Three Years in the Blink of an Eye, Breaking Through Level Ten

Three years later!

Notting City, Li's Pharmacy!

"Hey, isn't this little Qi? Here to buy whale glue again?" The middle-aged shopkeeper, in his forties, smiled at the youth before him, who was no longer small in stature.

His familiar tone made it clear that this was not the youth's first visit.

Qi Dao replied with a smile, "That's right. A friend of mine asked for it."

The shopkeeper teased, "Don't tell me your father needs it, so he sent you to buy it?"

Those who knew, knew what whale glue was for.

Qi Dao was still a child and had probably never even held a girl's hand. He certainly was not taking it himself, so it could only be for Qi Dao's father.

"Shopkeeper, stop making wild guesses. I never said anything like that."

"Hurry up and show me the newly stocked whale glue."

"Sure thing!" The shopkeeper answered, then took down three wooden boxes from a row of shelves.

After opening the boxes one by one, three pale yellow, amber-like pieces of whale glue were exposed to the air.

Although the uses of whale glue had yet to be developed during the first Douluo era, it was still not something ordinary people could afford.

A single ordinary hundred-year whale glue was worth dozens of gold soul coins.

Higher-quality hundred-year whale glue could cost several hundred gold soul coins.

The shopkeeper introduced them to Qi Dao. "Of these three pieces, these two lighter-colored ones are around three hundred years old. They're only one hundred gold soul coins each."

"And this slightly darker one is as old as six hundred years. If you want it, I'll let you have it for three hundred gold soul coins."

Qi Dao's gaze swept over the three pieces of whale glue before he said, "I'll take all three."

The shopkeeper's eyes lit up.

Selling three pieces of whale glue in one day—this was a big deal!

After leaving the shop, Qi Dao headed straight home.

His family owned a villa with a courtyard in Notting City.

When he returned home, Father Qi and Mother Qi saw the three wooden boxes in his arms and asked, "You bought whale glue again?"

"Yes. It cost nearly five hundred gold soul coins."

Father Qi and Mother Qi did not feel the least bit pained by the expense.

The Qi family's financial situation was not bad now.

Especially after Qi Dao had gotten five thousand gold soul coins from Xiao Haijie three years ago, he had used the money to partner with Xiao Chenyu in a small business venture.

As everyone knew, when you had connections, you might not strike it rich in business, but making a little money was never a problem.

And Xiao Chenyu happened to have a city lord for a father!

With that foundation, their business had not become wildly successful, but it was still steadily prospering.

It was precisely because he had a way to make money that Qi Dao could occasionally soak in medicinal baths or buy a piece or two of whale glue to eat.

Besides that, Father Qi had also broken through to Soul Elder two years ago.

After becoming a Soul Elder, he could collect a monthly subsidy of one hundred gold soul coins from Martial Soul Hall.

That added up to over a thousand gold soul coins a year—an absolutely substantial sum.

"Five hundred, then five hundred. Money is a small matter. As long as it helps you, that's all that matters." Father Qi smiled indifferently, then looked at Mother Qi.

"Dear, help Ah Dao melt the whale glue. I'll spar with this kid for a bit."

Mother Qi said gently, "All right, go ahead and practice. But don't ruin the flowers and plants I grew like last time, or you father and son can just wait to be dealt with."

Father Qi smiled awkwardly. "That was ages ago. Why are you still holding such a grudge?"

"Hm?" Mother Qi raised her voice.

Father Qi immediately waved his hands repeatedly.

"Alright, alright. We'll be careful."

With that, he pulled Qi Dao into the spacious courtyard outside the villa. With a flick of his hand, an ancient-looking iron sword appeared in his grasp.

"Come on. Let me see whether your swordsmanship has improved lately."

Qi Dao slowly drew Peerless and smiled. "Nothing I'd like more. My hands have been itching for a fight lately."

In truth, whether in his understanding of the sword or his swordsmanship, he had already far surpassed his father.

