At that moment, Xiao Yan's aura shot from One-Star Dou Zhe to Nine-Star Dou Zhe in an instant!
But that was only the beginning!
The Chaos Burning Heaven Technique bestowed by the Heavenly Palace was far too overbearing. Combined with the medicinal power of that Sugar Bean, Xiao Yan's aura began soaring at a speed that made Dai Mubai question his entire existence!
Ten minutes later, crack!
Dou Shi!
Half an hour later, crack!
Three-Star Dou Shi!
An hour later, crack!
Seven-Star Dou Shi!
At that moment, Dai Mubai was sprawled inside his cage, eyes bulging like copper bells, mouth gaping so wide his jaw could have fallen off, yet he had forgotten to close it.
"Y-you broke through again?"
"How long has it even been? Less than an hour, right?"
"Back in my day, it took me a whole six months to cultivate from level thirty-seven to level thirty-eight! Even my teacher praised me as a peerless genius!"
"And this brat just sits there without moving and gains that many levels in an hour?!"
"Is this the power of the Heavenly Palace's cultivation technique? Is this what it means to have no bottlenecks?!"
A sense of defeat unlike anything he had ever felt washed over Dai Mubai like a rising tide.
His talent as an Evil-Eyed White Tiger, the very thing he had always been so proud of, was less than trash beside Xiao Yan's breakthroughs, which came as easily as drinking water!
"Am I useless? Am I really useless? Sob..."
Meanwhile, on Douluo Continent.
Shrek Academy.
Clatter!
The teacup slipped from Tang San's hand and shattered on the floor.
He stared fixedly at Xiao Yan on the screen, energy swirling around him as he broke through as easily as drinking water. Tang San's face had gone as pale as paper, and his body trembled uncontrollably.
"Impossible! This completely defies the laws of cultivation!"
Tang San's voice was hoarse, his eyes bloodshot:
"The path of cultivation is one of defying heaven. Every step is like walking on thin ice!"
"How could anyone break through so many levels in a row without destabilizing their foundation?!"
"Are his meridians made of iron? Is his dantian a bottomless pit?!"
Even the others standing nearby were dumbfounded.
"Third Brother..." Oscar swallowed, his voice choked with tears. "We cultivate like crazy for a whole month and might not even gain a single bit of Soul Power."
"He eats a Sugar Bean and takes a nap, and that's worth several years of our cultivation..."
"What's the point of cultivating anymore?! I want to be the Heavenly Palace's dog too!!"
After a night had passed, the first rays of dawn fell upon Xiao Yan.
Boom!
A mighty aura burst out, shaking the fallen leaves around him into powder!
Xiao Yan slowly opened his eyes, and two flashes of brilliance flickered and vanished.
He sensed the Dou Qi within him, but his brows furrowed slightly. He clicked his tongue and muttered with some dissatisfaction, "Tch, only Nine-Star Dou Shi?"
"That's way too slow, isn't it?"
"Ah, as expected, I'll have to rely on actual combat. Leveling up by taking pills alone is still too slow."
Pfft!!!
Inside the cage, Dai Mubai had stayed up all night, watching Xiao Yan leap through level after level with his own eyes. The moment he heard Xiao Yan call that too slow, he spat a mouthful of blood onto the bars!
Did he even hear himself? Was that something a human would say?
He'd advanced so many levels in a single night, and he called that slow?!
If this was slow, then what did the cultivation speed he had always been so proud of at Shrek Academy count as?
Xiao Yan paid no attention to the mad dog's barking.
He glanced at his Storage Ring, the corner of his mouth curling into a confident smile. "Even if it's a little slow, it should be more than enough to handle that so-called Three Year Agreement."
"Next..."
Xiao Yan looked into the distance, toward the Magical Beast Mountain Range. "It's time to test the power of that Eternal Ruler."
"And bring this dog along while I'm at it."
"The Palace Master said a meat shield should know its place."
With that, Xiao Yan walked over to the cage and kicked the door. He said coldly, "Out."
