Four Years Old, a Dou Practitioner!

The world around him trembled faintly as streams of special energy, utterly different from the energy of heaven and earth, quietly poured into the space between his brows.

His soul power circulated according to the Purple Palace Heavenly Evolution Art, seeming to transform into a pure white vortex.

It shattered and tempered all of that special energy. Only after it had been refined into wisps of soul power did it cautiously merge with his soul.

"With this Purple Palace Heavenly Evolution Art, my soul power can finally begin improving from today onward!"

Feeling the fullness between his brows, Xiao Yan's little face revealed a look of admiration.

His ability to begin cultivating at the age of four and condense a Dou Qi Cyclone at eleven had depended on soul power far stronger than that of ordinary people.

Now that his powerful soul power had improved once more, his cultivation speed for Dou Qi would also increase.

Within the Bone Flame Ring, Yao Lao keenly sensed this energy he had not felt in many years. After a long while, he finally murmured, "This is... spiritual energy!"

Spiritual energy was a form of energy between heaven and earth capable of nourishing and strengthening soul power.

Ancient alchemists all possessed cultivation methods for soul power, absorbing spiritual energy to enhance their souls.

But as time passed, only a few old-established factions on the present-day Dou Qi Continent still retained such methods.

"Could it be that, as time passed, Xiao Yan's mysterious constitution has grown even stronger?!!"

Yao Lao felt that he had only now truly understood the word "genius."

A genius was not merely someone who displayed exceptional cultivation talent at a young age, but someone born with an extraordinary cultivation constitution.

A genius like Xiao Yan, who had cultivated since the womb, was destined for an extraordinary future!

Meanwhile, Xiao Lin made arrangements for the Xiao Clan's affairs before retiring from public life.

Having walked through the gates of death once, Xiao Lin understood even more clearly that the Xiao Clan's prosperity was no longer his burden alone.

Rather than continuing to charge forward, it was better to safeguard the clan's peace and give his genius grandson, Xiao Yan, ample time to grow.

When that day came, the entire Jia Ma Empire would tremble before him.

From that day onward, Xiao Zhan officially became the Xiao Clan's patriarch, while Xiao Lin entered secluded cultivation. Unless something that concerned the Xiao Clan's very survival occurred, he would no longer appear before others.

Xiao Lin had entered the Xiao residence gravely wounded. Though no funeral was held afterward, as time passed, everyone came to believe that Xiao Lin had died from his injuries.

Keeping his death secret was merely a means of intimidating the Xiao Clan's enemies.

Even the few members of the Xiao Clan who knew the truth would sigh regretfully whenever outsiders brought up the matter, making people all the more certain that Xiao Lin had fallen.

Time quietly slipped through their fingers, and before they knew it, another year had passed.

Night had fallen, and moonlight streamed through the antique windows into Xiao Yan's room.

The furnishings in the room were clearly visible, as bright as if it were daytime. A moonstone beside the bed emitted a gentle glow, illuminating every corner.

Today, Xiao Yan did not go to bed early as usual. Instead, he sat cross-legged and cultivated, a rare sight.

The reason was that after another year of accumulation, Xiao Yan had finally gathered enough Dou Qi to begin condensing his Dou Qi Cyclone.

Within the Bone Flame Ring, Yao Lao rubbed his hands together in anticipation. He had been waiting for this day ever since Xiao Yan was born.

"Little fellow, this old man's soul has been severely damaged. I can only borrow some of your exceptionally gentle Dou Qi to ease my injuries."

"Rest assured, this old man will not treat you unfairly. Once my injuries recover, I will impart everything known to me, the greatest alchemist on the Dou Qi Continent, without reservation. Not only that, I will gift some Earth-rank cultivation methods and Dou Techniques to your grandfather, helping him cultivate faster."

"With your cultivation speed, I believe it will not take many years for this old man's soul power to return to its peak."

Yao Lao silently muttered to himself, having long prepared the terms of the exchange.

Slowly drawing a breath, Xiao Yan knew that Yao Lao in the ring would absorb his Dou Qi at this moment. Even so, he cast aside the distracting thoughts in his heart and rapidly formed the hand seals for his breakthrough.

His breathing gradually steadied, and the faint Dou Qi within his body moved in response to his will.

Within the spacious room, the still air suddenly surged. Threads of pale white Dou Qi seeped from the air, then flowed endlessly into Xiao Yan's body.

Thanks to nearly a year of cultivating the Purple Palace Heavenly Evolution Art, Xiao Yan's soul power had surged once again. His cultivation talent rose along with it, and his speed of absorbing the energy of heaven and earth had increased by nearly fifty percent.

The endless energy of heaven and earth was refined by Xiao Yan into incomparably pure Dou Qi, continuously pouring into his meridians.

Under Xiao Yan's rapid refinement, it was not long before Dou Qi filled every meridian in his body.

The collision of Dou Qi caused Xiao Yan's meridians to twitch faintly. The intense pain made the corners of his mouth twitch.

Drawing in a sharp breath, Xiao Yan abruptly changed his hand seals. His index fingers and thumbs touched, his middle fingers pressed together, and all ten fingers formed a strange seal.

As Xiao Yan changed his hand seals, the surging Dou Qi within his body seemed to be caught by a violent suction force and rapidly contracted toward his lower abdomen.

The pale white Dou Qi within the meridians throughout his body began contracting in unison.

By the time all the Dou Qi had contracted into his lower abdomen, the pale white Dou Qi had already begun turning milky white.

Xiao Yan focused his mind, his formidable soul power maintaining absolute control over the Dou Qi as he frantically compressed it and condensed a Dou Qi Cyclone.

Once suppressed, the milky white Dou Qi in his lower abdomen immediately began resisting, churning violently.

But after Xiao Yan had specifically cultivated his soul power for an entire year, the Dou Qi's resistance was no different from a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

It resisted only briefly before being completely suppressed.

Even Yao Lao was left dumbstruck by Xiao Yan's soul power.

Xiao Yan was only a little over four years old. If he continued to grow, who knew what realm he would eventually reach!

Bang!

Amid the unceasing compression, soft muffled sounds rang out continuously from within Xiao Yan's body.

His mind sank into his lower abdomen, where a palm-sized milky white cyclone slowly rotated. Around its outer edge was a layer of milky white energy resembling a nebula.

Internal vision was an auxiliary ability that only Dou Practitioners could master. The stronger one became, the more clearly one could inspect the condition within one's body.

Watching the tiny cyclone, Xiao Yan nodded in satisfaction.

Although the cyclone was still small, the energy it contained was absolutely more than ten times stronger than the ninth stage of Dou Qi he possessed before!

A Dou Practitioner and the ninth stage of Dou Qi were fundamentally different. The energy absorbed before becoming a Dou Practitioner was called Dou Qi, while the energy absorbed after becoming a Dou Practitioner was true Dou Qi!

Though the two differed by only a single word, the gap between them was as vast as heaven and earth, entirely incomparable.

Xiao Yan slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, swiftly recalling his past experiences.

The insights gained from a breakthrough in cultivation were exceptionally precious.

[You broke through and became a Dou Practitioner. Drawing upon your years of experience cultivating the Dou Qi Breathing Technique, you achieved enlightenment and comprehended the Dou Qi Foundation-Building Art!]