Instructor's Guidance

On the training ground, Xiao Yun and Xu Ning stood at opposite ends, facing each other.

"I'll suppress my Dou Qi cultivation to the same realm as yours and only use Dou Techniques below the Xuan Tier. If you can force me to use a Xuan Tier Dou Technique, then you'll win."

Xu Ning took off the instructor's robe he was wearing, raised his arm, and with a flash of light from the storage ring on his finger, the robe that had been on his hand vanished, replaced by a long saber he now gripped.

The long saber was completely fiery red, its surface carved with strange Dou Qi inscriptions that shone with a fiery red glow. At the hilt, a fiery red magic core was embedded in the grip. Even standing dozens of meters away from Xu Ning, Xiao Yun could feel the rich energy contained within the long saber.

Judging solely by its appearance, he knew the long saber Xu Ning held was a magic core weapon. Furthermore, the energy contained within this magic core weapon matched his Dou Qi attribute; with the enhancement of both, Xu Ning's combat power could probably be boosted by roughly twenty to thirty percent.

"Instructor, just say you want to beat me to death. I don't even have a weapon, and yet you're bringing out a long saber like that to duel me." Xiao Yun twitched the corner of his mouth, smiling bitterly as he shook his head.

"Well then, I'll give you one."

Hearing Xiao Yun's words, Xu Ning took a refined-steel short sword from his storage ring. He flicked the blade lightly with his finger, and the short sword shot toward Xiao Yun like a shadow.

Looking at the short sword flying toward him with powerful momentum, Xiao Yun hurriedly wrapped his hands in Dou Qi to catch it. The Dou Qi and momentum canceled each other out, and he safely grasped the short sword.

Holding this short sword, he brandished it randomly. Xiao Yun had never learned swordsmanship, so using a sword felt extremely awkward to him.

"Shall we begin?" Xu Ning thrust the long saber into the ground. The bluestones on the floor were easily pierced as if they were tofu, and the fire-type energy contained within even scorched the bluestones red.

"Yes, I hope the instructor will go easy on me." Xiao Yun nodded, a surging momentum erupting from his body. Dou Qi roiled within him, coursing through his meridians all over his body, and a wave of Dou Qi even emerged on the surface of his skin, sweeping outward.

After covering his entire body, the Dou Qi did not dissipate; instead, it continuously shrank inward until it finally clung closely to the outside of Xiao Yun's robe, as if forming a defense.

Dou Qi Gauze, the signature skill of a Da Dou Shi powerhouse, and also the most practical skill. It possessed no small boost to one's defense, speed, attack, and so on.

The next second, Xiao Yun's figure flickered, transforming into a crimson stream of light as he abruptly crashed toward Xu Ning.

Xiao Yun had not fought much before, and his combat experience definitely could not compare to Xu Ning's. Therefore, he could only strike first to see if he could force out Xu Ning's Xuan Tier Dou Technique.

Facts proved just how naive Xiao Yun's idea was.

Watching Xiao Yun charge over, Xu Ning showed no intention of dodging. Instead, he swung the long saber, rapidly slashing in front of him. Every single slash contained fire-attribute Dou Qi, leaving behind fiery red traces in the air.

In an instant, it was impossible to see how many slashes Xu Ning had executed. One could only see that countless slash marks formed a fire net in front of him, rushing straight toward Xiao Yun.

Seeing the fire net that completely blocked his path, the sprinting Xiao Yun could not stop even if he wanted to. He could only bite the bullet and coat the short sword in Dou Qi, hoping to break through the surface with a single point.

"Clang!" The short sword collided with the fire net. Under the powerful force, the short sword instantly shattered into pieces, and Xiao Yun was blasted flying by the rebound force.

Collapsing onto the Qing Shi bricks, Xiao Yun felt his whole body ache terribly, his internal organs feeling as though they were about to be shaken out. He hurried to take a medicinal pill from his storage ring, shoved it into his mouth, and sat up from the ground to adjust his state. A few minutes later, under the effects of the pill, Xiao Yun's body quickly recovered to its original condition.

Opening his eyes, he saw that Xu Ning, who had previously stood in the distance, had walked over at some unknown point, a helpless expression on his face.

"I must say, you're far too weak. I threw just a single move, and you collapsed. Besides, it was merely a simple surge of blood and Qi, not any serious injury, yet you still fished out a medicinal pill to recover."

