Hehe, Hehe, This Protector Heard the Soul Hall Mentioned the Moment He Arrived

"Is it because of Xiao Yanzi?"

Yao Lao looked at Xiao Yan who was sitting inside a wooden tub and cultivating diligently, a reasonable guess rising in his mind.

Xiao Yan was born with powerful soul strength, drawing in more heaven and earth energy during cultivation. After breaking through to Dou Zhe, it allowed him to use the Bone Flame Ring to devour heaven and earth "spiritual energy" while he himself remained in deep slumber.

It started off as unconscious absorption, causing Xiao Yan's cultivation to regress. Once he woke up, he formed the idea of testing and tempering Xiao Yan's willpower, letting the latter spend three years as trash to experience the warmth and coldness of the human world.

Over these years, Yao Lao knew very well how close Xiao Ting and Xiao Yan were.

To look after his cousin's feelings after the genius turned into trash, intentionally hiding his own cultivation and talent was truly something Xiao Ting would do.

"What a wonderful and trustworthy bond." The more Yao Lao thought about it, the more firm he became in his judgment.

He also thought of his sworn brother from a different mother, Feng Xian, who was probably searching the entire continent for him right now.

Xiao Yan's current strength was still not enough; otherwise, he could head to Central Plains and find Feng Xian for help to recover faster.

"Xiao Ting is also worth nurturing." Yao Lao silently pondered.

Xiao Ting's soul talent was no less than Xiao Yan's, and now it seemed his cultivation talent wasn't bad either.

Unfortunately, Xiao Ting's Dou Qi attribute wasn't fire mixed with a trace of wood, but rather the dual attributes of lightning and fire.

Even though lightning originated from wood, and lightning and wood shared the same origin, he still needed to master a Heavenly Flame with wood-fire attributes to have a chance of becoming an alchemist.

The path of alchemy didn't need to be considered for now, but fire-lightning attributes naturally made one a cultivator skilled in combat.

As for Xiao Yan, he hoped this disciple could cultivate the Fen Jue, since it concerned his resurrection after all.

However, the decision would still be left to Xiao Yan.

As for Xiao Ting, high-tier fire-attribute or lightning-attribute cultivation methods could be given to him.

Nurturing these two brothers together would allow them to watch out for and help each other in the future.

Xiao Ting knew nothing of Yao Lao's intention to nurture him.

At this very moment, he was seizing the opportunity brought by first mastering the Thunder Flame Treasure Mirror to make a breakthrough.

"Boom!"

Seemingly, tiger and leopard thunder roars resounded in the formless air.

The heaven and earth energy was extremely dense yet filled with impurities, gathering all around Xiao Ting.

He absorbed it crazily and greedily, his meridians resembling thunderclouds containing the might of heaven and earth. The lightning and fire contained within refined the heaven and earth energy, and under the control of his soul strength which had reached the mid mortal realm, after flowing through a special pathway, it merged into the qi whirlpool within his dantian in an extremely purified state.

The silver-purple qi whirlpool accepted all incoming heaven and earth energy without refusal, devouring and refining it entirely, then feeding it back into Xiao Ting's meridians and all the bones and limbs of his body to undergo reverse quenching and polishing. This made his physique stronger and his meridians much tougher.

When the Dou Zhe qi whirlpool reached a certain degree of density, it finally underwent a qualitative change, condensing into energy liquid. Then, it surged through special pathways into every inch of Xiao Ting's body and every single cell, as if painting them with a layer of special energy crystals.

This process lasted for nearly a minute before the qi whirlpool inside Xiao Ting's dantian suddenly stopped. He abruptly opened his eyes, and an aura surged out from his body.

"I've successfully broken through!" Xiao Ting wore a smile.

Clenching his fists, he felt a sense of abundant power that inspired blind confidence. If he returned to Blue Star right now, he could practically be considered a human-shaped missile.

With a thought, a surge of silver-purple Dou Qi emerged, coating the surface of his body and clinging tightly to the training uniform he wore. This was the signature ability of a Dou Shi, the Dou Qi Armor.

Once utilized, it provided amplifying effects to speed, defense, attack, and so on. This was also the true chasm that left Dou Zhe far behind, preventing lower-tier cultivators from easily crossing realms.

