Chapter 3: Dou Zhi Qi
"Bang!"
A child, appearing to be only five or six years old, swung his fist with all his might, striking the tree trunk.
Half the withered leaves, along with some bark, fell from the tree.
"Dou Zhi Qi, Stage Four… the improvement is really significant," Xiao Yan clenched his fist, feeling the mystical power coursing through it.
The first three stages of Dou Zhi Qi were just like raw physical strength.
When you put effort into throwing a punch, the energy would gather in your fist; when you kicked, it would cover your legs and feet. You had to 'exert yourself' first to 'unleash power.'
But from Stage Four onwards, Dou Qi gradually became clearer — almost like a real, tangible energy that could be consciously sensed, stored inside the body, and moved with willpower.
"It's too slow, and too difficult. No wonder it takes so long to cultivate."
Compared to the energy flowing freely within the body, cultivating this vague thing, almost like training stamina, was frustratingly slow.
Can you precisely know your running time for today? No.
If you exercised today, will you run faster tomorrow? Not necessarily.
At a low realm, one can't even consume Medicinal Pills — just grind slowly, year after year, as time flies by.
Not to mention forming the Dou Qi Vortex, which is a cultivation nightmare.
Is your Dou Qi unstable? Then you definitely won't succeed.
Alright, I'll temper it for a few more years.
But if you get older, how can Dou Qi, which has lost vitality, gather together!
Are your Meridians fragile? You can't bear it.
Alright, I'll let all the Dou Qi seep into my body to protect my Meridians. That should be enough, right?
Sorry, the remaining total amount of Dou Qi is insufficient. Start over!
The golden time for cultivation is thus wasted. Unlike those major clans who directly focus on improving their realm, popping a Qi Gathering Powder to boost themselves — why would they need such trouble?
"No resources, no power, it's really annoying…" Xiao Yan squeezed the ring on his chest.
When his mother passed away a year ago, he had thought of asking for help from the person in the ring, but apparently, he failed.
If the Nalan Family could have lent a hand, perhaps everything would have been different.
"Heh—"
Instead of thinking about that, he might as well consider if the ancient clan had offered help back then… the Xiao Family wouldn't have reached its current state.
Xiao Yan was quite impressed with Gu Yuan himself.
Soul Emperor was severely injured for a thousand years, and yet the ancient clan stubbornly maintained strategic calm until he recovered. Holding a large number of ancient jades, he just left them in the ancestral hall.
In the end, while Soul Emperor was actively plotting against the world, Gu Yuan was still slacking off.
The Medicine Clan was already annihilated! His future son-in-law was being relentlessly hunted down!
Yet, he only intervened to save him after he had fled to the ancient clan's territory… Is your butt glued to the chair? Your activity level, despite being perfectly healthy, is actually less than someone with half a foot in the grave.
Soul Emperor was plotting world domination from his sickbed, while Gu Yuan achieved nothing with his "strategic composure."
Oh right, actually he didn't achieve nothing; he took the time to have a daughter.
Soul Emperor: Besiege Xiao Xuan! A thousand-year grand scheme! Door of Silence! Corpse Dou Saint! Void Swallowing Flame! Annihilate clans and seize jades! Secret Realm gate! Pill Transformation Divine Art! Devour Central Plains! Spirit Devouring Life Severing! Blood Emperor Body! Emperor Slaying Ghost Blood! Whole clan sacrifice!
Gu Yuan: Slacking off, having offspring. Good thing I'm one step ahead~
"Soul Emperor."
Just thinking about this guy, Xiao Yan felt a blockage in his heart.
Battle Through the Heavens was completely a timed instance. The Hall of Souls's claws had already extended to the Jia Ma Empire, and even if the Xiao Family continued to hide in Wutan City, they couldn't escape.
No matter how the ancient jade was handled, it would eventually fall into Soul Emperor's hands.
Without a Child of Luck descending to save the day, the Imperial Clan simply couldn't win. After the Soul Clan unified the world, there would inevitably be a thorough sweeping search. Unless the Primordial Ancient Dragon acted and banished the ancient jade to the depths of the Endless Void Realm, it was only a matter of time before it was found.
Either way, it was a world-ending scenario.
What he carried on his shoulders was not just the life and death of the Xiao Family.
Cultivation, the faster the better!
"Bang! Bang!"
Xiao Yan punched the tree trunk again and again. The cultivation of Dou Qi could only proceed in such a simple and brutal manner.
Eat and rest, recover Dou Qi, then use Dou Qi to attack, expending it all to strengthen the body and tap into potential.
It was like a natural spring. If the pond was emptied, groundwater would slowly seep out to refill it.
"Is there really no way to speed it up?"
In just a few minutes, Xiao Yan felt a dull ache in his fists.
His Dou Qi was depleted… Day and night of repeated striking could only trade time for progress. At this rate, he would at most reach Dou Zhi Qi Stage Nine half a year faster than in the original story.
The Dou Qi Vortex breakthrough was purely a matter of luck; forcing it might just cause a backlash.
He couldn't rely on Old Yao.
If he had already been awake, it would have been to test his Heart-Nature, and he wouldn't have exposed himself before achieving his goal.
If he was still asleep, then anything said would be useless.
"Continuous consumption, tempering the body, expanding the Meridians…" Lying on the ground with his arm as a pillow, Xiao Yan muttered about cultivation, drawing a triangle on the ground.
Suddenly, something clicked in his mind.
"Continuous! Tempering!… Pressure."
Xiao Yan's eyes instantly lit up with determination. He scrambled up from the ground and sprinted in a determined direction.
A waterfall!
This was the perfect cultivation tool for Dou Zhi Qi!
The continuous, steady impact required him to constantly cover himself with Dou Qi and push upwards, forcing the Dou Qi to circulate faster under pressure… it was the perfect match.
"Boom—"
Something resembling a corpse floated up in the turbulent, surging water.
"Cough cough… It seems it's still too difficult." Xiao Yan crawled onto the bank, spitting water, feeling as if his internal organs were about to burst.
The impact of the flowing water was completely different from what he had imagined.
Instead of a continuous, stable output, it was more like irregular wave impacts, fluctuating between strong and weak, mixed with sand and stones rushing down.
Every second required intense mental focus, rapidly changing his Dou Qi based on his perception, just to barely withstand it.
"Bah, again!"
A hint of ruthlessness flashed in Xiao Yan's eyes.
Although Xiao Ding and Xiao Li weren't entirely reliable, some of what they said was true: cultivation requires ruthlessness.
Always trying to save some strength or leave a retreat will ultimately lead to stagnation.
"Boom—"
"Gurgle… Pfft, I still don't believe it!"
"Boom!"
"You want to contend with me?! Again!"
Waterfall: …You wait a minute, who exactly is contending with whom now?
..."Xiao Mansion."
In front of the Xiao Family gate, a middle-aged man with a refined and peaceful demeanor looked up at the plaque, his eyes holding a weariness that didn't match his appearance: "Does Xun Er like it here?"
The little loli holding his right hand looked up, her face pale and calm: "Xun Er doesn't know."
The middle-aged man sighed softly: "Didn't you just see it from the sky?"
"Xun Er is afraid of heights."
The little loli leaned against his leg.
Really?
"Sigh…" He sighed helplessly: "I'll take you to see Xiao Zhan… Just call him Uncle from now on."