Little Mountain Valley!
Xiao Yan sat cross-legged in an open clearing, holding a brown pill. He tilted his head back and swallowed it.
The pill melted in his mouth. Before Xiao Yan could react, it swiftly transformed into an enormous surge of pure energy.
Like the raging waters of a mighty river, the energy poured down his throat and forced its way into every limb and bone.
"What terrifying energy!"
Xiao Yan's gaze sharpened. He immediately formed the cultivation hand seal and activated the Flame Mantra, furiously refining the pure energy within him.
As time passed, Xiao Yan absorbed the energy at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Three days later, a muffled sound rang out inside Xiao Yan.
Bang!
His strength broke through once again.
Dou Qi, forty-fourth stage!
Before this, Xiao Yan had needed an entire month of arduous cultivation to advance by a single stage of Dou Qi.
Xiao Yan exhaled a long breath of stale air, excitement spreading across his face.
He murmured to himself, "So... this is how cultivation is really supposed to work!"
Yao Lao nodded approvingly as well, thoroughly satisfied with his own handiwork.
"Not bad, but you can't neglect your Dou Technique training either."
Xiao Yan grinned. "Don't worry. From now on, whenever I finish cultivating, I'll go find Magical Beasts in the Magical Beast Mountain Range to hone my Dou Techniques. I can borrow some magic cores from them while I'm at it."
Yao Lao said irritably, "As your master, I hardly even want to call you out. Borrow their magic cores? You're clearly taking their lives."
Could a Magical Beast survive without its magic core?
Of course, not every Magical Beast had a magic core. Generally, the higher its cultivation, the greater the chance that a magic core would form inside it.
Xiao Yan wasted no time. That very day, he left Little Mountain Valley with the Heavy Xuan Ruler on his back.
Amid clouds of dust, the temperature suddenly soared.
Gripping the Heavy Xuan Ruler, Xiao Yan abruptly raised it. Bright yellow Dou Qi instantly enveloped its body, burning like a roaring flame and radiating scorching heat.
"Flame Splitting Wave Ruler!"
As Xiao Yan roared, countless streams of visible worldly energy instantly gathered above his head. As though pulled by an invisible force, they poured down from the sky and surged into the Heavy Xuan Ruler.
Earth Tier Dou Techniques could draw upon worldly energy, greatly increasing their power.
This was something neither Black Tier nor Yellow Tier Dou Techniques could do.
As worldly energy poured into it, the Heavy Xuan Ruler blazed with bright yellow light. Surging energy burst from its body like a dam breaking and a mountain torrent erupting.
In an instant, the ruler traced a dazzling crescent-shaped arc and slammed into the Tier 2 Magical Beast facing Xiao Yan.
Boom!
With an explosion like a thunderclap, waves of air rolled across the Magical Beast's position. Even the air seemed to warp beneath Xiao Yan's strike.
The Magical Beast's enormous body flew backward in a flash and crashed into the massive mountainside.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Dense, spiderweb-like cracks instantly spread across the mountainside. Huge rocks tumbled down from above, burying the Magical Beast in the blink of an eye.
Several breaths passed, yet there was still no movement beneath the pile of rocks.
Xiao Yan slowly approached and swung the Heavy Xuan Ruler haphazardly at the rubble a few times, exposing the Magical Beast's enormous, blood-soaked body.
Clearly, this Tier 2 Magical Beast had stopped breathing under Xiao Yan's Flame Splitting Wave Ruler.
After confirming the kill, Xiao Yan took out the dagger he carried with him and easily cut open the Magical Beast's body. After rummaging around for a while, he pulled out a red crystal.
A Tier 2 Fire-Type Magic Core!
The moment he saw the magic core before him, Xiao Yan let out a long sigh of relief and cursed under his breath.
"Fuck, I finally dug out a Tier 2 magic core."
For this one Tier 2 magic core, he had spent two whole days in the mountain range. He had killed four Tier 2 Magical Beasts alone, yet only found this single core.
No wonder magic cores fetched such high prices outside.
The chances of getting a magic core from a low-tier Magical Beast were simply too low.
