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--- Chapter 202 ---
Crackle! Crackle!
Woosh!
Under the starry sky, black smoke drifted away. A massive fire burned the bandit's hideout down to ashes. Not far away, a young boy in a somewhat dirty robe sat on a flat rock while fiddling with some scrolls.
His appearance is 'naturally' mismatched with the fiery background, but he doesn't seem to care about the hideout and the corpses around him, focusing instead on the Dou Techniques he just obtained.
Let's simply say... After killing the first bandit, another came and attacked Han Yuan, which led to this situation.
"I see, Dou Disciple focused more on passively absorbing the Dou Qi in nature to strengthen their body, especially muscle, bone, and meridian to resist the impact of the following realm, Dou Practitioner."
"Yet, to reach the Dou Practitioner Realm or Dou Zhe, one must create a Dou Qi cyclone within their dantian, which allows them to absorb Dou Qi more actively."
Han Yuan mumbled, "This method is very much like condensing Soul Core in the Douluo Continent, but much safer because it was just a cyclone, not straight to a revolving sphere of a core."
"And the Dou Qi cyclone gradually transformed into a genuine core, from formless to gas, then liquid, and finally solid... Upon solidification, the Dou Qi cyclone could turn into a Dou Qi crystal and act as a weapon or armor."
Han Yuan couldn't help but sigh, "As expected, the Dou Qi Cultivation is much more mature than Spirit Master Cultivation."
"This is the real cultivation..."
Han Yuan wasn't affected by this realization. He has always known that Spirit Master Cultivation has flaws, beginning with the requirement for a spirit ring and the unbalanced nature of its progression.
What he cares about right now is how to adapt his existing techniques to this world's rules. The Dou Techniques he got from the bandit's hideouts weren't exactly the best, but he got the gist of their foundation.
Starting from the basics, Han Yuan explored the Breath of Cicada, True Spirituality Art, and Nature Nourishment Art. The efficacy of his prided self-created cultivation techniques had diminished by 50% in both efficiency and speed, but they were still better than nothing.
He also tested his martial skills, which included pure techniques like Flash Step and Rock Fist, and found that their performance had not changed much. However, he discovered that incorporating Dou Qi would enhance their effectiveness, just as he had done in the Douluo Continent.
The weird thing is, his martial skills mesh well with Dou Qi more than the Spirit Energy could. The multiplier is at least three times the original, and that's just non-attribute Dou Qi.
Han Yuan's breathing was steady as he harnessed the surrounding energy of Heaven and Earth to nourish his weak body. He used both the Breath of Cicada and the Nature Nourishment Art to cleanse his injured and weakened physique.
After a while, Han Yuan exhaled the impurities and sighed, satisfied with the results. This weak, untrained body had shown a significant boost in qualifications, making him a genius based on his understanding of the Dou Qi Continent.
Furthermore, Han Yuan finished the first stage of Dou Qi cultivation, strengthening his physique, reaching the 9-Star Dou Disciple realm.
He gathered Dou Qi to form a cyclone in his dantian and was ready to enter the "Dou Practitioner" Realm.
Even then, he decided to wait.
"Hmm, my cultivation speed is abnormal."
"It can't be this easy, unless..." Han Yuan realized something.
"System, show me my status panel."
[Ding! Opening Task Master's alternative status panel]
...
...
[Name: Han Yuan]
[Age: 5 years old]
[Race: Human (90%), Mystic Turtle (10% Bloodline/Unawakened)]
[Talent: Eyes of Truth, Monarch of Plants (weakened), Immortal Alchemist (weakened), Body Refining (weakened), Child of Lightning and Thunder (weakened), Master of Souls (weakened), Pioneer (weakened), Master of Threads (weakened)]
[Physique: White Mist Emperor Body (Unawakened)]
[Physical Strength: Dou Disciple (peak)]
[Soul Force: Mortal Stage (First Realm)]
[Cultivation: 9-Star Dou Disciple]
[Bound Artifact: Sky Poison Pearl (Incomplete/Partially Sealed), Fallen Holy Finger (Incomplete)
[Cultivation Technique: Breath of Cicada (Body Strengthening), True Spirituality Art (Mental-based), Nature Nourishment Sutra (Pathway Refining), Secret of Souls (Soul-based), World Shaking Profound Art (Lightning Law-based)]
[Description: With this amount of cheats, if you can't reach the peak of the world, people would judge you to death. So, be brave and dominate everyone on your path!]
