Dou Zhe

Xiao Qing had no idea about the conversation between Hu Gan and Su Qian in the pavilion behind him. Otherwise, he probably would have laughed himself awake that night.

This was also because he had underestimated his own talent. He had never expected it to provoke such a huge reaction from Su Qian and Hu Gan.

Ge Long first led Xiao Qing to collect his daily necessities, then brought him to the entrance of his assigned dormitory. With a delighted expression, he hurried toward the Alchemy Department.

Once Ge Long disappeared from sight, Xiao Qing withdrew his gaze and stepped into the dormitory.

The dormitory was a single room. It was slightly more rudimentary than his residence at the Xiao Household, though it had all the necessary facilities.

Xiao Qing did not care in the slightest about the dormitory's simplicity.

After making his bed, he closed his eyes, sat cross-legged, and began cultivating.

Nothing happened on Xiao Qing's first night at Jia Nan Academy.

The next day, after the long and tedious opening ceremony ended, Xiao Qing followed Ge Long into a classroom along with the other new students of Xuan Rank Class Two.

Once everyone had found a seat, Ge Long braced both hands on the podium and said loudly,

"My name is Ge Long. You may also call me Instructor Ge Long. In the days ahead, I will teach you knowledge related to cultivation, as well as the appearances and habits of various magical beasts!"

"Of course, actual combat is indispensable as well!"

At those words, the new students could not help but pull bitter faces.

Most of those who met Jia Nan Academy's admission standards came from established families.

Since childhood, while they might not have been pampered beyond measure, most of them had never experienced much fighting.

Making them engage in actual combat was truly asking too much.

Ignoring the miserable expressions below the podium, Ge Long officially began the lesson.

Xiao Qing sat below and listened with great interest. In his previous life, he too had once sat beneath a podium as a student. Experiencing it again now carried a rather different flavor.

As he listened, a familiar wave of drowsiness struck him. Ge Long's words from atop the podium seemed to turn into a lullaby.

Xiao Qing's eyelids trembled, and he could not help closing his eyes and dozing off.

Ge Long was explaining the habits of the Red Ice Snake when his gaze swept across the students below.

When he saw Xiao Qing dozing with his eyes closed, he could not help frowning.

Just as he was about to wake him, he remembered the Three-Stripe Green Spirit Pill he had received from the Alchemy Department yesterday, which was now in his Storage Ring.

After thinking it over, he gave up on waking him.

Perhaps Xiao Qing had cultivated too diligently last night?

"That's right, it must be so!"

Ge Long silently told himself, then continued explaining the Red Ice Snake's habits.

Seeing this, the others nearby who had been dozing with their eyes open all revealed delighted expressions.

Before long, snores filled the entire classroom.

Veins bulged on Ge Long's forehead as his fists clenched tightly.

The classroom instantly erupted into chaos. Other than Xiao Qing, every student who had been dozing off was called up and made to stand while listening.

Ge Long nodded in satisfaction and continued explaining the Red Ice Snake's habits.

The students standing below felt utterly wronged, and their resentful gazes turned toward the young figure sleeping in the corner.

"All right, that's all for this lesson. We have practical combat class this afternoon, so go back and prepare during lunch."

The moment his words fell, a burst of chatter rose from below.

Ge Long's expression remained unchanged. He calmly walked out of the classroom.

"How did I fall asleep?"

Awakened by the noise, Xiao Qing slowly raised his head and could not help rubbing his eyes.

He looked around. When he saw that the figure at the podium had long since vanished, Xiao Qing felt somewhat guilty.

He swore that he had not fallen asleep on purpose.

For some reason, while listening to the lesson just now, it had felt as though he had returned to his previous life's classroom, listening to a teacher chatter away.

The physiological response he had developed over more than a decade made him doze off involuntarily.

Xiao Qing silently apologized to Ge Long, then stood up and prepared to return to his dormitory to cultivate.

