Yao Lao's Dou Qi Whipping, Xiao Yan's Pain and Pleasure

"Oh, ah, oh, ah, oh, ah..."

Early in the morning, before the mist had dispersed, muffled sounds of flesh striking flesh faintly echoed from the Xiao Clan's back mountain.

Along with those muffled impacts came the boy's incessant cries of pain.

"You brat, can you stop making those damned weird noises?"

Yao Lao sat cross-legged atop a massive boulder, black lines covering his face as he listened to the boy's cries of pain and pleasure.

Before him, Xiao Yan's feet were planted in the soil like stakes, his toes gripping tightly against the ground.

His bare body, clad only in a pair of shorts, was covered in bluish-purple whip marks.

"Xiao Yan, you useless brat, can't you even endure this much pain?"

"Teacher, didn't you eat? Put some strength into it—I can take it."

With his little face twisted in pain and his teeth bared, Xiao Yan provoked Yao Lao.

The corner of Yao Lao's mouth twitched. Looking at the punchable Xiao Yan, he lightly waved his hand and drew upon the Dou Qi energy in the surrounding space.

A pale red stream of Dou Qi shot explosively from Yao Lao's palm, then struck Xiao Yan's shoulder heavily like a whip, instantly leaving behind a long bluish-purple welt.

"Hiss—"

The intense pain made Xiao Yan suck in a breath of cold air.

[ Ding! The host has injured Xiao Yan. Xiao Yan's level has been judged to decrease by 1 star. ]

[ Reward: Physical Recovery +1, Physical Strength +1. ]

However, as the system reward arrived—

A warm energy flowed through the meridians and acupoints in his body together with his Dou Qi. Traces of warmth and coolness slowly seeped into his bones and muscles, quietly strengthening them.

That warm energy was the system's reward. Compared to the weak Dou Qi within Xiao Yan's body, this warm energy was more than three or four times stronger.

Under the combined effects of the warm energy and Dou Qi, Xiao Yan moaned comfortably again.

Then, Xiao Yan said to Yao Lao in that punchable tone again, "Teacher, please increase the force!"

Faced with Xiao Yan's astonishing endurance, even Yao Lao could not help but marvel.

Over the past month, Xiao Yan had undergone Dou Qi Whipping countless times. Faced with this degree of whipping, not only had he not fallen, he had instead grown stronger and stronger.

Bang!

Yao Lao fulfilled Xiao Yan's request, sending out another stream of Dou Qi.

Xiao Yan cried out in pain at first, but then let out another comfortable moan.

Thus came the strange "oh, ah, oh, ah" cries that had been heard earlier.

However, even with Dou Qi and the system's reward energy repairing his body—

Xiao Yan's body and mind still had their limits.

After enduring another stream of Dou Qi from Yao Lao, his legs finally gave out, and he collapsed weakly.

At the same time, Yao Lao also felt some fatigue in his soul.

After all, he had no Dou Qi of his own. He could only rely on his soul to draw upon the Dou Qi energy in the surrounding space and form Dou Qi Whipping.

"Teacher, how many Qi Refining Whippings did I endure this time?"

Xiao Yan's forehead was covered in sweat. Though his body and mind were exhausted, he felt an unusual sense of satisfaction.

Yao Lao looked at the boy and said, "Compared to a month ago, you've improved far too much. You endured a total of 150 Qi Refining Whippings."

After saying that, Yao Lao's translucent body twisted and turned into a streak of black shadow that flashed into the ring.

"Hurry back and soak in the Foundation-Building Spirit Liquid. Otherwise, the congealed blood left in your body will seriously injure you."

Xiao Yan nodded, bared his teeth as he got dressed, then slowly returned to a small house on the back mountain.

Afterward, Xiao Yan removed his clothes again and used a clean soft cloth to wipe the blood from his body before stepping into the wooden tub filled with green liquid.

Xiao Yan lay stiffly in the wooden tub, allowing the green medicinal liquid to submerge every part of his skin.

When the wounds covered in whip marks came into contact with the medicinal liquid, they did not burn with pain. Instead, Xiao Yan felt as though he were floating among the clouds, and he could not help slowly closing his eyes in comfort.

Before long, Xiao Yan actually fell asleep.

While he slept, the green medicinal liquid emitted a faint, gentle energy that continuously repaired and strengthened his body.

When Xiao Yan woke up, it was already dusk.

He had slept extremely comfortably.

When he stood up from the wooden tub, he discovered that the originally green liquid had completely turned into clear water.

"Has all the medicinal power been absorbed?"

Yao Lao had estimated that one tub of medicinal liquid could last for two months. Yet after only a month and a half, its medicinal power had already been completely used up.