...
Han Yuan whistled in amazement, "Wow, it feels like NG+. I actually wasn't a pure human here."
"Mystic Turtle? It must be a high-ranked magical beast to allow someone to possess a special physique. White Mist Emperor Physique was it? It sounds weak, but we will see what I can do with it."
"Ah, no wonder I felt like my cultivation speed was faster than it should have been. I actually brought the talents from the main body here."
"Then, again, their effect weakened. Probably because I got them in the Douluo Continent because the Scholar of Destruction wasn't here."
"Hmm, Sky Poison Pearl." Han Yuan fell into confusion. "How did it get here?"
[Responding to the Task Master's question, Sky Poison Pearl is bound to your soul, and you, as a split clone, you're still connected to this artifact and have partial access to its infinitely growing inner space and other abilities]
[Of course, this didn't happen to an artifact like the Life Gold Severing Knife because it was bound to your spiritual sea as the Spiritual World's anchor]
[As for the Fallen Holy Finger's case, the void seems to cut off a segment of it and bind it to you as another artifact, though it was just a copy of the real one]
"I see..." Han Yuan checked his left palm, and sure enough, there was a green swirl mark on it. "As for the Fallen Holy Finger."
Han Yuan grasped the air, and a purple-gold segmented spear appeared in his grasp. Yet, let alone wielding it, he couldn't even raise it properly due to its size and weight.
"Damn." He couldn't help but curse before storing the spear away.
"Whatever, at least the Fallen Holy Spear still has its spirit skills, though using it might be difficult."
Han Yuan has a way to store spirit energy, but accessing it requires him to reach a certain level of strength, or more precisely, authority.
Han Yuan shook his head gently and then focused on his first objective of coming here, "First of all, I need to look for Xiao Yixian. After all, she was my first client."
"System, can you locate Xiao Yi Xian for me?"
[Yes, Task Master]
[Opening the World Map...]
[Locating the Task Master's client]
[...]
[Found!]
[Please follow the arrow]
Han Yuan saw a giant white arrow pointing somewhere else and followed it unhurriedly by walking. On his way there, he also familiarized himself with this new body.
Midway to the location, Han Yuan remembered something.
"Oh, yeah, I haven't confirmed the timeline yet."
"How old is Xiao Yan right now?" asked Han Yuan to the system.
[He's the same age as you...]
"Sorry, say that again?" Han Yuan blinked in confusion.
[Currently, Xiao Yan is five years old. He just started his path to become Dou God, and the story hasn't really started yet.]
"..." Han Yuan's mouth twitched.
"Doesn't that mean Xiao Yixian is still around my age, too?"
[Correct]
"For god's sake, how am I supposed to do my task then?"
[That's up to you...]
"..."
[...]
"..."
[...]
There is an awkward silence as Han Yuan walks through a forest with a helpless look. Eventually, he resigned to his fate and still looked for Xiao Yixian.
After all, as long as he cured Xiao Yixian's Woeful Poison Body, he could establish a permanent entrance to the Dou Qi Continent and contact the main body.
...
Han Yuan walked for hours. He would encounter some weak magical beasts occasionally and kill them for food.
And finally, he hit the road.
Looking at the gravel-dirt road, Han Yuan felt like crying. He wished he could fly.
Neeigh!
Clup! Clup! Clup!
The sound of a galloping horses approached Han Yuan. He squinted his eyes and saw a carriage coming up quickly. It looks like the carriage his family would use in this life.
He wanted to stop the carriage, but decided not to and waited for a chance instead.
As soon as the carriage entered his range, Han Yuan swiftly jumped and landed on the carriage's roof quietly, allowing him to hitch a ride. His presence is so weak that no one senses something amiss.
Night's breeze brushed Han Yuan's face as he gazed into the distance at a mountain. That is the place where Xiao Yixian lives.