Breaking Through to Da Dou Shi (Seeking Monthly Votes)

Just as he was about to step out of the courtyard gate, he was blocked by a pair of long, slender legs.

Before he could even react, his hand was placed upon them. The softness and elasticity he felt made him instinctively give a squeeze, but just as he wanted to squeeze again, he grasped at nothing but air.

"Xiao... Brother Xiao Ling, th-this is all Yu'er can give you. If... if you like it, Yu'er can let you... every day..."

Xiao Yu's pretty face flushed crimson. By the end, her voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz. She then ran off with her blushing face, and a melodious voice drifted back from afar.

"Brother Xiao Ling, Yu'er is heading back now. I wish you success in your breakthrough."

Watching the receding silhouette, Xiao Ling regained his senses, feeling both amused and helpless. This girl was becoming bolder by the day; if this continued, he might not be able to handle it...

Just then, a crisp voice came from behind him.

"Brother Xiao Ling, did Cousin Xiao Yu's legs feel comfortable? Would you like Xun'er to also..."

"Thump!"

"Ouch~"

"You little girl, why are you joining in the fun? Hurry up and go practice properly."

Xiao Ling kept a straight face, flicked the girl on the forehead, and turned to walk toward the back mountain.

Behind him, Xun'er pouted with a wronged expression, her beautiful large eyes glaring indignantly at the white-clad youth walking away as she muttered.

"Bad Brother Xiao Ling... Smelly Brother Xiao Ling... When Xun'er grows up, I'll definitely make you pay..."

At this moment, Xiao Ling, who had already arrived at the family's back mountain, was unaware of the girl's thoughts. Even if he knew, he would likely just smile; you were mine when you were young, and you will still be mine when you grow up. Who ends up on top is not necessarily set in stone.

Looking at the mountain path before him, Xiao Ling reined in his wandering thoughts and walked upward step by step.

It was late autumn, and withered yellow leaves drifted with the wind. Borrowing the last rays of the setting sun, they reflected a scene of twilight tranquility.

Gazing at this sight, Xiao Ling felt as if he had been sublimated; his spirit reached a peak in that instant. He stopped at the clearing where he often practiced, waved his hand to produce a white jade meditation cushion, and sat down.

The moment he sat, by sheer coincidence, the last ray of the setting sun retracted and shone upon the youth's youthful face, leaving behind a mysterious hue.

At this moment, Xiao Ling felt his state was better than ever before.

He knew it was time for him to break through.

Otherwise, he would miss this golden opportunity and fall into a deep slumber once again.

He then formed seals with both hands and slowly closed his eyes. His aura fluctuated, rising and falling, giving off an erratic feeling, much like a balloon being filled with air.

"Pop..."

At a certain moment, a soft sound emanated from within Xiao Ling's body. It was the sound of Dou Qi being compressed to its limit, the joy of a transition from quantitative change to qualitative change.

However, at this very moment, an invisible suction force suddenly erupted from within Xiao Ling's body. This suction had no effect on the surrounding environment, yet it possessed a tyrannical quality that plundered all vitality.

As it appeared, Xiao Ling could clearly feel his own lifespan being invisibly devoured.

Initially, he thought he was absorbing lifespan to facilitate the breakthrough.

However, in reality, it was not as he had imagined.

In that instant, he clearly felt that at the same moment he was breaking through, a strange suction force erupted from his body, plundering his lifespan on a massive scale. Was it compensating for some unknown consumption?

"Could it be... is this his special constitution?"

Xiao Ling muttered to himself, falling into deep thought. After running through dozens of deductions in his mind, only two possibilities remained, but he subjectively leaned toward the second one.

"Hoo..."

Taking a deep breath, Xiao Ling stopped overthinking. He planned to organize his thoughts and prepare to set a proper trap for the two major families.

It would be best to lure out the Wu Ming behind them; this guy was too mysterious, and in his view, it was better to plunder his lifespan sooner rather than later.

Secondly, he intended to pour most of his energy into alchemy, striving to break through to a Tier 3 Alchemist as soon as possible. Once he achieved that, he could be self-sufficient and wouldn't need to spend lifespan to trade with the system.

After all, the system's medicinal pills were too expensive and had a fixed price, which wasn't cost-effective for him.

Besides, he didn't want to become the next Shenqing Qishuang Heavenly Monarch.

Therefore, it was better to refine pills himself; at the very least, it was safe.

Furthermore, the status of an Alchemist on the Dou Qi Continent was extremely high, especially in the Jia Ma Empire where he resided, where the worship of Alchemists was on an even higher level.

His plan targeting the two families also required his identity as an Alchemist to lure them into the trap.

Thinking this way, Xiao Ling stood up, put away the white jade meditation cushion, and prepared to head down the mountain. However, at that very moment, a crisp voice drifted up from below.

"Brother Xiao Ling, congratulations on breaking through to a Da Dou Shi~"

Hearing this, Xiao Ling looked down the mountain through the hazy moonlight and saw a little girl in a purple dress nimbly leaping back and forth across the boulders. She finally landed lightly on the clearing at the summit, her porcelain-doll-like face revealing two cute dimples as she smiled at him.

"Brother Xiao Ling, I forgot to tell you. You've returned just in time; tomorrow is the enrollment for Jianan Academy. I suspect Uncle Xiao Zhan and the others will have you lead the team."

"Oh... Jianan Academy?"

Xiao Ling paused for a moment before looking at the little girl in front of him and smiling.

"Xun'er, you didn't just come up here to tell me that, did you?"

Hearing this, Xun'er tilted her head slightly to look at the young man in white before her, asking with suspicion.

"Then what does Brother Xiao Ling want Xun'er to give you?"

Hearing this, Xiao Ling shook his head helplessly; how could he have forgotten the identity of this little girl? It seemed the effects of the God-tier bloodline were truly heaven-defying.

"You little girl, always letting your imagination run wild. Let's go, I'll take you out for a stroll tomorrow."

With that, Xiao Ling took Xun'er's small hand and began walking down the mountain.

On the other side, inside the reception hall of the Aoba Family, Aoba Pa and Jia Liebi sat opposite each other, discussing the issues regarding the Xiao Clan's marketplace.

"Brother Aoba, do you think that if we don't pay up this time, Xiao Ling will take action against our two families?"

"Brother Jia, you are overthinking it. Although that Xiao Ling is a genius, our two families are not without people of our own."

Hearing this, that old fox Jia Liebi smiled in relief, and the two began to discuss the details.

"..."

At this moment, on a small hill outside Wutan City, a young man in gray robes sat cross-legged on a boulder, his expression shifting between gloomy and calm, making him appear temperamental.

"Hmph, Xiao Ling, you didn't expect that I would go to the Jianan Academy enrollment this time, did you?"

Wu Ming sneered and muttered to himself.

He had originally not intended to go to the Jianan Academy, but upon further thought, he realized that if he wanted to surpass Xiao Ling, he had to go to the Jianan Academy; it was close to the Black-Corner Region, which would make it more convenient for him to act.