Word Count: 2,256 Words
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"Yay!! I finally pulled off Lightning Flash!!"
Even Xiao Yan couldn't contain his excitement and jumped up. Being able to execute Lightning Flash in just seven days would be considered legendary, even a miracle, within the Wind Lightning Pavilion.
Cultivating the Three Thousand Lightning Movement to the point of using Lightning Flash signified entry-level mastery. Minor mastery would be Instant Lightning, and major mastery would be Three Thousand Lightning, which allowed one to traverse three kilometers in an instant. Upon reaching perfection, one could begin cultivating the Wind Lightning Pavilion's treasured Three Thousand Lightning Illusionary Body.
The little girl in white looked utterly puzzled, completely unable to understand what was so thrilling about this. Wasn't it just using an agility-type Dou Technique to dodge an attack?
"Hey, what's there to be so happy about?" the little girl blinked and asked.
Xiao Yan turned his head to look at her and said with a smile, "Mastering an agility-type Dou Technique is naturally something to be happy about! Come on, let's continue fighting!"
"Three Thousand Lightning Movement—Lightning Flash!" Xiao Yan once again circulated his Dou Qi. Fortunately, his Flame Mantra had evolved to the Di Class; otherwise, such frequent use of Di Class Dou Techniques and Heavenly Flames would have long depleted his Dou Qi.
His figure flickered with a whooshing sound, but this time something went wrong. His foot slipped, and he ended up face-planting right next to the little girl, leaving her speechless.
Is this guy an idiot?
Obviously, succeeding once didn't guarantee a second success. Xiao Yan still needed much more practice.
"Hehe, just a mishap." Xiao Yan hurriedly got up and awkwardly brushed the dirt off his butt.
Afterward, he and the mysterious little girl engaged in combat once again. Fortunately, she didn't intend to take his life and could hold back her strength. Xiao Yan repeatedly experimented with Dou Techniques and failed multiple times.
In the end, the duration of his Skyfire Three Mysterious Change ran out, and he collapsed on the ground in intense pain, defeated with his Dou Qi exhausted.
Xiao Yan gasped heavily as he lay on the ground. Even though he used the Life Flame to mitigate the side effects of the Skyfire Three Mysterious Change, his entire body still ached intensely.
"Hey, hey, you're not dead, are you? It would be very troublesome for me if you died." The little girl in white walked over to Xiao Yan and nudged his arm with her foot. While she showed some concern, it wasn't much.
Xiao Yan moved his arm with difficulty and took out a healing pill from his storage ring. It was a peak tier 5 healing pill, which he promptly tossed into his mouth.
Instantly, the medicinal strength transformed into a warm current flowing throughout his body. It not only began to alleviate the side effects but also started healing some of his bruises and abrasions while continuously replenishing his Dou Qi.
"A medicinal pill! You're an alchemist?" The little girl saw Xiao Yan take out the pill and stared eagerly at him as she asked.
After exhaling, Xiao Yan sat up and looked puzzled at the little girl who seemed deep in thought. He had interacted with many magical beasts before, and this expression seemed familiar.
"Don't tell me you want me to refine a Body Transformation Pill for you so that you can freely switch between human form and beast form..." Xiao Yan asked, somewhat affirmatively, as he looked at the little girl.
The little girl's cheeks flushed with embarrassment, but she nodded.
"If I want to transform on my own now, I'd need to reach at least Rank 6 or even Rank 7 to transform freely. But with a Body Transformation Pill, it would be much faster."
Xiao Yan rolled his eyes and said somewhat irritably, "Do you know... uh, what's your name?"
"My name is Zi Yan. And you?"
"I'm Xiao Yan."
After introducing themselves, Xiao Yan got back to the point and said, "Well then, little sister Zi Yan, let's not mention that I'm currently only close to being a 6th-tier alchemist and not yet tier 7, so I can't refine a Tier 7 Body Transformation Pill. Even if I could, high-grade tier 7 pills like the Body Transformation Pill are so valuable that they could make a high-level Rank 7 magical beast act on my behalf once."
