The first month of secluded cultivation began.
Lin Xiu remained on the fifth floor of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower.
For the first half month, everything was normal, with the ability to ensure a fivefold increase in realm experience every day.
But after breaking through to 5 Star Dou Spirit.
The amplification effect of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower suddenly halved, and the increased experience dropped from 30,000 per day to just over 10,000.
In other words, it was at the usual double speed.
Lin Xiu speculated that it might be related to the enhancement of his Dou Qi intensity, because the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower mainly tempered Dou Qi with the heart fire, achieving the effect of accelerating cultivation speed.
To some extent, it's like refining and extracting.
This forced Lin Xiu to continue downwards, fortunately, with the Red Fire Crystal Card, there was no hindrance to reaching the sixth floor.
However, the consumption of Fire Energy increased again, which gave Lin Xiu a headache.
As his strength continued to increase, the acceleration effect of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower decreased further.
Three months later, Lin Xiu was already practicing on the seventh floor.
He had originally planned to go to the eighth floor, but was told that he needed a Purple Fire Crystal Card.
This card was even higher level than the Red Fire Crystal Card.
Naturally, Lin Xiu didn't have it, nor did he have any other Fire Energy to exchange for it.
Inside the secret room.
Vast energy gathered, emitting a dark red light, surrounding a young man sitting cross-legged with closed eyes.
With each breath, energy continuously flowed into the young man's body.
[You completed one cultivation session, realm experience +25344]
When the energy mist completely dissipated, Lin Xiu opened his eyes.
"Panel."
With a thought, words appeared before his eyes.
[Name: Lin Xiu]
[Age: 20]
[Realm: 9 StarDou Spirit (48.9k/50k)]
[Constitution: 90]
[Spirit: 83]
[Aptitude: 40]
[Ability:
...
...]
[Attribute Points: 10]
"I know breaking through to Dou King is difficult, but it shouldn't be this hard."
Lin Xiu let out a long breath and glanced at his realm experience.
The realm experience needed to break through from 9 Star Dou Spirit to Dou King had doubled.
"I thought I could reach the strength of a 4 or 5 Star Dou King, but it seems I was too presumptuous."
For the past few months, Lin Xiu had been shuttling back and forth between the Arena and the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower.
Heading to the Arena was to earn Fire Energy.
Now, within the entire inner courtyard, the most famous and highly acclaimed figure was not those ranked high on the strength list.
It was Lin Xiu.
Many factions, whether for recruiting talents, securing venues, or obtaining certain items, would invite Lin Xiu to participate in battles once it involved combat.
With his consistent wins and minimal losses, Lin Xiu had thoroughly established his reputation.
And at the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower, Lin Xiu occasionally took action.
"Elder Liu wasn't lying after all. Dou King is indeed the watershed between the weak and the strong."
During their last conversation,
Elder Liu revealed that every year, the Academy's top ten on the strength list would have an opportunity to reach the ninth floor for Heart Fire Body-Forging.
Such opportunities would affect the probability of breaking through to Dou King.
After all, Dou King realm was the watershed for the continent's strong. Advancing to this realm was extremely difficult. Some people, even at the pinnacle of Dou Spirit, might remain at this level for their entire lives without sufficient opportunities.
"If I didn't rely on the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower, even I would need several years."
Lin Xiu got up, preparing to leave.
Now, with one month left until the Inner Court Competition, calculating the days, Xiao Yan would also be approaching the Black-Corner Region.
"Before heading to Black Mark City, I'll see if I can find the Green Demon Flame Ox. In another two days, my strength should be sufficient to break through to Dou King, and I'll also need to gather a batch of fifth-grade demon cores."
Returning to his residence, Lin Xiu informed Du Chaoping and Leng Bai that he would be going out for a while.
When asked where he was going, Lin Xiu didn't conceal anything, but he didn't specify either, just mentioning the Black-Corner Region.
At this moment, Du Chaoping suddenly remembered something and looked up, saying, "Junior, if you're heading that way, you could visit Mentor in Black Mark City."
