Chapter 4: Dou Qi Cyclone, One-Star Dou Fighter
"Why would she come here?"
A flicker of doubt flashed in Gu Han's eyes.
Walking toward him was a girl of about fifteen. She had a cold and elegant appearance with a charming face, dressed in a moon-white robe that accentuated her exquisite, curvaceous figure. Green jade pendants hung from her delicate earlobes, emitting a crisp tinkling sound as they swayed with her movements.
She was none other than Nalan Yanran, the disciple of the Cloud Mist Sect's Sect Leader, Yun Yun.
But as the Sect Leader's personal disciple, why would she come to the Outer Sect Cultivation Hall to train?
Even if the back mountains were still inaccessible, she could surely use the core disciple cultivation rooms.
Though puzzled, Gu Han moved quickly, stepping aside to make way.
"Eh?"
Nalan Yanran, who had been walking with her head down in thought, also noticed the figure suddenly appearing before her. Just as she was about to dodge, she saw the other party had already moved, so she simply continued on her way.
Her gaze lingered on Gu Han's face for a brief moment, a hint of surprise at his handsome features flashing in her eyes. She gave a slight nod of acknowledgment and quickened her pace, soon disappearing through the entrance.
Gu Han didn't look back. After passing Nalan Yanran, he went straight to the registration desk.
"Lord Deacon."
Gu Han took out his identity token and handed it over.
The person in charge of the Outer Sect Cultivation Hall was a dignified middle-aged man who looked full of integrity.
"A Preparatory Disciple?"
The middle-aged man took the token, a trace of surprise flashing in his eyes.
Preparatory Disciples hadn't yet become Dou Fighters. Coming to the Cultivation Hall to train Dou Qi was far too wasteful of merit points, unless they were here to break through.
"Are you Gu Han?" A kind smile appeared on the middle-aged man's face.
"This disciple is indeed he," Gu Han replied, neither humble nor arrogant.
"I've heard of you. You were first in yesterday's Preparatory Disciple competition, and you already reached the Ninth Stage Dou Qi Practitioner half a year ago." The middle-aged man began to write with his brush, then picked up a token from the table and handed it back. "Coming here, I assume you are preparing to break through to Dou Fighter."
"That is no easy task. The First Grade, Room 1 might give you a slightly better chance of success."
Hearing this, Gu Han immediately cupped his fists in gratitude. "Thank you for looking after this disciple, Deacon."
The Outer Sect Cultivation Hall had eighteen cultivation rooms, divided into three grades: First, Second, and Third, with six rooms in each grade.
First Grade, Room 1 was the room with the densest Heaven and Earth energy. Generally, only top-ranked disciples of the outer sect could apply to use it.
This was a significant favor.
"Go on, train hard. When you're finished, bring the token back to exchange for your identity token." The middle-aged man smiled kindly and waved his hand gently. "You have a total of fifteen hundred merit points in your token, which allows for a maximum of fifteen days. Adjust your state before condensing the Dou Qi Cyclone; the success rate will be higher."
"Yes." Gu Han had the jade spirit fruit and wasn't worried about failing the breakthrough, but there was no need to say that out loud. He simply accepted the kindness.
Holding the token, Gu Han continued inside. He showed it to two guards at the corner and then kept walking further in.
Only after he disappeared did the middle-aged man withdraw his gaze, his eyes showing a bit of weariness. "It's not easy for a disciple from a humble background to stand out. I wonder if Gu Han can go further than I did."
Bang!
At the deepest part of the Outer Sect Cultivation Hall, Gu Han took out the token and placed it into the slot on the door labeled 'First Grade, Room 1.'
The mechanism activated, and the cultivation room door opened.
Gu Han stepped inside and closed the door from within. The token appeared on the inner side.
As long as the token was pressed down, the secret room door would be locked, and no one from the outside could enter during that time.
First Grade, Room 1 was not small, about twenty-five square meters and five meters high. The ceiling had a special structure that could be opened for ventilation.
In the very center sat a prayer mat. To one side was a desk with brushes, ink, paper, and an inkstone.
Gu Han sat down on the mat and closed his eyes to begin regulating his breathing.
