In the Dou Qi Continent, within a nondescript low house in a small alley in the city of Wutan.
A five or six-year-old child sat cross-legged.
His hands formed specific handprints in front of him, his chest gently rising and falling. With each breath, a cycle formed, and amidst this breath cycle, white energy flowed into his body through his mouth and nose.
In the Dou Qi Continent, it's not difficult to understand what this child is doing. This is a common method of cultivating Dou Qi.
"Exhale..."
Su Yun opened his eyes, ending today's practice. He had been in the Dou Qi Continent for six years now, having started cultivating at the age of four, and it had been two years since then.
Like Xiao Yan in the original work, due to his experience from two lifetimes, his soul was stronger than ordinary people's, and his talent for cultivation followed suit. Su Yun's cultivation talent was not low either.
Coupled with the maturity of an adult's mind, unlike a real six-year-old child who is playful, after two years of hard training, although he was only six years old this year, he had reached the third stage of Dou Qi.
"I wonder how high the talent for reaching the third stage of Dou Qi at the age of six is?"
Su Yun muttered to himself.
He was born poor in this world, without much background. Having read the original work thoroughly, he knew well that strength was paramount in the Dou Qi Continent, where the strong preyed on the weak, so he didn't interact much with people of his age.
He simply trained hard, trying to improve his strength as much as possible.
So, he didn't know how talented it was to reach the third stage of Dou Qi at the age of six.
But on second thought, having reached the third stage of Dou Qi at the age of six, if he progressed one stage per year from now on, by the age of twelve, his cultivation would also reach the ninth stage of Dou Qi.
That was already quite impressive.
Considering that in the original work, Xiao Xun'er reached the ninth stage of Dou Qi at the age of fourteen and was already the second best in the Xiao family in a hundred years.
Having reached the third stage of Dou Qi at the age of six, Su Yun's talent was not bad at all.
"Well, my talent is decent too."
"Sigh..."
However, Su Yun sighed inwardly. In terms of aptitude, he wasn't much different from Xiao Yan.
But he might not necessarily be able to surpass this little guy from the countryside.
Getting off the bed, he picked up the white steamed bun from the wooden table, silently lamenting his lack of good fortune.
Xiao Yan was a member of one of the eight ancient clans, the Xiao family. Even if it had declined, it was still one of the three major families in Wutan City. As the young patriarch of the Xiao family, he didn't have to worry about food and clothing.
Unlike Su Yun, who lived in a dilapidated thatched house, gnawing on white steamed buns.
He was born into a commoner family in this world, with his father being a slightly higher-ranked three-star fighter, and his mother only reaching the stage of Dou Qi.
His family mainly relied on his father hunting low-level magical beasts for income, while his mother supplemented the household income by doing odd jobs for wealthy households in Wutan City.
Even under the circumstances of barely making ends meet, they could still save some money.
But when he was four years old, his father was killed in the Magic Beast Mountain Range, and his mother followed soon after due to excessive grief the following year. His days became even harder.
And this was just one aspect of his family situation.
Xiao Yan was the predestined protagonist of the Dou Qi Continent, with destiny on his side.
As long as he endured for three years, with Yao Lao as his teacher, and Yao Chen as his support, along with the assistance of Xiao Xun'er and other beauties, he would ascend to the peak, advance to become a Dou Di, ascend to the Great Thousand World, and become a surefire winner in life.
Su Yun bitterly thought to himself.
As fellow Earth transmigrators, he couldn't help but compare himself to Xiao Yan. He had been in this world for six years, and his system still hadn't settled. The difference was...
Su Yun shook his head, no longer dwelling on these matters. Instead of letting his thoughts run wild, he decided to take action and focus on the present.
Silently finishing the steamed bun in his hand, Su Yun once again fell into contemplation.
In the years to come, it's better to stay in Wutan City and focus on cultivation.
Talents may be talents, but with only the third stage of Dou Qi, there's no room for complacency.
Although Wutan City is a bit remote, with the strongest being only a Great Fighter apart from Xiao Xun'er's guard, Lin Ying, the security is still acceptable.
As long as you don't provoke those spoiled rich kids or have enmity with major families, as a commoner, nobody will bother you.
Su Yun's parents lived their lives honestly and without worry, unlike him.
As for Su Yun, a six-year-old boy devoted to cultivation, he rarely leaves home except for essential supplies, which is perfectly fine.
So, Su Yun plans to first improve his cultivation before venturing out. With the savings from his parents' hard work in this life, he should be able to cover his expenses for the next few years.
At the stage of Dou Qi, the main focus is on expanding meridians, strengthening veins, and laying the foundation for condensing Dou Qi in the future.
When cultivating Dou Qi, the body's age is relatively young, and the meridians are fragile, so external assistance is basically impossible.
The demand for cultivation resources is minimal, relying entirely on one's own diligence and talent. He doesn't need to worry about finding cultivation resources or rushing into the Dou Qi Continent.
After coming to his senses, Su Yun dug out some coins from under the bed, stepped out of the house, out of the alley, and headed towards the main street of Wutan City.
The dry food at home had been eaten up, so this trip was to buy supplies for the next three or four days.
After leaving the alley and walking for about ten minutes, he arrived at the market in Wutan City, but he wasn't here to shop.
There were several markets like this in Wutan City, controlled by the three major families, and they sold relatively precious items such as magic cores, weapons, jewelry made from magic cores, and some medicinal herbs.
Obviously, it wasn't the place for Su Yun, a small fry like him, to visit now.
However, this market was a must-pass route for him to buy supplies.
If he wanted to go to the places where ordinary people sold goods, he had to pass through here. If he took a detour, with his current pace, it would take him half an hour.
As soon as he entered the market, Su Yun walked along the edge.
The market was full of mercenaries and merchants selling items like magic cores. Whether selling or buying, most people had cultivation levels of fighters or higher, which he, a mere third-stage Dou Qi practitioner, couldn't afford to provoke.
Although there were people from the three major families maintaining order, troublemakers were rare, but not absent. Not to mention the friction between the three families was common.
With families quarreling and tension in the air, street fights could break out at any moment, leaving no place to cry if one got caught in the crossfire.
Having been reborn into the Dou Qi Continent, Su Yun naturally understood what kind of world it was. With two lifetimes of experience, he proceeded cautiously every time he passed through.
It wasn't hard to understand—he was just a talent, not a powerhouse. Growing up safely was the best option.
After passing through the market and buying food, Su Yun returned the same way, as cautious as ever, walking briskly.
"So, this is our family's market?"
"Yes, this is it. This market is located in the southern part of Wutan City and is controlled by our Xiao family."
As Su Yun returned to the market, ready to go back home to focus on cultivation, he overheard snippets of conversation. He thought, "People from the Xiao family?"
Having lived in Wutan City for six years, even though he rarely ventured out, Su Yun still knew about the power distribution in the city. This market was the same one that Xiao Yan brought Xiao Xun'er to in the original story.
Su Yun glanced up and saw two children around his age, a boy and a girl.
Shaking his head, he didn't think much of it. He had no relationship with the Xiao family, so there was no need to interact with them.
"Ding..."
(End of this chapter)