An Eye for an Eye

The battle came to an end, and the Training Ground immediately erupted into heated discussion.

"Just as I thought. I knew Cousin Xiao Yan would probably lose to Cousin Xiao Ce again this time."

"Cousin Xiao Yan's cultivation level may be higher than Cousin Xiao Ce's, but actual combat doesn't rely on cultivation alone. Dou techniques are just as important."

"Speaking of Dou techniques, why do I feel like Cousin Xiao Ce's Stone-Shattering Palm is different from ours?"

Xiao Yan could not understand it either. They had both used the Stone-Shattering Palm, so why was there such a huge difference in power?

Even if Xiao Ce had cultivated the Stone-Shattering Palm to mastery, he should not have lost so thoroughly.

That clash had directly robbed him of his ability to fight.

Seeing Xiao Yan's dumbfounded expression, Xiao Ce smiled and asked, "What kind of nonsense is that? Did what I used just now not look like the Stone-Shattering Palm?"

Xiao Yan snapped irritably, "Obviously it did. I've just never seen an eighth-stage Dou Qi Stone-Shattering Palm as strong as yours."

Forget mastery—even a perfected Stone-Shattering Palm should not have been this powerful!

At the end of the day, the Stone-Shattering Palm was merely a low-grade Yellow-tier Dou technique.

There was certainly a noticeable gap between a minor-achievement Stone-Shattering Palm and a major-achievement one, but not enough to completely crush someone.

Xiao Ce's lips curled up slightly.

"Well, now you have."

That answer undoubtedly meant that the Dou technique Xiao Ce had used really was the Stone-Shattering Palm.

Xiao Yan shook his head. "You're insane. Instead of spending so much time cultivating a low-grade Yellow-tier Dou technique to this extent, you might as well cultivate higher-tier Dou techniques."

Xiao Ce grinned. "And how do you know I haven't cultivated higher-tier Dou techniques?"

Xiao Yan froze for a moment, then scoffed and decisively shook his head.

"Impossible. If you had cultivated higher-tier Dou techniques, why have I never seen you use them before?"

Xiao Ce looked at Xiao Yan with feigned shock. "Are you saying that you couldn't even force out my Stone-Shattering Palm, yet you expected to force me to use higher-tier Dou techniques?"

Xiao Yan's face instantly flushed red. Pointing at Xiao Ce, he said in disbelief, "Wait... are you saying that in our previous two matches, you never even used your full strength?"

"What else?" Xiao Ce spread his hands, wearing an expression that practically said, If you're weak, practice more.

With that, he turned and left, leaving Xiao Yan standing there with a dark expression.

"Damn it, that bastard showed off again."

He could not understand it. He was a transmigrator, after all, and ever since arriving here, everything had gone smoothly for him, just like the protagonist of a novel. So why did he keep stumbling over Xiao Ce?

The reason Xiao Ce's Stone-Shattering Palm was so powerful was naturally because he had long since cultivated it to the perfected realm.

Although his cultivation talent was inferior to Xiao Yan's, his talent for Dou techniques was nearly maxed out.

Even though he had not spent much time cultivating Dou techniques over the past few years, he had still brought several of them to the perfected realm.

Two of them were even high-grade Yellow-tier Dou techniques.

"Xun'er, let's go!" Xiao Ce called out. The surrounding Xiao Clan disciples immediately made way for him.

"Mm-hmm!"

Like a little tagalong, Xiao Xun'er hurried after Xiao Ce.

"Brother Xiao Ce, are we going to the market now? You promised Xun'er that you'd take Xun'er shopping there today. You can't go back on your word!"

"Of course. When have I ever broken a promise to Xun'er?"

Time flew by.

In a quiet courtyard within the Xiao Clan, a young man's wild, arrogant laughter rang out.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

"I did it, I did it! This young master has finally become a Dou Zhe!"