Feeling the resentful gazes around him, Xiao Qing was rather baffled.

"Could they be jealous of me?"

As Xiao Qing walked out of the classroom, he pondered inwardly. He was merely a little younger, a little more talented, and a little stronger in cultivation than those his age. What had he done wrong?

"Sure enough, being too outstanding can be a kind of trouble sometimes!"

Xiao Qing thought narcissistically.

Time flew by, and two months passed in the blink of an eye.

During these two months, Xiao Qing attended classes during the day and cultivated at night.

Although he spent somewhat less time cultivating than before, he gained plenty of knowledge about magical beasts and cultivation experience in the process.

Naturally, his practical combat experience increased considerably as well.

Though with Xiao Qing's current Dou Qi cultivation, using a few Yellow Rank Dou Skills would leave him nearly exhausted.

But they were all new students. None of them was much better than the others.

Xiao Qing had, after all, consumed a heavenly treasure like Bodhi Body-Transforming Saliva. After being remade from the inside out, his learning speed was astonishingly fast.

At first, he had fought several opponents of equal cultivation to a standstill. Now, only a Dou Zhe could barely suppress him.

His increase in practical combat experience was truly enormous.

Even Ge Long could not help sighing at Xiao Qing's monstrous talent.

Inside the dormitory,

A young figure sat cross-legged on the bed with his eyes closed, his fingers forming seals. Strands of pale white Dou Qi flowed continuously into his body with every breath.

Feeling the abundant Dou Qi within his body, Xiao Qing slowly opened his eyes and reached for the jade bottle he had prepared beside him.

As early as a month ago, his cultivation had broken through to Nine-Stage Dou Qi. He was only one step away from becoming a Dou Zhe.

Xiao Qing felt that he had accumulated enough strength and had a chance of breaking through. After making some preparations, he decided to attempt the breakthrough.

Compared to his previous cultivation of Dou Qi, his attempt to break through to Dou Zhe was rather hasty. But with Qi Gathering Powder as support, Xiao Qing still wanted to give it a try.

Even if the breakthrough failed, there was no real risk. At worst, he could accumulate more strength and try again.

Taking a deep breath, he removed the Qi Gathering Powder from the jade bottle. A pill shimmering in alternating shades of blue and green entered his sight.

Looking at the smooth, lustrous Qi Gathering Powder, Xiao Qing made up his mind. Without the slightest hesitation, he placed it in his mouth.

The instant the Qi Gathering Powder entered his mouth, a faint chill spread across his tongue. Moments later, a warm and pure energy rushed straight from his mouth into his body.

Xiao Qing slowly closed his eyes, his expression calm. As the hand seals shifted, the Dou Qi within his body began frantically refining the Qi Gathering Powder's pure medicinal power.

Within the simple room, the still air suddenly rippled. Threads of pale white Dou Qi seeped out of the air and continuously burrowed into Xiao Qing's body.

As the pure medicinal power was continuously refined, the Dou Qi within Xiao Qing's body began to grow at a rapid pace.

No one knew how much time passed. When the Dou Qi in his body swelled to a critical point beyond which it could no longer increase,

Xiao Qing's hand seals abruptly changed. His index fingers and thumbs connected, his middle fingers touched, and all ten fingers formed an unusual seal.

With the change in his hand seals, the surging Dou Qi within his body seemed to be caught by a fierce suction force, rapidly contracting toward his lower abdomen.

The pale white Dou Qi throughout the meridians in his body began withdrawing in unison. When all the Dou Qi had retreated to his lower abdomen, it had already begun turning milky white.

Xiao Qing steadied his mind and used his soul power to frantically compress the Dou Qi within his body.

The milky white mass of Dou Qi in his lower abdomen seemed to sense it and began resisting, churning violently.

Its resistance was not weak, but compared with the soul power Xiao Qing possessed from two lifetimes, it was no more than a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

Bang!

A soft muffled sound quietly rang out within his body.

Dou Zhe, achieved!