundless.

Within Immortal Valley, a beauty named Ji; on the Isle of Empty Rice, love became a dream.

Wild geese soared over Western Fortress Mountain; a small bridge and marsh soaked a fragrant garden.

Withered vines in Martial Garden left only orchids; Madam Li's brows were filled with spring."

After all, he knew this one well.

"Lang'er, stop fooling around!"

Xiao Zhan stepped forward again and said sternly.

After all, his son was only at the eighth stage of Dou Qi, while Xiao Yu was at the peak of the ninth stage. With the right opportunity, she could condense her vortex at any moment and become a Dou Zhe!

"Father, a ninth-stage Dou Qi cultivator fighting another ninth-stage Dou Qi cultivator—how is that fooling around?" Xiao Lang had just completed the system choice, raising his level by one again and reaching the ninth stage of Dou Qi.

"The ninth stage of Dou Qi?"

Xiao Zhan's expression tightened. Once he sensed that Xiao Lang truly possessed ninth-stage Dou Qi, his brows finally relaxed. "In that case, I won't stop you."

"What? This brat really is at the ninth stage of Dou Qi?!"

"Could Xiao Lang have been hiding his strength all along? Or did his cultivation never actually fall?"

"Probably not. The Test Demon Stone Tablet couldn't possibly be wrong."

"Could someone really break through three stages in half a year?!"

When they saw that Xiao Lang was not at the eighth stage of Dou Qi, but the ninth, everyone was shocked once more.

However, the expressions of the three elders eased considerably. It seemed this brat's Dou Qi was more abundant than others at the same level because he had hidden his strength.

Not because his body was somehow special.

In truth, even Xiao Lang did not know that when he had become a Dou Zhe overnight, his meridians and dantian had already been expanded by Three Thousand Weak Waters to the level of a Dou Zhe.

Thus, when he fell back to the third stage of Dou Qi and began cultivating from scratch, he needed far more Dou Qi than anyone else. That was why his cultivation speed was still so slow even with the Foundation Building Spirit Liquid.

Furthermore, he had not fought anyone in recent years, so he had never noticed this. He had thought everyone possessed this much Dou Qi.

"Little Sister Xiao Yu, it's not too late to admit defeat now." Xiao Lang wore the arrogant expression of a spoiled young master as he frivolously said, "Otherwise, Big Brother is going to spank your butt."

"Pah! You shameless lecher! So what if you've reached the ninth stage of Dou Qi? I'm about to become a Dou Zhe. It's still uncertain who'll win and who'll lose!" Xiao Yu's face reddened as she replied defiantly.

"In that case, please!"

Xiao Lang extended a hand toward Xiao Yu, pointing at the arena.

Who would have thought that Xiao Yu would snort coldly and say, "You go first. I'm afraid you'll sneak-attack me."

"..."

Xiao Lang's mouth twitched. Was he that kind of person?

"Ahem, Xiao Ning, see your sister? After learning from your lesson, she's become much more vigilant. This is the significance of a big brother's education. I'm gratified."

Xiao Lang spoke to Xiao Ning without even blushing, then walked toward the arena.

"Mountain-Splitting Palm!"

The moment Xiao Yu turned her back on Xiao Lang, she immediately attacked without mercy.

Since you like sneak attacks, then taste what it feels like to be sneak-attacked!

But her vision suddenly blurred. As if he had anticipated it, Xiao Lang used the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track Step to evade Xiao Yu's attack. Then he seized both her hands and subdued her with a grappling technique.

Looking at those long legs and that rounded, perky butt, Xiao Lang mercilessly used a [Harmony] attack.

With a smack, the crisp sound rang in everyone's ears.

Silence!

A deathly silence!

Xiao Yu also stopped struggling, her eyes vacant. But then a surge of humiliation and fury instantly flooded her entire body!

She had actually been spanked in public!

Boom!

Perhaps because of Xiao Yu's emotional turmoil, her dantian began spinning rapidly, forming a Dou Qi Vortex!

Was she about to break through and become a Dou Zhe?!