Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!]
At the back of the Xiao Clan's mountain, Xiao Ze sat cross-legged on a stone platform and chose to claim the feedback rewards he had accumulated from Xiao Xun'er!
Boom!
Xiao Ze's long-suppressed Dou Qi Vortex began spinning furiously. Vast amounts of heaven-and-earth energy poured into his body like rivers flowing into the sea.
Not far away, Xiao Yi Xian had changed into fresh clothes and dressed herself up beautifully.
She stood beside Xiao Xun'er, the two of them holding hands like a pair of inseparable sisters.
The two sisters each had their own unique grace and beauty!
"Does Xiao Ze always make this much of a commotion when he breaks through?"
Looking at the vortex of energy that had formed around Xiao Ze, Xiao Yi Xian couldn't help asking.
If Xiao Ze hadn't told her beforehand that he was breaking through to Da Dou Shi, she would have thought some even higher-ranked cultivator was advancing!
"Brother Xiao Ze's talent and brilliance are among the very best in the Jia Ma Empire. This is only normal."
Xiao Xun'er explained, as if it were only to be expected.
She had completely forgotten how astonished she herself had been the last time she watched Xiao Ze break through.
Hearing Xiao Xun'er's explanation, Xiao Yi Xian couldn't help looking toward Xiao Ze.
For a genius, this ought to be normal, right?
Before this breakthrough, Xiao Xun'er had informed Xiao Zhan in advance.
She'd told everyone in the Xiao Clan not to make a fuss.
When Xiao Zhan heard the news, he was so shocked that he could hardly believe it.
At the crucial path leading to the back mountain, Xiao Zhan stood with his hands clasped behind his back.
He gazed up at the vortex of heaven-and-earth energy above the mountain peak, his face filled with amazement.
"Ze'er's talent is truly unheard of!"
He wasn't even twelve yet, and he was already preparing to break through to Da Dou Shi!
Comparing himself to Xiao Ze, Xiao Zhan suddenly felt that being a Five-Star Da Dou Shi wasn't all that impressive.
"Am I really getting old? Maybe once Ze'er reaches Dou Ling, I should pass the clan leader position on to him."
"With the strength of a Dou Ling expert, no one in the clan should dare oppose him as clan leader."
As Xiao Zhan continued mulling it over, he considered making Xiao Ze clan leader and enjoying his own retirement.
Xiao Ze, who was working hard to break through, had no idea that Xiao Zhan was already preparing to dump a heavy burden on his shoulders.
He only felt that the tenfold feedback reward from Xiao Xun'er's ordinary advancement was different from the breakthroughs before.
It seemed only Xiao Xun'er's breakthrough rewards were special!
Even so, the solid foundation laid by his previous "Dou Qi Vortex" and "Dou Qi Liquefaction" breakthroughs made this one go exceptionally smoothly.
Boundless heaven-and-earth energy surged through every pore in Xiao Ze's body, rushing inside and running rampant.
Unlike Xiao Yan, who always relied on medicinal pills to break through, Xiao Ze's advances depended on the energy feedback from the system and, more than anything, the energy of heaven and earth!
That placed even greater demands on the strength of his meridians!
Xiao Ze had to guide and channel the heaven-and-earth energy pouring into his body himself.
This energy wasn't as gentle as the medicinal power of pills. It was incredibly violent and impure!
Having experienced a breakthrough before, Xiao Ze knew he needed an enormous amount of heaven-and-earth energy.
So he didn't suppress the pull of his Dou Qi Vortex.
Using his breathing as a guide, Xiao Ze directed the energy pouring into his body along the circulation route of his cultivation method, then channeled the immense flow into his Dou Qi Vortex.
The peculiar vortex inside him accepted all comers, spinning wildly at high speed.
It compressed the vast, impure energy through its rapid rotation!
Much of the impure energy was flung away, leaving only its essence to condense into a mist.
Under the vortex's tremendous pressure, the mist became higher-quality Dou Qi.
"Creak—"
Xiao Ze seemed to hear a groan of strain beside his ear.
Under the terrible pressure of the Dou Qi Vortex, the liquid Dou Qi that had filled it began to compress at an astonishing rate!
