After distancing themselves, both sides began to battle.
Hu Jia, being of the wood attribute, excelled at controlling vines. The plants and grass on the ground were influenced by her Dou Qi and seemed to come alive.
Several vines crawled along the ground, rushing towards Lin Xiu, while Hu Jia herself also charged towards Lin Xiu.
Faced with this scene, Lin Xiu apologized inwardly.
Sorry, the Black Rank Dou Technique is just too tempting!
"Thundering Palm!"
"Deadly Strike!"
The Dou Qi within erupted like a volcano, instantly surging. Lin Xiu burst forward, almost instantly appearing in front of Hu Jia.
With a thunderous explosion, Hu Jia felt her vision blur, her defensive barrier shattered, and electricity surged into her body.
The figure paused, and Dou Qi came to a halt.
Immediately, a burst of strength erupted. Hu Jia was sent flying like she had been struck by a Magic Beast, crashing seven or eight meters away to the ground.
Hu Jia looked utterly bewildered.
Her injuries were not severe, but she hadn't expected to lose, and so decisively at that.
"My apologies."
Lin Xiu reached out to help Hu Jia. She instinctively extended her hand until it was grasped. Feeling the warmth of Lin Xiu's palm, she quickly pulled her hand away, realizing her reaction a moment later.
"I have fishing techniques and fish here. If there's anything you don't understand, you can come find me. I'm Lin Xiu, Yellow Rank, Class Four."
Picking up two copies of Dou Techniques, Lin Xiu, with a White Carp in tow, swiftly left the lakeside.
Even after Lin Xiu disappeared, Hu Jia and even Hu Gan and Old Huo took some time to come to their senses.
Hu Gan still had a smile on his face, but it froze, as if someone had pressed the pause button.
"Hahaha, Hu Gan, I didn't expect you to have moments of loss. A promise is a promise, right? Double happiness? Hahaha."
Recalling Hu Gan's triumphant expression just a moment ago, Old Huo couldn't hold back any longer.
"Why are you laughing?" Hu Gan stared at him with no expression on his face.
Old Huo wiped the corners of his eyes; tears had welled up just now. It had been a long time since he felt so happy. "Hu Gan, according to our agreement, if Hu Jia won, I would have to compensate with Dou Techniques. Now that she lost, our previous agreement doesn't count anymore."
"Well, you're right. You've lost the fishing technique too," Hu Gan slowly spoke. Seeing Old Huo's smile abruptly vanish, his mouth gradually curved upward again, "Do you want it? Exchange it for a Dou Technique!"
Carrying the fish, Lin Xiu waited outside Elder Huo's door for a while. When he saw him return, he hurriedly handed over the fish.
As Old Huo opened the door, Lin Xiu picked up the Pill and left.
On the way, he encountered Du Chaoping rushing over, and they turned and headed to Huo Lan's place together.
Seeing Lin Xiu, Huo Lan noticed that his strength had reached 9 Star Dou Practitioner. His first reaction was to breathe a sigh of relief. "Two months, two small realm advancements. That's normal."
He looked at Lin Xiu. "Why aren't you studying with the teachers at the Academy? Do you not know how important it is to lay a solid foundation in the early stages?"
"Mentor, I have my own training plan," Lin Xiu explained.
In truth, Huo Lan was only saying a few words verbally. After all, with Lin Xiu's rate of progress, what more could he say?
But since it was a test, words alone wouldn't suffice.
Huo Lan asked Lin Xiu to use all his strength to spar with him to see what specific progress he had made.
Upon hearing this, Lin Xiu didn't dare to be vague. The opportunity to spar with a Dou Grandmaster was rare, and it was a great chance for him to gain experience.
So, after Lin Xiu and Huo Lan exchanged blows, he indeed exerted all his strength, even employing the Secret Rampage.
The two fought for almost half an hour, leaving Du Chaoping, who was watching on the side, with trembling eyes.
"Is this Junior Lin Xiu's true strength? This is too formidable." Du Chaoping realized that Mentor had initially used a 1-Star Dou Master level to spar with his junior, gradually increasing to 2-Star, 3-Star, and finally reaching 5-Star, just barely suppressing his junior.
He had thought that breaking through to a 2-Star Dou Master, he could lead his junior for experiences and truly become a Senior Brother. Now it seemed he had overestimated himself.
