After finishing the pills and handing them over to Xiao Zhan, Xiao Han successfully advanced to Eight-Star Dou Zhe. At Old Man Yao's request, he and Xiao Yan then went to the back mountain to practice Dou Techniques.
They had been training like this for over a week. Qinglin had been bringing them their meals the whole time. Xiao Xun'er had visited once, too, but she hadn't looked at Xiao Han with the same fervent gaze as before. Instead, she had returned to her usual cool demeanor.
But when Xiao Han caught her sneaking strange glances at him, he knew the girl might be serious about him. He didn't have any good way to handle it, though, so he could only put it off.
If Xiao Xun'er really did like him, that would be a good thing for both him and the entire Xiao Family. At worst, he could live off her and become the Gu Clan's live-in son-in-law.
During that week, Old Man Yao had also gone out of his way to refine some Spiritual Medicine to aid Xiao Han's cultivation of Dou Qi. It probably wouldn't be long before he advanced to Nine-Star Dou Practitioner.
He had the Swallowing Spirit Technique's extremely overbearing rate of absorbing Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi to thank for that. It made breaking through as easy as drinking water.
"Hah!!!"
Boom!!!
Xiao Han leaped high into the air and punched a tree so wide that four people could barely encircle its trunk. The next instant, it exploded, sending splinters flying everywhere.
"Hiss—"
Xiao Yan, who had been watching from the side, sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes wide. It was a good thing no one came to the Xiao Family's Back Mountain. Otherwise, they'd be in trouble if someone caught them wrecking the place.
"Phew—"
Xiao Han exhaled and shook out his hand.
He had used only thirty percent of his strength, yet he'd smashed a tree that four people could barely encircle into pieces. And that was with nothing more than a Dou Qi attack. He hadn't even used the lowest-ranked Yellow Rank Dou Techniques, yet he'd still caused such astonishing damage!
All of this was thanks to the Demon Armor now covering both his fists and arms!
Azure-blue light flowed continuously over the armor, glowing with a frightening brilliance.
After all this time, Xiao Han had finally summoned the Demon Armor again, though only partially.
With Partial Armorization, Xiao Han could summon an incomplete Demon Armor. For instance, the silver-gray arm guards now covering his hands. Besides their plain silver-gray surface, the guards were traced with strange brass-colored patterns, and the azure-blue light came from those markings.
He spread his five fingers. The Five Fingers of his Finger Armor were sharp and pointed like a beast's claws. They could easily pierce a boulder three meters wide, as effortlessly as fingers sinking into tofu.
Even a Dou Master couldn't match such terrifying destructive power!
"Han'er, your Demon Armor is truly powerful.
"I never expected that covering just your arms would give you power no weaker than that of someone who had just entered the Da Dou Shi level. And you haven't even used a Dou Technique." Old Man Yao had been guiding Xiao Yan in the Eight Extremes Collapse while also checking on Xiao Han's progress over the past few days.
Of course, Xiao Han hadn't disappointed him. In just over a month, he had practiced the Eight Extremes Collapse until he could produce six layers of hidden force. If he landed all six layers inside an enemy during a fight and then detonated them, he could severely injure his opponent in an instant!
As for the Demon Armor, Xiao Han had summoned it to test it out during his practice.
Although he was somewhat resistant to the Demon Armor, he couldn't avoid using its power for the rest of his life. Refusing to use a controllable power until the day he died wasn't caution. It was stupidity!
The pair of arm guards shared the same style, but there were clear differences between the left and right sides.
The guard on Xiao Han's right arm was a simple arm guard. On his left, however, a sharp azure-blue Wrist Blade extended backward, almost as large as half a washbasin.
And there was more...
Xiao Han swung his left arm forward. An azure-blue blade made of condensed energy shot out from it, slicing through another tree that four people could barely encircle!
After cutting down the tree, the azure-blue blade bounced off several others before ricocheting back. As the energy blade returned to his arm, Xiao Han suddenly realized that his body's reaction speed had increased by thirty percent!
What did thirty percent mean?
If you were fighting an evenly matched opponent and they suddenly gained thirty percent more Movement Speed, you might not even know what killed you!
Spinning Blade: You have a Wrist Blade Flying Knife that can ricochet multiple times, slowing enemies by 80% for 2 seconds and dealing massive damage. It also increases your Attack Speed by 25% and Movement Speed by 30% for 3 seconds, and restores 10% of your health.
Xiao Han glanced at the system's description. The boost came and went quickly, lasting only three seconds.
But three seconds could decide a lot in battle. Anyone grazed by the energy Wrist Blade would also be slowed instantly for two seconds. Against such an enemy, Xiao Han would have an overwhelming advantage.
After finishing his instructions to Xiao Yan, Old Man Yao floated over. Seeing that the armor's Wrist Blade could cause such terrifying destruction, he couldn't help feeling astonished. Could someone at the Dou Zhe level really cause so much damage in an instant without using much power?