"Through my unremitting efforts day and night, I've finally upgraded from early-stage Dou Zhe to early-stage Dou Shi." Xiao Ting praised himself in his heart.

Just like those Yanzus and Talews in his past life who loved reading novels, he worked far too hard, shedding who knew how much sweat and effort for this breakthrough.

Becoming a Dou Shi, although still located at the lower tier of the Dou Qi Continent cultivator pyramid, at least meant breaking away from the ordinary masses.

Placed in small, heavily fortified towns like Qingshan Town, he would be enough to establish a mercenary group and become an overlord, or found a minor clan.

Among the Three Great Clans in Wutan City, he would be considered a backbone, and if placed in the military of the Jia Ma Empire, he could even be a minor officer.

This was a joyous occasion worthy of record.

[Xiao Yan's sixteenth year...]

[My current cultivation talent and comprehension make even myself feel terrified. In just a single night, I successfully mastered the low Earth Tier cultivation method, Thunder Flame Treasure Mirror, and gained the following insights...]

[Successfully mastered the low Earth Tier cultivation method, converted the ordinary Dou Qi within my body, grasped the fleeting opportunity, and successfully broke through to Dou Shi.]

[This is a historic moment worthy of commemoration.]

[The Plane Blessing, transporter of resources, informed me how to pick up a loophole for a Dou Shi Pill. I no longer have need for it, but I can take it back to the clan and trade it with my uncle for other resources.]

Finishing his entry, Xiao Ting walked out of the secret chamber, preparing to wash up and go find Xun'er.

At the same time, all the women possessing the notebook copy received notifications from their copies, showing that new content had been updated in the notes.

Whatever they had on hand wasn't urgent, so they chose to pause and instead open the notebook copies to inspect them, whereupon they fell into silence.

Dou Shi? Didn't he just break through to Dou Zhe not long ago yesterday?

Earth Tier cultivation methods were truly terrifying to this extent?

"He must have obtained other fortuitous encounters after getting the notes, which is why his cultivation surged so drastically."

"He must have obtained the Earth Tier cultivation method gifted by Xun'er and completed the breakthrough after formally practicing it."

Inside a secluded courtyard at the Misty Cloud Sect's station within Jia Ma Holy City, Yun Yun lightly massaged her brow.

Breaking through to Dou Shi at fifteen and cultivating a low Earth Tier cultivation method—even without the notes' blessing and Xun'er, he would probably break through to Dou Emperor before the age of thirty.

"What is Sect Master Yun Yun thinking about?" An old man's voice suddenly sounded within the courtyard.

Yun Yun restrained her expression, crossing her hands over her thighs, and cast her gaze toward the old man descending from the sky: "I am thinking about the matter of the Soul Hall."

"The Soul Hall?" A look of astonishment flashed across Jia Xingtian's eyes as he slowly spoke: "This old man has heard of it. It's a top-tier faction on the Central Plains continent. Why would you mention it?"

The Jia Ma Empire lacked Dou Zong powerhouses, making it merely a second-rate force in the Northwest Continent, and a third-rate force when viewed across the entire Dou Qi Continent.

In front of top-tier factions, the Jia Ma Empire was like an ant, much like how a small mercenary group viewed an empire.

Jia Xingtian's horizons were limited, so he could only think this way.

"I wonder if Jia Lie has ever heard rumors of Soul Hall individuals moving about within the Jia Ma Empire and its surroundings?" Even without the constraint of the notes, Yun Yun wouldn't speak the truth, replying with reservations: "I learned through special channels that my sect seems to have some origins with the Soul Hall, and I wish to find someone from the Soul Hall to verify a thing or two."

"My understanding of the surrounding few empires is far inferior to yours, Elder Jia, which is why I invited you to meet."

"Oh?" Jia Xingtian stroked his beard, unsure whether he believed Yun Yun's words or not. After a slight ponder, he nodded: "What a coincidence."

"I actually do know some information related to the Soul Hall."

"It's just that you certainly won't be able to find them."

A Soul Hall protector who had just left the Misty Cloud Sect and was passing through the imperial capital of the Jia Ma Empire: "..."

Hehe, hehe, this protector heard someone discussing the Soul Hall the moment he arrived.