Qingshan Town.
Near Lin Ze's former home.
Hearing the commotion, the people nearby poked their heads out to look.
But when they saw the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's insignia, their eyes filled with awe.
Although the Wolf Head Mercenary Group had only established itself in Qingshan Town and didn't seem particularly impressive,
in Qingshan Town, few people dared to provoke them.
The onlookers murmured among themselves.
"Isn't this the Iron Blood Mercenary Group leader's home?"
"Your information is way out of date. A few days ago, they suffered a disaster. The Iron Blood Mercenary Group took heavy losses, and even their leader died in the Magical Beast Mountain Range."
"Now that the tree has fallen, the monkeys have scattered. The Iron Blood Mercenary Group has been gone for a while."
"They must be here to make trouble for the Iron Blood Mercenary Group's Young Leader!"
"They recruited a lot of the Iron Blood Mercenary Group's mercenaries, and now they're coming after the former Young Leader. Aren't they afraid of making people lose heart?"
The onlookers continued to murmur.
Although they disapproved of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's behavior, no one dared to speak up and stop them.
Noticing the crowd watching, the Wolf Head Mercenary Group members left the Small Courtyard to drive them away. The onlookers immediately scattered.
Seeing this, the mercenary didn't dare press his advantage. He returned to the courtyard, waiting to bear the Regiment Commander's fury.
Among the scattering crowd, one figure seated in place stood out in particular.
It was a Death Soldier controlled by Lin Ze.
At the moment, every Death Soldier was only as strong as an ordinary person.
Even with the Proxy Function, they could only take on Lin Ze's strength for a very short time.
A-Da, for instance, was hunting in the Magical Beast Mountain Range and only used Proxy State while fighting Magical Beasts.
So, at that moment, no one was using the Proxy Function.
Lin Ze had the Death Soldier he was possessing activate the Proxy Function, granting him the strength of Dou Disciple Rank 9.
His perception improved dramatically, allowing him to hear the conversation inside the courtyard clearly.
A slightly sinister voice spoke first.
"I told you to keep an eye on him, and you let him disappear?"
Mu Li stared coldly at the mercenary before him, like a venomous snake ready to strike.
Hearing the Young Leader's words, the mercenary trembled slightly, a chill running through his body.
"Young Leader, I... I didn't expect that kid to sneak away through the back."
"And for some reason, that kid was incredibly cautious. I was already being careful, but I never thought he'd still notice me."
The mercenary offered a feeble, unconvincing excuse.
"Young Leader, I'll make up for it with a meritorious deed."
"Hmph! Make up for it? Do you even know where that kid is?"
Mu Li sneered at the mercenary.
The mercenary was at a loss for words.
"I wanted to get rid of that kid quietly, so the newly recruited mercenaries wouldn't keep thinking fondly of the Iron Blood Mercenary Group."
"But now, thanks to your stupidity and incompetence, it's all gone to waste!"
As he listened to Mu Li, the mercenary grumbled inwardly.
The Regiment Commander may have given that order, but Young Leader, you weren't this eager before.
It's only because I told him that the kid and Xiao Yi Xian seemed unusually close.
That's why he's suddenly so keen on dealing with him.
Thinking of this, the mercenary cursed himself for shooting himself in the foot.
He had thought that telling the Young Leader the kid and Xiao Yi Xian were unusually close would earn him a reward.
Instead, he'd stirred up the Young Master's desire to kill the kid.
The kid was also far too cautious and decisive.
As soon as he realized someone was following him, he packed up and left.
While the mercenary was lost in thought, Mu Li suddenly smacked him on the head.
"What are you standing around for? Hurry up and find a few people to search."
"That kid can't fly. He must have left some traces. Follow them and find him!"
The mercenary hurriedly bowed and nodded, then ran outside.
As he ran out of the courtyard, he saw that the idler from before was still sitting there and glared at him.
But remembering the Young Leader's instructions, he had no time to deal with the idler.
Lin Ze ended Proxy State and took a long look at the courtyard. Then he ordered two Death Soldiers to leave Qingshan Town, enter the Magical Beast Mountain Range, and find A-Da.
Fire Wolf Town.
Lin Ze sat cross-legged on his bed, recalling what he had heard through the Death Soldier.
"You want to kill me? He who kills will be killed in turn. Don't blame me for paying you back later!"
Lin Ze took a deep breath.
His top priority was to grow stronger.
He couldn't neglect his own cultivation.
At the same time, he needed to gather Flesh Essence as quickly as possible.
He needed two units of Flesh Essence each day to summon two Death Soldiers.
On top of that, he needed to amass a hundred units of Flesh Essence as soon as possible.
That would let him unlock the next function or upgrade his Death Soldiers.
Now that he had plenty of manpower, he could pursue both goals at once.
Lin Ze only needed to focus on his cultivation.
He could leave gathering Flesh Essence to the Death Soldiers.
To speed things up, Lin Ze even sent A-Wu and A-Liu, the two Death Soldiers he had summoned that day, to hunt beasts on the outskirts of the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
Perhaps having a goal to strive for helped. Lin Ze sensed the faintest hint of an opportunity.
Noticing this, he didn't hesitate. After ordering A-Er to protect him, Lin Ze began cultivating in earnest.
Time passed, and the flow of Dou Qi in the room began to change.
Lin Ze had spent a long time at Dou Disciple Rank 9, so he had more than enough accumulated strength.
All he needed was the right opportunity to break through to Dou Zhe.
And today seemed to be that opportunity.
The Dou Qi within Lin Ze surged more and more fiercely, until even his meridians began to ache with the pressure.
Sensing this, Lin Ze took a deep breath. The moment had come.
Although he had never actually broken through to Dou Zhe before, the Cultivation Booklet his parents had left behind contained guidance on how to do so.
As his hand seals shifted, the Dou Qi within his body began flowing toward his lower abdomen.
The pale-white Dou Qi began to compress, its color gradually deepening until it turned milky white.
Compress the Dou Qi and condense a Dou Qi Cyclone!
As a transmigrator, Lin Ze's Soul Perception was strong as well, allowing him to easily suppress the surging Dou Qi in his body.
As the Dou Qi in his lower abdomen continued to compress, Lin Ze guided it into a gradually forming cyclone.
Thump!
A soft muffled sound echoed within Lin Ze, as if some barrier had been broken. A rich energy, unlike anything he had felt before, appeared in his body.
Dou Qi!
True Dou Qi!
Before reaching Dou Zhe, one could only absorb the relatively mild Dou Qi. Only after breaking through to Dou Zhe could one absorb true Dou Qi.
In other words, one had to become a Dou Zhe to truly set foot on the path of Dou Qi cultivation!
Lin Ze looked within himself and saw a milky-white cyclone slowly spinning in his lower abdomen. A look of exhilaration spread across his face.
He had finally broken through to Dou Zhe!
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