Nourishing Meridians, Teaching Combat Skills!

Nurturing Meridians, Teaching Dou Techniques!

In a clearing within the woods, Xiao Xun'er and Xiao Ze sat facing each other, their palms pressed firmly together.

Streams of pure Dou Qi from Xiao Ze flowed through Xiao Xun'er's palms, circulating throughout her entire body.

Xiao Ze's Dou Qi was of the water attribute; it was thanks to a cultivation method Xiao Xun'er had given him back then that he was able to successfully convert his Dou Qi.

The grade of the method was not particularly high—only low-tier Xuan—but its advantage lay in the gentle nature of the converted Dou Qi, making it relatively easy to control.

If Xiao Ze had been of the fire attribute, he would never have dared to nurture someone else's meridians after promoting to a Dou Practitioner.

With the scorching, violent nature of the fire attribute, allowing another person's Dou Qi to enter one's body would risk causing physical damage at the slightest provocation.

The pale blue water-attribute Dou Qi gradually permeated Xiao Xun'er's entire body, causing her to glow with a faint azure radiance.

Xiao Xun'er's skin, already as fair and delicate as fine jade, appeared even more dazzling under the reflection of this pale blue light.

If one observed closely, one could even see the tiny, hair-like blood vessels beneath her skin.

The two remained in a state of cultivation, their minds free of distractions and their breathing steady.

Time flew by during their practice. An hour later, Xiao Ze slowly ceased the transmission of his Dou Qi; it was not because he had exhausted his reserves.

Rather, Xiao Xun'er's body had reached its limit and could not withstand any further enhancement.

Even the most potent tonics have their limits—the limit of the body itself—and the extent of improvement possible in a short period was only so much.

Xiao Ze sensed his internal Dou Qi and estimated that he had consumed about thirty percent.

Fortunately, compared to before he had reached the nine-star Dou Practitioner level, his progress was quite significant.

When he was still an eight-star Dou Practitioner, nurturing her for an hour would have consumed about seventy percent of his Dou Qi, whereas now it only took thirty percent.

It was not just the quantity of Xiao Ze's Dou Qi that had increased; its quality had also seen a massive improvement.

Xiao Ze was laying a more formidable foundation for Xiao Xun'er, and as her strength grew in the future, it would be reflected back upon him tenfold.

This was what had created the Dou Qi vortex within Xiao Ze that was now dozens of times larger than that of an ordinary person!

Moreover, his Dou Qi vortex possessed a terrifying ability to absorb Dou Qi.

When he blocked that strike from the Grand Elder earlier, he had actually gathered all the Dou Qi in his body to execute the Swallow Return Strike, which allowed him to withstand it unscathed.

Following that, his Dou Qi vortex absorbed Dou Qi at an incredible speed to restore himself.

Only then did he have enough Dou Qi to resist the pressure exerted by the Dou Grandmaster.

And this was only with Xiao Ze suppressing his absorption speed; if he were to open it up fully, he could even create a phenomenon where Dou Qi gathered into his body from the surrounding air.

That was something only high-level cultivators could achieve!

Of course, unless it was an emergency, Xiao Ze would not use such a method.

Because the massive influx of Dou Qi into his body was a tremendous test for his meridians.

The first time he attempted it, he felt his meridians aching from the strain of transporting the Dou Qi.

Xiao Ze's thoughts flickered as he looked at Xiao Xun'er opposite him.

Due to his water-attribute Dou Qi, a layer of faint mist now covered Xiao Xun'er's body.

It was as if she had just finished bathing and the moisture had yet to evaporate, making her look like a crystal-clear gemstone radiating the vitality of youth.

Xiao Xun'er's eyelashes trembled slightly as she slowly opened her eyes.

The pale blue light on her body had already faded, but as her eyes opened, they shone with a brilliance far more dazzling than any real light.

To describe her as naturally beautiful would be an understatement.

As Xiao Xun'er opened her eyes, she saw Xiao Ze staring at her without moving, and a blush could not help but rise to her pretty face.

"Have you seen enough, Brother Xiao Ze?"

Xiao Xun'er teased, simultaneously circulating her Dou Qi to evaporate the mist from her body.

"Of course not; if I could, I would absolutely watch forever."

Xiao Ze laughed heartily, then stood up and stretched his limbs.

Little did he know that Xiao Xun'er, behind him, had a flash in her eyes as she revealed a happy smile.

Watch forever?

I also want to walk alongside Brother Xiao Ze, forever!

"Brother Xiao Ze, I still have some questions about the Swallow Return Strike. How can I take it a step further?"

