"Xun Er, sorry, we've fallen behind each other again."
Xiao Ze teased her, earning a pretty eye roll from Xiao Xun'er and a soft snort.
"I don't care, Brother Xiao Ze. You have to help me train during this time!"
"Huh? I'm only a Dou Master myself. How am I supposed to help you, a Dou Zhe, train?"
Xiao Ze looked dumbfounded.
Xiao Xun'er leaned in curiously, blinking as she stared intently at Xiao Zhe's face, as if she might spot a flower growing there.
"I really don't know how to teach you this! Just break through naturally?"
"Hehe, I'm not joking anymore. Brother Xiao Ze, how does it feel to have broken through to Dou Master?"
Xiao Xun'er chuckled, then grew curious about Xiao Ze's current combat strength.
After all, what kind of strength could the earlier phenomenon have produced?
The thought left her itching with curiosity.
"Better than ever. My body and even my soul have improved! Just based on my physical strength, I could beat ten of my former selves!"
Xiao Ze tested his strength and answered seriously.
His strength had improved tremendously, and on top of that, he had all kinds of Dou Techniques.
At the lower levels of Dou Master, he ought to be invincible.
"If I faced the First Elder again now, I might not have to use Swallow Return Strike to deflect all his power like before. I could fight him head-on."
Xiao Xun'er's eyes widened in surprise.
Xiao Ze had only just advanced to Dou Master; he might not even have stabilized at One-Star yet.
And the First Elder was a Da Dou Shi!
Although the First Elder had exhausted his potential and his vitality was fading,
he was still a veteran Da Dou Shi. His strength was absolutely beyond that of an ordinary Da Dou Shi.
Yet Xiao Ze had only just advanced and could already fight him.
It was easy to imagine how tremendous Xiao Ze's improvement had been.
"All right, you've only just broken through to One-Star Dou Zhe too. Go back and stabilize your realm."
Xiao Ze ruffled Xiao Xun'er's hair and sent her off to consolidate her strength.
"Mm-hmm. You too, Brother Xiao Ze."
The two walked down the mountain together, then waved goodbye at the crossroads.
Xiao Ze stood there, watching Xiao Xun'er leave. Then he turned to look at the shadows nearby.
His heightened soul perception let him easily sense a figure lurking there.
"Father, you can come out now. Is something the matter?"
"Ahaha, Ze'er, I saw you chatting with Xun Er, so I didn't want to interrupt!"
Xiao Zhan stepped out of the shadows, scratched his head, and laughed.
"This..."
Xiao Zhan looked at Xiao Ze nervously, but Xiao Ze kept his aura contained, giving no sign that he had broken through.
"Father, just say what's on your mind."
"Xun Er said you were breaking through to Dou Master earlier?"
Xiao Zhan asked at once. He wanted to confirm it for himself.
"That's right. I just broke through."
As Xiao Ze spoke, he released a wisp of his aura.
Xiao Zhan's eyes widened. Feeling the true strength of Xiao Ze's Dou Qi, he couldn't help swallowing.
"Good, good, good! Ze'er, your talent may well be without equal in the Xiao Clan for hundreds of years!"
"The Xiao Clan may truly rise again under your leadership!"
Xiao Ze smiled and nodded. After chatting with Xiao Zhan for a while, he returned to his residence.
He knew what the Xiao Clan would face in the future. Forget rising again and flourishing—
the Xiao Clan would be lucky just to survive.
After all, they were up against the Soul Hall!
But the Soul Hall wouldn't make its move for several years yet, giving Xiao Ze plenty of time to grow.
At worst, he could strike first, kill Protector Wu, and cut off the Soul Hall's spies in the Jia Ma Empire.
But killing a Dou Zong powerhouse without alerting anyone would still be somewhat difficult for Xiao Ze.
It wasn't that Xiao Ze couldn't grow to the level of a Dou Zong. He simply didn't have enough time; there wasn't enough time for him to develop!
According to the timeline, two years from now, Xiao Yan would face Nalan Yanran's cancellation of their engagement.
Then would come the Three-Year Agreement, with its declaration: "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Don't bully a poor young man!"
Only some time after the Three-Year Agreement would the Soul Hall and Misty Cloud Sect join forces to slaughter the Xiao Clan.
Somehow, the Soul Hall had figured out that the Xiao Clan in Wutan City was the Xiao Tribe of old!
During the Xiao Clan's destruction, the Soul Hall intervened in secret and abducted the clan leader, all for the Tou She Ancient God Jade!
If they could cut off the Soul Hall's channels for gathering intelligence ahead of time,
perhaps Xiao Ze would have more time to develop.
Of course, if all else failed, he could move the entire Xiao Clan elsewhere, break it up and scatter its members, or even temporarily disband the clan.
But those were matters for the future. For now, he needed to focus on getting stronger.
Whether Xiao Ze could accelerate his growth depended on the two prompts the System had given him.
Xiao Ze looked at the System Panel.
[Congratulations! Xiao Xun'er's strength has increased, reaching One-Star Dou Zhe. Having advanced by one major realm, the host has received a special reward!] [In addition to Xiao Xun'er, the primary bound individual, one subordinate binding slot has been added!]
Xiao Ze studied the two prompts.
He more or less figured out the conditions for obtaining a subordinate binding and the requirements for binding someone.
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