As the volume of the liquid Dou Qi dwindled, Xiao Ze felt the energy it contained multiplying!
Crack, crack!
The sound of liquid flowing in Xiao Ze's ears suddenly turned into the sound of solid objects colliding.
Xiao Ze hurriedly inspected the Dou Qi Vortex inside him and found it empty except for a deep-blue crystal spinning in place!
The deep-blue crystal was perfectly round, no bigger than an ordinary pearl.
Yet Xiao Ze could feel the boundless, ocean-like energy it contained!
A Dou Crystal!
Many powerful cultivators on the Dou Qi Continent believed that only after condensing a Dou Crystal could one truly step into the realm of Dou Qi cultivation!
This tiny crystal was the crystallization of a cultivator's internal energy!
It looked insignificant, but the energy it contained was astonishing!
Xiao Ze continued absorbing the energy of heaven and earth.
But a doubt surfaced in his mind. He had, of course, studied how Da Dou Shi cultivated.
Breaking through to Da Dou Shi meant condensing the Dou Qi in one's body into a higher form of energy!
That was the foundation of a Da Dou Shi's ability to form Dou Qi Armor and project Dou Qi outward!
Generally speaking, however, the crystals condensed inside the body were supposed to be diamond-shaped.
Why had his condensed into a smooth, round pearl?
Xiao Ze couldn't figure it out and could only attribute it to the system.
As long as it was a genuine Dou Crystal, that was all that mattered!
Xiao Ze slowly opened his eyes. A flash of seven-colored light passed through them.
This was the mark of his Perfect Woe Poison Body!
Unlike an ordinary Woeful Poison Body, which had a Seven-Colored Hidden Line on the lower abdomen, the line would eventually reach the heart and bring the agony of ten thousand poisons devouring the body.
Xiao Ze's Perfect Woe Poison Body had no such trait.
The Perfect Woe Poison Body could fully control the poison within its body.
No matter how terrifying the poison became, the Woeful Poison Body could suppress it completely!
This was utterly different from the path Xiao Yi Xian had taken in the original story.
Xiao Yi Xian had first devoured poisons frantically, accumulating vast amounts of poison, condensing a Poison Pill and constructing runes. Only then did she gain perfect control, eventually reaching the strength of a Seven-Star Dou Zun!
But Xiao Ze was different. He possessed the Perfect Woe Poison Body!
From the very beginning, he had faced no risk of losing control of the poison.
He could devour as much poison as he wanted!
Any poison that entered his body would be suppressed instantly by the Perfect Woe Poison Body!
The stronger the Woeful Poison Body became, the more vivid the seven colors in his pupils grew.
That was the only distinctive feature of Xiao Ze's Woeful Poison Body!
"Phew, a smooth breakthrough!"
Xiao Ze stood up and smiled at the two girls.
"Brother Xiao Ze, tomorrow is the day Jia Nan Academy holds its entrance examinations."
"I heard that the instructor coming to Wutan City is Cousin Xiao Yu's mentor. She's a great beauty."
Xiao Xun'er walked over with a smile, her words carrying a hint of meaning.
"The minimum requirement for an instructor at Jia Nan Academy seems to be Da Dou Shi."
"If Brother Xiao Ze goes to the entrance examination, that beautiful instructor will probably be so shocked she won't be able to close her mouth!"
Xiao Yi Xian asked in surprise, "Huh? Doesn't that mean Xiao Ze could become an instructor at the academy?"
"Don't! Being an instructor sounds like a huge hassle! You don't have to look after the students like they're little kids, but whenever they have a problem, they still come running to their instructor. Just thinking about it gives me a headache!"
Xiao Ze hurriedly waved the idea away.
The two girls smiled at each other, their eyes crinkling with amusement.
They knew all too well how much Xiao Ze hated trouble and wanted to keep a low profile.
When they'd gone to the hot springs before, the two of them had even had a long talk about it!
Xiao Ze ignored Xiao Xun'er and Xiao Yi Xian's teasing and stretched before speaking to them.
"I'm going out to visit Miss Ya Fei. She helped me a great deal this time, and now that I'm back, I can't just say nothing."
"Would you two like to come along?"
Xiao Ze asked what they thought, but Xun Er and Xiao Yi Xian both refused.
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