A Seven-Year-Old Dou Zhe

At the back mountain of the Xiao Clan, beneath a secluded cliff, Xiao Yun sat cross-legged in a cave beneath the cliff. He had carefully selected this place as his cultivation site and had often come here before to cultivate Dou Qi.

Across from the cliff, clouds and mist swirled. Hidden within them were the extremely dangerous Warcraft Mountains. Beneath the cliff lay a bottomless abyss, and the only path leading here had been buried by Xiao Yun beneath weeds and broken stones.

Thus, Xiao Yun did not have to worry too much about being disturbed by others while cultivating or making a breakthrough.

"I remember Xiao Yan used medicinal pills to assist his first breakthrough to Dou Zhe. With the Status Panel helping me, there shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Breaking through to Dou Zhe was no small matter. If he failed, his cultivation could even decline. Although Xiao Yun's previous breakthroughs had all gone smoothly, the so-called semi-datafication was merely his own speculation. Now that he was facing a breakthrough, he could not help feeling nervous.

Slowly taking a breath, Xiao Yun closed his eyes. His hands swiftly formed the seal for absorbing Dou Qi, and his breathing gradually steadied. The faint Dou Qi within his body moved with his will, circulating rapidly through his meridians.

Inside the small cave, the still air suddenly shook violently. Threads of pale white Dou Qi seeped out of the air and continuously burrowed into Xiao Yun's body.

Within Xiao Yun's body, Dou Qi had gradually filled most of his meridians. Taking a deep breath, Xiao Yun changed his hand seals, his ten fingers forming a strange gesture.

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

Once all the Dou Qi had gathered in his lower abdomen, Xiao Yun used his Soul Perception to compress it, forcing all the Dou Qi into a liquid state. Driven by Soul Power, the Dou Qi was like soldiers receiving orders, rapidly compressing together without the slightest resistance.

Very quickly, the Dou Qi was compressed to only the size of a palm. Under the further direction of Xiao Yun's Soul Power, it burst with a "bang" and transformed into a Qi Vortex that spun in his lower abdomen.

"Hmm? That's it? Looks like my guess was right. Breaking through to Dou Zhe wasn't difficult at all."

Xiao Yun opened his eyes and scratched his head in slight bewilderment. The entire process had been incredibly simple.

He had merely absorbed Dou Qi from the air, then used Soul Power to compress the Dou Qi within his body. It did not even feel as though he had exerted himself before he broke through.

If not for the Qi Vortex spinning in his lower abdomen, Xiao Yun might even have suspected that he had failed.

This was completely different from what the clan elders had told him before. In their words, breaking through to Dou Zhe was incomparably dangerous and a lengthy process, impossible without great perseverance.

Yet when it came to Xiao Yun's breakthrough, he had only applied a little force before advancing to Dou Zhe. The entire process had taken less than ten minutes.

After pondering for a moment, Xiao Yun closed his eyes, and his mind gradually sank into his body. This was Inner Vision, an auxiliary skill only those at the Dou Zhe level could master.

As his mind entered the area around his lower abdomen, he saw a palm-sized milky-white Qi Vortex slowly rotating there.

Though this Qi Vortex was much smaller than the previous mass of Dou Qi, the energy contained within the two was worlds apart. After all, what he had absorbed before was Dou Qi, while what he absorbed now was true Dou Qi!

"Now that I've broken through to Dou Zhe, I can go to the Dou Technique Hall and find a cultivation method. Unfortunately, I have no chance to become Yao Lao's disciple right now. Otherwise, perhaps I could cultivate the Flame Mantra."

Dou Qi cultivation methods could only be cultivated after reaching Dou Zhe. Once cultivated, one's Dou Qi would display a color similar to the cultivation method's attribute.

For someone like Xiao Yun, who had just broken through to Dou Zhe, the milky-white Dou Qi in his body was attribute-less Dou Qi.

Moreover, the Flame Mantra was most effective in the early stages of cultivation. Besides, the Xiao Clan's fire-attributed cultivation methods were not much different from the low Yellow Tier Flame Mantra at present.

Xiao Yun stood and quickly walked out of the cave. After leaving it, he climbed up the cliff along the steep path. Only after seeing no signs that anyone had passed by did he relax and head straight back toward the clan.

Having just returned to the clan and reached the front of his courtyard, he saw four people standing at his gate: one middle-aged man and three elderly men. They glared at one another, none willing to yield.

Xiao Yun recognized them. They were Clan Chief Xiao Zhan and the three Xiao Clan elders.

"Uncle, First Elder, what are you doing here?" Xiao Yun was somewhat puzzled. He had been gone for quite some time after leaving the courtyard to make his breakthrough at the back mountain. Had these four really stood dumbly outside his door because they could not find him?

When they saw that it was Xiao Yun, the hostility on all four faces immediately vanished and was replaced by extremely warm smiles.

"Little Yun, you're back? I happened to pass by your home just now and thought I hadn't visited you in several days, so I came to see you. I didn't expect you to be out, so I waited for you for a while."

Xiao Zhan spoke first. Of the four, he was closest to Xiao Yun. He was Xiao Yun's uncle—his actual blood uncle, at that!

