Swallowing the pill he had been holding in his mouth, Xiao Li gritted his teeth and endured the strain the first step put on his body. His complexion was a little poor, but it was nothing serious.
Seven-Star Great Dou Master!
"Gang Leader Xu, let's fight again!"
Xiao Li laughed heartily and strode forward. The Thunder Scale Spear in his hand crackled with lightning, thunder exploding around it. Its power far surpassed what it had shown before.
"Mystic Thunder Shock Flash!"
Lightning flickered in Xiao Li's eyes. He had recently obtained so many Dou Techniques and cultivation methods that he had neglected the High-grade Profound Tier Dou Technique Hu Gan had given him. This battle had instead given him fresh inspiration.
Mystic Thunder Shock Flash was like an advanced version of Lightning Flash Strike—faster, stronger, and sharper.
Dou Qi fused with the power of lightning, imbued with the heaven-and-earth-shaking might of the most unyielding, fiercest thunder.
The fish swimming along the Thunder Scale Spear's shaft also shone with white light. Its body grew longer, as if it were about to change shape, but in the end, it stopped halfway. The spear soul changed from a carp into an eel, becoming even fiercer. Lightning spewed from its mouth, almost compressing the air itself.
"Let's settle this with one move!"
Xu Lianghai didn't dare lower his guard. Though Xiao Li looked battered, his strength had multiplied several times over, leaving even Xu Lianghai shaken.
"Forgive me, young friend. Crushing Stone Blade!"
A blade of light burst forth, its bright ocher edge meeting Xiao Li's Thunder Scale Spear. Crushing Stone Blade and Mystic Thunder Shock Flash clashed once more, their impact far greater than before.
"Boom!"
Lightning and shattered stone flew in every direction. The onlookers around them were swept up in the shock wave and staggered backward, while the betrothal gifts Xu Lianghai had brought were overturned and scattered across the ground.
As the shock wave faded, Lin Yi could no longer hold back and rose to his feet. The scene before him made him suck in a sharp breath.
Xu Lianghai had lost. His clothes had been torn to shreds by the lightning, leaving only scraps hanging from his body. He could barely stand, leaning on the broadsword in his hand.
By contrast, though Xiao Li was in no better shape and a thread of blood ran from the corner of his mouth, he stood proudly in the middle of the arena, Thunder Scale Spear in hand.
Lin Qi's mind went blank. He murmured, "We... we won!"
Lin Qi abruptly turned to Xu Xinyue. "Xinyue!"
Xu Xinyue beamed and was about to answer, but then she saw Patriarch Lin Yi smiling and her injured father. She felt she should probably keep her composure.
Xiao Li put the Thunder Scale Spear back into his Storage Ring. The wounds Xu Lianghai had inflicted still bled.
"Patriarch Lin, I'm glad I didn't let you down."
Lin Yi nodded repeatedly and hurried forward to support Xiao Li. "Thank you, young friend, for preserving my Lin Family's dignity. Thank you."
By the end, tears even glimmered in Lin Yi's cloudy eyes. Heaven knew how much pressure he had been under these past few days.
Lin Yi took a Storage Ring from his robes and said quietly, "Young Xiao, there are five Tier 3 Magical Beast corpses inside, along with most of my Lin Family's Tier 1 and Tier 2 Magical Beast corpses. Great kindness needs no words. If you ever need anything, my Lin Family will do all we can to help."
Xiao Li accepted the Storage Ring and nodded. "Thank you."
After taking the ring, Xiao Li found a fresh set of clothes and quietly left the Lin Family. The two families could settle what came next on their own; there was no reason for him to waste time here.
"Wait, Big Brother Xiao."
Lin Qi pulled Xu Xinyue over to stop Xiao Li.
Xiao Li turned around. "Is something the matter?"
Lin Qi and Xu Xinyue exchanged a glance, then said in unison, "Thank you for helping us, Big Brother Xiao."
