Dou Qi, Tenth Stage

This world had no flashy magic, no savage primordial energy. All it had was Dou Qi, developed to its absolute pinnacle.

That was right!

This was the Dou Qi Continent!

Xiao Yan sat cross-legged atop a massive rock on the mountain behind his home, his expression solemn, a trace of eagerness and longing in his eyes.

Ten years after transmigrating into this world, he was finally about to attempt his breakthrough to Dou Zhe.

In the original story, Xiao Yan had begun cultivating Dou Qi at four, reached the ninth stage at ten, and broken through to Dou Zhe at eleven.

Then Yao Lao had drained him for three whole years, sending his cultivation plummeting to the third stage of Dou Qi.

Now that he had taken Xiao Yan's place, there was no telling what might change in the future.

But at least for now, Xiao Yan felt he was a hell of a lot more impressive than the original Xiao Yan.

He could clearly sense that the Dou Qi inside him had been compressed to its absolute limit.

He was ninety-eight percent certain this attempt to break through to Dou Zhe would succeed.

Once he succeeded, he would be a ten-year-old Dou Zhe!

Surpassing the original-the sense of accomplishment would be off the charts!

Yao Lao would drain him for three years afterward, but that hardly mattered.

He knew the broad course of the plot. If he still couldn't measure up to the original, he would deserve to be beaten to death once Hun Tiandi became a Dou Di.

At that thought, Xiao Yan drew a deep breath, bringing himself into peak condition.

Once he had made every preparation, he rapidly formed hand seals.

In an instant!

The Dou Qi within him surged like a mighty, raging river, moving at his will.

He was certain that the Dou Qi inside him was far more condensed than the original Xiao Yan's had been during his first breakthrough to Dou Zhe.

He knew full well what he would face in the future.

With danger always on his mind even in times of peace, he naturally dared not be careless or slack off in his cultivation.

As time passed and the Dou Qi within him compressed furiously, a change finally appeared on Xiao Yan's calm face.

Veins bulged across his forehead, and strands of pure white Dou Qi drifted around him, their misty haze resembling immortal light and the glow of treasures.

Inside the jet-black ring Xiao Yan wore on his index finger, Yao Lao sensed what was happening outside and was astonished.

"This little fellow's Dou Qi is remarkably pure and condensed. If he breaks through to Dou Zhe, even a Dou Zhe one or two stars above him might struggle to defeat him."

As Venerable Yao, whose name had once shaken the continent, what sort of heaven-blessed prodigy had Yao Lao not seen?

Even Han Feng, that treacherous disciple who had murdered his master, was a rare genius.

Yet even so, Yao Lao had to admit that not one of the geniuses he knew had possessed Dou Qi more condensed than Xiao Yan's.

With talent like this, if he also had Yao Lao's guidance...

Suddenly, the desire to nurture Xiao Yan rose in Yao Lao's heart, then grew beyond all restraint.

After Han Feng's betrayal, Yao Lao's soul had escaped by sheer luck, but there was no greater sorrow than a heart that had died.

Yet now Xiao Yan had appeared, with talent rivaling Han Feng's-no, surpassing it.

The desire for revenge immediately sprouted in Yao Lao's heart.

Still, the cautionary example of Han Feng, that ungrateful wolf, had made Yao Lao far more careful about accepting disciples.

Though his soul was gravely damaged and he spent most of his time asleep, he had still observed Xiao Yan during his brief moments of wakefulness.

For that very reason, he was fairly satisfied with Xiao Yan's character.

Neither arrogant nor impatient, steady and measured!

But to guard against any possibility, Yao Lao had set one final test!

As long as Xiao Yan passed his test, he would accept him as his disciple.

However...

All of that would have to wait until Xiao Yan broke through to Dou Zhe!

Sensing the energy fluctuations radiating from Xiao Yan outside, Yao Lao knew he was about to succeed.

Outside!

"Break!"

Xiao Yan's eyes snapped open, and a roar like a thunderclap erupted from his throat.

The next moment, his aura burst forth like water breaching a dam. Waves of energy rippled outward, and his robes snapped in the wind.

Bang!

As a muffled sound rang out within Xiao Yan, his body seemed to break free of a shackle, and in a single thought, heaven and earth opened wide.

Feeling the lightness in his body and the exhilarating sensation of strength filling every part of him, Xiao Yan's lips curved into a smile.

That smile gradually widened until it became a burst of carefree laughter.

"Haha, hahaha! I did it! I damn well did it!"

Six years. Six whole years!

His efforts had not been wasted!

Dou Zhe!

After relaxing for a moment, Xiao Yan gently exhaled a breath of stale air and settled his mind, intending to look inward at his Dou Qi spiral.

Internal vision was an ability only a Dou Zhe could master, allowing cultivators greater control over their bodies.

The higher their cultivation, the greater their control over their own flesh.

Yet when Xiao Yan focused his mind to look inward, he found that no matter what he did, he couldn't enter the right state. He couldn't use internal vision at all.

The joy of his breakthrough instantly cooled.

What was going on?!

Xiao Yan's face remained calm, but a flicker of panic arose in his heart.

He opened his eyes and willed his energy to move!

A wisp of milky-white vapor immediately appeared above his fingertip.

Once he saw that wisp clearly, Xiao Yan was dumbfounded and couldn't help swearing.

"Motherfucker!"

"Didn't I break through? Why is this still pre-Dou Zhe Dou Qi?"

After an ordinary person broke through to Dou Zhe, their energy would gather into a spiral and contract into the dantian in their abdomen, transforming their preliminary Dou Qi into true Dou Qi.

Compared with the gentle preliminary Dou Qi, true Dou Qi was much more violent, and the damage it inflicted was far more terrifying.

Xiao Yan could sense that the preliminary Dou Qi emerging from his fingertip was several times purer than before.

But once preliminary Dou Qi, always preliminary Dou Qi!

It would never compare to true Dou Qi!

What did that make him now?

The tenth stage of Dou Qi?

Could he keep cultivating?

At that thought, Xiao Yan couldn't help letting out a long sigh.

Nothing like this had happened in the original story. Had his transmigration caused some unknown change?

He wondered whether Yao Lao could solve this problem.

But Yao Lao probably hadn't awakened yet at this point.

Xiao Yan remembered that in the original story, Yao Lao had only regained consciousness after absorbing his Dou Qi for three years.

Then again, Yao Lao was a Peak Dou Zun. Had that little bit of Dou Qi the original Xiao Yan possessed really been enough to awaken him?

Meanwhile!

Inside the Bone Spirit Ring, Yao Lao sensed everything happening outside and was equally bewildered.

"How strange. This little fellow clearly succeeded in breaking through, so why hasn't he formed a Dou Qi spiral?"

Yet after secretly using his soul power to examine Xiao Yan's body, his eyes showed even greater confusion.

His examination revealed that not only was there nothing wrong with Xiao Yan's body, but his blood and vitality flourished, and his muscles and bones were strong. He was hardly inferior to a first-rank magical beast.

But even magical beasts could condense true Dou Qi!

Strange!

Utterly strange!

Yao Lao could find no answer no matter how hard he puzzled over it. He could only observe the changes in Xiao Yan's body over time, then seek a way to solve the problem.

After all, this little fellow was the one he had chosen!