Eight-Star Dou Zhe and the Wonders of the Mystic Staff

"Young master, this is—"

"Four gold coins at most! Not a copper more."

Xiao Yan picked up a crystal from the stall and tossed it in his hand. Chewing on a willow leaf, he haggled like a seasoned bargain hunter.

"...Fine, fine. Take it!"

The old man looked thoroughly put out. "Dressed in fine silk, yet he pinches every coin," he muttered.

In the past, a wealthy young man accompanied by a pretty girl had been the perfect customer to fleece. Eager to win her heart, the young man would gladly pay a fortune.

Who would have thought this handsome youth would turn the tables on him?

"Here, Xun'er." Grinning, Xiao Yan took her delicate hand and slipped the bracelet onto her wrist. "Does it look nice?"

"Mm... Xun'er likes it." She let out a laugh, her eyes curving into crescents.

She raised her arm to admire the bracelet. It was plain, but its beads came in a riot of colors.

"Oh, and if Brother Xiao Yan is short on money, he can always borrow some from Xun'er."

With her other hand behind her back, the girl held three gleaming black-gold cards between her slender fingers. She bent forward slightly, smiling. "Would Brother Xiao Yan like a loan?"

"What are you thinking?"

Xiao Yan glared at the mischievous girl and gave her head a vigorous rub. "Even if I gained the Dou Di Inheritance, a heaven-tier Dou Technique fell from the sky, and I found a Ninth Grade Golden Pill, I, Xiao Yan, would never take a million gold coins from a girl like you!"

Xiao Xun'er: "..."

Was Brother Xiao Yan making a wish?

"Well, if it isn't the Xiao Clan's third young master. Have you fallen so low that you must haggle over a bracelet? Such a miserly display, and such a cheap trinket! Aren't you embarrassing a beauty like Miss Xun'er?"

As the two flirted, a sinister voice cut in.

The crowd parted along the street.

Several burly men carrying iron clubs followed a young man as he swaggered through the crowd.

"What, looking for another beating?"

Xiao Yan chuckled and moved Xun'er behind him, surveying the approaching Jia Lie Family men with a mocking look.

The young man in front was Jia Lie Ao, the Jia Lie Family's young master, who had lately been making a name for himself in Wutan City.

"Was my fist not fast enough, or did I not hit you hard enough back then? What made you think you stood a chance this time?" Xiao Yan bared his teeth and fixed Jia Lie Ao with a stare.

He spoke gently to his own family, but met challengers from other clans with his fists. Back then, he had even broken several staffs on them.

Ask around the Xiao Clan's street in the east of the city. Everyone knew who was in charge.

His reputation had survived to this day.

That was why the Xiao Clan's disciples still looked up to him.

"..."

Jia Lie Ao swallowed, his face turning pale. The beating Xiao Yan had given him back then had been brutal. Five years ago, fresh from reaching Ninth Stage Dou Qi and full of himself, he had taunted the ten-year-old Xiao Yan.

He had never expected three blows to break seven of his ribs.

He had dropped to his knees and begged for mercy through his tears.

The memory still haunted him. It was a humiliation he could not forget.

"Heh. The Xiao Clan's days are numbered. My Jia Lie Family's Spring Return Powder has already driven it to the brink. Let's see how much longer you can hold out. When the time comes, the Xiao Clan will bow to me!" Jia Lie Ao pointed at Xiao Yan, furious at being shamed.

"A beaten dog with a broken back can only bark. If you attacked me now, I might think a little more highly of you."

Xiao Yan picked at his ear, sounding impatient.

He looked Jia Lie Ao over with cold eyes, then barked a command that cracked through the street like thunder.

"Get lost!"

"..."

Before everyone's eyes, Jia Lie Ao actually shrank back a step. When he realized what he had done, his face turned livid. "You—you dare insult me! Aren't you afraid my Jia Lie Family will—"

Then he saw burly men with the Xiao Clan Mark embroidered on their chests pushing through the crowd to stand behind Xiao Yan. His voice died. After shooting Xiao Yan several vicious looks, he fell silent.

"Hmph!"

He led his men away, seething.

"Third Young Master!" Payne narrowed his eyes and watched Jia Lie Ao until he disappeared. Only then did he turn to Xiao Yan and salute him with a guileless smile.

"Uncle Payne, it's all right. You can get back to work." Xiao Yan bit into a fruit he had picked up from some vendor, tossed another to Xiao Xun'er, and smiled at Payne.

Jia Lie Ao was a worthless fool. Killing him here would not be worth the trouble.

For all his abilities, Xiao Yan was still only a mere Two-Star Dou Zhe. Even with Old Lord at his side, he could not yet deal with these matters by ignoring the Jia Lie Family and killing at will.

Xiao Yan's gaze remained calm. That did not mean he had no way to deal with the Jia Lie Family.

He looked toward the end of the street, where the sign of the Mittel Auction House branch stood out.

Then he would bring in an outside force.

Three months later.

On the Xiao Clan's Back Mountain.

Xiao Yan breathed out and swung the Mystic Staff in his hands, its blows whistling through the air. His muscular upper body was bare. The staff technique Old Lord had given him was proving useful. At least he no longer hit himself in the face.

He was finally beginning to look the part.

"Hah!"

Xiao Yan raised the dark-red Mystic Staff and brought it straight down on a huge boulder. With a thunderous crack, the rock split apart, scattering fragments across the ground.

"Huff..."

Holding the Mystic Staff, Xiao Yan wiped sweat from his brow. "I'd call that getting the basics down. The Mystic Staff really lives up to its name."

He felt the intricate patterns along its length. When he poured Dou Qi into it, dark-red lines lit up, and a fiery serpent coiled around the staff, imbuing it with power. Clearly, Old Lord never gave him a random assortment of things.

Everything Old Lord gave him worked together.

Qi Fire, the Mystic Staff, and the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts were all connected, parts of a single system.

As Xiao Yan saw it, the Mystic Staff was less a staff than a vessel for Dou Qi.

What would it look like if he poured ice-attributed Dou Qi into it? And what if he infused it with two attributes at once?

But he was getting ahead of himself.

Feeling the Qi coursing through him like a dragon, Xiao Yan grinned. That was right: just yesterday, he had broken through to Eight-Star Dou Zhe.

Advancing two stars in a month would seem monstrous to most people. Even disciples of the Eight Ancient Clans, bolstered by their Dou Di Bloodline in the early stages, would struggle to match it. But he was Xiao Yan, Old Lord's personal disciple. To him, this pace still fell a little short.

He glanced at the shattered stones, charred black.

By his rough estimate, an ordinary Dou Shi could not have withstood that last strike. Even a Five- or Six-Star Dou Shi might have struggled. He had gauged their strength during the clan sparring matches.

In short, he reckoned he had a chance against anyone below Eight-Star Dou Shi.

The boost to his combat strength was extraordinary.

And that was without cultivating the Vajra Art, his body-tempering technique. There simply was not enough time. Staff techniques and Qi Fire already had his head spinning.

As for body tempering, he planned to begin when he went to the Magical Beast Mountain Range to find Xiao Yi Xian.