The Advantage of Being Close

The Advantage of Being Close

Wu Tan City was not large, but it had the virtue of being peaceful.

Living quietly in this city, occasionally hearing that the Xiao Family and the Gale Family had clashed in the marketplace was already enormous news.

Of course, none of this had anything to do with Chen Xiao.

To him, the few months spent waiting for Jia Nan Academy's recruitment team were calm and fulfilling.

After pre-paying for the Earth Core Body Tempering Milk, Chen Xiao's daily routine was reduced to only three things.

Cultivating, practicing Dou Techniques, and spending time with Xun Er and Qing Lin.

The effects of the Earth Core Body Tempering Milk were excellent. Although Chen Xiao could not perfectly draw out its effects like an alchemist, and had to dilute it with clear water for a medicinal bath each time, the benefits were still immense.

Not only was his strength steadily increasing, even his comparatively frail body had been greatly strengthened.

Comparing him to a Magical Beast would be too exaggerated, but compared to an adult, Chen Xiao's physical strength was already not lacking.

In addition, the amount of Earth Core Body Tempering Milk he had obtained in advance was not small. There were a full four bottles.

One bottle was clearly of higher quality, extremely thick, with a rich, refreshing fragrance.

The remaining three bottles were of poorer quality, far inferior in both color and viscosity.

According to Yao Chen, this was the difference between "true" and "false" Earth Core Body Tempering Milk.

But even that "false" Earth Core Body Tempering Milk would be extremely precious in the outside world.

There were four Jade Bottles, each containing roughly close to forty drops of Earth Core Body Tempering Milk. Chen Xiao made a rough estimate: if he took a medicinal bath once every three days, consuming two drops each time, it should be enough to last him until he entered Jia Nan Academy.

At that time, after completing the follow-up arrangements, he could once again pre-pay for other cultivation resources to bridge the gap, and the empty period in between would be very short.

Then there was the matter of Dou Techniques.

Just as Xun Er had said, as Chen Xiao's realm rose, he could clearly feel that using Mystic Ice Dragon Flight was becoming more and more effortless. As a result, during this period, in the Xiao Family's Back Mountain, sonorous dragon roars would occasionally echo out late at night.

Unfortunately, from beginning to end, the only ones who had personally witnessed Chen Xiao's Mystic Ice Dragon Flight were Xun Er and Qing Lin.

If he wanted to display this Dou Technique before others, he would have to wait for someone fated.

Aside from Mystic Ice Dragon Flight, Chen Xiao had also practiced Hai Bo Dong's Dou Techniques such as Ice Mirror and Whirlwind Ice Kill, and had achieved modest success in all of them.

Lastly, there were Xun Er and Qing Lin.

Of these two, one was clever as ice and snow, with an excellent temperament, while the other was obedient and sensible, inspiring affection and pity.

As they spent day after day together, the relationship between the two girls naturally grew better and better. He could often see them walking hand in hand in an intimate manner, which truly made Chen Xiao endlessly envious.

As for Chen Xiao and Xun Er...

Chen Xiao did have a feeling that after he returned this time, Xun Er seemed a little clingier than before.

The most obvious sign was that the frequency with which she took the initiative to come find him had increased severalfold compared to before, and occasionally, she would even make some rather intimate gestures.

For example.

During this period, Xiao Yan also often went to the Back Mountain alone. Every time Chen Xiao and Xun Er went over and saw him, this girl would pull Chen Xiao off into the distance, sit shoulder to shoulder with him, and casually find some topic to chat about until Xiao Yan left, only then resuming their Dou Technique practice.

Again and again, their skin brushed against each other, and this had gradually begun to exceed the boundaries of ordinary friendship.

Clearly, after nearly seven years of knowing each other, this elegant sketch of friendship, through day after day of companionship, was gradually gaining richer colors and finer brushstrokes, evolving toward an even more splendid painting.

Years passed, the sun and moon contended.

Five months went by in the blink of an eye.

It was not until that night, when Chen Xiao received a message from Xiao Yi Xian, that he suddenly realized the day Jia Nan Academy's recruitment team arrived should be sometime within the next few days.

"The Magical Beast Mountain Range..."

Looking at the delicate small characters on the letter, as well as the rather simple map, Chen Xiao carefully recalled the layout of the Magical Beast Mountain Range in his mind. Only after finally confirming that the Small Mountain Valley she was in was still within the outer region did he relax.

