Octane Blast
Ignoring the cold glare directed at his back, Xiao Yan took the scroll to register with the administrator of the Dou Skills Hall. Then, chatting and laughing with Xun Er, he slowly walked out.
"You little bastard, just you wait. Once you are sent away from the clan, I'll have plenty of time to deal with you! Without the Clan Leader's protection, you're less than a dog!" Watching the retreating figure, Xiao Ning gnashed his teeth in hatred. He struck the bookshelf beside him with a backhand palm, leaving a faint handprint on it.
After leaving the Dou Skills Hall, Xiao Yan spent the entire afternoon playing on the back mountain with an exceptionally cheerful Xun Er. Only when the sky began to darken did he return to his room.
Back in his room, Xiao Yan closed the door and let his shoulders slump in relief. He placed the scroll on the table, picked up a teacup, and drained it in one gulp. With a bitter smile, feeling a bit apprehensive about the future consequences, he muttered, "That girl is really something."
"That little girl's background doesn't seem ordinary." Yao Lao's voice suddenly echoed in the room. Listlessly raising his eyes to look at Yao Lao, who had appeared in the room like a ghost, Xiao Yan twitched his lips and asked lazily, "Master, do you know her background?"
"Hehe, I know a little..." Yao Lao's eyes narrowed slightly as he chuckled. Seeing Xiao Yan's curious gaze, he preemptively cut him off. "Don't ask. Even if you knew now, it wouldn't do you any good. So, it's better not to ask. I can only say that the background of that little girl is incredibly powerful."
Giving him a disdainful look, Xiao Yan could only angrily flip Yao Lao the middle finger.
"Why did you bring these pieces of trash back? Do you have too much energy to burn?" Yao Lao walked over to the table, casually flipped through the scroll, and asked in surprise.
"Trash?" Twitching his lips, Xiao Yan groaned weakly, "Right now, other than the Vacuum Hand, I don't know any other Dou Skills. Before this, I only knew how to bury my head in training Dou Qi and have never learned any Dou Skills. In the clan, only these Huang class Dou Skills can be easily accessed. If I don't learn these, what am I going to use to fight others during the coming-of-age ceremony?"
"Tsk, you just want to squeeze some Dou Skills out of my hands..." His old eyes looked at Xiao Yan with disdain. Shrewd as Yao Lao was, he saw right through his intentions.
Having his true intentions exposed, Xiao Yan wasn't embarrassed. He shrugged, his eyes looking at Yao Lao with anticipation.
"What's so great about Dou Skills? Once you finish learning alchemy, people will literally fight to deliver them to your doorstep." Yao Lao said with a faint smile, completely ignoring Xiao Yan's resentful expression.
"But I need high-level Dou Skills right now, Master!" Xiao Yan said dejectedly.
Seeing Xiao Yan's dejected look, Yao Lao laughed out loud, shook his head, and said humorously, "Alright, who told me to take in such a pitiful disciple like you? To prevent you from being beaten into a cripple, I'll teach you a few things."
Hearing Yao Lao's words, Xiao Yan's spirits lifted. He was extremely curious about what level of Dou Skill this mysterious master would bring out.
"Although your Vacuum Hand is a Xuan class Dou Skill, it's somewhat lacking in substance. Right now, your strength is insufficient. First, I'll teach you a Xuan class Dou Skill famous for its offensive power. The requirement for this Dou Skill isn't high; at the 5th Duan Dou Qi, you can already unleash some of its power." Yao Lao said with a smile.
"What rank of the Xuan class?" Hearing Yao Lao say it was a Xuan-class Dou Technique, Xiao Yan's eyes lit up. He licked his lips and asked hurriedly.
"High Xuan class. I remember back then, someone cried and begged me to accept this Dou Technique. But I had no interest in such things. If it weren't for the fact that I didn't want to invite trouble, I wouldn't have agreed to refine medicinal pills for him," Yao Lao said nonchalantly. His indifferent expression made it seem as if he were talking about trash scattered all over the ground.
"High Xuan class? Cried and begged you to accept it?" Xiao Yan's mind went a little blank, and he felt a bit struck. The highest Dou Technique in his clan, hailed as the clan's ultimate secret technique, was only of the Mid Xuan class. Yet, the one Yao Lao casually brought out was of the High Xuan class. This terrifying difference in level truly left Xiao Yan not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"Close your eyes and focus your mind. I will transmit it to you." Giving a casual instruction, Yao Lao extended his finger and lightly tapped Xiao Yan's forehead. A sudden wave of pain hit his head, and Xiao Yan felt a massive amount of information flood into his brain. The abrupt influx of information instantly made his head feel bloated.
"Eight Extremes Crumble, a High Xuan-class Dou Technique. A close-combat offensive technique renowned for its sheer destructive power. When mastered, the attack will contain eight layers of hidden force. With the eight-fold accumulation of force, its power can rival a Low Di-class Dou Technique!"
As his mind gradually cleared, he carefully examined the raw information. It took half a day before Xiao Yan slowly sucked in a breath of cold air. An offensive power rivaling a Low Di-class Dou Technique? On the Dou Qi Continent, whether it was Qi Methods or Dou Techniques, the difference between the Xuan class and the Di class was as vast as heaven and earth; they simply could not be compared. Yet, this Eight Extremes Crumble, which was only a High Xuan-class Dou Technique, actually claimed to rival a Di-class Dou Technique in terms of offensive power. This could not help but shake Xiao Yan to his core.
Swallowing hard, Xiao Yan stared blankly. If he could truly master this Dou Technique, he feared that even with his mere 4th Duan Dou Qi, he could beat that arrogant Xiao Ning until his teeth littered the ground...
"Don't just stand there dazed. Although the Eight Extremes Crumble does not require high Dou Qi, it demands an extremely high physical strength. This is a close-combat Dou Technique. Looking at your scrawny limbs, if you force yourself to use it, I'm afraid the first thing to break will be your own body, not your opponent's." Yao Lao's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over Xiao Yan, instantly extinguishing all of his excitement.
"How can I increase my physical strength?" After a brief silence, Xiao Yan asked hurriedly.
"Dou Qi is the best energy for tempering the physical body. As your Dou Qi grows stronger, your body will naturally strengthen along with it. Of course, if you want to speed up the process, you will also need external stimulation." Yao Lao's eyes narrowed slightly, a trace of mischief seemingly flickering in his aged eyes.
"What kind of external stimulation?" Seeing Yao Lao's face full of smiles, Xiao Yan suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
"Getting beaten! The harder the beating, the better!" Yao Lao laughed sinisterly, while Xiao Yan's young face stiffened.