Xiao Yan shook his head helplessly. Then, as if recalling something, he happily closed his eyes and carefully sensed the state of the Dou Qi within his body.

"I've broken through to the fifth stage of Dou Qi."

Xiao Yan was somewhat delighted. He had advanced to the fourth stage of Dou Qi in half a month, then reached the fifth stage after another month.

What satisfied Xiao Yan even more was that he felt his body brimming with strength.

His daily endurance of Yao Lao's Dou Qi Whipping over the past month had not been in vain.

After looking at the black ring in his hand and confirming that Yao Lao was resting, Xiao Yan went to find Xun'er.

When the girl saw Xiao Yan arrive, her little face was full of smiles, though there was a trace of resentment in her eyes.

"Brother Xiao Yan, you haven't seen Xun'er for nearly two months."

Xiao Yan stroked the girl's smooth black hair and said with a bitter smile, "The coming-of-age ceremony is almost here. Don't I need to cultivate diligently?"

"If I fail the coming-of-age ceremony, how could I possibly be worthy of my Xun'er?"

The girl's little face flushed red at Xiao Yan's words. Then, as though she had sensed something, she said in surprise, "Brother Xiao Yan, has your talent returned?"

Xiao Yan nodded and said with a hint of pride, "I'm already at the fifth stage of Dou Qi."

The girl smiled brightly. "I knew Brother Xiao Yan would rise again."

Xiao Yan took the girl's delicate, fair hand and headed straight out of the Xiao Clan.

"Xun'er, come stroll through the marketplace with me."

Naturally, the girl was more than willing.

Xiao Yan accompanied Xun'er shopping partly to cultivate their relationship, and partly because he had run out of Foundation-Building Spirit Liquid and needed to purchase more materials.

However, he had money this time.

Every day, he cursed himself once, and the system randomly rewarded him with fifty to two hundred gold coins.

Over two months, he had saved nearly seven thousand gold coins.

Adding the gold coins he had left from before, his wealth had surpassed ten thousand.

That was enough to buy the materials needed for six portions of Foundation-Building Spirit Liquid.

Two days later, Xiao Yan had gathered all the materials.

However, Yao Lao was still resting inside the Storage Ring.

Xiao Yan did not waste any time and began seriously practicing Eight Extremes Collapse.

With his peerless comprehension talent, cultivating Eight Extremes Collapse was not difficult for him.

However, limited by his body's strength and his fifth-stage Dou Qi cultivation, using Eight Extremes Collapse even once completely exhausted him. He needed to wait until his strength recovered before he could use it again.

Eight Extremes Collapse was a close-combat Dou Technique. When used, it mobilized the strength of the entire body for a direct, explosive attack against an enemy.

However, through repeated practice, Xiao Yan became increasingly proficient with this Dou Technique. He could better control his Dou Qi and physical strength, using it with greater ease.

Whether with his fists, elbows, shoulders, feet, knees, or anything else, he could use Eight Extremes Collapse.

"Eight Extremes Collapse!"

Within the forest on the Xiao Clan's back mountain, Xiao Yan's body turned into an afterimage as he charged at a sturdy tree and threw a fierce punch.

With a crack, his fist actually punched through the trunk, leaving behind a large hole.

The tree creaked and swayed. Moments later, it finally crashed helplessly to the ground.

"The power of that strike is more than even someone at the seventh stage of Dou Qi could withstand."

At some point, Yao Lao had floated out of the ring.

Xiao Yan shook his aching fist and smiled. "Teacher, you're done resting. Perfect—I bought the materials, and I need you to refine them."

The corner of Yao Lao's mouth twitched. This brat was treating him like a beast of burden.

This time, there were six full sets of materials, enough for Xiao Yan to use until the coming-of-age ceremony.

By the time Yao Lao finished refining the six portions of Foundation-Building Spirit Liquid, three hours had passed.

Even with Yao Lao's exceptional alchemy skills, refining continuously for three hours still left his soul slightly fatigued.

That was also because Yao Lao had no body.

Xiao Yan originally wanted to immediately resume his Dou Qi Whipping training.

However, seeing Yao Lao's somewhat exhausted appearance, he could not bear to do so.

"Little Yan, you want a beating? I'll grant your wish."

Understanding the meaning in Xiao Yan's eyes, Yao Lao rolled his eyes.

Xiao Yan chuckled and skillfully removed his clothes before taking a horse stance.

"Come on, Teacher. Whip me to your heart's content!"

Yao Lao felt that the brat's words sounded strange, but he still drew upon the Dou Qi energy of heaven and earth, forming it into a Dou Qi whip that lashed viciously across Xiao Yan's body.

"Hiss—"

"Feels great!"