Exiting Seclusion, Advancing to Dou Ling

The blood-colored thunderclouds in the sky gradually dissipated, and Xiao Li drew the final wisp of the Blood-Shatter Heaven-Striking Thunder's origin into his dantian.

Although the aura of blood and malice between heaven and earth remained immense, it was clearly diminished.

Xiao Li slowly opened his eyes, which flickered with an unprecedented, brilliant, and violent light—the mark of one who had crossed the boundary between weak and strong to grasp forbidden power.

Three-star Dou Ling peak!

With the resentment of hundreds of powerful beings gathered in his mind, Xiao Li steadied his heart and soul, using his formidable spiritual power to suppress these spirits that had been dead for who knew how many years.

These resentments had to be erased slowly; they could not be handled carelessly, for the consequence of negligence would be having one's soul destroyed by the malice.

The violence in Xiao Li's eyes subsided, replaced by clarity. "What a vicious grudge; it nearly swallowed my consciousness."

Had the Blood-Shatter Heaven-Striking Thunder not voluntarily acknowledged him as its master, even a Dou Wang would likely have been reduced to a monster that knew only slaughter by the impact of such resentment.

Looking at the massive amount of energy still remaining in this space, Xiao Li sighed with slight regret. It was a pity he could not withstand another shock of resentment in the short term; otherwise, this energy would have been more than enough to allow him to enter seclusion and break through to the Dou Wang realm.

Crimson lightning surged from his hand, forming a seal to prevent the baleful energy and resentment from leaking out, as he would need to return here for seclusion in the future.

Moreover, only Xiao Li treated this stuff as a treasure; others would avoid it like the plague. For anyone else, the best outcome of absorbing this would be a drastic change in personality, becoming bloodthirsty and combative.

Xiao Li withdrew his sharp aura and stepped out of the underground world.

Elder Qian opened his eyes, which had been closed for a full half-year, and raised an eyebrow. "You've finally come out."

"Junior Xiao Li thanks Elder Qian and Elder Bai for guarding me." Xiao Li was dressed in black, his aura obscure and unfathomable.

Surprise flashed in Elder Qian's eyes. "Incredible. This strange lightning even blocked my detection. Xiao Li, what is your strength now?"

"Three-star Dou Ling."

"Not bad, not bad! To break through to a three-star Dou Ling—a heaven-defying talent!" The Two Elders Qian and Bai stared at Xiao Li as if he were a monster, unable to hide their astonishment.

"Just a stroke of luck."

Xiao Li shook his head. His rapid breakthrough was entirely due to the blessing of the Blood-Shatter Heaven-Striking Thunder, not his own talent; there was nothing to be proud of.

"By the way, Elder Qian, how long have I been in seclusion?"

Elder Qian stroked his chin. "It should be... six months, I suppose."

"Six months?" Xiao Li was stunned. That was quite a long time.

Calculating the time spent on the road to Canaan Academy, the selection process, the training, and the absorption of the Blood-Shatter Heaven-Striking Thunder, nearly ten months had passed.

"Er... Elders, I may need to take a trip."

Elder Qian's hand paused on his chin. "Leave? Where to?"

"This junior must return to his clan to attend the coming-of-age ceremony..." Xiao Li said.

"Ah, hahaha! Almost forgot, you little fellow haven't come of age yet." Elder Qian and Elder Bai burst into laughter.

After the laughter died down, they couldn't help but marvel at his monstrous potential.

"Very well. Given your current strength, you should have no trouble leaving the Black-Corner Region safely. There are four more months of training time left; when you return, we will take you elsewhere," Elder Bai said.

Xiao Li nodded. Following these two was clearly far better than training on his own.

Watching Xiao Li walk away, Elder Qian finally couldn't help but remark, "This guy hasn't even entered the Inner Academy yet, and he's practically ready to graduate."

"Indeed. Although he hasn't experienced the 'survival of the fittest' in the Inner Academy, it seems he's doing just fine. If he were to enter, it would be the misfortune of those little brats," Elder Bai agreed.

However, what the two elders didn't know was that Xiao Li would definitely go to the Inner Academy. It held the most talented group of people in the Northwest Continent, and if he could recruit them into his Thunder Sect, it would be a massive gain.

At the front mountain, Deacon Li looked at the newcomer in surprise, a cold bead of sweat rolling down his forehead. What is going on? The Sect Master has been gone for half a year, so why does his presence make me feel so oppressed? I didn't feel this way when I saw him before...

"Sect Master." Deacon Li bowed respectfully.

"Elder Li, rise. Thank you for managing the sect during this time," Xiao Li said.

He had been gone for half a year, yet the sect was already in good order. The initial sense of belonging among the hundred-plus members had formed, and there were even sect missions and reward mechanisms in place; it was clear Deacon Li had put in a lot of effort.

"Elder Li, this is a fourth-tier medicinal herb. Take it." Xiao Li took out the Blood-Shatter Ginseng and handed it to Deacon Li.

The baleful energy and power of this item were of no use to him anymore; it was better used to buy loyalty.

"Thank you, Sect Master." Deacon Li happily accepted the ginseng. If the boss wanted to give it, he would take it so the other party could rest easy; Deacon Li understood this principle.

"It's just a pity that the Blood Sect's reputation was too fearsome. Even though it was destroyed half a year ago, people only started coming after I sent word out. Without people, we can't recruit new disciples," Deacon Li sighed.

Xiao Li frowned. This was a problem, but he had no solution other than to wait. Once the news of the Blood Sect's destruction was confirmed, people would come. What he needed to do was reach the Dou Wang realm first; only a Dou Wang could truly stand firm in the Black-Corner Region.

"Elder Li, don't worry about recruitment for now. I need to go out and should be back within a year. Until then, I leave the Thunder Sect in your hands."

Deacon Li nodded helplessly. It seemed his Sect Master was a hands-off leader—appearing once every six months and leaving after ten minutes.

"If anything happens, you can go to the two in the main hall."

Deacon Li's spirit lifted. That's right, with those two seniors there, the Thunder Sect could even be considered the strongest in the Black-Corner Region. Two Dou Zong experts—this was one of the main reasons he was willing to stay.

Bidding farewell to Deacon Li, Xiao Li set off on the road home. Nearly another year had passed in the blink of an eye; he wondered how Xiao Yan and his father were doing, and also... the Little Fairy Doctor.

Thinking of that lovely girl, a smile touched the corner of Xiao Li's mouth. He understood now: he liked the Little Fairy Doctor.

Damn it, it's all that wretched Xiao Yan's fault for infecting me with his pedophilic tendencies!

At that moment, far away in the Gama Empire, Xiao Yan, who was in the middle of an alchemist examination, sneezed. "Strange, is Xun'er thinking of me?"

Yao Lao gritted his teeth, his fists clenched so tightly that veins bulged on his soul-form's forehead. "You foolish boy, stop overthinking things and focus on refining the medicinal herbs."

"Oh, right, okay. By the way, Teacher, my second brother's coming-of-age ceremony should be soon, right? I want to go back and see it."

Looking at Xiao Yan's youthful face, Yao Lao paused. This child was still so young, after all.

"Fine. As long as you pass the second-grade alchemist examination, we will go back."

"You got it!" Xiao Yan grinned, the flames in his hands burning even brighter.