Discovery

In the quiet study.

Xiao Zhan asked softly, facing Xiao Yan: "Tell me! What's going on exactly? How did your strength improve so fast in such a short time?"

Xiao Yan scratched his head and said helplessly: "Father, do you have to ask?"

"Yes!" The voice was powerful and resonant, like a wild lion, shocking Xiao Yan into rubbing his ears.

"Actually..."

Xiao Yan rolled his eyes, just about to spout nonsense to mumble his way through, but seeing his father's expression that looked ready to eat someone, he swallowed the words right back down. He sighed and said: "A month ago, I felt my cultivation talent return. Also, because my Dou Qi was already at the stage of breaking through to the fourth stage, I reached the fourth stage of Dou Qi in just three days, and after that I spent the better part of a month reaching the fifth stage of Dou Qi."

Listening to Xiao Yan's explanation, Xiao Zhan raised an eyebrow. Although surprised that Xiao Yan had actually broken through two stages in a month, he thought about how extraordinarily astonishing Xiao Yan's cultivation talent had been when he was young; now that his talent had recovered, happening to improve by two stages in a month was also quite reasonable.

However, frowning slightly, he spoke up again and asked: "Even if you reached the fifth stage of Dou Qi, Xiao Ning is at the seventh stage of Dou Qi. Yet you were able to easily defeat him—shouldn't you explain that?"

"Nothing ever gets past Father's eyes," Xiao Yan said with a grin.

"Don't butter me up, just talk!" Xiao Zhan scolded with a smile.

"Actually, when your child was out strolling, I casually bought a jade slip, and after getting home I unexpectedly discovered it contained a rare body-tempering Dou Technique, so I practiced it. Judging from today's performance, it's not bad," Xiao Yan explained with a smile.

Xiao Zhan glanced sideways at Xiao Yan; naturally, he wouldn't believe it entirely. This son had been rather mature since childhood, and sometimes it felt like Xiao Yan's city-dwellers' cunning was deeper than his own. Gently massaging his temples, he knew that for Xiao Yan to say these things was already not easy. Although the words were half true and half false, who didn't have their little secrets! If he made him say any more, it would ruin the relationship between father and son.

An ordinary body-tempering Dou Technique casually picked up can actually raise Yan'er's physical strength to the point of withstanding a full-strength blow from the seventh stage of Dou Qi—this body-tempering Dou Technique is no simple matter! Xiao Zhan felt extremely surprised in his heart.

"You must have suffered quite a bit!" Xiao Zhan asked softly. After all, those defensive Dou Techniques and cultivation methods required paying a great price to practice, let alone reaching this level in just one month.

"No way! I didn't suffer much, I just practiced casually." Xiao Yan denied it with a smile.

Seeing Xiao Yan flatly deny it, Xiao Zhan did not ask any further. With a flick of his finger, a green card appeared out of thin air at his fingertips, which he handed to Xiao Yan, saying: "This is fifty thousand gold coins. Take it and spend it first. I think you really need money right now, don't you?"

Looking at the green card handed over by his father, Xiao Yan experienced a myriad of emotions—everything went unsaid. He casually took the card and asked indifferently: "Aren't you afraid the three Elders will say something if Father gives this to me privately?"

"Hmph! Take it if I give it to you; I doubt those three old fellows can say anything. Just based on what they did today..." Xiao Zhan said with displeasure, clearly still holding an opinion of them.

Xiao Yan naturally understood what his father was talking about, but he didn't care too much. Because in the future, they basically wouldn't do such things, nor would they dare to do them again.

"You go on down and play!" Xiao Zhan said with a smile.

Glancing at the smiling father before him, Xiao Yan certainly knew why his father was chasing him away; he definitely wanted to talk to Xiao Yan's deceased mother and share today's joy—after all, their son had made something of himself.

Xiao Yan walked out of the room, raised his head to look at the azure blue sky, took a breath of fresh air, and instantly felt refreshed and happy.

Managed to mumble my way through after all! Not easy, man! Xiao Yan lamented.

"Brother Xiao Yan, what was managed to mumble through?" A sweet voice suddenly sounded beside Xiao Yan's ear.

"Xun... Xun'er!" Xiao Yan lowered his head and looked; Xun'er was staring right at him with a smiling expression.

Xun'er ran over lightly and hooked her arm through Xiao Yan's, asking craftily: "Brother Xiao Yan, your strength improved so fast! Can you tell Xun'er how you managed it? Xun'er wants to learn too!"

