Trait Extraction, Top-Tier Comprehension

"Whew... finally reached the Dou Zhe realm."

In an ordinary residential house in Wutan City, a youth with black hair, brown eyes, and sharp, star-like brows slowly opened his eyes and let out a long breath.

Having transmigrated to this Dou Qi Continent eighteen years ago, he had relied solely on hard training to finally reach the Dou Zhe realm.

"The next step is to wait for the Jia Nan Academy recruitment to start and go there to coast through life."

As a "three-no" person with no family, no background, and no talent, Qin Yu had long since recognized his position.

Judging by his various conditions, all he could do was climb up bit by bit from an ordinary, inconspicuous corner.

Jia Nan Academy was undoubtedly the best choice for him.

It had cultivation methods, Dou Techniques, and a safe environment for cultivation.

As long as he didn't act recklessly and lived safely until graduation, then found a way to stay on as a teacher, his life would be complete.

As for Heavenly Flames, ancient ruins, or the Hall of Souls... those things were just stories to listen to; let whoever wanted to court death go after them.

Trying to lay hands on things that didn't belong to him without sufficient strength was just asking for a dead end.

A year ago, the genius young master of the Xiao Household, Xiao Yan, lost all his Dou Qi overnight and became a cripple, which helped him clarify the timeline.

However, now that Qin Yu had reached the Dou Zhe realm, another problem followed: his cultivation method.

Qin Yu's parents in this life were ordinary mercenaries who unfortunately perished while out on a mission.

Over the years, he had just been doing odd jobs in Wutan City, living day to day like a Sanhe God from his past life.

All his parents left him was one Yellow Tier Middle-Rank cultivation method and two Yellow Tier Middle-Rank Dou Techniques.

Oh right, and a one-time-use item for testing his Dou Qi attribute.

Fortunately, after testing, Qin Yu's Dou Qi attribute was the same as his parents': Earth Attribute, allowing him to practice the Yellow Tier method and techniques he had on hand.

"Sigh, forget it, a Yellow Tier method is better than nothing..."

Since his level was low anyway, he could just switch to a different cultivation method after arriving at Jia Nan Academy.

[Ding!]

Just then, a crisp sound suddenly rang out in his mind.

[Detected that the host has advanced to the Dou Zhe realm, Trait Extraction System activated!]

"Oh? A system that's late but arrives nonetheless?"

Qin Yu immediately stood up, trying to communicate with the voice in his head.

After some understanding, Qin Yu figured out the system's functions.

It was simple: every time he advanced a major realm, he could extract a special trait to add to himself.

He could also extract early, but for every star of cultivation he gained, the probability of drawing a golden trait would increase by one point. This first extraction was guaranteed to yield a golden trait.

There would be three traits in each round, and he would choose one himself.

[First round of traits extracted, please make your choice, host.]

[Top-Tier Comprehension (Gold): Eh?! I suddenly have an idea. o(￣▽￣)ｄ]

[Fire Affinity (Blue): Significantly increases the power of the host's Fire-Attribute Dou Qi and the success rate of absorbing fire-attribute treasures.]

[Golden Kidney Warrior (?): Become an unyielding golden spear, and fight your opponents until the world ends!]

The three options appearing in his mind made the corners of Qin Yu's mouth twitch.

The first two were normal enough, but was this last trait for real?

He couldn't blame Qin Yu; this last trait was just too infamous.

"I choose Top-Tier Comprehension."

Looking was one thing, but when it came to the actual choice, Qin Yu decisively chose Top-Tier Comprehension.

Play is play, and fun is fun, but one shouldn't joke about the future.

The next second, Qin Yu suddenly felt a warm force drill into his mind, making his scalp itch a little.

Perhaps his brain was growing.

"Top-Tier Comprehension..."

When that force receded, Qin Yu opened his eyes again, only to find that he didn't seem to have changed at all.

The surrounding environment didn't look any different to him either.

So this Top-Tier Comprehension... wait!

Qin Yu's eyes lit up, as if he had thought of something.

He spread out the scroll of the Yellow Tier Middle-Rank cultivation method, the Thick Earth Formula, once more. But this time, after reading the entire content of the method, a flurry of new ideas instantly sprouted in his mind.

Change this part here, delete a little bit there...

Do this first, then that, and finally this, hmm...

"Hmm, that should do it."

After refining the cultivation method, Qin Yu did not dawdle and immediately began his practice.

Once he had converted his Dou Qi, Qin Yu sank his consciousness into his Dantian, introspecting upon the dark brown Battle Qi Vortex within.

This modified Thick Earth Formula should at least possess the strength of a Mystic Tier cultivation method!

After all, even if Qin Yu had never eaten pork, he had certainly seen pigs run!

He knew exactly what the Dou Qi intensity of someone cultivating a Mystic Tier method felt like, and a simple comparison made it clear.

However, his Top-Tier Comprehension told him that this method could be improved even further!

"It seems I still need to go to Jia Nan Academy."

In a few days, Jia Nan Academy would begin its enrollment.

In a small place like Wutan City, it would likely be difficult to continue making improvements to the Thick Earth Formula.

Mystic Tier methods were considered top-tier goods here, and if he wanted to continue refining his own method, Qin Yu needed to see more, and higher-level, things.

"Oh right, there are also these two Dou Techniques."

Qin Yu turned his gaze back toward the two Yellow Tier Dou Techniques.

For the next three days, Qin Yu did not go anywhere, staying holed up at home to refine and practice those two Dou Techniques.

The Rock-Splitting Palm was originally a style that relied on wide, sweeping movements and brute force.

But after he modified it based on the characteristics of Earth-Attribute Battle Qi, it became a technique where continuous force erupted; with a single palm strike, the power would split and burst forth, making its lethality far greater than an ordinary Rock-Splitting Palm.

The other Dou Technique, Rock Fist, although categorized as an offensive type, had a simple release principle: it was just a matter of coating one's fist in Earth-Attribute Battle Qi and punching out.

Under Qin Yu's modifications, this technique was unexpectedly transformed into one that balanced both offense and defense, even leaning toward a defensive style.

In those three days, Qin Yu's cultivation realm did not change; he remained a one-star Dou Zhe.

But he could feel that his understanding of Dou Qi and his perception of combat were incomparable to what they had been three days ago.

Especially regarding the comprehension and application of the two Dou Techniques, he was able to grasp the tricks after practicing them only once or twice, executing them perfectly and smoothly.

He could even continue to refine them further after performing them!

However, the increase in power brought by secondary modifications was not as obvious; it was more about the execution of Dou Qi and filling in flaws.

This change was hard to describe, as if a curtain had previously covered his eyes, but now, that curtain had been lifted.

On the morning of the fourth day, Qin Yu changed into clean clothes and walked toward the plaza in the center of Wutan City.

Jia Nan Academy's enrollment site for this year was set up there, and by the time he arrived, quite a crowd had already gathered in the plaza.

Many young people from Wutan City and the surrounding towns had come; looking out, there were at least a hundred people, all chattering away about something.

Qin Yu found an inconspicuous spot to stand and waited quietly in line.