"Alright, that's enough for now. Your foundation is very solid," Huo Lan signaled Lin Xiu to stop; he could see that Lin Xiu was reaching his limit.
In fact, he was also nearing his limit.
[You engaged in a battle, Deadly Strike experience +200]
[Your Ability Deadly Strike prompts to...]
[You engaged in a battle, Wind Shadow Traceless Finger experience +200]
[Your Ability Wind Shadow Traceless Finger has improved to...]
Looking at the soaring experience and the increased Attribute Points, Lin Xiu was clearly panting, but his spirit was extremely excited. "Mentor, can we have such tests every day in the future? I progress quickly."
"Du Chaoping, take him away," Huo Lan thought Lin Xiu was showing off his solid foundation. Testing every day? Did he see himself as the object of refinement?
In the courtyard, only Huo Lan remained, lying in the chair. His gaze was deep. "In just over two months, at this rate of progress, he might really be able to compete for the top five next year!"
In this test, Huo Lan found that Lin Xiu had mastered many Dou Techniques, and some of them still bore the shadows of the Whip Kick and Splitting Wind Palm he had taught before.
"Not only Dou Techniques, but even the advancement in realms is fast and very stable. It's not like a sudden surge after taking a Pill," Huo Lan shook his head slightly. Everyone has secrets, and he didn't want to delve into them. He just decided to start Lin Xiu's training plan ahead of schedule.
Originally, he had planned for Lin Xiu to study at the Academy for a year first and start in the second year. Now, he needed to make some changes.
On the other hand, after Du Chaoping took Lin Xiu away, they had a meal together with Han Pu and Qin Zhi.
During the meal, Du Chaoping shared his joy with Lin Xiu and expressed gratitude several times.
"This is great, Senior Brother Du. If you participate in the internal selection competition, we can have each other's backs," Lin Xiu said with a happy expression.
"Junior Brother." Upon hearing Lin Xiu's words, Qin Zhi was momentarily stunned. "Junior Brother, are you really planning to participate in next year's internal selection competition? You've only been enrolled for three months."
"Last time I said it, didn't I? Of course, I'm serious," Lin Xiu nodded earnestly.
"Cough, cough..." Du Chaoping cleared his throat twice, facing the gazes of Han Pu and Qin Zhi. "Believe in Junior Brother; he has the capability."
A trace of shock flashed in the eyes of the two as they stared blankly at Lin Xiu. They were well aware that Lin Xiu's participation was different from Du Chaoping's. If he joined, his goal would be to reach the top five.
Thinking about it, both of them involuntarily took a sharp breath.
After finishing the meal, Lin Xiu returned to the dormitory. Upon seeing him back, everyone couldn't help but show concern and inquire. He briefly mentioned the events outside.
When they learned that Lin Xiu's strength was actually that of a 9-Star Dou Practitioner, envy filled the eyes of everyone in the dormitory.
Sitting on the bed, Xiao Ning couldn't help but think of his cousin. At this moment, his cousin probably hadn't even reached 9-Star Dou Practitioner yet?
For the next two days, Lin Xiu resumed a normal campus life, attending classes, studying, and practicing.
Mainly, Mentor Huo Lan didn't allow him to go out, indicating that there were arrangements for the near future.
However.
Sometimes accidents happen in unexpected places.
Du Chaoping got injured!
Originally, Huo Lan was planning to take Du Chaoping and Lin Xiu out for experiences together, sharpening the two and passing on his skills to help them prepare for the internal selection competition.
When Lin Xiu went to visit Du Chaoping, he was wrapped in bandages, with only his eyes, nose, and mouth exposed.
"Normal sparring, but the attacks were too harsh?" Lin Xiu frowned.
Sitting on the other side of the hospital bed, Qin Zhi wiped her eyes, "What sparring? It was revenge. That Lin Ge, under the guise of sparring, helped Bai Shan target Senior Brother Du."
"Xiao Qin!" Du Chaoping stopped her.
Qin Zhi's voice trembled, "Senior Brother Du, you don't know. After you were injured, Lin Ge challenged Han Pu, saying I'm next."
At this moment, Lin Xiu realized that Han Pu was not in the room.
"Senior Sister, where's Senior Brother Han? Take me to him," Lin Xiu said in a deep voice.
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