However, a faint scent of orchids drifted into his nose, causing him to open his eyes.
"Nalan Yanran."
Gu Han thought for a moment and realized why the scent felt familiar.
When he had passed Nalan Yanran at the entrance of the Cultivation Hall earlier, she had carried this exact scent.
"It seems she was using First Grade, Room 1 before me."
A look of realization flashed in Gu Han's eyes. He didn't dwell on it and returned to his meditative state.
About fifteen minutes later, he took out a fruit emitting a faint glow from his storage ring and swallowed it in one gulp.
A peculiar sensation spread through his mouth, but before Gu Han could savor it, he felt a surge of warmth rising from his lower abdomen, as if a flame had been ignited.
"What massive energy."
The fire in his Dantian did not harm his body; instead, it allowed Gu Han to perform Internal Vision prematurely. He clearly felt a stream of gentle, pure energy surging into his limbs and bones, beginning to strengthen all his meridians.
He immediately formed the hand seals for absorbing Dou Qi, drawing in Heaven and Earth energy and transforming it into Dou Qi that flooded his body. It merged with the massive energy in his meridians and gathered in his lower abdomen's Dantian.
"Phew."
The still air in the secret room began to ripple with currents. Gu Han didn't feel the stabbing or tearing pain in his meridians that others experienced when breaking through to Dou Fighter; instead, it felt very comfortable.
All the meridians in his body were being nourished and enhanced, and his cultivation level rose rapidly and steadily along with it. It was so comfortable he almost wanted to groan.
Under the dual influence of the jade spirit fruit's medicinal power and the Dou Qi, his pathways were already filled to the brim with energy.
The Dou Qi in the meridians of his entire body had reached a limit.
It had reached a critical point where no more could be added.
But Gu Han was in no hurry to mobilize the Dou Qi to gather at his Dantian; instead, he continued to absorb more and more.
Only when the jade spirit fruit's power faded, his meridians stopped expanding and toughening, and the excess Dou Qi began to cause a faint stinging sensation did Gu Han change his hand seals, touching his index fingers to his thumbs and clicking his middle fingers together.
In an instant, the surging Dou Qi within him seemed to come alive. It all rushed toward his lower abdomen's Dantian and began to swirl and condense, turning from pale white to pure white, and finally to milky white.
"Condense!"
The entire process lasted nearly an hour. Gu Han suddenly opened his eyes, and a streak of pure white Qi flashed through his pitch-black pupils.
A strange muffled sound echoed within his body. He felt he had gained a new ability: Internal Vision.
This was an auxiliary skill that only a Dou Fighter could master. The higher one's strength, the more thoroughly they could explore their own body.
Gu Han sank his mind into his Dantian and 'saw' a palm-sized milky-white cyclone slowly rotating. The outermost edge was wrapped in a layer of nebula-like milky-white energy gas, more than ten times stronger than the previous Ninth Stage Dou Qi Practitioner.
If he were to face Mo Qing again now, he could simply suppress him directly with Dou Qi.
From this point on, the energy he transformed from Heaven and Earth energy would be true Dou Qi!
At this stage, he could choose a cultivation technique to learn; otherwise, he could only use the most primitive method to control the cyclone's intake and output of Heaven and Earth energy to grow stronger.
"Phew."
Successfully condensing the Dou Qi Cyclone on his first try and becoming a One-Star Warrior meant he was finally a qualified practitioner. Gu Han felt a slight sense of relief.
But this was only the first step of a long journey. He didn't feel overly joyful and closed his eyes to continue training.
The jade spirit fruit strengthening his meridians provided many benefits, and its medicinal power hadn't been fully absorbed yet.
Training now would yield twice the result with half the effort, allowing him to stabilize his cultivation as quickly as possible.
Meanwhile, Mo Yu returned to Mo Qing's side with a dark expression.
"Brother, where's the jade spirit fruit?" Mo Qing asked with an expectant face, not even noticing Mo Yu's wrong expression.
"Gone." Mo Yu clenched his fists, his eyes cold. "It was stolen and eaten by a petty thief."
Mo Qing:?