Three months later,
Right now, universe was in his room, sitting cross-legged on the cultivation mat.
He was attempting to break through to the energy refining stage, a whole new level. But for universe, it wasn't a problem. Alpha had already explained to him about the things to watch out for during the breakthrough.
Suddenly, energy vortexes began to appear from all around the universe, absorbing spiritual energy from his surroundings. After a while, the energy absorption finally came to a halt, and universe opened his eyes. For a brief moment, his eyes were as white as his hair, but they returned to normal.
Universe didn't know what had happened.
Standing up, uniy stretched and clenched his fists. He could feel the strength coursing through his body. By his estimate, he was three times stronger than before.
But suddenly, universe smelled something horrible. Looking at his body, he could see a lot of black substance. Hurriedly, he went into the bathroom and took an hour-long bath.
Coming out of the bathroom, universe felt refreshed and light as a feather. He jumped up and down a few times and felt quite energetic.
After inspecting himself for a while, he left his room to meet his parents and share the good news.
As he walked out of the room, universe met many clan members. Suddenly, an adorable voice stopped him in his tracks.
"Zhou brother, wait!"
Turning around, universe saw a girl about 6 or 7 years old running towards him with her tiny legs. She looked adorable, but her long black hair seemed to be causing her some trouble as she ran.
Just as she was about to stumble due to her hair, universe stepped forward and caught her in his arms.
"Yu Min, are you alright?"
"Don't worry, big brother. I'm fine. I'm a cultivator just like you."
Universe was surprised for a moment and said, "Oh, Minmin can cultivate too? That's great news! Okay, let's celebrate."
Yu Min was the daughter of his second uncle. With her, his second uncle now had two sons and three daughters. Yu Min was the youngest, and she loved staying with universe very much. As the youngest in his family, universe thought of her as his little sister.
"Okay, let's go. Today, Minmin will have breakfast with her brother."
The girl became quite happy upon hearing this, and her smile also made universe happy. He never wanted to see her sad in the future.
But he knew better. In this treacherous land, nobody could be happy without strength. Universe worried about this. Would he be able to protect his clan with the strength he possessed? Nobody knew for sure, but he would try his best.
Walking on a stone path, they made their way towards his parents' house, which was beautiful and larger than everyone else's. His father named it 'Flower Pavilion'.
Upon entering, universe found his parents sitting on wooden chairs in the hall, talking among themselves. When they heard footsteps, they turned to look at universe, and smiles appeared on their faces.
"Yuner, you're home early today. What's the occasion? And look who's here. Isn't this Minmin?"
His mother, already happy to see universe, became even happier upon seeing Yu Min and ran towards her, taking her into her arms.
Universe felt speechless. 'My value has dropped in front of Minmin,' he thought.
Seeing him standing there speechless, his father came to his rescue. "Come here, Yuner. Sit beside me. Let them have their moments."
Suddenly, Minmin cried out, "Brother, save me from mother! She's going to eat me!"
This time, all three of them were speechless but burst into laughter a moment later.
"Hahaha... This little girl is as adorable as ever," his father chuckled.
Universe nodded. She was like a sun illuminating their entire world.
"So, Yuner, tell me why you're home so early today," his father prompted.
After his father's reminder, universe came to his senses and said, "I have good news to share."
Both of his parents were surprised and nodded for universe to continue.
"I have broken through to the energy refining stage."
His father suddenly stood up, holding universe's shoulders. "Yuner, are you telling the truth?" Under his parents' intense gaze, universe nodded affirmatively.
"Hahaha... This is truly great news," his father exclaimed, turning to his wife. "Xuner, have you ever seen a ten-year-old energy refining stage cultivator?"
His mother was also happy for him. "You're right. Even Yu Er and Ling Er only broke through after they turned thirteen."
This news shocked universe, and he started to feel anxious.
'Did I overdo it?' universe thought wryly to himself. 'But what's done is done. I just hope this doesn't cause any trouble for my clan.'
After breakfast, both universe and Minmin left his parents' house. After dropping Minmin off at her house, universe headed directly back to his own and resumed his cultivation.
Two years passed in the blink of an eye.
Now, universe was twelve years old, but he looked like an eighteen-year-old. No one would be able to tell the difference. Even the girls in Spring City started to notice him whenever they had the chance, unaware that this young man was only twelve years old.
But no one noticed that someone had been quietly following him around lately. It was none other than Su Ling from the Su clan.
It wasn't because she sought revenge for being defeated in the competition, but for a different reason. Even her clan members were unaware of her stalking behavior.