"Come with me to the Magical Beast Mountain Range."
"Behave yourself, and I'll reward you with a little of what I didn't finish eating last night."
Sure enough, the moment Dai Mubai heard those words, his eyes lit up, even though he had still been spitting blood.
"Woof!!"
Dai Mubai immediately forgot his dignity and his status as a prince. He scrambled out of the cage on all fours and followed behind Xiao Yan, tail wagging.
He looked even more loyal than Big Yellow, who had been raised in Xiao Yan's household for ten years.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Douluo World.
Everyone had been watching the Sky Screen when, unexpectedly, that same cold notification rang out again.
[ Ding! In recognition of the Douluo Plane explorer "Dai Mubai" surviving for over 72 hours through sheer perseverance in an extremely harsh environment! ]
[ Hidden reward mechanism activated! ]
[ Reward: One additional deployment slot for the Douluo Plane! ]
[ Deployment location: within a hundred meters of Dai Mubai! ]
[ Random draw commencing. Target locked: Hell Spirit Cat Zhu Zhuqing! ]
Whoosh!!!
At the same time, in a corner of Shrek Academy's training ground, the black-clad girl—who had remained silent and trained desperately ever since Dai Mubai turned into a dog—suddenly looked up.
Before Tang San and the others could react, a streak of light instantly engulfed Zhu Zhuqing!
"Zhuqing!!"
Xiao Wu cried out and reached for her, but caught nothing.
Battle Through the Heavens Plane, Wutan City, Xiao Clan.
The Xiao Clan was in a state of feverish excitement over Xiao Yan's triumphant return and the Heavenly Palace's blessing.
In the Xiao Clan's main hall, Xiao Zhan was beaming as he arranged for the clansmen to cultivate when a sudden boom rang out.
A streak of light slammed into the middle of the hall without warning, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Who's there?!"
The Xiao Clan guards immediately drew their blades and unleashed their Dou Qi, surrounding the center of the dust cloud.
As the dust cleared, Zhu Zhuqing's curvaceous, ethereal figure came into view.
She was crouched warily on the ground. Her Martial Soul, the Hell Spirit Cat, had possessed her in an instant, and three Soul Rings—two yellow and one purple—revolved beneath her feet as she prepared for a desperate fight.
"Hm? Three rings of energy?"
Xiao Yan had just returned from the back courtyard, the pitch-black Eternal Ruler strapped to his back. He looked Zhu Zhuqing over with interest. "Looks like someone else has come from another world."
Zhu Zhuqing looked at the surrounding guards. The aura radiating from every one of them weighed on her, but the young man before her, carrying that enormous ruler, made her feel as though she were facing a Titled Douluo.
She was a clever woman.
She immediately withdrew her Martial Soul and stood upright, then bowed slightly to Xiao Yan and Xiao Zhan, performing the proper greeting of a junior. "This junior is Zhu Zhuqing, from Douluo Continent."
"I meant no offense. Please forgive me if I've caused any trouble."
Cool-headed, rational, neither servile nor arrogant.
Her attitude was worlds apart from Dai Mubai, who had once barged in and tried to teach a useless man a lesson.
Xiao Yan nodded at the sight.
"Good. You're a lot more sensible than that barking idiot outside."
"Since you've come here, it must be fate."
"The Xiao Clan could use more hands. If you're willing to stay, I can keep you safe."
At his words, Zhu Zhuqing didn't hesitate in the slightest. She immediately dropped to one knee. "Zhu Zhuqing is willing to serve the Xiao Clan! I ask only for a place to stay!"
She had seen the Sky Screen and knew how cruel this world was.
Joining the Xiao Clan was her only chance of survival.
"Good!"
Xiao Yan nodded and flicked a pill radiating a faint green glow out of his Storage Ring. "That Soul Power you cultivate is too low-grade, full of impurities."
"This is a second-grade Marrow Cleansing Pill, along with a Yellow Tier advanced cultivation technique, the Wind Shadow Art."
