Qing Lin's Decision

An opportunity!

Deep in cultivation, Xiao Yan felt his heart stir. The chance he had waited so long for had arrived! The Half-Saint realm was right before his eyes!

Yet the closer he came, the calmer Xiao Yan became. He opened his powerful senses to their fullest once more and, to his regret, detected a slight instability in the core of his Dou Qi. His progress over the past three months had been astonishingly swift, but he had taken a shortcut to gain that power.

The chance to break through had appeared, but the conditions were still far from perfect.

If he forced a breakthrough before his foundation was strong enough, reaching the Half-Saint realm might cost him more than he gained. Xiao Yan knew his future held far more than becoming a Half-Saint, so he did not make such a shortsighted choice. He resisted the temptation and turned instead to consolidating his current realm.

He forcibly checked the momentum of the breakthrough. Under his guidance, the surging Dou Qi within him gradually settled, steadily strengthening his foundation.

At last, Xiao Yan opened his eyes. A trace of regret flashed through them, but steadiness and confidence remained.

The peak of Nine-Star Dou Zun, just one step from Half-Saint: that was what Xiao Yan had achieved in three months.

Now, with a mere lift of his hand, Xiao Yan felt he could send the entire magma region into a frenzy. Terrifying power could erupt whenever he willed it. That was the boost the Heaven Class Dou Technique gave him. He was still far from mastering it, but over these three months, he had explored most of its fundamentals. He could already put it to use in battle.

The technique suited Xiao Yan perfectly. That, combined with the Fire Cloud Ancestor's wholehearted