Princess (Seeking Recommendations, Seeking Favorites)

Another half month passed in the blink of an eye.

Xiao Meng, who had been cultivating deep in the mountains, had successfully broken through to the late Heavenly Abode Realm and condensed his second Origin Core.

Bang!

A magical beast as large as a house was sent flying by a single finger from Xiao Meng. It smashed through towering ancient trees one after another before finally landing somewhere, its fate unknown.

"With my current strength, I can easily crush one- or two-star Dou Masters."

Xiao Meng murmured; warriors of the Dou Qi Continent placed the greatest importance on Dou Qi. Only pure and abundant Dou Qi could make one truly powerful. As for the physical body, it was neglected by many—or rather, the path of body refinement was simply too difficult, leaving people unable to see any hope. Thus, most devoted their energy to cultivating Dou Qi.

Yet the importance of the physical body could not be ignored. Xiao Meng even harshly believed that cultivating the body was the true path.

At this moment, he saw the world as a living organism, while all warriors were no different from parasites, constantly consuming the world's energy. But could a world's energy truly be inexhaustible?

The answer was no.

The exhaustion of the Dou Qi Continent's source Emperor Qi was the best proof.

Then, would there one day come a time when this world's Dou Qi was completely used up, leaving it like Earth?

That was entirely possible.

And if that day truly came, would those warriors who had grown strong by relying on Dou Qi see their cultivation plummet without its support? Would people meant to live a thousand years die after merely two or three hundred? Would they eventually not even dare fight, fearing that the last traces of Dou Qi in their bodies would be depleted?

That was certain.

With the source Emperor Qi exhausted, no one in this world could break through to the Dou Emperor realm any longer.

Once Dou Qi was exhausted, there would no longer be warriors in this world. Even the former experts would become no different from ordinary people.

The physical body was like this world, while Origin Power derived from oneself was like this world's Dou Qi. Right now, although his body could not yet continuously generate Origin Power and still needed to absorb energy from the world—

He believed that as long as he tempered his body to the utmost limit, his Origin Power would eventually become inexhaustible. Without relying on the outside world, he could still remain powerful and invincible, existing alongside the ages.

Even if one day Origin Power dried up and vanished, he would still live longer than others, wouldn't he?

Taking ten thousand steps back, even if the physical body could not generate endless energy, he would not be affected too greatly when that time came.

Of course, that day might come very late.

But it would come eventually.

Because he did not believe anything in this world was eternal. Even the universe had its Big Bang and its great destruction.

Furthermore, if Dou Qi was compared to water, then the physical body was the wooden barrel holding it. The sturdier the barrel, the more water it could naturally hold, and the reverse was true as well.

Therefore, no matter how one looked at it, the physical body was extremely important and could not be ignored.

"The path of body refinement may be fraught with difficulties, but it truly is the most perfect path. Every breakthrough brings a tremendous surge in strength. Cultivating Dou Qi may be easier, but their strength might not grow as quickly as mine."

Xiao Meng chuckled; condensing one Origin Core in just over a month was not slow at all. On the contrary, such speed could be called utterly heaven-defying.

He was very satisfied with what he had achieved during this time. After wandering around the mountain range for a while, he left. First, he had been away for so long that he needed to return and let his family know. Second, the magical beasts here were too weak to temper him. Thus, he planned to inform Xiao Zhan that he would be taking a long journey to train in the Beast Mountain Range.

"I wonder whether Fourth Brother managed to beat Liu Xi's master into submission. But thinking about it... probably not. That old fellow is a third-tier alchemist, while Fourth Brother is, at most, a second-tier one. Winning would be too difficult unless old Yao Lao stepped in."

"But... his cultivation should have broken through to the Dou Practitioner realm by now, right?"

"Still, according to the original plot, Xiao Yan only broke through to the eighth stage of Dou Qi a few days before the coming-of-age ceremony several months from now, and that alone shocked everyone senseless. If he breaks through to a three- or four-star Dou Practitioner, or even a five- or six-star Dou Practitioner by then, wouldn't he scare a whole bunch of people to death?"

But no matter how much he jumped around, he still could not compare to me, could he?

A Dou Practitioner? I can pin a Dou Master to the ground, all right?

A second-tier alchemist? I can refine third-tier pills as easily as eating and drinking now.

Clop! Clop! Clop! Clop!

