Breakthrough, Sister Xun Er

As the Ice Emperor Scripture began to circulate, Chen Xiao officially entered the state of breaking through.

The Dou Crystal inside his body suddenly spun, faster with every passing moment, crazily devouring the pure Dou Qi surging in after being refined by his cultivation method.

At that moment, the Dou Crystal seemed to have become an empty sea eye that could never be filled. The speed at which Chen Xiao refined Dou Qi simply could not keep up with the speed at which it absorbed it.

As if sensing the problem, the Dou Crystal's rotation sped up again, causing the pores all over Chen Xiao's body to open. A powerful suction force spread in every direction with his body at the center.

For a time, the surrounding Heaven and Earth Energy surged, gathering endlessly toward Chen Xiao's room and stirring up a rapid energy whirlwind.

With the influx of outside energy, the speed at which Chen Xiao's cultivation method refined Dou Qi instantly soared, finally managing to keep pace with the Dou Crystal's absorption inside his body.

However, it was only keeping pace. To completely fill that "gluttonous" Dou Crystal would still take no short amount of time.

Maintaining his current state, Chen Xiao emptied his mind of all thoughts and forgot everything in the outside world, doing nothing but refining Dou Qi.

"Buzz~"

After an unknown amount of time, Chen Xiao finally felt the rhombus-shaped Dou Crystal inside his body suddenly tremble faintly.

Immediately after, a low buzzing sound quietly rang out, echoing rhythmically within the vortex.

It was also at that moment that the light on the Dou Crystal strangely began to fluctuate, brightening and dimming in turns.

Chen Xiao looked closely with his inner sight and discovered that, along with the flickering light, the somewhat irregular rhombus-shaped Dou Crystal within the vortex seemed to be getting polished by an invisible angle grinder, gradually becoming rounder.

From a long rhombus, it gradually became an oval, until it finally turned into something resembling a sea urchin!

The icy-blue light it emitted fully stabilized at that moment, and long spikes began to emerge one after another. Only when nine protrusions had risen did it finally stop.

"Thump~ thump~"

The next instant, muffled sounds abruptly came from within the sea-urchin Dou Crystal, rising and falling in alternation with the beating of Chen Xiao's heart, interweaving and contending like he now possessed two hearts, making even Chen Xiao's breathing quicken slightly.

Noticing this situation, Chen Xiao willed it, deliberately calming his emotions so that the rhythm of his heartbeat slowly aligned with the sound coming from the sea-urchin Dou Crystal.

After adjustment after adjustment, finally, at a certain moment, the two kinds of beating within his body completely merged!

In that instant, the sea-urchin Dou Crystal within the vortex suddenly shuddered, and an extremely powerful Energy Ripple burst outward from it!

The Energy Ripple passed through the vortex, meridians, and bones in his body without obstruction, then finally erupted through his skin!

On the bed, Chen Xiao, who had been sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them. His gaze was bright and full of spirit, as if a sharp icy-blue light flashed through and vanished.

He abruptly rose and landed on the floor. Chen Xiao's body trembled slightly, and in an instant, a vast aura spread out from within him, turning the tables, chairs, and furnishings in the room into fragments scattered across the floor!

Without hurrying to clean up, Chen Xiao lightly shook his lowered arm. Dou Qi surged wildly inside him, and a solid Ice Spear formed entirely from Dou Qi immediately appeared.

With a thought, the Ice Spear dispersed into nothingness.

With another thought, ice sabers, ice swords—any weapon at all, so long as he conceived it in his mind, he could perfectly condense it into existence!

Condensing objects from Dou Qi—this was precisely the mark of advancing into the Dou Ling realm!

Dispersing the Ice Spear in his hand, the one he was most satisfied with, Chen Xiao opened the door with a smile all over his face.

"Congratulations, Brother Chen Xiao, on reaching a higher level."

"Congratulations."

"Young Master is the best!"

One congratulatory voice after another rang out. Chen Xiao focused his gaze and only then discovered that quite a few people had actually been drawn over by the commotion of his breakthrough.

There was Xun Er, dressed in a purple gown, graceful and composed.

There was the warm and forthright Xiao Zhan, as well as the Xiao Family's three Grand Elders.

And lastly, there was Qing Lin, who lived next door.

What he did not know was that this was already the result after Xiao Zhan had driven off quite a few curious Xiao Family onlookers.