Xiao Xun'er stood up to ask Xiao Ze.

She had clearly seen in the Dou Technique Pavilion that Xiao Ze had relied on his nine-star Dou Practitioner strength to block a strike from a Dou Grandmaster, and the Swallow Return Strike had played an indispensable role in that.

"I remember that your mastery of the Swallow Return Strike is at the minor success stage; there is still some distance to go before reaching great success. Demonstrate it for me, and I will see where you are still lacking."

Xiao Ze would naturally not refuse.

This was a Xuan-tier Dou Technique Xiao Xun'er had taught him, specifically so that Xiao Ze could guide her and accelerate her mastery of the Swallow Return Strike.

"No problem!"

Xiao Xun'er nodded lightly, and golden Dou Qi began to emerge from her body.

Seeing this, Xiao Ze did not hesitate and struck a palm directly toward Xiao Xun'er.

Xiao Ze controlled his strength, keeping it at approximately the level of a one-star Dou Practitioner.

However, the gap between a Dou Practitioner and a practitioner of Dou Qi was inherently vast, so Xiao Xun'er did not dare to underestimate him.

She took a deep breath, raised her hands with a resolute gaze, and met Xiao Ze's palm with one of her own.

BANG!!!

Xiao Ze took a step back, his palm vibrating slightly; about thirty percent of the force had been reflected back at him by Xiao Xun'er.

Xiao Xun'er retreated a greater distance, her body fluttering backward like a golden butterfly before landing gracefully two or three zhang away.

Xiao Xun'er exhaled slowly and quickly returned to stand before Xiao Ze.

Since both of them had held back their strength, neither had sustained any injuries.

"Brother Xiao Ze, how was that? Is there anything I still need to improve?"

"I think I've got the gist of it," Xiao Ze nodded and said, "You have a decent grasp of it, but if you want to take it a step further, you must understand the essence of the Swallow Return Strike."

"The essence of the Swallow Return Strike?" Xiao Xun'er tilted her head, looking a bit puzzled.

"The essence of the Swallow Return Strike is, at its core, Borrowing Force to Strike. There are two key points to this: one is borrowing the force, and the other is striking with it."

"You handle the balance between these two quite well, but have you ever considered that by maintaining a fifty-fifty balance between borrowing and striking..."

"Why were you only able to return about thirty percent of my force in the end?"

A glimmer of realization appeared in Xiao Xun'er's eyes. "Does Brother Xiao Ze mean that I should make a more appropriate adjustment between borrowing the force and striking with it?"

"Exactly! If you are facing someone of equal or lesser strength, a balanced approach allows you to perfectly borrow their force and strike back, because their power does not exceed your limit for borrowing."

"But if you face someone much stronger than you, whose power exceeds your limit, not only will you be injured, but the force of your counter-strike will also be weakened!"

Xiao Ze continued, using an example: "Just like when I faced the Grand Elder. I knew he was a Dou Grandmaster, and there is a major rank gap between us."

"Even a casual strike from him is not something I can contend with."

"Therefore, when I used the Swallow Return Strike, I pushed the technique of borrowing force to its absolute limit—borrowing ten parts of his force! I didn't even consider striking back."

"As a result, the outcome was that I easily received the Grand Elder's strike without suffering a single scratch."

"If you can perfectly coordinate the balance between borrowing and striking, then your mastery of the Swallow Return Strike will have reached the Great Completion stage!"

Xiao Xun'er's eyes sparkled as she listened.

Watching Xiao Ze speak with such eloquence as he shared his experience, a trace of admiration flashed in Xiao Xun'er's eyes.

In Xiao Xun'er's eyes, Xiao Ze seemed capable of anything.

Many problems that seemed difficult could be easily solved in front of Xiao Ze.

It was precisely because of Xiao Ze's talent and character that he was able to win the respect of Xiao Xun'er, who hailed from the Ancient Clan.

"Did you understand?"

Xiao Ze's voice, as warm as a spring breeze, rang out, and Xiao Xun'er nodded vigorously.

"I understand! I must grasp the scale of it properly!"

"There is still a long way to go between understanding and application. Let me be your sparring partner from now on, and let's strive to reach the Great Completion stage as soon as possible."

Soon, two figures were seen crisscrossing through the woods.

After every collision, they would quickly separate, and after a brief pause, they would charge at each other once again.

I ask all my dear readers to please keep up with the latest chapters. The promotion of this book depends entirely on the follow-up reading rate. Please move your hands to the very last page of the book; I am eternally grateful!

(End of chapter)