Return Journey, Requesting Leave in Advance

As the fire and wood within the two Earth Veins reacted with each other, a gentle force quietly emerged and settled within Qin Yu's body.

The fiercer the fire burned, the faster the wood energy was consumed, and the more of that gentle energy was produced.

Meanwhile, the meridians protected by Earth-Attribute power steadily supported this cycle, allowing it to circulate through his body in an orderly manner without losing control.

No one knew how long passed before the fire- and wood-attribute powers within the two Earth Vein Forces were finally exhausted.

Qin Yu tried to slowly guide the energy left after the mixed reaction into his dantian, merging it with his own Dou Qi.

The next second, his Dou Qi began to grow on its own at a steady pace.

The flow of Dou Qi through his meridians abruptly accelerated, like floodwaters released from a dam, surging toward every corner of his body.

Qin Yu immediately steadied his mind and adjusted his condition. A moment later, he smoothly broke through to become a Five-Star Battle Master.

"Phew..."

Qin Yu opened his eyes and slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.

There was even a trace of scorching fire energy within that breath. It turned into a wisp of white smoke in the air before swiftly dispersing.

"Hm? This is..."

After expelling the remaining Earth Vein Force that he could not immediately absorb, Qin Yu was about to rise when he suddenly sensed another warm force spread throughout his body.

After examining it, Qin Yu relaxed.

It turned out that although the fire and wood within those two Earth Veins had been entirely consumed, their effects remained.

It was like land after a great fire. Though the flames had gone out, the residual heat and ash in the soil would leave the land unusually fertile for a long time.

His body was currently in just such a state.

He had absorbed only part of that warm energy. A considerable amount still remained in his meridians, continuously nourishing the Dou Qi flowing through them.

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

Qin Yu roughly estimated that this lingering aura could last at least half a month.

During that period, his cultivation efficiency would be noticeably higher than usual.

Only after he had completely absorbed and digested this power would the gains from this cultivation truly be his.

The next day, he cultivated with Xiao Yu as usual. The instant their Dou Qi came into contact, Xiao Yu noticed something was off.

"Brother Yu, why is your Dou Qi... so fiery? It feels like it's been scorched by flames."

After cultivating together for so long, Xiao Yu was undoubtedly the person who understood Qin Yu's Dou Qi best besides Qin Yu himself.

"I just did a little experiment."

Qin Yu answered truthfully, and Xiao Yu did not press further. After all, Qin Yu always had all sorts of strange ideas and would conduct little experiments from time to time.

Although Qin Yu possessed Earth-Attribute Dou Qi, some of the ideas that occurred to him could still offer guidance for her Water-Attribute Dou Qi cultivation.

"Hehe, today's cultivation is an experiment too," Qin Yu muttered inwardly.

The earth that had been burned by fire and brought forth new life yesterday now encountered Xiao Yu's stream of water today.

The various attribute powers complemented one another, increasing Qin Yu's absorption speed for the remaining energy by another level.

After some more time passed, Jia Nan Academy's recruitment preparations began. Qin Yu went to find Hu Gan at that time.

"Vice Principal, I plan to return to the Jia Ma Empire with this year's recruitment team."

"Fine. Take this and find the instructor leading the team. This year's person in charge is still Ruo Lin."

Hu Gan rummaged through a drawer, found a token, and tossed it to him. After Qin Yu accepted it, he said seemingly casually,

"Oh, right, Vice Principal. I might... need a little more time off."

"Leave? For how long?"

Hu Gan gave Qin Yu a suspicious look. His instincts told him that Qin Yu was definitely planning something big.

"Um... one year."

"How much?!"

The moment Qin Yu spoke, Hu Gan's eyes widened.

A year of leave?

"It's like this. Since I've just switched to a new cultivation method, I feel that going out and seeing more of the world would be better."

Hu Gan fell silent.

The room was so quiet that one could nearly hear a pin drop.

After a long while, just as Qin Yu began to feel that the atmosphere had become somewhat oppressive, Hu Gan finally spoke.

"Fine, but there are conditions."

Hu Gan stood up, his tone grave.

"First, you must return safely."

"Second, if you have not reached the realm of a Four-Star Great Dou Master by the time you return, you will lose your qualification to participate in that year's Inner Academy Selection Tournament."

After hearing those two conditions, Qin Yu nodded readily.

Seeing him agree so readily, Hu Gan had no way to stop him. He could only wave his hand helplessly, signaling for Qin Yu to leave.

"This brat... could he really break through to Four-Star Great Dou Master within a year?"

After Qin Yu left, Hu Gan muttered softly.

There were eight levels between Five-Star Battle Master and Four-Star Great Dou Master.

Eh?

This brat had broken through again?

How long had it been since he broke through to Four-Star Battle Master? And he had already advanced again?

He hadn't heard that Qin Yu had exchanged for many pills from the Medicine Hall either.

Other than that Qi-Gathering Powder, Qin Yu had only used his points to exchange for a Storage Ring and a second-tier Meridian-Nourishing Pill.

But those had all happened before Qin Yu entered the top fifty on the points ranking.

Forget it. At least it was worth celebrating that the kid was a student of Jia Nan Academy. If he became a Dou Venerable or Dou Saint in the future... hehe.

Though it had nothing to do with Hu Gan, and he certainly could not claim to have taught him, he had at least provided a little assistance.

After returning to his dormitory, Qin Yu lay on his bed and tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Returning to the Jia Ma Empire was not about going home for him.

That little house... held nothing worth missing. Going back would only be to take a look. As long as the house was still there, that was enough.

What he truly wanted was to travel through different places.

The Magic Beast Mountains, the Tagor Desert, even Misty Cloud Mountain...

Every land possessed its own unique rhythm. Some were steady, some violent, some teeming with life, and some pure and unadorned.

Earth was still earth, yet the soil in the mountains differed from that on the plains; forest soil differed from desert soil as well.

The power within the Earth Veins of different lands was completely different. He wanted to experience these different lands for himself.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

On the day of departure, Qin Yu arrived at the gathering point early.

Quite a few people had already gathered in the square. Most were freshmen who had enrolled the previous year, chattering excitedly with anticipation of returning home written across their faces.

"Brother Yu!"

Xiao Yu waved at him from afar and jogged over to greet him.

"I thought you weren't going back."

"I wasn't planning to at first, but then I changed my mind."

Qin Yu answered honestly.

Xiao Yu blinked, wanting to ask why he had changed his mind, but swallowed the question before it left her lips.

Who cared about the reason? As long as Qin Yu was returning with them, that was enough.

Quite a few people were already seated on the Griffin's back. Xiao Yu pulled Qin Yu to a seat near the edge and naturally wrapped her arm around his.

Qin Yu glanced at her from the side, and Xiao Yu simply stared back at him openly.

However, after they held each other's gaze for a moment, Xiao Yu was the first to lose her composure and turn to look elsewhere.

The Griffin flapped its wings and soared into the sky, while Canaan City rapidly shrank beneath them.