Closing his eyes, Xiao Jian continued cultivating.
With the increased cultivation speed, he became even more engrossed in it.
This feeling was like playing a ranked match in his previous life—extremely satisfying—and now he could only win and never lose.
That feeling could only be described with one word: awesome.
“Today is a good day!
A great mood makes me want to go out!” Humming a tune, Xiao Jian happily started his cultivation journey.
“Ah!
It seems dinner time has already passed, or else I could have freeloaded a meal.”
When Xiao Jian finished cultivating, it was almost dark.
Naturally, there was no food left in the Xiao Family, but luckily, he always kept some dry rations stored.
This was related to him often forgetting to eat while cultivating, something he was already accustomed to.
After eating the rations, Xiao Jian went out to the small courtyard and began practicing Martial Arts Foundation.
The knowledge within the Martial Arts Foundation wasn’t extensive, but it wasn’t easy to complete either.
First, the Horse Stance: it had to be held continuously for three hours without using any Dou Zhi Qi to be considered complete.
Next came Fist Techniques, followed by Leg Techniques, then Qin Na, and finally, Weapons.
Just like in *The Wulin of One Person*—first fists, then legs, then Qin Na, and only after the Three Intents Merge could one advance to weapons.
After these years of cultivation, Xiao Jian had nearly mastered the fists and legs.
Next up was Qin Na, followed by the Three Intents Merge, and then learning weapons.
Time always passed quickly, especially during cultivation.
Before he knew it, three years had already gone by.
Over these three years, because Xiao Jian had displayed considerable talent, he received significant attention from the Xiao Family and was thus given several Dou Techniques.
However, he exchanged all of these Dou Techniques for Skill Points one by one.
Mainly because those Dou Techniques were not as useful as the basic Martial Arts Foundation.
So why keep them if he wasn’t going to exchange them?
Just to look pretty?
Although he displayed a lot of talent, he didn’t fully expose it.
He remembered that during the last Dou Qi Test, he only showed the strength of Dou Force Stage Seven, the same as Xiao Ning.
Even with just that, the Xiao Family still moved him to a large courtyard and specifically assigned people to cater to his daily needs.
His monthly stipend also rose to one hundred Gold Coins.
This was much better than before.
Of course, since Xiao Zhan treated him quite well, he essentially enjoyed the treatment of a Core Disciple of the Xiao Family.
Naturally, the prerequisite for this treatment was that his relationship with Xiao Yan had been decent over the past few years, and he would occasionally help him when Xiao Yan was being bullied.
“I swear!
I absolutely am not trying to latch onto the protagonist’s thigh; I’m just offering some help to my idol.”
“Tomorrow is the Dou Zhi Qi Test.
Xiao Yan’s path to greatness begins tomorrow.” Xiao Jian’s eyes sparkled.
His heart was filled with anticipation.
The reason he remained in Wutan City was partly to wait for the Jia Nan Academy’s recruitment a year later, and also because he wanted to personally witness Xiao Yan rise up.
He was very interested in this.
Xiao Yan, Dou Force Stage Three.
It was the same outcome.
Watching Xiao Yan look furious yet helpless, and observing the attitude of the Xiao Family members toward Xiao Yan, both past and present, Xiao Jian secretly resolved that he must cultivate diligently and never suffer scorn from others.
Waving at Xiao Yan, Xiao Yan, looking dejected, walked over to Xiao Jian.
Over these three years, because Xiao Zhan wanted Xiao Jian to look after Xiao Yan more in the future, his relationship with Xiao Yan improved significantly.
However, he never comforted Xiao Yan, treating him only as a regular friend.
It was precisely because of Xiao Jian’s attitude that Xiao Yan regarded him as a friend.
When a person is despairing, perhaps what they need is not comfort, because comfort will only make them more desperate.
“Xiao Jian, you came too.” Xiao Yan’s tone was very depressed.
“Mm!
I also came to see if I’ve made any progress recently.” Xiao Jian smiled, his tone very calm.
“Hmph, then I’ll also see what strength you, the Xiao Family’s Second Genius, have reached now.” Xiao Yan’s tone carried some self-mockery.
The speed of the test was quite fast, so it was soon Xiao Jian’s turn.
“Next up, Xiao Jian.”
Placing his palm on the stone wall, the Innate Art circulated within him.
“Xiao Jian, Dou Force, Stage Eight!
High-Rank.”
The tester was clearly very surprised.
The people below the stage also began discussing amongst themselves.
“So that’s Xiao Jian!
The peerless genius brought back by the family.”
“That’s right, his cultivation is actually the same as Young Master Xiao Ning!”
“I heard he’s even younger than Young Master Xiao Ning!”
“Doesn’t that mean his talent is higher than Young Master Xiao Ning’s?”
“Shh, keep your voice down.
Didn’t you see that Young Master Xiao Ning’s expression isn’t good?”
Hearing the crowd’s discussion, Xiao Ning’s expression below the stage wasn’t good.
“It’s this Xiao Jian again.” Xiao Ning glared angrily at the person on the stage, involuntarily clenching his fists.
Sooner or later, he would let these people know that he, Xiao Ning, was the most talented person in the Xiao Family.
“Next up, Xiao Xun Er.”
As the announcement of Dou Force Stage Nine rang out, the entire venue erupted again.
“Let’s go!” As soon as Xiao Jian stepped off the stage, Xiao Yan said to him.
