Dou Zhe

Three months passed slowly.

Inside the bathtub, Xiao Fan sat cross-legged, circulating the Spirit Devouring Art. The murky medicinal bath glowing faintly green turned into clear water in an instant, all its energy entering Xiao Fan's body at astonishing speed.

Accompanied by cracking sounds like shattered shackles, an utterly terrifying transformation took place within Xiao Fan's body.

"Condense!"

Xiao Fan formed a peculiar hand seal, and the Dou Qi within him continuously compressed and spun.

The originally ethereal, gaseous Dou Qi gradually solidified. In the next instant, it formed an even broader vortex. The breakthrough happened in but a moment.

One-Star Dou Zhe.

Xiao Fan rose to his feet, feeling deeply moved. Now that I've broken through to Dou Zhe, I'd probably stun everyone if I told them.

Xiao Fan walked out of the bathtub completely naked. In his own home, he had no intention of restraining his nature. Walking around naked at home was perfectly ordinary to him, and since he lived in such a remote place, no one would barge in.

"Xiao Fan! Train with me!"

Xiao Yu's excited voice rang out as she shoved open Xiao Fan's door. The next second, the two stared wide-eyed at each other...

"Little..." Xiao Yu hurriedly covered that area with her hand, yet her gaze kept darting back and forth. She wanted to look, but she was too embarrassed.

Though she knew she should not, Xiao Yu still reached out and touched the muscles on Xiao Fan's abdomen.

"Uh... such strong... muscles."

This made their situation even more awkward.

Xiao Fan's face reddened as well, and he shouted angrily, "Get out!"

"And shouldn't you be covering your eyes?! What are you covering there for?!"

Xiao Yu knew she had come at the wrong time and immediately covered her burning cheeks as she ran out.

"Why does that bastard have such nice muscle definition..."

Xiao Fan was utterly speechless. Xiao Yu seemed far too unguarded around him. "And what do you mean, little?!"

Xiao Fan grumbled as he got dressed. Over the past three months, he had turned the medicinal ingredients Ya Fei provided into various medicinal baths. For Xiao Fan, who had been able to refine Nine-Rank Golden Pills in his previous life, mixing a few medicinal baths was effortless. Though their effects could not compare to pills, they were far more effective than ordinary second-grade healing medicines.

One had to know that the ingredients used in those medicinal baths were merely common herbs sold on the market, along with ordinary first- and second-tier magic cores.

Xiao Fan was now several inches taller than even Xiao Yu.

"Greetings, Boss!"

Xiao Ning called out to Xiao Fan respectfully. Ever since Xiao Fan had knocked him unconscious in a single move, Xiao Ning no longer dared to entertain any ill intentions. All he felt toward Xiao Fan now was respect and admiration.

Xiao Fan waved dismissively. He had nothing to say to a lackey like Xiao Ning. One smack on the head in exchange for avoiding a savage beating meant Xiao Ning had gotten off incredibly cheaply.

Xiao Yu, however, looked shyly yet heatedly at Xiao Fan's lower body, sending a shiver through him. "Hey, woman, are you lusting after my body?!"

"What's so special about your little thing?" Xiao Yu retorted, despite meaning the opposite.

"You! You..." Xiao Fan wanted to say something, but he could not refute the facts. He really was not that big yet.

Xiao Ning quietly stood to one side and watched the two argue. He now fully understood what a lackey was supposed to do.

After realizing she could not beat Xiao Fan, Xiao Yu stopped arguing. Yet the scene from earlier had been deeply etched into her mind.

Xiao Family training grounds.

The elder assigned to oversee the training grounds today happened to be the Great Elder. When he saw Xiao Yu and Xiao Fan approaching so "harmoniously," he was delighted beyond measure.

As for his disappointing grandson, Xiao Ning, he did not pay much attention to him.

"Fan'er, you're here." The Great Elder casually glanced at Xiao Yu, who was practically pressed against Xiao Fan.

Xiao Yu immediately put some distance between herself and Xiao Fan.

"Great Elder." Xiao Fan still greeted him respectfully.

"Ah, calling me Great Elder all the time is so distant. Just call me Grandpa from now on."

"You've been cooped up in your room every day and never come out. How has your strength improved?"

The Great Elder had already noticed that Xiao Fan seemed utterly transformed compared to before. Even his entire bearing had changed somewhat.

Xiao Fan hesitated, but still answered honestly, "Grandpa, I'm already a One-Star Dou Zhe."

"Mm, not bad. You're actually a Dou Zhe... What?!"

The Great Elder's walking stick crashed to the ground with a clatter.

He stared at Xiao Fan with utter disbelief. "Fan'er, are you certain you're a One-Star Dou Zhe?"

Xiao Fan nodded. He had no intention of concealing it, since he was already preparing to participate in Jia Nan Academy's recruitment in a few months.

Jia Nan Academy was not a place where one needed to play the fool and hide one's strength. Only by displaying sufficient power and extraordinary potential could one gain more resources.

Besides, he trusted the Great Elder's character. The Xiao Family's aggressiveness in his previous life did not represent the character of the Great Elder before him.

After all, the Great Elder of that time had long since died during the Soul Clan's pillaging more than a decade later...

Xiao Yu and Xiao Ning both stared at Xiao Fan as though he were a monster. If they remembered correctly, he had only been at the fourth stage of Dou Qi not long ago. How long had it been, and he had already broken through to Dou Zhe?

Both Xiao Yu and Xiao Ning were full of doubt over Xiao Fan's words, but Xiao Fan did not seem like someone who would lie. They fell into inner conflict once more.

The Great Elder did not ask how Xiao Fan had broken through. Instead, he personally brought Xiao Fan onto the training grounds.

"Fan'er, attack this old man with all your strength." The Great Elder's tone was calm and composed. At this moment, he had yet to realize how frightening Xiao Fan would be after breaking through to Dou Zhe.

"Grandpa, you should use your full strength. Otherwise, you might get hurt." A smile hung on Xiao Fan's lips, and he did not seem worried in the slightest.

"Even if you really have broken through to Dou Zhe, you cannot possibly break through my defenses. Come at me."

As the Great Elder of the Xiao Family, he had no concerns whatsoever about a mere Dou Zhe.

Xiao Fan cupped his fists in salute, then stamped his foot against the ground.

"Explosive Step!"

Xiao Fan's sudden burst of power left spiderweb-like cracks across the ground. His body shot toward the Great Elder like a bullet.

The Great Elder's pupils suddenly contracted. In his eyes, Xiao Fan's movements flowed as naturally as water, as if he had trained for many years. He could not even catch sight of Xiao Fan's figure.

This made the Great Elder's expression turn serious.

"Mountain Crushing Palm!"

By the time the Great Elder reacted, Xiao Fan was already less than a meter in front of him. Red Dou Qi gathered in Xiao Fan's hand, forming a palm print that struck directly at the Great Elder.

A green Dou Qi Armor condensed over the Great Elder's body, absorbing Xiao Fan's palm strike completely. Yet the force of the impact still drove the Great Elder back several steps.

"Dou Qi Armor." Xiao Fan looked at the armor with some nostalgia. He could not even remember how long it had been since he last used Dou Qi Armor.

Before the Great Elder could catch his breath, Xiao Fan's next attack came crashing down. "Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"

An illusory eight-trigram diagram rose beneath Xiao Fan's feet. His palms became afterimages as they continuously struck the Great Elder's body.

The Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms did not merely unleash numerous powerful palm strikes in a short time; every strike also disrupted the opponent's Dou Qi.