Xu Ning's indignant voice arrived. He truly never expected that Xiao Yun's combat experience would be this poor, resembling nothing so much as a toddling infant.

"Uh, instructor, I've never engaged in battles with others before, so I'm quite unpracticed when it comes to combat." Xiao Yun scratched his head somewhat sheepishly, defending himself for being defeated in a single move by Xu Ning just now.

"Sigh, forget it. Given your talent and age, insufficient combat experience is normal. Today, I'll properly teach you how to fight."

Xiao Yun nodded repeatedly, deeply grateful in his heart that Xu Ning was willing to spare time to accompany him and make up for his deficiencies in combat.

Soon, wails emitted by Xiao Yun continuously echoed across the training ground, as if he were enduring some immense pain.

I do not know how much time passed, but the sky outside gradually grew dark.

After such a long period of one-sided beating, relying on his powerful Soul Perception, although Xiao Yun did not instantly become a combat expert, he could at least exchange a few blows with Xu Ning.

On the training ground, Xiao Yun stared fixedly at Xu Ning, his body trembling slightly. He now clearly understood the gap between a Dou Shi and a Da Dou Shi.

Moreover, Xu Ning's combat experience far surpassed his own. Acting rashly would only result in Xu Ning swiftly finding an opening and defeating him.

Therefore, he could only focus with all his might on the slight movements of every part of his opponent's body, using this to discern the opponent's attacking methods.

Seeing Xiao Yun's cautious appearance, Xu Ning nodded in gratification, kicked his right leg backward, and his figure flashed back and forth as he rushed toward Xiao Yun.

Immediately following this, Xu Ning punched out fiercely. Raging fire-attribute Dou Qi attached to his fist, forming a tangible radiance, and a huge fist imprint blasted toward Xiao Yun.

Seeing the fist hurtling toward his face, Xiao Yun hurriedly lowered his posture. Utilizing the height difference between himself and Xu Ning, he executed the ultimate technique he had comprehended on the ground—Clown Roll—dodging this fatal blow.

The fist imprint was dodged by Xiao Yun, but its momentum remained unreduced, crashing straight into a stone pillar behind him. Seeing the stone pillar snapped in half, Xiao Yun felt a shock in his heart. If that had hit him, he wouldn't be able to get out of bed for half a month.

"Still daring to get distracted?" Xu Ning's voice came, and at the same time he closed in, slamming a fist toward Xiao Yun.

Hearing Xu Ning's voice, Xiao Yun understood that he had made another fatal mistake. Fortunately, his reaction was swift, and he hurriedly threw out a palm to catch Xu Ning's fist.

Fist and palm met, and violent Dou Qi surged wildly, even forming a wave of air between the two that spread outward to the surroundings.

"Your reaction speed isn't bad, but your strength is simply too low." Xu Ning grinned. At the same time, the Dou Qi on his fist surged, and an even stronger force shook Xiao Yun's palm away. He lifted his right leg, kicking toward Xiao Yun's waist like an iron whip. At the critical moment, Xiao Yun gathered all his Dou Qi into his waist and abdomen, forming a layer of Dou Qi Gauze to defend against this kick.

Yet its formidable force still sent Xiao Yun flying a dozen meters away.

Before he even landed, Xu Ning closed the distance to Xiao Yun like teleportation, an elbow strike imbued with Dou Qi driving straight into Xiao Yun's chest. This time, Xiao Yun was too late to defend, taking Xu Ning's strike squarely.

His body collapsed onto the ground, and he only felt a burning pain in his chest, a trickle of blood also flowing from the corner of his mouth. Although Xu Ning had not used his full strength, Xiao Yun had still sustained minor injuries from taking this blow.

"Again!" Crawling up from the ground, Xiao Yun swallowed a medicinal pill that restored injuries, suppressing the roiling Dou Qi within his body. His figure flashed as he continued to engage in battle with Xu Ning.

Within a few breaths, the two exchanged blows several times. Xiao Yun mobilized all of his Soul Perception to assist him in the battle against Xu Ning. Under the churning of Dou Qi, a massive amount of surrounding dust was kicked up, and even the Qing Shi bricks on the ground were affected by the two people's battle, developing a large area of irregular cracks.

"Heart-Shattering Palm!"

"Stone-Splitting Kick!"

Heart-Thrusting Elbow!