Just as Xiao Meng was lost in his own world, unable to pull himself free, the sound of hoofbeats suddenly rang out behind him. He immediately came to his senses, stopped walking, and turned to look into the distance.

What entered his view was a group of around ten middle-aged men clad in armor, escorting a girl about his age. They seemed to be fleeing for their lives, as they were all injured and looked extremely anxious.

When Xiao Meng saw them, he was first startled before sharply drawing in a breath. Not only were these people powerful themselves, but even their mounts were formidable—third-tier Wind Qilin Horses, each with the strength of a Grand Dou Master.

"They wear matching armor, so they must be guards of the Jia Ma Empire. But for such a powerful guard unit to protect a mere girl, her identity must be extraordinary. She is most likely a member of the imperial family, perhaps even a princess. But here's the question: who the hell has the nerve to chase and kill someone from the imperial family on Jia Ma Empire territory?"

Xiao Meng frowned tightly, deeply puzzled.

"Could it be the Cloudmist Sect?" Xiao Meng's heart jolted. Within the Jia Ma Empire, aside from the Cloudmist Sect, it seemed no family or sect possessed both the courage and the strength to challenge the Jia Ma Empire's authority.

"Besides, according to the original plot, the Cloudmist Sect already had ambitions of devouring the Jia Ma Empire."

Xiao Meng's expression hardened as he murmured; it was probably the Cloudmist Sect. But... had they acted too early? According to the original plot, the Cloudmist Sect should not have moved against the Jia Ma Empire so soon.

While Xiao Meng was still confused, the group of guards had already reached a spot not far from him. The tall girl in luxurious brocade robes, exuding a cold and aloof beauty, casually glanced at him before turning her head away and galloping past, kicking up a thick cloud of dust.

Xiao Meng cursed inwardly at this.

"Damn it, so what if you're pretty? If you hadn't run so fast, I'd have pinned you to the ground and kissed you first," Xiao Meng said indignantly.

Afterward, Xiao Meng looked behind them, wanting to see who was pursuing them. Yet after waiting more than ten minutes, he did not see so much as a ghost.

"There isn't even a single pursuer, so why were they running so fast? And with those expressions like their lives were at stake. Even if they were competing in a world marathon, they wouldn't need to go this hard." Xiao Meng grumbled.

He curled his lips and continued heading back toward Wutan City.

However, after traveling seven or eight li, he heard the sounds of battle. Judging from the noise, experts were definitely exchanging blows. The fighting was too intense.

"Could the group from earlier have encountered their opponents?" Xiao Meng's expression froze. He immediately sprang into motion and chased in the direction of the sounds, curious to see what was happening.

Xiao Meng hid atop a large tree, parting the branches to look down into the valley. Sure enough, the group from before had been stopped by a band of black-robed men. The black-robed men greatly outnumbered the guards and were far stronger as well. There were even three Dou Spirit experts among them.

"Damn, where did these black-clad ghosts come from? Did they take a shortcut?" Xiao Meng muttered in astonishment.

"Who exactly are you people? You dare ambush and kill Her Highness the Princess—aren't you afraid your entire clans will be exterminated?" a tall man roared furiously.

"Princess? So that woman really is a princess of the Jia Ma Empire?"

Xiao Meng was slightly startled before murmuring; judging by her age, she was one or two years older than him. She should be Princess Yaoye, one of the granddaughters of Jia Xingtian, one of the Jia Ma Empire's ten greatest experts and protector of the imperial family.

"Hmph, Kong Feng, you've said that many times already. Aren't you tired of it?" one of the black-robed men sneered.

"You bunch of cowardly rats hiding your faces, you will pay for what you did today!" Kong Feng roared.

"Hehe, even if we have to pay a price, you won't be around to see it," the black-robed man said with a dismissive curl of his lips.

Kong Feng was a three-star Dou Spirit, but he was being besieged by two four-star Dou Spirits. He was quickly defeated and lost the ability to continue fighting.

"Kong Feng, it's over," one of the black-robed men said as he slashed down with his sword, intending to kill the heavily injured Kong Feng.

"Uncle Kong..." The girl screamed herself hoarse, tears streaming down her face. She was in despair. Of the guard force of over a hundred men that had protected her, only a handful remained, yet they still could not escape disaster.

Bang...

A sudden change occurred. That black-robed man was sent flying.