Refining tier 7 pills had never been an easy task. Not only was Xiao Yan's alchemy skill insufficient, but even his Spiritual Strength hadn't reached tier 7.
Let alone refining the considerably high-grade Body Transformation Pill among tier 7 pills.
Zi Yan appeared dejected upon hearing Xiao Yan's words. She hung her head low, curled up her legs, hugged her knees, and bit her lip tightly with her neat, snow-white teeth, looking quite pitiful.
Xiao Yan couldn't help but feel some sympathy when he saw Zi Yan's pitiable appearance. However, sympathy alone couldn't make him unconditionally refine pills for others.
He slowly stood up, patted her head, and said, "I have a faction battle to participate in later and need to return to the Inner Academy. How about this? If you're willing to spar with me and help me cultivate Dou Techniques, I can refine tier 5 and below pills for you for free. With the assistance of medicinal pills, your improvement should be faster. I can even refine Dou King Pills for you."
"As for the tier 7 Body Transformation Pill, I would like to have one too, but there's nothing I can do for now."
Zi Yan heard that Xiao Yan wanted to cultivate Dou Techniques and suddenly thought of something. She stood up, looked at Xiao Yan, and said, "If you promise to help me refine a Body Transformation Pill, I'll tell you why you couldn't successfully cultivate that howling Dou Technique from earlier."
"Ah? You know about the Ancient Dragon Roar?" Xiao Yan's expression changed as he looked at Zi Yan in surprise. It suddenly occurred to him that Zi Yan was a magical beast and that the Ancient Dragon Roar was actually a Beast Technique!
Could it be that magical beasts have special methods for cultivating Beast Techniques that differ from Dou Techniques?!
"Hee hee hee, if you promise to refine the Body Transformation Pill for me, I'll help you." Zi Yan seemed to have grasped Xiao Yan's weakness and appeared very pleased.
Xiao Yan sized up Zi Yan, half-believing and half-doubting, and said, "If you can help me cultivate the Ancient Dragon Roar, I can promise you that when I reach high-grade tier 7 and have the ability to refine the Body Transformation Pill, I'll help you refine one. I'm close to tier 6 now, and I'm confident I can reach high-grade tier 7 in three or four years. How about it?"
"Deal!" Zi Yan smiled and clapped her hand against Xiao Yan's.
Zi Yan motioned for Xiao Yan to bend down and whispered something into his ear.
"Huh???" Xiao Yan looked at the smiling Zi Yan with a strange expression.
He was now even more curious about her background.
…
"Why hasn't that guy Xiao Yan shown up yet!" In the Fighting Arena, Xiao Yu's pair of long, smooth, and well-proportioned legs were exposed under her skirt, and a slightly worried expression appeared on her face.
Xun Er gently patted the back of her hand and softly said, "Don't worry, Xiao Yan ge-ge probably just went to cultivate his Dou Techniques."
Today was the seventh day, the day when the Xiao Hall had agreed to challenge the alliance of thirteen senior student factions. At this moment, the arena was already packed, and even three Elders had arrived early to wait.
This faction battle was prearranged, with elders acting as arbitrators.
The Inner Academy had always encouraged healthy competition among students, resolving disputes through strength.
Han Yue, who had met Xiao Yan once, looked at the sky with slightly furrowed brows. Naturally, she had some interest in this freshman who dared to go to the sixth floor of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower on his first day, so she had inquired about him.
But the more she learned, the more speechless she became. This was someone who would not suffer losses and was extremely protective of his own!
He demanded that the senior students return all the Fire Energy they had taken and even compensate double. Such a thing was truly unprecedented.
"Looks like the fight might not happen this time."
"Oh? Yue girl doesn't seem very optimistic about Xiao Yan," Elder Liu, who guarded the first floor, asked with a smile.
He was also one of the referees this time.
Han Yue did not deny it, nodding as she said, "Although Xiao Yan is impressive, reaching 3-star Dou Spirit before the age of twenty, this time the opponent has two hundred people, and he's offended the Splitting Mountain. Although Liu Qing isn't participating, Yao Sheng is a 7-star Dou Spirit ranked 17th on the Strong Ranking. Xiao Yan's chances of winning are very low."