Fine! Gotta explain it again. But Xun'er is well-informed and not so easy to fool! Xiao Yan frowned and scratched his head. Feeling the back of his neck itch a bit, he scratched it again. At that moment, Xiao Yan felt his entire body was out of sorts, and he still couldn't think of a very perfect explanation. It felt as though no matter how he explained it, there were flaws—unless he told the truth.

Seeing Xiao Yan scratching his head and looking utterly distressed, Xun'er covered her mouth with a light chuckle and stopped pressing him. Smiling, she said: "Brother Xiao Yan, will you accompany Xun'er on a stroll today?"

"Uh... Okay! Okay!" Xiao Yan hurriedly agreed. Hearing that Xun'er only wanted him to accompany her on a stroll, he instantly let out a sigh of relief.

After accompanying Xun'er until the sky grew dark and treating her to a lavish meal, Xun'er finally let Xiao Yan return with lingering reluctance.

Early the next morning, Xiao Yan woke up early, got dressed, and opened his bedroom door to see another food box appear at the doorway. Xiao Yan sighed helplessly; truly, a beauty's kindness was the hardest thing to repay! He had woken up early enough, but he hadn't expected Xun'er to get up even earlier than him. Praying in his heart that that old fellow Gu Yuan wouldn't discover it, he picked up the fragrant breakfast in the food box and bolted toward the back mountain while eating.

To Xiao Yan's surprise, two shadows followed behind him today. Although Xiao Yan's speed wasn't slow, these two shadows still followed unhurriedly.

Arriving at the peak of the back mountain, the sun in the east was about to rise. Along with the shining of the morning light, the mountain peak gradually awakened from its hazy state. Looking at the rolling mountain ranges and swirling clouds in the distance, it looked just like a fairyland.

Taking a deep breath of cool air and raising his hands to feel the warmth brought by the sun, Xiao Yan felt as though his soul was sublimating at that moment. After standing quietly for a while, the sun had completely risen, and the clothes on his body dampened by the dew were gradually steamed dry. Slowly opening his eyes, he ignored the blinding glare of the sun and gazed straight toward it.

At this moment, the gene for exploring nature within his body had come alive again. He really wanted to go straight to the Warcraft Mountains to explore, but unfortunately, with his strength at the fifth stage of Dou Qi, he estimated he would just be a single claw-swipe for a Warcraft.

"Teacher, let's start training! I can't wait anymore." Seeing that Medicine Elder had yet to appear, Xiao Yan urged him.

The ring on Xiao Yan's right hand flashed with a white light, transforming Medicine Elder into a soul state as he hovered in the air. Medicine Elder turned his head to take a deep look down the mountain, the expression on his face somewhat conflicted.

"What are you looking at, Teacher? Why aren't we starting yet?" Xiao Yan, who was in the middle of taking off his clothes, turned his head and asked in confusion.

"Uh... nothing, let's start training!" Medicine Elder sat cross-legged on a giant boulder and said indifferently.

Xiao Yan continued taking off his clothes until only a small pair of modesty shorts remained. He took out the pre-prepared rope made from first-rank Warcraft Wild Bull tendons. This rope was extremely tough; if someone wanted to forcibly snap it, they would need at least the level of a Great Dou Master to have a chance.

After fixing the two ropes to a tree, Xiao Yan tied them to his left and right hands respectively. Once everything was ready, he shouted to Medicine Elder, indicating that they could begin.

Medicine Elder took a deep breath and extended his right palm. A pale-red Dou Qi ribbon resembling a nimble snake shot out fiercely from his palm, coated with a thin layer of white on top. Although the color was very light, this tiny bit of pale white directly burned the air surrounding the ribbon until it distorted.

Medicine Elder controlled the ribbon, fiercely whipping it down hard toward Xiao Yan's back, except today the force was a few fractions greater than usual.

"Bang..."

"Ah..." Feeling the burning pain behind him, when those pale-white flames touched Xiao Yan's body, they instantly melted into every part of his muscles, bones, and skin. Xiao Yan instantly felt as though his body had been struck by a high-voltage electric current; his body stiffened violently, and then the pain—feeling as though his entire body was being pricked by needles—swept over Xiao Yan's soul once again. Unable to bear it any longer, Xiao Yan began to shriek in agony.

This shriek of agony was like a sudden clap of thunder, causing the birds still resting in the forest to instantly wake up and soar into the sky with wings outspread.