Though they were thanking him, Xiao Li felt as if he'd just been force-fed a mouthful of affection. He could only smile wryly, but in his heart, he missed a certain little girl even more.
"Congratulations on your wedding."
Xiao Li cupped his hands with a smile and said nothing more. They likely wouldn't meet again after this parting. Life was full of passersby, and growing up meant learning to say goodbye.
Half a month later, somewhere in the Black-Corner Region's nameless mountains.
"Come on, hurry up, kid! The smell's got my mouth watering!" Elder Qian drooled as he watched the Magical Beast roasting on Xiao Li's rack.
Elder Bai swallowed quietly. "No wonder you wanted the Magical Beast corpses. So you had this trick up your sleeve."
Xiao Li smiled without a word. He'd roasted the meat to throw the two old men off. He planned to save the other Magical Beast corpses and use them a year later.
Xiao Li didn't dare reveal such an unusual cultivation method as the Siphon Technique. The Two Elders Qian and Bai were stuck at Peak Dou Zong. If they learned that this technique existed, who knew what they might do?
After eating their fill of roast meat, Elder Qian rubbed his hands together with a mischievous grin and spread his arms. "Kid, after taking so many lightning strikes over the past half month, you're almost there. Bring on the lightning!"
In an instant, dark clouds blanketed the sky. Xiao Li sighed as if resigned to his fate, then went to the top of a mountain and sat cross-legged.
Elder Qian chuckled at the sight. His movements were simple and direct: he called down two bolts of heavenly lightning at once.
Xiao Li held his breath and focused, letting all his defenses fall. He planned to withstand the heavenly lightning with his body alone. His fight with Xu Lianghai had already shown how powerful the Thunder Fusion Body was; even the Mystic Thunder Body, which he had only barely begun to master, had let him take a Dou Ling's blow with only minor injuries.
The pitch-black sky split with countless cracks, lightning streaking through them like roaring dragons thrashing amid the clouds. The deafening thunder made Xiao Li's heart tighten.
The lightning was like a vicious eel, ripping through the air in an instant. Its piercing shriek made the earth tremble, and the immense energy it unleashed seemed ready to shatter the land.
Purple lightning snakes coursed over Xiao Li's body. Several thick bolts, each as stout as a python, plunged from the sky, instantly illuminating the oppressive blackness. Their overwhelming might represented the harshest punishment this world could mete out.
Amid the purple light that drenched the sky, the blue-black glow around Xiao Li stood out more and more, like a spot of white ink in a painting, unmistakable.
The glow enveloped his entire body. His skin turned a dark blue-green, like a massive piece of uncarved jade—unusually hard.
The thunderclouds gradually dispersed. Xiao Li slowly opened his eyes, a flash of blue-purple passing through them.
Six-Star Great Dou Master. Mystic Thunder Body, complete!
Elder Qian clicked his tongue in amazement. "You're cultivating like you've got a cheat code, kid. You're absurdly fast—you went from Two-Star to Six-Star in just one month."
Xiao Li gathered his breath and smiled. He had been held back by the grade of his cultivation method before. Reaching Da Dou Shi with a high-grade Yellow Tier method had taken far more effort than it would have with an Earth Tier method.
Now he had the Earth Tier Cultivation Method, Thunder Fusion Body, and had taken a Two-Pattern Green Spirit Pill. On top of that, he wasn't afraid of pain and had tempered his body with lightning. It was only natural that he would make rapid progress in a short time. His cultivation would slow once he reached a higher level.
"Thank you, Elders, for protecting me while I cultivated. I'm deeply grateful." Xiao Li bowed.
If Elder Qian hadn't kept gathering the lightning for him, Xiao Li would have spent most of his time just searching for a suitable place to cultivate. Over the past half month or so, he had tempered his body with lightning and absorbed its pure energy, saving himself at least two months of hard cultivation.
At that, Elder Qian's smile grew a little more sincere. "You worked hard for it yourself. But next, the two of us are going to arrange some trials for you."
"Hmm? Where are we going?"
"Black Seal City!"