Xiao Yi Xian was familiar with medicinal theory. If anyone treated her as a weak woman without the strength to truss a chicken, they would suffer a great loss.

Especially after mastering the Seven-Colored Poison Manual, Xiao Yi Xian's ability to protect herself could not be underestimated.

Some of the Poisonous Medicines in that poison manual would make even Da Dou Shi-level experts suffer a silent loss if they touched them.

Even Chen Xiao, who had already advanced to Dou Ling, kept some prepared Poisonous Medicine in his Storage Ring as backup.

A glimpse through a tube revealed the whole leopard!

Therefore, against Magical Beasts only in the outer region of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, Xiao Yi Xian might find them troublesome due to insufficient experience, but there were very few that could truly threaten her.

Moreover, with Xiao Yi Xian's talent, once she began cultivating, her speed would certainly exceed common sense.

Perhaps she would soon be able to treat the outer-region Magical Beasts as experience packs and farm them at will.

Putting this matter aside for the moment, Chen Xiao felt the surging Dou Qi within his body.

"Then let's set a small goal: before entering Jia Nan Academy, reach four-star Dou Ling..."

In Jia Nan Academy, ordinary status was useless. They only valued cultivation talent. The higher one's talent and the stronger one's strength, the more attention one received.

Having made up his mind, Chen Xiao put away Xiao Yi Xian's letter, took out a Jade Bottle from his Storage Ring, and carefully poured two drops of liquid that resembled emerald pearls into the Wooden Tub.

The Earth Core Body Tempering Milk merged with the clear water, and its color instantly faded until it was almost impossible to make out with the naked eye.

However, when Chen Xiao stripped off his clothes and sat inside, he could feel waves of stinging pain coming from the skin all over his body. It was like having chili water smeared over broken skin.

Hiss~

Even though Chen Xiao had experienced it dozens of times already, he still could not help letting out a soft hiss.

After slowly adapting to it, Chen Xiao held his breath and focused his mind, forming cultivation hand seals with both hands. Very quickly, he entered a state of cultivation.

The time when Jia Nan Academy came to the Jia Ma Empire each year had never been a secret.

They might be delayed by a day or two for all sorts of reasons, but they would never be absent.

As this date gradually approached, the atmosphere in Wu Tan City and several nearby cities also grew heated, even livelier than during the New Year or other festivals. Everyone was looking forward to being chosen by the recruitment team as this year's recruitment site.

After all, the pavilion closest to the water enjoyed the moonlight first.

If their city was chosen as the recruitment site, that would be a wonderful thing. Not only would it bring in an enormous flow of people, but it would also make things much more convenient for them, saving them from having to travel back and forth.

The younger generation of the Xiao Family was also looking forward to it. Those intending to register for the assessment sweated buckets on the training ground every day, their attitude toward cultivation countless times more serious than usual, hoping to increase their chances a little by cramming at the last minute.

When they occasionally rested, they would also gather together and speculate about whether anyone in the clan would be able to pass the assessment this year.

"I think the granddaughter of our Grand Elder, that older cousin Xiao Yu, has a chance this year. I even ran into her yesterday, and judging by how confident she looked, it didn't seem fake."

"Speaking of that, Third Young Master Xiao Yan has to count. He broke through to Dou Zhe half a year ago. He's long since surpassed Jia Nan Academy's threshold."

"Third Young Master seems like a completely different person these past six months. All he does is bury himself in bitter training. You can't even catch sight of him normally."

"No, speaking of that, I'm actually even more suspicious that something happened to him. A few days ago, I ran into our Clan Leader, and his expression was downright frightening."

"I ran into the Big Young Master and Second Young Master before too. Their faces were both gloomy as well."

"Really? You can't just spread rumors about something like this!"

Paper could not wrap up fire forever. Although Xiao Yan did his utmost to avoid showing himself in front of others, after such a long time had passed, such abnormal behavior still stirred people's imaginations.

It was easy to predict that the day everything was completely exposed would not be too far away.

In this sort of atmosphere, another four days passed in the blink of an eye.

And the Jia Nan Academy recruitment team, which countless people had been eagerly awaiting, finally arrived.

They set the assessment location in Wu Tan City!