"Mentor? Is he a native of the Black-Corner Region?" Lin Xiu was puzzled.
Previously, during the past year abroad, Huo Lan did not reveal much. However, after Du Chaoping mentioned it, Lin Xiu suddenly remembered that Mentor was indeed familiar with the Black-Corner Region.
Things like the Black Storm and various danger zones, he knew a thing or two about them. After receiving a nod of acknowledgment from Du Chaoping, Lin Xiu made a note of it.
If the opportunity arises, it might be worth taking a look, but he felt it would be best not to go. Lin Xiu remembered one thing: after the death of the Blood Sect's junior Sect Master, the Blood Sect Sect Master would use a Secret Technique to see the scenes witnessed by the deceased before their death.
He might end up in conflict with him at that time, and he didn't want to drag Huo Lan into it because of his own issues.
...
After daybreak, Lin Xiu left the Academy alone and entered the forest. In the evening.
[Your realm has been upgraded! Gain 1 Attribute Point]
[Realm: 1 Star Dou King (1/52k)]
Inside his Dantian, the chaotic nebula vortex trembled lightly, spreading outwards, much larger in scale than before.
Lin Xiu sensed the changes in his body, realizing that his perception of external Dou Qi had greatly increased.
It felt as if with just a thought, he could mobilize the vast and boundless energy between heaven and earth.
On the continent, the reason why Dou King had always been considered the true watershed for strong individuals was largely due to this point.
Below Dou King, all energy came solely from the internal Dou Qi.
Once depleted, it took time to recover.
But upon reaching Dou King, one could harness the immense energy between heaven and earth.
"Compared to harnessing energy, Dou Qi Wings are what I need most."
Rising from the ground, Lin Xiu glanced back and with a thought, a pair of energy wings manifested on his back.
"Wind excels in speed, lightning emphasizes eruption, there's no need to expose other attributes. Let's start by condensing the Wind and Lightning Twin Wings."
The majestic Dou Qi surged along the meridians and bones inside Lin Xiu's body, rushing towards his back.
Upon reaching a certain point, it burst out explosively.
Whoosh!
Cyan and silver energies emerged, intertwining with each other, continuously expanding and extending.
Eventually, behind Lin Xiu, they condensed into a pair of large wings.
These wings stretched from his shoulders all the way down to his calves. The majority was dominated by cyan, and upon closer inspection, one could see the surging of the wind.
Along the edges of the wings were engraved silver patterns, shimmering with electricity.
Huff!
With a gentle tremor, Lin Xiu felt a tremendous thrust emerge, and his body shot up into the sky. Looking down, the trees of the forest grew smaller and smaller.
"Wow, taking off!"
Lin Xiu exclaimed, flapping his wings, feeling the exhilaration of soaring in the sky.
Waves of cool breeze brushed against his face, but they couldn't wipe off the smile on his face.
Previously, when he used the Light Cloud Wandering Dragon Steps, Lin Xiu could briefly hover over a dozen meters.But that was completely different from true flight.
"With Dou Qi Wings, I can overlook from high altitude, making it much more convenient to find Fifth Rank Magic Beasts."
Hovering in the air, Lin Xiu's gaze scanned around, quickly noticing signs of a skirmish in the distance.
Trees fell, dust rose, accompanied by the roar of Magic Beasts.
Lin Xiu flapped his wings, the air pressure causing the clouds behind him to shrink. With the force, he shot out, leaving a trail of cyan streak in the sky.
As he got closer, Lin Xiu discovered that someone was actually fighting against a Magic Beast. The Fifth Rank Magic Beast was in the hands of the opponent, seemingly like a toy, as it was repeatedly slammed on the ground while being held by its leg.
"Zi Yan?" Lin Xiu exclaimed, looking at the small figure, his mouth involuntarily uttering a cry of surprise. "Do you know me?" The white-clad little girl, holding one leg of the Magic Beast, looked up at Lin Xiu in the air, her eyes filled with confusion.
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