The three elders also nodded, indicating that, like Xiao Zhan, they had merely passed by and stopped in to see Xiao Yun.

Looking at the old faces smiling like chrysanthemums, Xiao Yun remained completely calm. He knew why they had come. They were most likely here to win him over to their respective factions.

After all, for the Xiao Clan, which could only huddle within Wutan City, Xiao Yun—whose future was destined to be extraordinary—would hold considerable influence within the clan.

After Xiao Yun invited them into the courtyard and had them sit down, Xiao Zhan could not help saying, "Little Yun, you kept saying you were cultivating and refused to attend the Magic Stone Stele tests before. I never expected that when you finally went this time, you would make such a stunning display. Everyone in the clan was frightened by you. And judging by your aura, you've already broken through to Dou Zhe, haven't you?"

"Yes, Uncle. After the test, I went to the back mountain to make my breakthrough. I didn't expect to break through to Dou Zhe on the first try."

"Hiss, a seven-year-old Dou Zhe! The heavens truly bless our Xiao Clan. In the future, our Xiao Clan will surely rise again and return to Jia Ma Sacred City!" The elders sucked in cold breaths, contributing to the future global warming of the Dou Qi Continent.

Seeing that they still refused to state their purpose, Xiao Yun took the initiative and voiced his question.

"Uncle, First Elder, and elders, may I ask why you came to see me?"

Xiao Zhan glanced at the First Elder. Seeing that the First Elder had no intention of speaking, he took the initiative.

"It's nothing much, really. We mainly wanted to ask about your plans going forward."

"You also know that our Xiao Clan is not some great clan. For a genius like you, staying in the clan would only bury your talent.

The clan cannot provide you with many heavenly treasures either, so we wanted to ask what plans you have for the future."

After Xiao Zhan finished, the First Elder beside him smiled and said, "At present, we can only think of two places. One is the Misty Cloud Sect. The Misty Cloud Sect is the foremost sect in our Jia Ma Empire, with countless experts within it. With your talent, if you joined the Misty Cloud Sect, perhaps you might even be accepted as a personal disciple by its sect master.

"The other is Jia Nan Academy, which gathers talented disciples from every region. I believe that in such an environment, your rate of improvement would be faster than at the Misty Cloud Sect. I've also heard that the academy has a Dou Zong expert stationed there,

"But Jia Nan Academy is extremely far away, deep in the Black-Corner Region. If anything happened to you, the clan would be unable to offer much help."

"Of course, the decision is still yours. We old fellows are merely offering advice."

Hearing this, Xiao Zhan looked somewhat displeased at the First Elder. What did he mean by old fellows? Xiao Zhan was still in his prime; those few were the old fellows!

Misty Cloud Sect? No, no way. Not even dogs would go there.

Xiao Yun almost did not need to think before directly telling Xiao Zhan and the three elders, "I want to go to Jia Nan Academy to cultivate."

Xiao Yun was no fool. He knew that the Misty Cloud Sect had a Hall of Souls Protector. Joining the Misty Cloud Sect as a Xiao Clan genius would be no different from a sheep walking into a tiger's den. Wouldn't that Hall of Souls Protector slice him up for research?

Of course, there was no use saying this to Xiao Zhan and the others. They did not know about the dealings between Yun Shan, the old sect master of the Misty Cloud Sect, and the Hall of Souls. Telling them would be pointless.

"I prefer places with pressure. Jia Nan Academy gathers exceptional talents, and I believe I'll improve faster there." Xiao Yun made it clear that whoever wanted to join the Misty Cloud Sect could do so; he certainly would not.

"Mm. With your talent, I believe few at Jia Nan Academy will be able to compare with you. In some time, Jia Nan Academy will come to Wutan City to recruit students. We'll notify you then."

"The Misty Cloud Sect isn't bad either, but since you've already made up your mind, then go to Jia Nan Academy. That will also save the elders the trouble of escorting you."

Xiao Zhan said this, though he actually preferred Xiao Yun to join the Misty Cloud Sect. Joining the Misty Cloud Sect would be tremendously beneficial to the Xiao Clan, at least giving them a powerful patron. After all, the Misty Cloud Sect had a Dou Emperor expert!

Xiao Zhan sighed and took out a black card from his robes. "When traveling outside, having no money will surely cause many inconveniences. There are one hundred thousand gold coins in this card. It may not be much, but it is a small contribution from the clan."

Xiao Yun hesitated at the sight of it, his gaze sweeping over the other elders. After all, he was not truly a child. One hundred thousand gold coins might not seem like much, but for the Xiao Clan, it was already a major expenditure.

Seeing Xiao Yun hesitate, the First Elder stroked his grizzled beard and explained with a smile:

"Take it. The hundred thousand gold coins were pooled together after several of us discussed it. It is merely a small token of our regard."

Only after hearing the First Elder say this did Xiao Yun quickly step forward and accept the black card from Xiao Zhan's hand.

"Thank you, Uncle, First Elder, and elders."

"No need to thank us so soon. There are still some things you haven't received..."