Learning Dou Techniques! Another Reward

"What?"

Hearing Chu Zhou's words and looking at his handsome face so close to hers, Ya Fei's heart skipped several beats.

Despite her seductive air and appearance, she had no experience with romance, largely thanks to Mu Zhan of the Mu Family, one of the three great Dou Wang families.

"I want you to keep your promise." Chu Zhou looked into Ya Fei's eyes.

"What promise?" Ya Fei was momentarily confused.

What had I promised Chu Zhou?

I did seem to promise quite a few things while dangling rewards in front of him.

"Sister Ya Fei, didn't you say that once I reached fifth stage Dou Qi, you'd have Master Gu Ni teach me a Dou Technique?" Chu Zhou blinked innocently.

"Oh, you mean that." Ya Fei came back to her senses and masked her emotions with a smile. "Once you reach fifth stage Dou Qi, of course I'll have..."

At that point, Ya Fei suddenly realized something, and disbelief spread across her face. "Don't tell me you've already broken through?"

"This afternoon. I got lucky." Chu Zhou held out his hand.

Ya Fei immediately took it and sent a trace of Dou Qi into him.

It really is fifth stage Dou Qi. Ya Fei inwardly gasped.

Fewer than five days had passed since Chu Zhou reached fourth stage Dou Qi.

When he advanced from three-stage Dou Qi to fourth stage last time, she had assumed he was already on the verge of a breakthrough, allowing him to advance quickly with the help of the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid.

But this time, he had started from scratch in advancing from Four-Stage Dou Qi to fifth stage Dou Qi.

"It's all thanks to the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid you gave me, Sister Ya Fei." Chu Zhou smiled bashfully.

"No, it's because your talent for cultivation is so strong. To think you never cultivated before..." Ya Fei gently shook her head.

Several bottles of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid had already been sent to the Mittel Family in the imperial capital.

The patriarch had written just that day, saying that the most gifted junior in the family felt his cultivation speed had doubled after using it.

In other words, someone who would normally begin cultivating at four and become a Dou Zhe at eighteen could do so before turning twelve, provided they had a constant supply of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid. It was an enormous improvement.

However, one bottle of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid only lasted a month. Seven years of use would require eighty-four bottles, costing 840,000 gold coins at the selling price—a staggering investment.

Of course, at production cost, a bottle of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid cost less than a thousand gold coins. That brought the total to 84,000 gold coins, an acceptable sum.

But a genius like Chu Zhou would not even need 84,000 gold coins' worth.

"It's not too late to start cultivating now." Ya Fei's eyes shone. "If you advance one stage every five days, you can attempt to become a Dou Zhe within three months, then work toward becoming an Alchemist."

"Come on, I'll take you to Uncle Gu Ni and have him teach you a Dou Technique. Your big sister always keeps her word."

When Ya Fei brought Chu Zhou to Gu Ni and explained why they had come, he was unsurprisingly stunned as well.

After personally confirming Chu Zhou's cultivation, Gu Ni immediately realized that he was an extraordinary genius held back by his circumstances.

Had he begun cultivating ten years earlier, the Mittel Family might have gained another Dou Huang expert ten years from now.

Even starting now, however, Chu Zhou's future achievements would be far from modest.

"The young lady promised to teach you one Dou Technique. I'll teach you another as well."

Gu Ni took Chu Zhou to the training grounds out back and produced two scrolls.

"One is a High Huang Tier Dou Technique, Fire-Pushing Palm."

"The other is a low black-tier Dou Technique, Explosive Flame Step."

"The first was created by a First-Rank Alchemist. It generates powerful gusts that wreak destruction ahead of you."

"Explosive Flame Step is a movement Dou Technique. You gather Dou Qi in your feet and release it in a sudden burst to accelerate instantly. Once you master it, you can stomp a deep crater into the ground. If you seize the right opening and kick someone directly, it can be surprisingly effective."

Gu Ni patiently explained the two Dou Techniques to Chu Zhou, then walked him through some precautions and tips for practicing them.

Chu Zhou's powerful Soul Force seemed to have improved his memory as well, bringing it close to photographic recall.

After listening carefully, Chu Zhou began practicing Fire-Pushing Palm.

With Gu Ni beside him, guiding him every step of the way, he grasped the basics in just an hour.

But using it properly and making it effective in combat would still require time and repeated practice.

Still, he had already achieved his true purpose in learning a Dou Technique.

[Firmament Ledger announcement: Summoned participant "Chu Zhou" is the first to learn a yellow tier Dou Technique. Reward: three yellow-tier comprehension opportunities.] ×3

Once again, that ancient, supreme voice, as though it came from time immemorial, rang out three times in the minds of everyone from Blue Star.

Information about the yellow-tier comprehension opportunities appeared in Chu Zhou's mind.

[Yellow-Tier Comprehension]: Enter a state of enlightenment to instantly and perfectly master any yellow-tier Dou Technique, cultivation technique, or Secret Technique.

Chu Zhou sucked in a sharp breath, inwardly startled.

He had never expected a reward like this.

Any... Does that mean I could instantly and perfectly master a Water Attribute Dou Technique or a Lightning Attribute cultivation technique too?

But he would not foolishly waste a use experimenting. Valuable resources had to be used where they mattered most, and the same went for these three opportunities.

Once he became a Dou Zhe, he believed Ya Fei would readily provide him with a Black-Tier Cultivation Technique, given the talent he had demonstrated.

He could use these three yellow-tier comprehension opportunities on three high yellow-tier Dou Techniques to maximize their value.

The first to learn a yellow tier Dou Technique gets three yellow-tier comprehension opportunities. Does that mean the first to learn a black-tier Dou Technique, or a low earth-tier one, gets a corresponding reward too? Chu Zhou immediately turned his attention to Explosive Flame Step. It was the perfect chance to test his theory.

"Master Gu Ni, could I trouble you for a little longer to guide me through Explosive Flame Step? I'd like to familiarize myself with it first."

Gu Ni now had high hopes for Chu Zhou's future and wanted to invest in him, so he naturally did not refuse.

Thus, Chu Zhou began practicing Explosive Flame Step under Master Gu Ni's guidance.

Meanwhile, the other Chosen Ones erupted.

[Chu Zhou. Chu Zhou again. Why not just give him all the rewards and let him leave everyone in the dust? That's really fair to the rest of us.]

[I've died three times at the hands of the Hall of Souls, while Chu Zhou has received three Firmament Ledger rewards. Same world, different fates.]

[God Chu, I'm your fan! Could you hold an offline fan meetup? You can do anything you want to me.]

[Baka! That damn Chu Zhou! I just earned the chance to choose a Dou Technique to practice through my contributions, and Chu Zhou beat me to it! Damn him!]

[Aish! Why is it this Chinese guy again? The Chinese are taking all the rewards. How is Korea supposed to become the dominant nation in this new era?]

[Keep dreaming, you little bakas and aish-brats. You can have anything in your dreams. All hail God Chu!]

[God Chu, are you accepting disciples? I can pay tuition. One million a year, and I can raise it if that's not enough.]

[...]

The Chat Channel was particularly lively.

And on Blue Star, the senior officials of various countries were in quite an uproar too.

Even now, they had failed to uncover a single piece of information related to Chu Zhou. It was as though he did not exist.

Yet someone who repeatedly earned rewards from the Firmament Ledger on the Dou Qi Continent surely could not be a nobody in the real world.