“Aren’t you going to wait for your little girlfriend?”
Hearing Xiao Jian’s obvious teasing, Xiao Yan remained unmoved.
“No, I’m not who I used to be now.” His tone was filled with frustration.
But reality didn’t follow his wishes.
He saw a little girl, like a fairy maiden, run toward him the moment she saw Xiao Yan.
“It looks like you have something to attend to, so I’ll find you next time.” Xiao Jian laughed, his tone full of teasing, yet devoid of any envy or jealousy.
He wasn’t the protagonist yet.
“You bastard.” After punching Xiao Jian hard once, Xiao Yan felt much happier.
As for Xiao Jian, he pretended to be hurt for a moment, exchanged a few more jokes with Xiao Yan, and then waved goodbye and left.
He had no good reason to interact with Xiao Xun Er right now.
Besides, it’s best to keep a distance from a friend’s wife.
Returning to his courtyard, he picked up his sword and practiced the Basic Sword Technique from the Martial Arts Foundation.
He didn’t use any Dou Force, yet the wooden sword left noticeable marks wherever it passed.
In these three years, he mastered Qin Na in the first year and then began practicing weapons.
But despite his daily persistence over the last two years, he still hadn’t achieved the Three Intents Merge.
“Heart merges with strength, strength merges with Qi, Qi merges with intent.
How exactly can I master this?” He didn’t have much time.
If it weren’t for Hun Tiandi, he could take it slow, but he didn’t want to live another life under the control of others.
For the next few days, he continued practicing the basics, but still made no progress, so he took out a sword technique from the System.
It was called the Vertical and Horizontal Sword Technique.
The Vertical and Horizontal Sword Technique: Earth Grade High-Rank, could be divided into Vertical Sword and Horizontal Sword, each being Profound Grade Mid-Rank.
The ultimate move of the Vertical Sword was Hundred Steps Flying Sword, and the ultimate move of the Horizontal Sword was Sweeping Across the Eight Directions.
Holding the Vertical Sword in his left hand and the Horizontal Sword in his right, Xiao Jian closed his eyes and began using the sword according to the contents of the book, page by page.
Because his previous sword technique foundation was solid, Xiao Jian smoothly executed the sword moves, right up to the final strike.
Although the Dou Qi in his body gradually failed to keep up, Xiao Jian still continuously and steadily channeled the Dou Qi through specific meridians, finally injecting it into the swords.
Two black and white ink dragons coiled around the swords, and then the twin swords struck out.
Sparks flew everywhere, and the grinding stone produced a harsh, piercing sound.
Then the sword light vanished.
The half-human-tall stone in front of him had been cut into four pieces.
The cross-sections were perfectly smooth.
As for the wooden sword in his hand, only the hilt remained.
“Ha!
Ha!
Ha!” Xiao Jian knelt on the ground.
He was drenched in sweat, breathing heavily.
His two hands were still pressed to the ground, supporting his body.
That strike had drained all his Dou Qi, but the effect achieved was surprisingly delightful.
“Heh!
Looks like I need to find two better swords.” Although exhausted, Xiao Jian’s tone was full of excitement.
Throwing the sword hilt aside, Xiao Jian struggled to stand up.
But as soon as he stood, the world spun, his head swam, and he closed his eyes and collapsed onto the ground.
Xiao Zhan, who was worrying about his son, suddenly sensed a flash of Dou Master-level Dou Qi momentarily pass through the Xiao Family.
“Father, what is this?” Xiao Yan asked, confused, upon seeing the unconscious Xiao Jian.
Xiao Zhan shook his head.
“I’m not too sure either.
It seems this child was practicing a powerful Dou Technique.
You look after him first, and ask him yourself when he wakes up.
I still need to go clean up the aftermath for him.”
The commotion just now wasn’t known only to him.
Since this little fellow didn’t want others to know, he might as well help him all the way.
The Xiao Family wasn’t something he alone could control.
Thinking of those few guys, Xiao Zhan felt a headache coming on.
As Xiao Yan looked at Xiao Jian lying in bed, a faint figure of an old man gracefully appeared.
“Teacher, what happened to Xiao Jian?”
“It should be excessive consumption of Dou Qi, and it was drained completely in one go, which is why he’s like this.”
“Will he be alright?” Xiao Jian’s relationship with him was decent, and he didn’t want anything bad to happen to Xiao Jian.
“He’s fine.
He just needs a good sleep.
I just don’t know where he got such a high-rank Dou Technique that could instantly drain his Dou Qi.
Given his Three-Star Dou Zhe cultivation, the Dou Technique must be at least Xuan-rank, or even a very good Xuan-rank Dou Technique.”
“Teacher, are you saying Xiao Jian became like this because he was practicing a high-tier Dou Technique?
Where did he get a high-rank Dou Technique?”
Tapping Xiao Yan on the head, Yao Lao said grumpily, “How should I know?
Go ask him yourself.”
Xiao Yan chuckled, then suddenly realized something.
“Teacher, did you just say he’s a Dou Zhe?”
“Mm!
That’s right.
Three-Star Dou Zhe.” Yao Lao nodded.
Xiao Yan fell silent for a moment.
“Oh.
I’m going to cultivate.
Call me when Xiao Jian wakes up.”
Yao Lao shook his head, knowing the child was disheartened, and said nothing more.
He floated back into the ring.