In a small, open valley in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, a waterfall dozens of meters wide poured down from a mountain peak, throwing up countless sprays of water. Beneath it, a boy no more than ten years old gripped a black heavy ruler slightly larger than his entire body and hacked fiercely at the water before him.
This was the fifth month since Xiao Yan had left Wutan City. Three months earlier, he had successfully broken through to the Dou Shi realm. Now, he had reached the two-star peak Dou Master realm, only a single step away from three-star Dou Shi.
That was only because Yao Lao had worried that Xiao Yan's rapid advancement during the Dou Zhe stage would leave lingering problems, so he had made him remain at that stage a little longer. Otherwise, he would already have been a four-star Dou Shi.
In truth, Xiao Yan's cultivation had slowed somewhat after he entered the Magical Beast Mountain Range. There was no other reason for it; he had simply set aside some of his time to practice alchemy. After several months of training and Yao Lao's hands-on instruction, Xiao Yan's alchemy skills had advanced by leaps and bounds, far exceeding even Yao Lao's expectations.
In five months, he had gone from a beginner who had never touched alchemy to a Second-Rank Alchemist. Moreover, although Xiao Yan was still a Second-Rank Alchemist, he had a considerable success rate even when refining certain third-rank pills. Yao Lao even suspected that, if his Dou Qi cultivation were sufficient, he could already be refining fourth-rank pills...
Such an astonishing rate of improvement shocked even a Grandmaster Alchemist like Yao Lao. After all, even the peerless geniuses of the Yao Clan had taken a year to advance from beginners to the second rank, whereas Xiao Yan had progressed more than twice as fast!
Had it not been for Xiao Yan's bewildered expression the first time he refined medicine, Yao Lao would have thought he had learned alchemy long ago.
The most frightening thing was that Xiao Yan was still young-he had not even turned ten yet. With the cultivation talent he was displaying now, what heights would he reach by adulthood? And what about when he was thirty or forty?
The mere thought left Yao Lao somewhat dazed. He felt he was creating a legend, one that would overturn the understanding of everyone on the continent-and he would be its sole architect.
Xiao Yan had no idea what this teacher he had acquired so easily was thinking. At that moment, he was practicing the new Dou Technique he had only recently learned. Half a month earlier, Yao Lao had formally taught him an earth tier Dou Technique, and Xiao Yan had devoted his energy to practicing it ever since.
After half a month of training, Xiao Yan had achieved the minor mastery he had hoped for. It was not that he did not want to reach major mastery, but that his strength imposed limits. At his current stage, minor mastery was the most he could achieve with this Dou Technique, called the Flame Splitting Wave Ruler. Only upon reaching the Dou Wang level could one unleash the true power of an earth tier Dou Technique.
Boom! As he swung the ruler, a fierce blast of wind cleaved through the waterfall, actually cutting off its flow for an instant. Although the water resumed flowing after just one second, accomplishing this without using any Dou Qi was already impressive for someone who was only a Dou Shi.
"Teacher, I should meet your training requirements now, right?" After that final swing, Xiao Yan leaped down from the wooden stake beneath the waterfall, landed steadily on the ground, and asked.
"What do you think?" Yao Lao could not help rolling his eyes as he tossed over a grilled fish. Even he could find no fault with the boy's mastery. He was certain that if Xiao Yan possessed the strength of a Dou Wang now, he could absolutely unleash the true power of the Flame Splitting Wave Ruler!
Had it merely been a black tier Dou Technique, that would have been one thing. Though black tier Dou Techniques were somewhat difficult, there were always people born with a talent for them, so mastering them quickly was nothing unusual. Earth tier Dou Techniques, however, were different. Talent alone was not enough to master them so swiftly.
Xiao Yan caught the grilled fish and was about to take care of lunch when he heard an unusual sound from the valley entrance. Yet this valley was extremely well hidden, and medicinal powder with a pungent smell had been scattered around it. Magical beasts generally would not approach this place, so whose footsteps were those?
Xiao Yan instinctively grabbed the handle of the Xuan Heavy Ruler and looked toward the valley entrance. Yao Lao immediately transformed into a streak of light and darted into Xiao Yan's ring. Then, at the entrance to the small valley, a somewhat bedraggled figure in white appeared before Xiao Yan.
It was a girl dressed in white. She looked a year or two older than Xiao Yan, though that might have been because girls developed faster than boys. Her features were still somewhat immature, but she was already very cute, giving the impression at first glance of a little sister from next door.
But her cute little face was filled with panic, because the figure pursuing her was drawing ever closer.
Hearing the roars behind her, despair appeared on the girl's sweat-covered face. Just then, she suddenly spotted Xiao Yan sitting on a rock, about to eat his grilled fish, and a flash of delighted surprise crossed her face. But when she saw that Xiao Yan was merely a child even younger than herself, that delight swiftly vanished.
She knew this child could not help her. He would only throw away his life for nothing.
As the roars behind her drew closer, the girl gritted her teeth. Without even pausing to catch her breath, she shouted toward Xiao Yan, "Hey! You, the kid over there! Run! A magical beast is charging in!"
Xiao Yan could not help finding that amusing. This little girl was rather decent. Even with her own life hanging by a thread, she still remembered to warn someone else.
However, Xiao Yan had no intention of intervening. He was not the helpful sort. Although she had warned him, the magical beast would never have found this place if not for her. Of course, as a "model youth," he would not do absolutely nothing. Once the magical beast ate her, he would avenge her.
Just as Xiao Yan was preparing to enjoy a bloody spectacle over his grilled fish, he suddenly felt that the girl looked somewhat familiar. He frowned, scenes from his previous life rapidly surfacing in his mind. Finally, the images froze on a white-haired woman with an indifferent expression. So it's her...
The Heavenly Poison Woman!
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