When Xiao Yan awoke from his unconsciousness, the sun was setting, casting a gentle glow over everything. He slowly opened his eyes and gently moved his fingers, but the expected intense pain did not come. Instead, a sense of powerful energy flowed through his body. The feeling of abundant strength made Xiao Yan take a deep breath in relief. Turning his head slightly, he noticed the neatly folded light blue metal inner armor and two scrolls by his side.
Looking at these items, Xiao Yan was initially stunned before abruptly sitting up, his gaze sweeping around, but he did not see that graceful and elegant figure. A sense of desolation slowly crept over his face. “She left?” he sighed bitterly, leaning against the tree trunk. After a while, he lazily reached for the neatly folded metal inner armor. Surprisingly, it was warm, not cold as he had expected. As he squeezed the armor, he found it soft as silk, which was quite strange.
Holding the light blue inner armor, Xiao Yan brought it to his nose and inhaled a faint, pleasant scent. “She actually left this intimate item behind…” With a strange expression, he murmured, unfolding the metal inner armor to reveal the claw mark left by the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King.
Putting the inner armor in his chest, Xiao Yan looked up at the sparse treetops, his smile a bit bitter. “Ah, she has returned to her life as the respected Battle Emperor. I must continue to work hard towards my goal as a Dou Shi.” Shaking his head, he reluctantly placed the two scrolls into his storage ring. Glancing at the black ring on his finger, he asked, “Teacher, where should we go now?”
The ring trembled slightly, and the Pharmacist Elder slowly emerged, circling around Xiao Yan before saying, “Check your current strength.”
Xiao Yan, taken aback, closed his eyes and quickly scanned his body. Opening his eyes after a moment, he exclaimed in surprise, “A nine-star Fighter? How did I jump two stars? Was it because of the Purple Crystal Source?”
“Only two stars? It’s fortunate she wasn’t too foolish. If she had directly helped you break through to become a Dou Shi, there would have been serious consequences,” the Pharmacist Elder said calmly.
“What do you mean?” Xiao Yan asked, puzzled.
“The Purple Crystal Source indeed has potent energy, but its power is too domineering. Although she refined it once, if you let the purple flame boost your strength unchecked, your Qi Vortex would eventually rupture. The Purple Crystal Winged Lion King could directly ascend an entire tier because their bodies are incredibly robust, and they don’t fear the backlash of the purple flame. But for you, hehe, if you relied on the purple flame to become a Dou Shi, you would be instantly incinerated into ashes.”
“Woah…” Wiping away a cold sweat, Xiao Yan finally understood that even good things could be harmful if not used properly. The best supplements can turn into poison if the body can’t handle them.
“Even with her control, you only advanced two stars, but this speed still concerns me. Sigh, that woman really knows how to cause trouble. This kind of leap in training has many drawbacks,” the Pharmacist Elder shook his head, then added, “You need to stay in the Magic Beast Mountain Range for the next month and kill at least five first-tier magic beasts every day. Only combat can stabilize your restless Dou Qi. Otherwise, when you encounter a ‘Heavenly Flame’ in the future, you won’t be able to devour it.”
“Five it is,” Xiao Yan nodded indifferently. He stood up, carrying the Heavy Black Ruler, and put the Pharmacist Elder back into the ring. Taking one last look around, he slowly stepped out of the forest.
As he emerged from the woods, the sun had already set halfway. Standing still, he stared at the sunset for a long time before sighing dejectedly, then turned and disappeared into the trees.
Unbeknownst to Xiao Yan, high on a hidden peak, a woman in a white dress stood, watching him. She sighed in relief when she saw him safely leave the forest. Gazing at his retreating figure, she sighed again, no longer lingering, and with a slight flutter of her green wings, she transformed into a green shadow, flying swiftly out of the Magic Beast Mountain Range.
In the dark forest, a first-tier bloodthirsty rat carefully crawled, its tiny red eyes constantly on alert. Its sharp fangs and claws glinted ominously. Just as the rat was about to bite into the tree’s sap, a white figure suddenly shot down from the tree, spewing a blast of cold air that froze the rat’s legs. With a quick snap of its jaws, the figure swallowed the rat whole.
Satisfied, the white-furred single-horned wolf, known as the Frost Single-Horned Wolf, combed its fur. This wolf, at the peak of first-tier magic beasts, easily overpowered the bloodthirsty rat. Just as it was about to find a new target, a sudden change occurred.
“Bang!” A dull sound echoed, and dried leaves exploded into the air. In a small area, a rain of leaves fell. Startled, the Frost Single-Horned Wolf retreated, but a figure suddenly burst from the leaves, delivering a powerful punch aimed at the wolf’s head.
The fierce energy made the wolf’s fur stand on end. Roaring, it unleashed a blast of white frost. The frost enveloped the figure, but to no avail. The figure’s body was covered in a mix of pale yellow and purple Dou Qi, which evaporated the frost.
Seeing the frost ineffective, the Frost Single-Horned Wolf turned to flee. The figure, breaking free from the cold, sneered and twisted his foot strangely before stomping the ground. “Explosion Step!” he shouted. A pale yellow light emanated from his foot as he stepped heavily, causing a muffled explosion. In an instant, he shot forward like an arrow, leaving a trail of explosions behind him.
After eight steps, he had overtaken the swift Frost Single-Horned Wolf. Leaping over the wolf, he spun and delivered a powerful punch to its head. The wolf’s speed halted, and with a loud crack, its head shattered, blood and brain matter splattering everywhere.
Having defeated the wolf, the figure raised his head, revealing the youthful face of Xiao Yan, who had been training in the Magic Beast Mountain Range. Compared to a month ago, Xiao Yan seemed more rugged, and a faint smell of blood lingered on him. Clearly, the task of killing at least five magic beasts daily had transformed him. Battle had a way of changing people.
After a month of hunting and training, the Dou Qi that had worried the Pharmacist Elder had finally stabilized. The power from the Purple Crystal Source had been repeatedly refined by Xiao Yan until the Qi Vortex in his abdomen shrank by nearly half. Though the vortex seemed smaller, Xiao Yan knew he was much stronger than before.
In this month, Xiao Yan also learned the middle-tier Xuán technique left by Yun Zhi, which was the “Explosion Step.” As the name suggested, it used the explosive force of energy to increase speed. Xiao Yan found it fascinating and mastered it, though he could only perform ten steps of the “Explosion Step” at his current level. Even so, it greatly assisted him in his hunting tasks.
Among the techniques and cultivation methods left by Yun Zhi, Xiao Yan only learned the “Explosion Step.” The cultivation method was useless to him, given his unique “Flame Decree,” so it remained in his storage ring. Overall, Xiao Yan’s strength had nearly doubled in a month. Now, unshackled, he could possibly defeat a two-star Dou Shi.
After completing his month-long training, Xiao Yan stayed in the Magic Beast Mountain Range for a few more days, using a perfect battle to kill a second-tier magic beast, measuring his progress. Reflecting on his strength, Xiao Yan’s mind flashed to the image of a stern middle-aged man— the one who had forced him deep into the mountains. Now, it was time for retribution.
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