Xiao Yan Advanced to Dou Zhe

Yao Lao was utterly speechless. So all the heart and soul he had poured into this had gone to waste?

He sighed and discreetly tucked away the cultivation methods he had collected. Bringing those things out would only embarrass him.

He eagerly picked up their Ice and Snow Cultivation Technique. After studying it carefully, his eyes lit up.

"Xiao Yan, this cultivation technique is worth learning."

The only cultivation method Xiao Yan currently knew was the Flame Mantra. Although it could gradually improve as he cultivated, it was still only a Yellow Tier Cultivation Technique for now.

Yet parts of this Earth Tier Cultivation Method already rivaled a Heaven Tier cultivation method. If these two boys practiced it, it would play an immensely important role in improving both their strengths.

"Go ahead and learn it. As your master, I'll stand guard and make sure you get through the dangerous stage unharmed."

Xiao Mo nodded. That promise from Yao Lao was precisely what he wanted. He could already practice this cultivation method, but Xiao Yan was still a little short of advancing to Dou Zhe.

He had to find a way to help this fellow break through. Only then could they truly cultivate together.

But some people might spend years without managing to bridge that final one-level gap.

Xiao Mo immediately took a moment to poke the system.

"System, do you have anything else like the Spirit-Gathering Pill? Something that could help Xiao Yan advance straight to Dou Zhe?"

The system chimed twice, then the System Shop interface unfolded before him again.

The system quickly filtered out several pills that could greatly increase Dou Qi.

[Dou Qi Pill: Can help cultivators at stage eight or above advance directly to Dou Zhe. Price: 10,000 Shop Coins.]

[Advancement Pill: Can help cultivators below Dou Zhe increase their Dou Qi by one to three stages. Price: 15,000 Shop Coins.]

The dazzling array of goods left his head spinning.

But only these two pills were relatively affordable. Every other pill cost over fifty thousand Shop Coins.

"Fuck, this is robbery!"

He worked his ass off completing missions, earning at most 1,000 points each time. After nearly a year, he had saved only around twenty thousand Shop Points.

Buying one pill would eat up roughly half his points. That hurt worse than having a slab of flesh carved off him.

"Forget it. Maybe I should just let Xiao Yan cultivate slowly on his own. It shouldn't take him too long to reach Dou Zhe, right?"

Even so, when Xiao Mo returned to the woods on the Back Mountain and trained with Xiao Yan again, he discovered just how enormous the gap between ranks really was.

When they sparred, he needed only three moves with his Frostcold Sword to pin Xiao Yan down. Xiao Yan barely had any power to fight back.

Xiao Yan grew increasingly dejected and even seemed to be losing his confidence.

"..."

Sure enough, having such a freakish genius beside you dealt a crushing, downright devastating blow to your spirit.

"I don't want to be this outstanding either, but what can I do? I have a system."

Xiao Mo sighed softly. Perhaps he had been too impatient. Lately, he had kept using his higher-ranked Dou Qi against Xiao Yan, trying to pull up the seedlings to make them grow.

But his approach had clearly dealt a heavy blow to Xiao Yan's confidence. If this continued, Xiao Yan might truly sink into despair and listlessness.

"Should I slow things down a little?"

After hesitating for a while, he immediately shook his head. Once they slowed down, it would be hard to pick up the pace again.

He vigorously ruffled his hair and opened the shop interface again.

"Do I really have no choice but to spend this money?"

Gritting his teeth, Xiao Mo checked his point savings and slapped himself across the face.

"Fine. The sooner he advances, the sooner we can cultivate. Maybe the system will give me some other missions so I can earn more points."

With that, he clenched his teeth and endured the heartache as he exchanged his points for a pill.

Looking at the Dou Qi Pill in his palm, which had cost him ten thousand points, he immediately darted off to the Back Mountain.

Xiao Yan was staring blankly at the cliff. Xiao Mo stepped forward and seized his chin.

Xiao Yan struggled hard, condensing a blood-red streak of light in his hand. But when he saw who it was, he immediately stopped.

"Senior brother, what are you doing?"

Xiao Mo did not want to waste words. He simply pried Xiao Yan's jaw open and smacked the pill into his mouth.

"If you let me down, brat, I'll rip the top of your skull right off."

A powerful surge of Dou Qi instantly flooded Xiao Yan's entire body. His eyes lit up as he suddenly remembered the Spirit-Gathering Pill Xiao Mo had given him last time.

That pill had directly raised his Dou Qi by three stages. Could this be the same kind of pill?

He immediately steadied his breathing and focused, dropping to his knees to frantically absorb the Dou Qi flooding his body.

His body began to swell with power. Surges of energy repeatedly rushed toward his chest, making him let out an exhilarated roar.

A mass of blazing fire erupted around Xiao Yan. Overwhelming flames raced outward along the grass, soon setting the surroundings ablaze in a sea of fire.

He clenched his fists and threw his head back with a long howl, then slammed a fist into a tall tree beside him.

With a boom, the thick tree toppled, even its deeply buried roots torn out of the ground.

Xiao Yan slowly withdrew his hand, wisps of red light flickering in his eyes. Looking at the abundant Dou Qi in his palm, he turned toward Xiao Mo in disbelief.

"I... I advanced to Dou Zhe?"

Xiao Mo nodded and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The system's pills really were powerful. A single pill had raised him an entire rank. It was just a shame it had cost so much.

Xiao Yan stared at him with shining eyes, then suddenly clenched his fist and punched straight toward his chest.

"Holy shit, you brat! Is this how you repay my kindness?"

Xiao Mo's expression sharpened, and he quickly stepped back twice to dodge the punch.

But Xiao Yan's fists roared through the air, carrying tremendous waves of heat as they relentlessly hammered toward him.

Xiao Mo had no intention of fighting seriously. He could only keep retreating, avoiding the brunt of the assault.

"What are you doing?"

Xiao Yan said nothing and simply kept throwing punches at him.

Xiao Mo could tell he was serious. If he kept dodging like this, sooner or later his eyebrows would get singed off.

"Xiao Yan, you asked for this."

The Ice and Snow Sword immediately appeared in his hand. A streak of ice shot out, slashing straight toward the ball of fire in Xiao Yan's hand.

At the sight, interest flashed across Xiao Yan's face. Without hesitation, he unleashed Eight-Level Collapse against Xiao Mo.

In an instant, heaven crumbled and earth split.

A long fissure opened in the ground. Xiao Mo lost his footing and nearly fell into it, while the Ice Sword slipped from his hand and lodged in a tall tree beside the crack.

He propelled himself upward, twisted around, and leaped onto the tree trunk, finally steadying himself.

"Damn, no wonder he's the protagonist. His strength is insane."

He narrowed his eyes and decided to fight Xiao Yan seriously.