Chapter 16: Peak of Nine Stars!
Mitel Auction House.
After hosting an auction, Ya Fei returned to her room with weary steps.
Taking off her fur coat, the light illuminated Ya Fei's somewhat uncertain gaze.
"I still can't forget about that little guy..."
Speaking to herself, Ya Fei was deeply impressed by the experience in the alley that night.
Although such storylines were often seen in adventure novels, experiencing it firsthand left a strong impression on her.
"That little guy said we've met before, and we're both in Wutan City. There will be another chance to meet."
Frowning slightly, Ya Fei hosted so many auctions every day that she had seen countless people.
Even if someone had been watching her from the audience, she probably wouldn't have noticed.
Looking at the invitation on the table, Ya Fei suddenly froze.
She seemed to have been in a mental deadlock before. She usually spent most of her time at the Mitel Auction House.
Subconsciously, she thought her encounter with the boy was at the Mitel Auction House.
But in reality, she wasn't only active at the Mitel Auction House!
As one of the top forces in Wutan City, the Mitel Auction House often received invitations from major families.
During the grand festivals of these families, they would invite other forces to showcase the prosperity and power of their family.
"Come to think of it, that boy, at such a young age, possesses the strength to defeat a One-Star Dou Shi. He's definitely a top-notch genius!"
"If it wasn't at the auction, then it should have been at one of the major families, which means that the boy comes from one of the three major families!"
"That boy witnessed the killing of the Oba young master and didn't intervene, so he's probably not from the Oba family. That leaves the Xiao and Jia families..."
Following her train of thought, Ya Fei's eyes brightened as she felt she was on the right track. She would soon be able to find out the boy's identity.
"In recent years, there hasn't been any notable talent from the Jia family, but the Xiao family... Last year, there seemed to be a young genius who claimed to be the youngest fighter in the Xiao family in a century!"
Thinking of this, Ya Fei quickly went to the cabinet and searched for information. Soon, she found the youngest fighter.
"Xiao Yan... the son of the Xiao family patriarch, third in line. Come to think of it, I did attend the Xiao family's family ceremony last year!"
"Could it be him? Maybe I should gather some information about the Xiao family and see if anything significant has happened recently!"
Last year, due to some affairs, Ya Fei left in a hurry and didn't personally meet Xiao Yan.
She called for her trusted aide and instructed her to investigate if there were any major events in the Xiao family recently.
After the previous incident, she requested to have female guards instead. She didn't want to experience something similar again.
...
While Ya Fei was busy investigating Xiao Ze's identity, Xiao Ze was staying at the Xiao family's residence and not going out.
On the mountaintop behind the house, under the shade of trees, a figure sat cross-legged on a stone that had been deliberately smoothed.
With closed eyes, the figure was cultivating, and the surrounding Dou Qi surged toward him as if homing in on him.
A small energy vortex formed around him.
At this moment, Xiao Ze slightly released the absorption ability of his Dou Qi vortex.
A large amount of energy circulated through his meridians and finally converged into the Dou Qi vortex.
Xiao Ze felt his meridians slightly swollen and a slight tingling sensation.
Since the first time he fully activated the Dou Qi vortex, he knew that his body couldn't handle it now!
The Dou Qi vortex feedback from the system was not compatible with the strength of his body.
After a long period of full activation, his meridians would rupture inch by inch, bursting from the excessive Dou Qi!
However, in subsequent cultivation, Xiao Ze also discovered the benefits of this Dou Qi vortex.
That is, controlling the absorption ability within the limit of meridians!
Once the meridians adapted, he would release the absorption ability!
In this way, the strength of his meridians would be subtly improved!
In the future, if he absorbed energy at full strength, his meridians would be able to withstand it completely.
Then, Xiao Ze's cultivation speed would surely increase several times!
As the shade gradually lengthened, the energy vortex around Xiao Ze slowly dissipated.
Xiao Ze opened his eyes, and a trace of turbid air slowly exhaled, dissipating into the air.
"The growth of Dou Qi has reached its limit. Now it's just one step away from reaching the level of Dou Qi Liquid and officially becoming a Dou Shi!"
Xiao Ze internally observed the Dou Qi vortex in his body. The faint blue Dou Qi vortex slowly rotated, emitting the sound of waves crashing.
Vast! This adjective shouldn't originally describe a cultivator at the Dou Shi level.
But if other cultivators of the same level saw the surging degree of Xiao Ze's Dou Qi, they would surely suspect that their years of cultivation had been in vain.
"Now I can also say, I've reached the peak of a Nine-Star Dou Shi, right?"
Xiao Ze chuckled to himself, recalling the ridiculous realm divisions he had seen before.
At this moment, Xiao Ze turned his head to look down the mountain.
A lively figure, like a nimble butterfly, danced among the trees and quickly arrived by Xiao Ze's side.
"Brother Xiao Ze, have you finished your cultivation?"
Xiao Xuner smiled and said.
This was something she admired the most about Xiao Ze. Not only did he possess unparalleled talent, but his level of effort was also second to none.
"Yeah! I feel like I've made a little progress."
Xiao Ze nodded and reached out to pat Xiao Xuner's head.
"What about you? How's your cultivation going?"
"It's going okay, just the usual grind. I'm at the Ninth Stage of Dou Qi... There's still some time before I break through."
"Don't rush. Cultivation at the Dou Qi stage is all about perseverance. Once you become a Dou Shi, you'll make rapid progress."
Xiao Ze comforted her, and Xiao Xuner nodded understandingly.
"I know. I'm pretty satisfied with my current progress. After all, not everyone can compare with Brother Xiao Ze, the big monster!"
"Hmm, you little brat! I'm just trying to comfort you, and you call me a big monster!"
Xiao Ze ruffled Xiao Xuner's head more forcefully, ignoring her slightly reproachful gaze.
"Do you dare to call me Brother Xiao Ze like that again?"
"I dare not..."
After escaping from Xiao Ze's clutches, Xiao Xuner stuck out her tongue at Xiao Ze and said with a smile.
"Big monster!"
After saying that, she immediately ran away to avoid Xiao Ze's reaching claws.
"You little brat! Looks like your martial skills are lacking practice again, huh? Let's have a good fight!"
Xiao Ze dashed forward, suppressing his strength to the Ninth Stage of Dou Qi, and began sparring with Xiao Xuner.
The two of them exchanged blows, creating a storm of battle that swept away all the fallen leaves around them, forming a large empty space.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Xiao Ze's arm reached out like a nimble snake and gently patted Xiao Xuner's perky buttocks.
"Ah~"
(End of this chapter)