Peak Mortal Realm, Advancing to Dou Shi!

After leaving the Combat Skill Hall, Xiao Lei returned directly to his residence and took the Star Soul Pill.

After fully refining and absorbing the pill's medicinal power, his soul strength rose dramatically, reaching the Peak Mortal Realm. He was now only one step away from breaking through to the Spirit Realm.

A soul at the Peak Mortal Realm was already comparable to that of many Rank 7 Alchemists on the Dou Qi Continent.

As for the other rewards, Xiao Lei found that they did not seem particularly useful for the time being, so he simply left them in the System Space.

In the days that followed, Xiao Lei continued to devote most of his attention to cultivation.

After all, in this fantasy world where the strong were revered, only one's own strength was truly reliable!

Outside of cultivation, Xiao Lei would occasionally offer guidance to the younger members of the Xiao family and take the opportunity to try his luck with the rewards, but unfortunately, he did not obtain anything good.

Perhaps because of the previous conflict at the market, Xiao Xun'er no longer pestered Xiao Lei to go shopping with her.

However, from time to time, the two would stroll side by side within the clan or head to the secluded back mountain to enjoy each other's company.

The younger members of the Xiao family watched Xiao Lei and Xiao Xun'er frequently appear together and were filled with envy, yet none of them dared show it.

Even Xiao Ning, the Great Elder's grandson, no longer dared to step forward and cause trouble for Xiao Lei after learning of his formidable strength.

Peaceful days always passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, two months had gone by.

That day, Xiao Lei was sitting cross-legged in a secluded spot on the Xiao Family Back Mountain, cultivating in peace, when he suddenly sensed the energy of heaven and earth rushing desperately toward him!

This is... the opportunity to break through to Dou Shi has arrived!

Sensing this, Xiao Lei was instantly overjoyed. He quickly calmed himself and carefully circulated the Thunderclap Skill, absorbing and refining the surging energy of heaven and earth while sinking his consciousness into his body.

As Xiao Lei entered his cultivation state, the energy of heaven and earth around him surged ever more violently.

In the end, Xiao Lei's body seemed to turn into a black hole, continuously devouring the wildly rushing energy of heaven and earth.

With his consciousness immersed within his body, Xiao Lei hurriedly began guiding the energy of heaven and earth pouring in through the pores across his body.

Though this energy was immense in quantity, it contained far too many impurities. It had to be refined and purified through his meridians before it could be completely absorbed.

The incoming energy was vast beyond measure. Xiao Lei found that he could not refine it all at once and could only control a small portion first, leaving the rest to rampage freely within his body.

Fortunately, Xiao Lei had tightly guarded all his vital areas, so he suffered no harm.

Under Xiao Lei's careful guidance, part of the energy of heaven and earth that had entered his body was finally completely refined into pure Dou Qi energy, which he then poured into the Purple Vortex.

Xiao Lei continued refining the energy of heaven and earth into pure Dou Qi in batches before pouring it into the Purple Vortex. Before long, the amount of Dou Qi within the vortex had surged to its limit.

Then, Xiao Lei carefully guided the Dou Qi and began compressing it. After an unknown amount of time, the first fingernail-sized drop of Liquid Energy was finally condensed within the vortex.

After the first drop of Liquid Energy was successfully compressed, a second drop soon followed, then a third...

Under Xiao Lei's watchful consciousness, as the Dou Qi in his body was compressed into drops of Liquid Energy, the Purple Vortex began to spin without cease. As it spun, it strangely began to shrink.

By a certain moment, the Purple Vortex was no larger than Xiao Lei's palm, while all the Dou Qi within it had already been converted into Liquid Energy.

More than ten minutes passed, and Xiao Lei sensed the energy of heaven and earth around him return to calm. The Purple Vortex within his body also stopped spinning.

"Hah!"

Xiao Lei slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of turbid air before rising to his feet.

Standing where he was, Xiao Lei suddenly extended his right hand and clenched it hard.

Immediately, purple Dou Qi burst forth across the surface of his body. After appearing, it suddenly withdrew once more.

An instant later, the Purple Dou Qi slowly adhered to the outside of Xiao Lei's clothes, forming a layer of Dou Qi defense, as though he had donned a thin gauze garment.

This was precisely the signature ability of a Dou Shi—the Dou Qi Gauze Armor!

"The Dou Shi realm... it feels pretty good!"

Xiao Lei clenched his fist and looked at the imposing, dazzling purple Dou Qi Gauze Armor on his body, speaking with delight. Then, with a thought, he withdrew the armor and revealed his cultivation aura at the level of an 8-Star Dou Zhe.

After familiarizing himself with his new realm in this uninhabited area, Xiao Lei saw that it was getting late and returned directly to his residence to rest.

The morning sunlight streamed through the window, falling warmly over the lazily sleeping youth on the bed.

"Mm..." Xiao Lei rubbed his eyes and slowly opened them.

After glancing at the sky outside, he immediately flipped out of bed, quickly dressed himself, and performed a simple wash.

Knock, knock. Just as Xiao Lei was about to find something to eat, a knock sounded at the door, followed by a pleasant, clear voice. "Brother Xiao Lei, are you up?"

"I'm coming," Xiao Lei answered. He crossed the room in a few strides and opened the door.

The sight that greeted Xiao Lei was Xiao Xun'er's breathtakingly beautiful face, wearing a sweet smile.

Today, Xiao Xun'er wore a well-fitted light green outfit. The pale color made the young girl seem even more pure and innocent.

A pair of tight-fitting trousers wrapped around her slender, long legs, highlighting their smooth, graceful curves.

"To see a peerless beauty the moment I wake up in the morning truly is one of life's greatest blessings," Xiao Lei said with a smile as he looked her over.

Hearing Xiao Lei's words, Xiao Xun'er's eyes curved into shallow crescents. Half-annoyed and half-delighted, she said, "Did Brother Xiao Lei put honey on his lips first thing in the morning?"

Xiao Lei bent slightly and leaned close to Xiao Xun'er, until their faces were nearly touching. "Can you smell the honey?"

Xiao Xun'er's face flushed faintly. She took a step back and lightly punched Xiao Lei's shoulder. "Brother Xiao Lei, you're awful."

"Alright, I won't tease you anymore." Seeing Xiao Xun'er blush, Xiao Lei smiled and changed the subject. "Tell me, why did you come to see me so early? Is something the matter?"

Xiao Xun'er said, "The Mittel Auction House is holding an auction today. I heard it will be very lively."

"Even the patriarchs of the three great families, including Uncle Xiao, will be there. Let's go take a look too."

It had been almost two months since they had gone out shopping, and Xiao Xun'er wanted to go out and get some fresh air.

Moreover, Xiao Zhan would be there this time, so there was no need to worry about the Jia Lie Family's experts launching a surprise attack.

No one knew that Xiao Lei had never taken the Jia Lie Family seriously.

With a Dou Ling puppet at his side, the mere Jia Lie Family posed no threat to him whatsoever.

"Sure, let's go have a look together." Xiao Lei's heart stirred, and he nodded.

When Xiao Xun'er saw him agree, a happy smile immediately appeared on her face.

The two promptly headed out of the Xiao family estate together. After having breakfast at a restaurant, they made their way to the Mittel Auction House.