If Tier 2 Magical Beasts were already like this, Xiao Yan could hardly imagine how low the odds were for Tier 1 Magical Beasts.
"Little Yanzi, your Flame Splitting Wave Ruler is becoming increasingly polished. Well? Isn't this Dou Technique useful?"
Xiao Yan couldn't help complaining, "It's useful, sure, but it burns through far too much Dou Qi. That one strike just now instantly used up nearly a third of the Dou Qi in my body."
"Haha, stop acting hard done by after getting such a bargain. Plenty of people out there would love to cultivate an Earth Tier Dou Technique but never get the chance.
"Its consumption may be a little high, but its power is beyond question. Anyone below Da Dou Shi who took that strike of yours would lose a layer of skin even if they survived."
That was true enough.
"Well, now that I've got the magic core, it's time to head back."
With that, Xiao Yan pushed off with his toes and vanished from the spot.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the mountain range.
A large group of mercenaries escorted several physicians through a quiet stretch of forest.
These mercenaries were clearly veterans who frequented the Magical Beast Mountain Range. They worked together seamlessly, weapons in hand, their eyes constantly scanning their surroundings, ready to respond to any sudden danger.
Just then, a fierce-looking, burly middle-aged man in the group instructed gravely, "The Magical Beast Mountain Range hasn't been peaceful these past two days. Everyone, stay alert."
"Don't worry, Captain. With our lineup, even a Tier 2 Magical Beast would lose a layer of skin if it came at us."
A lean, muscular young man answered, though his sidelong gaze remained fixed on the woman in a white dress at the center of the group.
The others shook their heads with knowing smiles. The lad was trying to show off in front of Xiao Yi Xian.
Just then, a sudden disturbance came from the woods to the group's right.
The captain's expression tightened, and he shouted.
"On guard!"
As soon as he spoke, the mercenaries turned toward the disturbed woods and assumed defensive stances, bracing for an attack.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, an enormous black shadow shot out of the woods, moving so fast that even the captain, the strongest among them, could only see an afterimage.
"Watch out! It's a Tier 2 Magical Beast!"
The captain shouted!
But he was still a step too late. A savage-looking, enormous black tiger had already pounced on a short mercenary.
By the time everyone reacted, all they could hear was chewing, while a pool of blood spread across the ground.
"Damn it, why would a Tier 2 Magical Beast suddenly appear in this area?"
"Damned beast!"
"Everyone, attack together!"
After returning to Little Mountain Valley, Xiao Yan went straight into the wooden hut he had built.
For the past two days, he had either been fighting or on his way to another fight.
Having ventured deep into the mountain range, he had even encountered a Tier 3 Magical Beast and fought a fierce battle with it.
Neither could do anything to the other, so the battle had ended inconclusively.
Still, two days of intense combat had left Xiao Yan feeling a little mentally exhausted.
After resting for an afternoon, Xiao Yan loosened his joints, stretched, and pushed open the door.
He had just set down the Medicine Cauldron to refine an Energy-Gathering Pill when an eagle's cry suddenly rang out overhead.
Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow, a guess immediately coming to mind.
A moment later, an enormous azure eagle slowly descended from the sky. A shapely woman in white, her face pale, lightly jumped down from its back.
Her right hand and back were already stained red with blood.
She's injured?
Something stirred faintly in Xiao Yan's heart.
At that moment, Xiao Yi Xian also noticed Xiao Yan nearby.
Seeing his familiar face, Xiao Yi Xian visibly froze for a moment. She immediately recalled their first encounter and blurted out.
"It's you!"
I've settled on the direction: the protagonist will frantically raise his cultivation realm and overwhelm people with it.
Since the author's setup is that every breakthrough necessarily strengthens his body, once his realm gets high enough, his physical body will be invincible.
When that happens, Hun Tiandi or whoever else can be slapped dead.
We're not going to compare whether one kind of Dou Qi is stronger or weaker than the other.
Also, I've revised the synopsis a little. After the Three-Year Agreement, Xiao Yan's Dou Qi will reach the ninety-ninth stage.
Before you continue