"Take the pill and switch to a new cultivation system."
"With your aptitude, cultivating wind-type Dou Qi should double your strength."
A second-grade pill?!
A Yellow Tier advanced cultivation technique?!
Zhu Zhuqing's hands trembled as she accepted the two treasures. On Douluo Continent, even a Titled Douluo might not be able to get their hands on such priceless treasures.
And here, they were merely a welcome gift?
"Thank you for your generosity, young master!!"
Zhu Zhuqing swallowed the pill in one gulp.
Boom!!!
The next second, its violent medicinal power swept through her meridians, expelling all the insubstantial Soul Power within her and transforming it into incomparably pure Dou Qi!
In just a moment, her aura had stabilized at the Dou Zhe realm.
Not only that, but her Martial Soul, the Hell Spirit Cat, seemed to have mutated as well. Its fur grew more lustrous, and her speed tripled!
"S-so this is the power of Dou Qi?"
Zhu Zhuqing felt the surging strength within her, her eyes full of shock.
The speed she had once been so proud of now seemed like a tortoise crawling.
She felt that she could easily kill ten versions of her former self!
"Thank you, young master, for giving me a new life!"
Zhu Zhuqing bowed deeply once more. This time, her submission came from the heart.
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
Douluo Continent, Star Luo Imperial Palace.
The Zhu Clan head watched the daughter on the Sky Screen whose strength had surged, his beard trembling with excitement. "Good! Wonderful!!"
"That girl Zhuqing has always been clever! She knows how to read the situation!"
"Unlike that idiot Dai Mubai, who had to act tough and ended up becoming a dog."
"Now that Zhuqing is part of the Xiao Clan, she's a subordinate of a Heavenly Palace disciple! Her future is limitless!"
Battle Through the Heavens World.
Outside the Xiao Clan's main hall.
Xiao Yan waved a hand. "All right, go get some rest."
At his words, Zhu Zhuqing drew a deep breath, then turned and headed for the gate, escorted by the others.
At that moment, outside the Xiao Clan's gate.
The specially made iron cage still stood there.
Dai Mubai was lying inside, licking the pill Xiao Yan had left unfinished the night before as if it were a treasure.
Suddenly, he heard a familiar set of footsteps.
Dai Mubai looked up, and his cloudy, mismatched eyes flew wide open!
"Zh-Zhuqing?!"
What was he seeing?
The girl in the black outfit, radiating strength and looking radiant—could she really be his fiancée, Zhu Zhuqing?!
She hadn't been locked in a cage?
She hadn't been made a slave?
She had actually walked out of the main hall?!
"Zhuqing!! Is that you, Zhuqing!!"
As if he'd grabbed hold of a lifeline, Dai Mubai frantically lunged to the edge of the cage. Gripping the bars with both hands, he shook them desperately. "Save me! Hurry and save me!!"
"I'm Dai Mubai! I'm your fiancé!!"
"Go beg Xiao Yan that—no, Young Master Xiao! Ask him to let me out too!"
"I want to be human too! I don't want to be a dog anymore, Zhuqing!!"
"I'd even be your lackey!"
Zhu Zhuqing stopped as she looked at the man with grime all over his face, pill residue still at the corners of his mouth, begging with his tail between his legs.
She looked down at Dai Mubai. Her cool eyes held not the slightest bit of pity, only disgust.
"Fiancé?"
Zhu Zhuqing spoke coldly, her voice icy.
"My fiancé should be a man who can hold his head high."
"Not a dog who wags his tail at someone else for half a leftover pill."
"You—"
Upon hearing this, Dai Mubai froze too, his face instantly turning the color of pig liver.
"Moreover."
Zhu Zhuqing turned around, bowed slightly toward the gates of Xiao Mansion, and raised her voice a little, apparently speaking deliberately for everyone to hear. "I am now a guard of the Xiao Clan, and a subordinate of Young Master Xiao Yan."
"Young Master Xiao said you're a watchdog."