The laughter continued for quite some time before Xiao Yan abruptly rose to his feet. His chin was lifted high, and his face was still filled with wild joy.

The aura radiating from him made it clear that he had condensed a Dou Qi Cyclone and become a genuine Dou Zhe.

Xiao Yan clenched his fists and immediately felt a surging power within his body.

This power was absolutely several times stronger than ninth-stage Dou Qi.

At the thought, the corners of his mouth rose uncontrollably.

Xiao Ce, Xiao Ce. Once I stabilize my cultivation, you're in for a world of pain!

This time, you can't possibly be a match for me!

Xiao Yan indulged in his fantasy as he rubbed his hands together, as though he could already see Xiao Ce defeated beneath his hands.

Somewhere Xiao Yan could not see, the pitch-black ring on his finger suddenly flashed.

Less than a month later, before Xiao Yan could challenge Xiao Ce again, something destined quietly happened to him.

A terrified scream echoed through Xiao Yan's courtyard.

"No, my Dou Qi!"

"What is going on? Why is my Dou Qi draining away?"

Upon waking, Xiao Yan abruptly realized that the Dou Qi within his body was rapidly draining away, and panic flashed through his eyes.

Without time to think, he immediately sat cross-legged and frantically absorbed the energy of heaven and earth.

Yet even so, he could not replenish the gap left by his disappearing Dou Qi.

Xiao Yan watched helplessly as the Dou Qi within his body dwindled. Then, with a muffled bang, his aura instantly fell from the Dou Zhe realm, returning to ninth-stage Dou Qi.

"Damn it, what is going on?!"

Xiao Yan slammed his fist into the bed, his heart filled with fury and terror. For a time, he even suspected that he had been poisoned.

Before long, the news of his declining cultivation could no longer be hidden and became known throughout the entire clan.

Xiao Zhan tried every possible method for him. He even sought out Master Guni of the Miteer Auction House to examine Xiao Yan, but still found nothing.

At first, the clan did not abandon Xiao Yan. Even the three elders actively worked on his behalf.

After all, Xiao Yan was the Xiao Clan's greatest genius in a century. They could not simply give up on him.

Yet after expending vast amounts of manpower and resources, no one could solve Xiao Yan's problem. In the end, they had no choice but to give up, with only Xiao Zhan continuing to persist.

This was also the main reason Xiao Yan later came to truly acknowledge him as his father.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Xiao Clan, Xiao Ce naturally knew what Xiao Yan's declining cultivation signified, and he trained even harder.

He was twelve years old that year, and his cultivation had likewise reached ninth-stage Dou Qi.

Normally, becoming a Dou Zhe required condensing a Dou Qi Cyclone within one's body.

However, condensing a Dou Qi Cyclone came with a considerable chance of failure. Once it failed, one's Dou Qi would fall back to the eighth stage.

Some unlucky people even needed more than ten attempts before they could succeed.

That was why Juqi Powder was so precious.

With Juqi Powder, someone at ninth-stage Dou Qi could condense a Dou Qi Cyclone with a one hundred percent success rate.

Of course, Xiao Ce did not need to worry about Juqi Powder. Back when Gu Yuan had sent payment to the Xiao Clan for fostering Xiao Xun'er, it had included three doses of Juqi Powder.

As the Xiao Clan's most talented member after Xiao Yan, Xiao Ce naturally had a share of those three doses.

Still, whenever Xiao Ce thought about how that old miser Gu Yuan had used such "junk" to brush off the Xiao Clan, he became irritated. His hand unconsciously reached for Xun'er beside him and pinched her fair, chubby little cheek.

"Mm~"

"Brother Xiao Ce, you're bullying me again!"

Xun'er complained in a muffled voice. Even her deliberately angry expression was still adorable and charming.

Seeing Xun'er's cute appearance, Xiao Ce could not help muttering to himself.

You old bastard, what goes around comes around. You were the one who stopped acting like a human first, so don't blame me for running off with your lovely daughter.