Earth Generates Metal

Qin Yu walked down the mountain path, but his mind never stopped. The scene from earlier replayed over and over in his head.

The Dou Qi had been restrained and compressed to the limit. Just as it was about to transform into that grayish-white Metal Attribute quality, it had suddenly dissipated at the final moment.

"Where exactly did it go wrong?"

Qin Yu frowned deeply, and his steps unconsciously quickened.

Upon returning to his dormitory, he did not even bother with dinner. He immediately pulled out the books on the Five-Element Battle Qi Theory that he had borrowed from the library, spread them across the table, and searched through them page by page.

Time passed bit by bit, and the sky outside the window darkened from dusky yellow to pitch-black.

Sometimes Qin Yu's brow was tightly furrowed, sometimes it relaxed. His fingers lightly traced the pages as he constantly worked through every possibility in his mind.

It was not until late at night that his finger suddenly stopped on a certain page.

Qin Yu stared fixedly at a line of text. A glimmer flashed through his eyes as the scattered fragments in his mind finally came together.

"So that's how it is..."

Earth lay among the four seasons, a point that bore all things beneath heaven and balanced yin and yang.

Metal was indeed formed through Earth's restraint and condensation. But restraint and condensation were a process, and controlling the degree was the key.

If the restraint was insufficient, Metal could not be formed. If it reached the extreme, then Metal would lose its sharpness and tend toward Water's hidden nature.

The Dou Qi in his hand had dissipated because he had condensed it too far, causing it to display Water's tendency to spread.

Qin Yu put down the book, closed his eyes, and raised his right hand. Brown Dou Qi appeared in his palm once more as he mentally worked through the entire process again.

This time, he no longer pursued compressing his Dou Qi to the absolute limit. Instead, he tried to find a point of balance during the process of restraint.

He would condense the Dou Qi enough for it to transform and develop Metal Attribute traits, but not restrain it so excessively that it lost Metal's sharpness.

Time passed in silence.

In Qin Yu's palm, the color of the Dou Qi gradually shifted from dark brown to grayish-white, while a metallic sheen began to spread across its surface.

And this time, it did not dissipate.

The grayish-white Dou Qi floated steadily above his palm, radiating sharp energy. It was exactly like the Metal Attribute Dou Qi Qin Yu had previously seen from Luo Zheng.

Qin Yu opened his eyes and looked at the grayish-white Dou Qi in his palm, the corners of his lips lifting slightly.

He had succeeded!

This was Earth Generates Metal!

However, Qin Yu quickly discovered a practical problem: at his current stage, maintaining this mass of Metal Attribute Dou Qi required far more mental effort than Earth-Attribute Battle Qi.

If he truly used it in battle, this Metal Attribute Dou Qi was clearly unsuitable for prolonged combat.

But...

Using it to catch an opponent off guard with a move at a crucial moment would definitely be highly effective.

Who would expect a cultivator of Earth-Attribute Battle Qi to suddenly strike with Metal Attribute Dou Qi?

Qin Yu tried several more times. Only after he could transform Metal Attribute Dou Qi relatively steadily did he nod in satisfaction.

Out of habit, he stretched. When his gaze casually swept over the sky outside the window, he realized it was already dawn.

Qin Yu froze for a moment, then checked the time.

I'm screwed! I'm late!

Qin Yu quickly washed up, grabbed his outer robe, and ran toward the classroom.

At the classroom entrance, Qin Yu took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

He had already prepared an explanation for Instructor Ruo Lin, but when she saw him enter, not only was she not angry, she even gave him a faint smile and spoke in an exceptionally gentle tone.

"Student Qin Yu, hurry and take your seat."

Qin Yu paused, then quickly went to sit in the last row, feeling somewhat puzzled.

Why was Instructor Ruo Lin in such a good mood today?

After taking his seat, he looked around the classroom and found that all the students were listening attentively. No one had noticed that he was late.

No, one person had noticed.

Xiao Yu turned her head toward him and blinked, a smile she could not hide curling at her lips.

Qin Yu gave a slight nod in response, then began listening to the lesson.

After class, Instructor Ruo Lin packed up her things and walked briskly out of the classroom.

Qin Yu watched her retreating figure thoughtfully.

"Brother Yu!"

Xiao Yu hurried over, her face full of barely contained anticipation.

"You broke through?"

"...Come on, Brother Yu, couldn't you let me say it myself?"

Qin Yu had immediately guessed what Xiao Yu wanted to say, and her excitement instantly deflated.

"Then go ahead."

"I... But you already said it all!"

Xiao Yu lightly punched Qin Yu's shoulder, seemingly expressing her displeasure.

"Forget it. There's something else you definitely don't know."

"What is it?"

Although Qin Yu had a vague guess, he still played along and let Xiao Yu tell him herself.

"My Dou Qi attribute is Water Attribute, just like Instructor Ruo Lin's. When I went to tell her about it, she was so happy."

Qin Yu nodded. This matched what he had learned before.

"Now, all I need to do is go to the Scripture Repository and find a suitable cultivation method."

As Xiao Yu said this, there was a trace more anticipation in her voice.

"Instructor Ruo Lin recommended several Mystic Tier Water Attribute cultivation methods for me. She told me to go choose one from the Scripture Repository this afternoon."

"Mm, isn't that great?"

Qin Yu nodded.

"Brother Yu..."

Xiao Yu suddenly hesitated, lowering her voice a little.

"You said before that once I broke through to the Dou Zhe realm, you wanted me to help with your cultivation... How exactly am I supposed to help?"

Qin Yu thought for a moment before speaking.

"How about this? I'll go into the mountains today and find a suitable place. Tomorrow, I'll take you there with me, and you'll find out then."

When Xiao Yu heard the words "Tomorrow, I'll take you there with me," she could not help lowering her eyes. Her lashes trembled slightly as all sorts of images uncontrollably surfaced in her mind.

What if Qin Yu really needed her to... help him cultivate... like that?

If it really was like that, should she agree?

Or agree?

Or agree?

She was just afraid he would lock her in a little dark room!

"Xiao Yu?"

Qin Yu's voice interrupted her daydreaming.

"Huh? What is it?"

Xiao Yu came back to herself and realized her face was already burning red. She hurriedly lowered her head and pretended to straighten the hem of her clothes.

"I'm leaving first. I'm going into the mountains to find a place."

Qin Yu rose to his feet, dusted off his robe, and strode out of the classroom.

Xiao Yu sat in her seat, watching his back disappear through the doorway. She cupped her burning cheeks with both hands and let out a long breath.

"Xiao Yu, why is your face so red?"

Xue Ni had somehow come over, looking at her suspiciously.

"Did Qin Yu say something to you?"

"No! He didn't say anything!"

Xiao Yu hurriedly denied it, stood up, grabbed her textbooks, and headed out of the classroom.

"Hey, wait for me!"

Xue Ni chased after her, hooking an arm around Xiao Yu's and leaning close to whisper in her ear.

"Looking at you just now, even an idiot could tell you were thinking about a man."

"I wasn't!"

"Then why are you blushing?"

"I... I'm hot!"

"Hot? It's almost winter, and you're hot?"

Xiao Yu could not be bothered arguing with her. She quickened her pace and headed toward the dormitory.