Elder Liu lightly nodded in agreement with Han Yue's assessment. "Hmm, although I also think Xiao Yan is more likely to lose, we cannot entirely rule out his chances of winning. That little fellow... how should I put it? Ah, it's hard to say."
Generally speaking, a 3-star Dou Spirit leading a group of freshmen to challenge two hundred senior students, among whom there were quite a few Dou Spirit experts and even a 7-star Dou Spirit...
No matter how one looked at it, this was an overwhelmingly one-sided battle.
Even if they fought one-on-one in succession, they could exhaust Xiao Yan to death.
At this moment, Liu Fei was sitting on the other side, still wearing a fox fur coat and enjoying the admiration of the crowd.
"Yao Sheng, if you lose, it won't just be your own face that's lost. You understand?" Liu Fei said to Yao Sheng, who was sharpening his blade beside her.
"Don't worry, Fei'er. Although only Lei Na and I from the Splitting Mountain are participating this time, even if it were just me alone, there's no way we'd lose." Yao Sheng's lips curled into a sinister smile on his slightly effeminate face.
On the other side, the White Gang, which was the main force this time, had mobilized everyone except for Bai Shan. Even the gang leader Bai Cheng was participating.
"Bai Shan, are you sure you're not participating?" Bai Cheng looked at his cousin with a puzzled expression. Based on what he knew about his cousin, how could he possibly pass up such a chance for revenge?
After thinking for a long time, Bai Shan still shook his head and said, "Cousin, I... I think maybe we from the White Gang should just forget about it."
"Forget about it?! Bai Shan, did getting beaten by Xiao Yan scramble your brains?" Bai Feng, who had been defeated by Xiao Yan once, said angrily.
He had only been defeated by Xiao Yan once and knew that he couldn't beat him, but now, with so many people and Yao Sheng from the Splitting Mountain, victory was guaranteed no matter how one looked at it.
Bai Shan hesitated for a long time but ultimately shook his head, not daring to step forward.
Fu Ao glanced in the direction of Xun Er and the others and sneered, "But from the looks of it, we might not even need to fight. That Xiao Yan has probably run off and is hiding."
His voice wasn't soft, and many people heard him. Seeing that Xiao Yan hadn't shown up yet, many began to discuss among themselves.
"Xun Er, that guy still hasn't returned. Should we ask the elders for a postponement?" Beside Xun Er, Hu Jia, dressed in a red gown, saw the morale of the Xiao Hall members in the arena dwindling due to Xiao Yan's absence and couldn't help but show a wry smile on her pretty face.
Xun Er's delicate hand slowly clenched, her clear eyes narrowing slightly as she softly said, "It's fine. If it comes to that, I'll take Xiao Yan ge-ge's place. This is the faction Xiao Yan ge-ge established. I absolutely won't allow anyone to destroy it!"
After a while, Elder Liu walked over and asked, "Well, it's already past the agreed time. That Xiao Yan fellow still hasn't shown up?"
Xun Er shook her head, slowly stood up, and said, "Thank you for your concern, elder. Let's begin. We don't need Xiao Yan ge-ge to deal with them."
Elder Liu and the two elders beside him couldn't help but smile wryly. Is arrogance contagious? How is it that even Xun Er is like this?
"Very well then. Do you choose to have one-on-one sequential matches, or a group battle?" Elder Liu asked.
"Let them all come at once." Just then, a voice tinged with laughter came from the sky!
Hearing the voice, everyone quickly looked up to see Xiao Yan standing in the air with a pair of fire wings!
"Dou Qi Wings?!"
Bai Cheng, Yao Sheng, and the others all stood up abruptly. Had Xiao Yan become a Dou King in just seven days?!!!
"No, that's a flying-type Dou Technique. Xiao Yan hasn't reached the Dou King realm yet."
"But wait, who's that little girl beside Xiao Yan? Why does she look somewhat familiar?"
Xiao Yan slowly descended with Zi Yan to Xun Er's side, then said to Elder Liu, "Sorry I'm late."