Hey! I Have Another Idea

"Stop pretending. Your grin is practically reaching your ears."

Xue Ni leaned over, hooked an arm around Xiao Yu's, and raised her brows at her.

"Tell me, did you make any progress?"

"Of course I did."

Xiao Yu gave a soft huff, unable to hide the excitement in her voice.

"I knew it!"

Xue Ni slapped her thigh, a strange confidence welling up inside her.

"Qin Yu looks like a block of stone, but he knows everything perfectly well. As long as you don't chicken out and say what needs to be said, he definitely won't avoid you."

"Then those things you taught me to say... should I still say them in the future?"

Thinking of the awkward scene that afternoon, Xiao Yu still felt lingering fear.

She would rather die than go through something like that again.

"Of course you should. Why wouldn't you?"

Xue Ni said righteously. Since there had already been progress, shouldn't they strike while the iron was hot and take things a step further?

"It's just that we need to change the approach. You can't be as blunt as you were before. You need to be more tactful."

"You're sure that's what you call tactful?"

Xiao Yu rolled her eyes at her.

"Cough, cough. That was an accident this time. I guarantee I'll be tactful next time."

Xue Ni patted her chest with complete confidence, but judging by her expression, Xiao Yu somehow felt she was unreliable.

Forget it. She would take things one step at a time.

Xiao Yu lay on her bed, turned over, and buried her face in her pillow.

"I love watching you too."

Yet whenever she recalled what Qin Yu had said just now, Xiao Yu's legs could not help kicking wildly.

It seemed there was still something inside that block of stone she had yet to see.

Meanwhile, after Qin Yu returned to his dormitory, he could not fall asleep either.

He stared at the ceiling as Xiao Yu's flushed face surfaced involuntarily in his mind.

Judging by Xiao Yu's reaction at the time... it was as if she had been waiting for him to say that all along.

"Xiao Yu... I remember she later had Water-Attribute Battle Qi, right?"

Water.

Earth and water...

Hey! I have another idea.

o(￣▽￣)d

Among the Five Elements, earth suppressed water.

But from another perspective, could water not nourish earth as well?

Like rivers flowing across the land—where water passed, the soil became more suitable for nurturing life.

If Water-Attribute Battle Qi could assist his cultivation...

Countless new ideas instantly flooded Qin Yu's mind, and his thoughts began racing once more.

Water moistens and flows downward.

If he could use the power of water to moisten the Earth Power he absorbed during cultivation before drawing it into his meridians and dantian, his cultivation efficiency might rise by another level.

"Interesting..."

The more Qin Yu thought about it, the more feasible the direction seemed. However, this matter required long-term planning.

After all, he did not even know what Water-Attribute Battle Qi felt like yet. Relying on pure conjecture would ultimately be building castles in the air.

Qin Yu forcibly suppressed the urge to continue thinking deeper and closed his eyes again.

Once Xiao Yu broke through to the Dou Practitioner realm, perhaps he could cultivate alongside her for a while. They might gain something unexpected.

Instructor Ruo Lin was also Water Attribute, but she was already a Great Dou Master and an academy instructor.

Besides, Great Dou Master-level Dou Qi compared to his Dou Practitioner-level Dou Qi...

That would be water flourishing while earth crumbled.

Having figured this out, Qin Yu's thoughts finally settled down, and he soon entered a restful state.

The next morning.

Qin Yu left the dormitory building and headed toward the classroom when a familiar figure approached from ahead.

Bai Cheng.

The distance between them steadily closed.

Bai Cheng's gaze swept over Qin Yu. He did not stop walking, merely snorted coldly through his nose, passed Qin Yu, and strode toward the Scripture Repository.

Qin Yu glanced back at him, did not pay it any mind, and continued forward.

"Brother Cheng, that kid..."

An older student following behind Bai Cheng leaned closer and lowered his voice.

"Leave him alone."

Bai Cheng waved a hand, frowning slightly. He had no mind to deal with Qin Yu right now.

He had not obtained the Mountain Qilin Suppresses the Mountains cultivation method, but the Points Tournament rankings would not wait for him.

The Outer Academy Points Tournament leaderboard updated in real time. Unless someone possessed overwhelmingly superior strength, anyone could be pulled down at any moment.

He was currently ranked around fortieth place, barely maintaining the qualification to enter the second floor of the Scripture Repository and borrow Mystic Tier High-Rank cultivation methods and battle techniques.

Recently, many of his opponents had entered seclusion to make breakthroughs, while his own strength had remained stagnant.

If he got pushed out of the top fifty just to contend with Qin Yu, it would not be worth the loss.

Besides, that guy was only a Four-Star...

No!

Bai Cheng turned around again and carefully sensed Qin Yu's cultivation.

Five-Star Dou Practitioner?

He had broken through again in just one week?

"Phew... no matter. He's only a Five-Star Dou Practitioner."

Bai Cheng touched his forehead. Good, he was not sweating.

Only a Five-Star Dou Practitioner. The gap between them was still as vast as a chasm.

Besides, improving so quickly probably meant he had forced his growth. His foundation had to be unstable, yes...

That had to be it!

Naturally, Qin Yu had no idea what Bai Cheng was thinking.

At that moment, he sat in the classroom listening to the teacher lecture from the podium, but his mind was occupied with something else:

Five Elements Generation and Suppression.

Earth generates metal, metal generates water, water generates wood, wood generates fire, fire generates earth.

Earth suppresses water, water suppresses fire, fire suppresses metal, metal suppresses wood, wood suppresses earth.

In his previous life, this theory belonged to the realm of mysticism, but in this world, Dou Qi attributes truly existed.

Since the Five Elements attributes truly existed, the theory of Five Elements Generation and Suppression should have its uses as well.

"Student Qin Yu, what are you thinking about?"

The teacher on the podium suddenly called his name.

Qin Yu came back to himself and rose to his feet without changing expression.

"I was thinking about an optimization plan for the Dou Qi circulation route you just explained, Teacher."

The teacher froze for a moment, looked at him, then nodded.

"Sit down. Listen carefully."

The teachers had all discussed Qin Yu's unusual qualities among themselves.

Sometimes he looked distracted, but he understood everything being taught. He could even offer novel ideas that were worth trying.

After class, Qin Yu entered the mountains to cultivate as usual.

Over the following days, his daily schedule became almost completely fixed.

He attended class during the day, entered the mountains in the afternoon to improve his Dou Qi cultivation and practice battle techniques.

At night, he returned to the dormitory to continue cultivating, occasionally having a meal with Xiao Yu or taking a walk together.

Four months passed in the blink of an eye amid that peaceful life.

Canaan Outer Academy, competition arena.

Several hundred new students sat in the stands by class, each wearing an expression of either nervousness or excitement.

Because today was the academy's arranged collective examination for new students.

In truth, it was simply sparring matches between new students, meant to test the results of their cultivation over the past half year.

In Yellow Class Two's section, Qin Yu sat in the last row with his arms crossed and his eyes closed in rest.

Half a year.

It had only been half a year since he broke through to the Dou Practitioner realm.

Yet his strength had already soared from the One-Star Dou Practitioner he had been then to a Nine-Star Dou Practitioner.

Eight stars in half a year.

That pace... should be enough, right?

If he fully activated the Mysterious Earth Qilin Formula and absorbed Earth Power regardless of the consequences or his foundation, he could break through to Battle Master as well.

But he did not want to do that.

It was only a difference of one realm. Why sacrifice the greater for the lesser?