Nine Stars Peak!

Chapter 16: Nine-Star Peak!

Mittal Auction House.

After presiding over an auction, Ya Fei walked with weary steps back to her private chambers.

Removing her mink coat, she stood under the lamplight, her gaze flickering with uncertainty.

I still can't forget that little fellow.

Ya Fei murmured to herself; the experience in the alley that night had left a deep impression on her.

Although such tropes were often found in "adventure novels," experiencing one firsthand was a different matter entirely.

That little fellow said we had met once before, that he was also in Wutan City, and that there would be opportunities to meet again.

Ya Fei's beautiful brows furrowed slightly. She presided over so many auctions every day that the number of people she had seen was countless.

Even if there had truly been a youth watching her from the crowd once, she likely wouldn't have known.

Looking at the invitations on her desk, Ya Fei suddenly froze.

She had been stuck in a mental deadlock; she spent most of her time at the Mittal Auction House.

Subconsciously, she had assumed that her meeting with the youth must have taken place within the auction house.

But in reality, she didn't only operate within the Mittal Auction House!

As one of the premier powers in Wutan City, the Mittal Auction House frequently received invitations from the various major clans.

When these clans held grand ceremonies, they would invite other powers to showcase their prosperity and strength.

Thinking about it this way, it makes sense. That youth is young yet possesses the strength to kill a one-star Dou Master in seconds—he is definitely a top-tier genius!

If we didn't meet at an auction, then it must have been at one of the major clans. That is to say, the youth comes from one of the three major clans!

That youth witnessed Young Master Aoba being killed and didn't intervene, so it is highly unlikely he is from the Aoba Clan. That leaves the Xiao Clan and the Jialie Clan.

Ya Fei followed this line of reasoning, thinking step by step, her eyes growing brighter.

She felt she was on the right path and would soon be able to uncover the youth's identity.

The Jialie Clan hasn't had any rising geniuses in recent years, but the Xiao Clan—last year, there seemed to be a genius youth who was hailed as the youngest Dou Practitioner in the Xiao Clan's history!

Thinking of this, Ya Fei hurried to the cabinet to search through files, quickly finding the record of that youngest Dou Practitioner.

Xiao Yan, son of the Xiao Clan head, third in line. Come to think of it, I did attend the Xiao Clan's family ceremony last year!

Could it be him? I should gather some intelligence on the Xiao Clan and see if anything major has happened recently!

Last year, due to other matters, Ya Fei had left in a hurry and hadn't seen Xiao Yan in person.

She summoned her trusted aide and instructed her to investigate any major events within the Xiao Clan.

After the previous incident, she had requested that her guards be replaced with women.

She did not want to experience anything like that a second time.

Just as Ya Fei was working hard to investigate Xiao Ze's identity, Xiao Ze remained within the Xiao Clan, not stepping out once.

On the summit of the back mountain, under the shade of a tree, a figure sat cross-legged on a stone that had been deliberately smoothed down.

The figure sat with eyes closed in meditation, and the surrounding Dou Qi flowed toward him like swallows returning to their nest.

A small vortex of energy formed around his body.

Xiao Ze was currently slightly loosening the suction capacity of his Dou Qi vortex.

A massive amount of energy circulated through his meridians, eventually being channeled into the Dou Qi vortex.

Xiao Ze felt his meridians swelling, accompanied by a very slight, stinging pain.

Ever since he first operated the Dou Qi vortex at full capacity, he had known that this thing was something he couldn't handle just yet!

The Dou Qi vortex provided by the system was not matched to his current physical strength.

If he operated it at full capacity for too long, his meridians would snap inch by inch, burst apart by the overwhelming Dou Qi!

However, during his subsequent cultivation, Xiao Ze had discovered the benefit of this Dou Qi vortex.

That was the ability to control the absorption rate, keeping it within the limit his meridians could withstand!

Once his meridians adapted, he would increase the absorption capacity again!

In this way, the strength of his meridians could be improved imperceptibly!

In the future, if he were to absorb energy at full capacity, his meridians would be able to handle it completely.

At that point, Xiao Ze's cultivation speed would surely increase several times over!

The tree shadows gradually lengthened, and the Dou Qi vortex around Xiao Ze slowly dissipated.

Xiao Ze opened his eyes, a breath of turbid air slowly exhaled and vanished into the air.

My Dou Qi growth has reached its limit. Now, I am just one step away from liquefying my Dou Qi and officially becoming a Dou Master!

Xiao Ze looked inward at the Dou Qi vortex within his body; the pale blue vortex rotated slowly, seemingly emitting the sound of crashing waves.

Boundless!

This adjective should not normally be used to describe a cultivator at the Dou Practitioner level.

But if other cultivators of the same rank were to see the sheer density of Xiao Ze's Dou Qi.

They would surely wonder if all their years of cultivation had been fed to the dogs.

"I suppose I can finally call myself a peak nine-star Dou Practitioner now, right?"

Xiao Ze chuckled to himself, recalling the absurd realm divisions he had seen earlier.

Just then, Xiao Ze turned his head to look down the mountain.

A graceful figure, like a nimble butterfly, fluttered through the woods and quickly arrived at Xiao Ze's side.

"Has Brother Xiao Ze finished your cultivation?"

Xiao Xun'er asked with a smile.

This was the trait she admired most about Xiao Ze; not only was his talent and aptitude peerless, but his level of diligence was also second to none.

"Mm! I feel like I've made a slight improvement."

Xiao Ze nodded and reached out to pat Xiao Xun'er on the head.

"How about you? How is your cultivation going?"

"What else could it be? Just the usual grind. I'm still a while away from breaking through from the ninth stage of Dou Qi."

"No need to rush. Cultivation during the Dou Qi stage is just a slow, grinding process. Once you reach the Dou Practitioner level, you'll be able to advance by leaps and bounds."

Xiao Ze offered a word of comfort, and Xiao Xun'er nodded in understanding.

"I know. I'm actually quite satisfied with my current progress. After all, not everyone can compare to a big monster like you, Brother Xiao Ze~"

"You little girl, I'm trying to comfort you, and you call me a big monster!"

Xiao Ze ruffled Xiao Xun'er's hair even more vigorously, ignoring her slightly resentful gaze.

"Do you still dare to call your Brother Xiao Ze that?"

"I don't dare anymore."

After escaping Xiao Ze's clutches, Xiao Xun'er stuck out her tongue at him and laughed.

"Big monster!"

Having said that, Xun'er immediately darted away, dodging the hand Xiao Ze reached out to grab her.

"You little rascal, I see you're lacking practice in your Dou Techniques, aren't you? Let's have a proper spar!"

Xiao Ze lunged forward, suppressing his strength to the ninth stage of Dou Qi, and began to spar with Xiao Xun'er.

As the two traded blows, the wind generated by their collision swept away the surrounding fallen leaves, clearing a large open space.

Seizing the opportunity, Xiao Ze's arm snaked out like a viper and landed a light tap on Xiao Xun'er's backside.

I ask all my dear readers to please keep up with the latest chapters; the current recommendation rankings depend entirely on follow-up reads. Please take a moment to scroll to the very last page—I am eternally grateful!