Lying in the wooden tub, letting the cool spiritual liquid envelop his body, Xiao Yan was somewhat entranced by the sensation of that real power within his body. According to the normal breakthrough method, after reaching seven Dou Qi stages, there would be a period of recuperation. However, with the help of the Foundation Establishment Spiritual Liquid, Xiao Yan had directly skipped this period, reaching the stage of full saturation.
After sitting quietly in the wooden tub for a while, and waiting for his joyful mood to gradually calm down, Xiao Yan slowly stood up. His naked body was covered in blue water droplets, which, reflecting the sunlight, shimmered with strange lights.
He twisted his body, and his bones, as if reborn, emitted a series of cracking and popping sounds.
Casually turning his head, Xiao Yan struck out with a palm towards the bed. A powerful suction force surged forth, instantly pulling his clothes into his palm.
"Not bad. My Dou Qi is indeed much more abundant. With the current suction force I can generate, I should be able to move a person's body weight?" As he put on his clothes, Xiao Yan frowned and muttered, "What a pity. This 'Suction Palm' doesn't seem to have much offensive power. The so-called forced extraction of an opponent's blood can only deal with enemies weaker than myself. Against opponents of the same level or higher, it's practically useless..."
Thinking of this, Xiao Yan sighed with a hint of regret. This could be considered his very first Dou Skill, after all.
He slightly parted his lips. Just as Xiao Yan was about to step out of the wooden tub, a sudden idea flashed in his mind.
A light flickered in his eyes. Xiao Yan slowly bent his right hand, his eyes fixed on his own palm. A moment later, when his palm was still half a meter away, he carefully aimed at a vase.
Licking his lips, the Dou Qi in Xiao Yan's body didn't pass through any specific meridians, but directly erupted from his palm...
Externalizing Dou Qi required at least the level of a Da Dou Shi to barely achieve. Therefore, Xiao Yan's current action, apart from creating a gentle, moderate breeze, had no other effect whatsoever.
The gentle breeze that erupted from his palm caused the vase it struck to sway violently a few times, almost falling off the table...
Despite the externalized Dou Qi, Xiao Yan wasn't disappointed in the slightest. On the contrary, his face showed a hint of joy. He rubbed his hands together excitedly, quickly retreated a few meters, and aimed his right hand at the vase once more.
"Suction Palm!" With a soft shout, a powerful suction force instantly caused the vase to fly rapidly towards Xiao Yan.
When the vase was about three meters in front of Xiao Yan, the suction force in Xiao Yan's palm suddenly retracted, and all the Dou Qi in his body erupted from his palm. A fierce wind pressure violently blasted towards the incoming vase.
"Bang!"
The two forces, completely opposite in direction, met in mid-air with the vase at their center. With a loud "boom," it shattered into countless fragments, exploding outwards.
Seeing the effect achieved by this palm strike, Xiao Yan's face was filled with pleasant surprise. The opposing suction and repulsion forces had created a destructive power that was beyond his expectations.
However, the abundant Dou Qi in his body, which had previously unleashed that recoil force, was now almost completely depleted. But Xiao Yan was extremely excited. That recoil force, he had unleashed it using the most basic cultivation method. This method not only consumed the most energy, but also yielded pitifully little effect. If he could acquire a recoil-force Dou Skill similar to Hap Zhang, which specialized in generating suction, then combining the two, he was certain the resulting effect would be incredibly formidable!
“Little fellow, not bad… To think of using this move to enhance Hap Zhang.” A faint glow emanated from the ring on his finger, and Yao Lao gracefully appeared. He glanced at the shattered fragments in the room, gave a slight nod, and praised him.
Xiao Yan chuckled, his eyes darting over Yao Lao, his face full of ingratiating intent.
“If you had a Dou Skill specifically for unleashing recoil force, and you cultivated your footwork to perfection, then your low-tier Profound-rank Hap Zhang, in terms of attack power, might even rival mid-tier or high-tier Profound-rank Dou Skills…” As if oblivious to Xiao Yan’s expression, Yao Lao mused aloud.
“Teacher, you know that auxiliary Dou Skills like this are rare. I only found Hap Zhang through sheer luck. Now, where am I supposed to find another auxiliary Dou Skill that can complement Hap Zhang?” Xiao Yan glanced up, speaking with a hint of helplessness.
“You’re just putting on an act, trying to get ideas from me.” Yao Lao glanced at Xiao Yan, a smirk playing on his lips.
“Your idea isn’t new; others have thought of it before. However, both types of auxiliary Dou Skills are extremely difficult to find, which is why very few people have actually managed to acquire them.”
“Even Teacher doesn’t have one?” Hearing this, Xiao Yan’s face immediately fell, filled with vexation. Without a Dou Skill specifically for unleashing recoil force, using his own Dou Qi to generate it would undoubtedly be a case of losing more than he gained.
Seeing Xiao Yan’s dejected look, Yao Lao shook his head with a chuckle, rubbed his chin, and mused: “Someone once asked me to refine medicine, and I seem to have acquired a Dou Skill of this type. At the time, if I hadn’t happened to have an unused medicinal pill on hand, I wouldn’t have traded with that person. It’s been so long; if you hadn’t reminded me today, I probably would have forgotten about it.”
“Alright… found it.” His finger left his forehead, then, under Xiao Yan’s wildly joyful gaze, he gently tapped Xiao Yan’s forehead.
As his forehead was tapped, Xiao Yan’s head momentarily felt as if it swelled. A vast amount of information poured in, slowly becoming clear after a moment.
“Xuy Huo Zhang: Low-tier Profound-rank. Capable of generating powerful wind pressure!”
The simple description and archaic name made the four words ‘low-tier Profound-rank’ seem incredibly humble.
“This was created by a blacksmith who spent his entire life forging steel. Because he needed fire for his forge, he ended up creating this fire-blowing Dou Skill…” Seeing Xiao Yan’s somewhat stiff expression, Yao Lao said with an amused chuckle.
Xiao Yan rolled his eyes, feeling a hint of admiration for that blacksmith’s patience. Creating a Dou Skill wasn’t as easy as forging a piece of raw iron.
Xuy Huo Zhang wasn’t difficult to learn. Under Yao Lao’s guidance, Xiao Yan spent two hours and initially grasped its key points.
Standing in the room, Xiao Yan looked at the sole vase, eager to try it out. He secretly took a breath, swung his hand, and unleashed a surge of suction: “Hap Zhang!”
Driven by a powerful suction force, the vase flew rapidly straight towards Xiao Yan.
His eyes fixed intently on the incoming vase, Xiao Yan's right hand quickly dispelled the Suction Palm. Then, the Dou Qi in his body circulated along the path of the Flame Blow Palm.
"Flame Blow Palm!"
Just as the vase was about to shatter, a powerful wind pressure burst forth furiously from Xiao Yan's palm, instantly filling the room with dust.
"Bang!"
Another crisp sound rang out as the vase was directly shattered into pieces by two opposing forces.
"Excellent..."
His body covered in white powder, he emerged from the dusty area. Seeing the results, Xiao Yan's eyes lit up. If he could only train these two Dou Skills to perfection, he could make anyone unprepared suffer a loss.
"Heh heh, perhaps many people are waiting for me to continue making a fool of myself?" Amidst the mess in the room, the young man let out a soft, cold laugh.
Three months later would be his coming-of-age ceremony...
Patting the white powder off his body, Xiao Yan knew in his heart that in these final three months, he still had one more training task.