"Han'er, you must quickly train the Eight Extremes Collapse until you can produce eight layers of hidden force. With the Demon Armor's boost, the technique's demands on your Physical Body can no longer hold you back. Once you master eight layers of hidden force and combine the Eight Forces in One, even a Da Dou Shi could be killed by a single punch if caught off guard!"
Old Man Yao stroked his beard. "Of course, that assumes the Da Dou Shi hasn't activated their Dou Qi Armor. If your opponent has Dou Qi Armor, they can take your hit and still get the chance to counterattack. Then you'll be dead."
"The Eight Extremes Collapse is really that powerful?"
Xiao Han asked curiously.
"Heh, it's only a high-level Heaven Stage Dou Technique. In my opinion, if the Eight Extremes Collapse didn't have such ridiculously high demands on the user's physique, it would be more practical than most Earth-tier Low-grade Dou Techniques." Old Man Yao smiled faintly.
"I understand."
Xiao Han grinned. A close-combat Dou Technique really was perfect for him right now.
Suddenly, Xiao Han's gaze fell on the Crimson Longsword he had tossed onto the ground beneath a nearby tree.
Although this world didn't have clearly defined weapon ranks, a weapon that could easily cleave through metal and stone would be an extraordinary divine weapon in a low-martial world.
The likes of the Yitian Sword and Dragon Slaying Saber would be a joke next to it.
"Teacher, wait a moment."
Clang!
With a clear ring of steel, Xiao Han drew the Crimson Longsword.
Old Man Yao glanced at the sword and nodded. "The material of your blade is ordinary, but the forging technique is decent. And a third-tier Magic Core is strengthening it. If you use a Heavenly Flame to temper it more often in battle, you might be able to improve it further."
"Hehe, Teacher, that's not what I wanted to show you."
Xiao Han smiled mysteriously. A strange azure-blue energy began to radiate from him, flowing through the armor on his arm and into the Crimson Longsword in his hand.
Old Man Yao's eyes nearly bulged out of his head.
"What... what's going on?"
Wrapped in azure-blue energy, the Three-foot Longsword, which had originally been only a palm's width across, underwent a complete transformation in an instant!
The original Three-foot Longsword had vanished. In Xiao Han's hand was now a giant sword with a four-foot-long blade, a foot-wide body, and a one-foot-long hilt!!
The entire giant sword was azure-blue, but its blade bore a crimson sword-shaped mark and golden patterns. It was clearly the transformed Crimson Longsword from a moment ago!
Weapon Armorization: You can strengthen a weapon in your hand—for example, by transforming a one-handed sword into a greatsword. As long as you have enough energy, you can armorize it permanently.
"Teacher, what do you think of my armored weapon?"
Xiao Han handed the giant sword to Old Man Yao, who received it with Soul Power and gently ran his hand over it.
"Hiss! So heavy! What a divine weapon! I never thought your Demon Armor could transform such an ordinary sword into something like this. Truly astonishing."
Old Man Yao couldn't stop praising it. He hadn't expected that this disciple could gain so many benefits from a suit of Demon Armor. Even if someone offered him a Heavenly Flame in exchange, he wouldn't give it up.
As Old Man Yao played with the giant sword, he suddenly slapped his forehead, as though he'd remembered something.
He turned and called to Xiao Yan. "Yan'er, come over here."
"What do you need, Teacher?"
Xiao Yan jogged over and looked up at him.
"Nothing much. I just need to take something out of my Storage Ring."
As he spoke, Old Man Yao flicked a finger. A scroll sprang out of the black ring on Xiao Yan's finger. With a gesture, he pulled the scroll from Xiao Yan's hand and into his own.
Xiao Han's eyes lit up. "Teacher, I want to learn that trick for taking things from a distance."
"Of course, of course."
"I also want to learn Soul Power Telepathy and Soul Power Knowledge Transfer."
"Of course, of course. Anything you want."
Old Man Yao gazed at Xiao Han affectionately. He adored this disciple. Not only was he talented, but he also respected his teacher. He had even willingly shared great secrets like the Demon Armor and Demonic Flame with him. Someone else might have kept them under wraps, afraid of anyone finding out.
"Teacher, I want to learn, too."
By comparison, Xiao Yan was having a rough time. It wasn't that Old Man Yao favored one disciple over the other. It was just that Xiao Yan was currently cultivating Dou Qi, so there wasn't anything else Old Man Yao could teach him. It made him look like a poor little puppy nobody cared about.
"You're still too weak. Even if I wanted to teach you, I couldn't. Go back to cultivating your Dou Qi."
"Uh, all right."
Watching Xiao Yan run off to practice, Xiao Han couldn't help thinking he looked like a poor little puppy.
Old Man Yao shook his head and unfurled the scroll for Xiao Han to see. Five large characters were written on it.
"Flame Splitting Wave Ruler."
"Flame Splitting Wave Ruler, an Earth-tier Low-grade Dou Technique. When mastered, it can split mountains and break waves with a simple motion."
The simple description contained immense power and audacity. Xiao Han was delighted. That was it! Exactly what he wanted!
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