"Since you're a dog, you should know your place."
"If you dare bark again and disturb the young master's cultivation—"
Zzzzt!
A green blade of wind-attribute Dou Qi suddenly coalesced in Zhu Zhuqing's hand. She viciously slashed it into the ground before Dai Mubai, leaving a bottomless-looking trench!
"Don't blame me for cleaning house!"
That blade of wind not only cleaved the ground; it also cut through the last trace of hope in Dai Mubai's heart.
He slumped inside the cage, staring blankly at the resolute figure walking away.
The woman he had once looked down on had become a powerful expert who controlled his life and death.
The fiancée he had once been so proud of now wanted to clean house for another man.
"Woof, whimper, whimper—"
Dai Mubai buried his head in the pile of straw and let out a despairing sob.
Battle Through the Heavens Plane, Wutan City, Xiao Clan Martial Arts Arena.
The next day.
The morning sun spilled across the Martial Arts Arena, and the air was filled with a faint medicinal fragrance.
"Hoo—"
Zhu Zhuqing wore a custom-made black, form-fitting training outfit from the Xiao Clan, accentuating her already voluptuous figure until it was breathtaking.
After the Marrow Cleansing Pill had cleansed and refined her body, her skin seemed to glow with a pearly light, and she radiated an aura that was both sharp and noble.
At that moment, she was sitting cross-legged in the center of a Spirit Gathering Array, with a table of breakfast set before her.
Yes, it was only breakfast.
But when Dai Mubai in the cage saw what was on the table, his eyes went wide.
A tenderloin steak from a Tier 2 Magical Beast, a Red Flame Pig!
—
Spirit tea brewed with first-grade Energy Recovery Powder!
And a bowl of Purple Ginseng Spirit Porridge, exuding powerful waves of energy!
"Gulp—"
Dai Mubai clutched the withered bone in his hands, watching Zhu Zhuqing elegantly cut off a piece of steak and put it in her mouth. The glistening juices and energy made his stomach churn with envy.
He had eaten delicacies fit for an emperor at the Star Luo Imperial Palace, but the meat of a Tier 2 Magical Beast was the essence of a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast!
Who in Douluo Continent ate meat from a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast for breakfast?
That wasn't extravagance. That was madness!
"How does it taste?"
Just then, Xiao Yan walked over with a smile.
"Reporting to the young master, this meat contains an enormous amount of energy."
Zhu Zhuqing quickly set down her utensils, stood, and respectfully replied, "I can feel my Dou Qi growing with every bite."
"This meal is worth a whole month of hard cultivation at Shrek Academy!"
"Heh, if you like it, eat more."
Xiao Yan waved his hand casually, as though it were nothing worth mentioning. "There are plenty of Red Flame Pigs in the Magical Beast Mountain Range. From now on, you can eat your fill."
Eat her fill?!
Hearing those words, Dai Mubai in the cage completely broke down.
"By the way."
Xiao Yan seemed to recall something. He casually took a green scroll from his Storage Ring and tossed it to Zhu Zhuqing. "I saw that your Martial Soul is a cat, and that you focus on speed."
"That Soul Skill you used before was too crude. It was all straight-line attacks, full of openings."
"This is a Xuan Tier High-Grade Dou Technique, the Nether Ghost Shadow Steps."
"Though its rank isn't particularly high, combined with your wind-attribute Dou Qi, you can turn into nine Residual Shadows once you master it, killing your enemies without a trace."
"Take it and practice. Don't bring shame on the Xiao Clan."
A Xuan Tier High-Grade Dou Technique?!
Zhu Zhuqing hurriedly caught the scroll, her hands trembling.
Although she hadn't been here long, she had learned from the Xiao Clan's servants how precious Dou Techniques were.
A high-grade Xuan Tier technique was worth hundreds of thousands of gold coins, a treasure countless experts throughout the Jia Ma Empire would fight tooth and nail to obtain!
"Young master, this, this is far too precious—"
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