But Father Qi was, after all, a Soul Elder. Even without using soul power or soul skills, he could still suppress Qi Dao with his powerful physical attributes.

Yet Qi Dao greatly enjoyed the feeling of competing in swordsmanship against Father Qi under such pressure.

Especially when he managed to put Father Qi in an awkward spot through pure swordsmanship alone—it could keep him in a good mood for the entire day.

"Good lad, take my sword!"

Qi Dao's father held his sword as he slowly shifted his footing, then suddenly lunged forward and thrust.

Fast, precise, ruthless!

The iron sword tore through the air. The instant he attacked, it brought Qi Dao an overwhelming sense of pressure.

It was not pressure from swordsmanship, but from the gap in strength and speed.

Hearing the shrill sound of the iron sword ripping through the air, Qi Dao swung his sword to block. He turned sideways and pressed down on the blade to redirect the force, then used his father's momentum to leap backward and widen the distance between them.

Seeing this, Qi Dao's father smiled faintly and pressed forward step by step.

Clang! Clang!

The sound of metal striking metal echoed through the courtyard. The two figures exchanged blows, their blades colliding as sparks flew in all directions.

Qi Dao relied more on agile footwork to evade, or on using a small force to deflect a great one, borrowing his opponent's strength against him.

Although he had never systematically learned any particularly exquisite techniques for exerting force, actual combat was the best teacher.

After dozens of exchanges, a sharp gleam flashed through Qi Dao's eyes. He flicked his wrist.

The next second, although his sword had clearly not struck Qi Dao's father, an invisible sword aura shot from its edge in an instant, slicing across his father's arm with lightning speed.

Clang!

Their blades collided once more. Qi Dao retreated several steps before coming to a stop, a faint curve lifting at the corner of his lips.

Qi Dao's father stared at his own arm in shock.

A gash had already been cut into the sleeve on his right arm.

He said in astonishment, "That was..."

Qi Dao smiled. "Sword aura!"

"As a sword martial soul master, it's perfectly normal for me to shoot sword aura, right?"

Qi Dao's father's mouth twitched slightly.

If sword martial soul masters could fire sword aura, could they still be called close-combat soul masters?

And was firing sword aura some skill that every sword martial soul master knew?

Then why couldn't he do it?

Qi Dao's father asked, "How did you train sword aura?"

Qi Dao shook his head. "I just kept practicing, and eventually I could do it."

Qi Dao's father was speechless.

Sure enough, he had known asking would be pointless!

Still, after all these years, Qi Dao's father had grown used to being shocked by him.

At that moment, Qi Dao's mother's voice came from inside the villa.

"Dao, the whale glue is ready to eat."

"Got it!"

Qi Dao answered and looked at his father.

"I'll go eat the whale glue first. We'll continue in a bit!"

With that, he walked into the villa.

Qi Dao's father followed behind him.

Consuming whale glue had a certain aphrodisiac effect, though the effects of hundred-year whale glue were not that severe. As long as Qi Dao visualized Peerless, he could use the stabbing pain in his soul to suppress the heat rising within him.

While Qi Dao consumed the whale glue and refined its medicinal effects, his father and mother discussed matters nearby.

"Dao broke through to Rank 10 a few days ago. Tomorrow, we should take him to Soul Hunting Forest to hunt for a soul ring."

"That works. Does Dao have any requirements for his first soul ring?"

"I'm not sure about that, but he has very high requirements for its age. At the very least, it has to be over five hundred years."

Qi Dao's mother's expression changed instantly upon hearing that.

"Five hundred years!"

"Isn't that age too high?"

After all, even the couple's second soul rings had not exceeded five hundred years.

Qi Dao's father glanced at Qi Dao, who was refining the medicinal effects, and shook his head. "That child is different from us. We can't force our own experience onto him."

"He's had his own mind since he was little. Trust him!"

"This isn't the first time he's created a miracle!"

After all, he had never heard of any soul master with only half a rank of innate soul power who could break through to Rank 10 in just three years.