"It really takes a lot of energy to advance as a Dou Zhe. After that whole meal, I still couldn't go up even one star."
Xiao Qian strolled leisurely out of the dining hall, muttering offhandedly to himself.
His tone was so casual that advancing a star as a Dou Zhe seemed as ordinary as eating or drinking to him, hardly worth a second thought.
Nalan Yanran was walking beside him. At his words, she suddenly stumbled.
She turned to Xiao Qian in stunned disbelief and blurted out, "You expect to break through just by eating a meal? What do you take cultivation for? Something as easy as eating and sleeping..."
To ordinary people, cultivation required years upon years of accumulated effort, countless sessions of dull meditation, grueling training, and endless sweat and toil. How could anyone toss around talk of breakthroughs as lightly as Xiao Qian did?
Yet before she could finish, something seemed to catch in her throat, and she abruptly swallowed her words.
Memories surged over her like a tide. She clearly remembered that night at the Nalan Family estate, when moonlight spilled like water across the courtyard. After eating fourth-order magical beast meat, Xiao Qian had miraculously broken through several stages of Dou Qi in succession.
That scene was branded deep in her mind. Even now, recalling it left her feeling that it was unbelievable.
It was from that moment that she had begun to sense that this seemingly ordinary fellow possessed talent and abilities far beyond the norm. Conventional thinking and standards simply could not measure him.
"Cultivation? All you need is a mouth."
Xiao Qian remained as flippant and carefree as ever. With that one airy remark, he once again left Nalan Yanran speechless.
She opened her mouth to argue, but when the words