Otherwise, the scene would only have been even livelier.

"I didn't expect to even disturb the Clan Leader and the three elders. I got carried away just now and failed to control my aura, making such a mess of the room. I'll have to trouble the Clan Leader to have someone clean it up."

"Haha, it's nothing worth mentioning. Seeing you break through makes this Old Man happy from the bottom of my heart. Chen Xiao, since you've only just returned today, why not take a walk first? Once I have someone tidy up the guest room beside Miss Qing Lin's, I'll send word to you."

Those in high positions were all good at reading expressions.

Xiao Zhan's position was only so-so, but he knew a little of it too.

He could sense that Chen Xiao was not used to words of flattery, nor to roundabout occasions, so he immediately took the initiative to speak.

Chen Xiao cupped his fists in thanks and did not stand on ceremony, taking Qing Lin and Xun Er with him as he slipped away first.

Within the Xiao Family, aside from the rarely visited Back Mountain, there were not many quiet places. Since he had finally returned for once, Chen Xiao did not want to head straight to the Back Mountain either.

And so, in the end, they all arrived at Xun Er's small courtyard.

"It's still more elegant over here with Xun Er. Every time I come here, I can't help but relax."

Hearing Chen Xiao's sigh, Xun Er smiled faintly, then went inside and brought out some tea to serve them.

"Brother Chen Xiao didn't pay any attention to me just now. Xun Er thought we'd grown distant after not seeing each other for a while."

"Of course not. If Xun Er weren't here, I wouldn't even have planned to come to the Xiao Family this time."

Xun Er nodded with a smile. Of course she knew that Chen Xiao's response to Xiao Zhan just now had merely been polite.

On the contrary, the seemingly casual way he treated her and Qing Lin was actually a sign of greater closeness.

Still, Chen Xiao's answer made her rather happy.

The feeling of being valued had always been a pleasant one.

"Big Brother Chen Xiao, now that you're back this time, you'll be waiting until Jia Nan Academy's recruitment team reaches the Jia Ma Empire before leaving, right?"

The recruitment locations chosen by Jia Nan Academy's recruitment team were not fixed each year. Sometimes they came to Wu Tan City, sometimes they went to the neighboring Black Flame City, or to other cities.

When the time came, those from the surrounding cities who intended to enter Jia Nan Academy would all gather in one place to take the assessment.

Therefore, Xun Er's phrasing of "the recruitment team reaches the Jia Ma Empire" was undoubtedly more accurate.

"For the next few months, I'll just focus on cultivating and wait for them to arrive. I won't be going anywhere," Chen Xiao nodded and replied.

The corners of Xun Er's lips lifted slightly as she poured a cup of tea for Qing Lin, who was sitting off to the side, only listening and not speaking.

"In that case, Xun Er won't be bored these next few months. Oh, right, just now over there, I heard this Miss Qing Lin call Big Brother Chen Xiao 'Young Master'?"

"It's just a form of address, no need to take it too seriously. Qing Lin and I met in Stone Desert City on the edge of Tagor. She and I were both on our own, so we simply kept each other company. Thanks to her being with me these days, I haven't felt lonely while out there. Besides, Qing Lin's cultivation talent is very good, and her future is immeasurable. Being able to pick up such a promising seedling was entirely luck."

Because of Xun Er's identity, Chen Xiao did not need to hide too much from her, and could speak a little more freely and boldly.

At the same time, Chen Xiao also held a small selfish motive.

He wanted Xun Er to regard Qing Lin with a bit more importance and affection.

In that way, Qing Lin's safety in the future would gain another layer of assurance.

Xun Er nodded gently. She could sense that Chen Xiao valued Qing Lin greatly.

The relationship between the two of them was not as it appeared on the surface; it was more like a pair of siblings acting under the name of master and servant.

"So that's how it is."

Nodding in understanding, Xun Er looked toward Qing Lin, who was holding a teacup off to the side and sipping at it in small mouthfuls.

"These next few months, we'll probably be seeing each other often, so it won't do not to have a way to address me. I should be a little older than you, so from now on, just call me Sister Xun Er. How about it?"

Still unaware of the weight that form of address carried, Qing Lin instinctively looked toward Chen Xiao.

Chen Xiao gave her an encouraging look in return.

Seeing this, Qing Lin finally called out sweetly.

"Sister Xun Er~"