Under the augmentation of his soul power, Xiao Yun's movements were already able to keep up with Xu Ning as he frantically executed the Yellow Tier Dou Techniques he had mastered. In truth, he knew Xuan Tier Dou Techniques as well, but he was not as familiar with them, and he was only a Dou Shi. If he were to use a Xuan Tier Dou Technique, the Dou Qi reserves within his body would be completely exhausted in just a few moves.

Xiao Yun used almost every single technique he knew, but the effect he achieved was negligible. He could clearly perceive Xu Ning's ease when receiving his attacks, and there was even a hint of playful mockery in Xu Ning's gaze.

After executing a Dou Technique once more, Xiao Yun's figure shook as he retreated backward, no longer entangling himself with Xu Ning.

"What? Did you realize you were just making a futile effort?" Xu Ning teased playfully. "Battles between experts are never about who has mastered more Dou Techniques, but rather about whose Dou Technique is stronger!

"If you carelessly use Yellow Tier Dou Techniques like this against an opponent whose cultivation is lower than yours, it still has some effect, but against an opponent whose cultivation is equal to or even higher than yours, you are simply wasting the Dou Qi inside your body."

"I have been instructed, Instructor." Xiao Yun came to a sudden realization, understanding what the playful mockery in Xu Ning's eyes had meant earlier.

"In that case, Instructor, let us decide the victor in a single move!"

"Very well, I want to see just how many of Fire Elder's Dou Techniques you have mastered."

Xiao Yun took a deep breath, and deep red Dou Qi abruptly gathered onto his hands before gushing forth.

The massive red energy churned endlessly in midair like a volcanic eruption, and a moment later, it actually condensed into a gigantic flame palm measuring fully five or six meters across.

Scarlet Flame Palm!

In the arena, the enormous flame palm swooped down toward Xu Ning, the resulting wind pressure causing Xu Ning's clothes to flutter loudly.

"Good lad, it seems you really have learned a thing or two of Fire Elder's skills." Xu Ning, who was facing the flame palm directly, was the clearest on its power. A Dou Technique of this magnitude was at least of the intermediate Xuan Tier, and the fact that Xiao Yun could execute it with the strength of a Dou Shi was enough to reflect his talent in learning Dou Techniques.

Flame Blade! With a flip of his wrist, the magic core longsword from earlier flashed into his hand. Dou Qi wrapped around the blade, and the strange patterns upon it were lit up by the Dou Qi as Xu Ning swung a massive blade light toward the flame palm.

Bang!

The giant palm collided with the blade light and was easily cleaved apart by it. After all, the gap between a Dou Shi and a Da Dou Shi was still a bit too large, and the collision of their powers was like surging currents striking a reef—even with a grand and mighty momentum, it would still be smashed into pieces and utterly routed.

Seeing this scene, Xiao Yun actually laughed out loud and said to Xu Ning, "Instructor, that move of yours doesn't look like a Yellow Tier Dou Technique at all. Does this count as my win?"

"It indeed counts as your win." He had promised to suppress his cultivation to the same realm and not use Xuan Tier Dou Techniques, yet in his final move, he had still used his signature trump card because if he had used any other Dou Technique, he probably would have been injured just now.

"I must thank Instructor for showing mercy." Xiao Yun understood that he had only won because of his advantage in Dou Techniques, while his combat skills were far too inferior to Xu Ning's. If the two of them were engaged in a life-or-death battle, he would likely have been beaten to death by Xu Ning long ago.

"Not bad, you can still clearly recognize your own abilities and not get carried away with smugness over a momentary victory."

Xu Ning was very satisfied with Xiao Yun's modest attitude. He had seen too many geniuses become arrogant and conceited due to a momentary victory, ultimately leading to their own destruction. Xiao Yun, however, was different; although he was only a child, he possessed a modesty and calmness that did not belong to his age.

"Remember, blindly cultivating in seclusion will never produce experts. From ancient times until now, how many fools have there been who possessed power yet didn't know how to use it? Only by constantly fighting others can one gradually master one's own power within battle," Xu Ning said earnestly to Xiao Yun.

Xiao Yun nodded. Sensing the condition of the Dou Qi inside his body, he discovered that after exchanging a few rounds of blows with Xu Ning, his Dou Qi had become even more solid, and his comprehension of Dou Techniques had also grown deeper.

It seems that in the future, I still need to spar more with others. Relying solely on alchemy cannot save the Dou Qi Continent.