Chapter 21: Advancement to Dou Zhe – Xiao Yuan's Dou Qi Element Is…
After resolving the marketplace issue, as expected, the mid-tier marketplace managed by Xiao Yuan passed the evaluation and was officially promoted to a high-tier marketplace.
This brought Xiao Yuan a reward of 5,000 gold coins as the market head.
However, he kept only 1,000 for himself and instructed Xiao Tong and Payne to divide the remaining 4,000 among the team.
Although 4,000 gold coins wasn't a small amount, Xiao Yuan was now quite wealthy. If such a sum could be used to unite his subordinates' loyalty, it was more than worth it.
As for the Jia Lie family, they made no response to Huang Jing's death.
Jia Lie Bi had acquired the Whirling Wind Technique and was now completely absorbed in mastering it. Something as trivial as this barely registered to them—they had bigger plans in mind.
The Oba family, too, said nothing.
After all, a foolish herb merchant had brought about his own death. Who would stick their neck out for that?
On the other hand, Jacks spent an entire week forging a beautifully crafted black iron spear to Xiao Yuan's specifications.
Of course, since Jacks was only at the Dou Shi level, the weapon's limit wouldn't go beyond Dou Ling tier. By that point, it might not be very useful.
But for the short term, it was more than enough.
Xiao Yuan had wanted to pay for the materials.
Unfortunately, Jacks stubbornly refused to accept any payment, so Xiao Yuan had no choice but to accept the gift free of charge.
After that, there were no major issues in Wu Tan City requiring Xiao Yuan's attention. For the next six months, he essentially went into seclusion—never leaving his home.
Outside of daily necessities, he spent all his time absorbing medicinal energy to speed up his training and fill his Five Yuan Qi Chambers as quickly as possible.
In fact, after reaching the eighth stage, he even used the Qi Gathering Powder ahead of schedule.
Thus, in just six months, Xiao Yuan forcefully cultivated from stage five to the peak of stage nine using what could only be described as a luxury-level, money-burning method.
And today was the day he would advance to Dou Zhe.
After adjusting his condition, Xiao Yuan flipped his palm and took out two rank-one wood attribute magic cores and a 500-year-old Green Wood Vine from his storage ring.
To advance to Dou Zhe, all he had to do was strengthen his liver's Green Wood Qi Chamber, breaking through its capacity and triggering a chain reaction in the other four organs.
Fortunately, thanks to Ya Fei's support, he hadn't needed to scrape together funds and resources for this breakthrough.
Expertly holding the herbs and magic cores in his palms, Xiao Yuan formed a unique hand seal and began his breakthrough.
Guided by the seal and special circulation route, vast amounts of wood-attribute energy entered his body through his breath. The Green Wood Qi Chamber served as the main conduit, with the other four Chambers assisting, all undergoing enhancement.
The gentle and pure wood-element energy coursed through Xiao Yuan's body, overflowing with life force, bringing an unprecedented sense of comfort.
Xiao Yuan could clearly feel that his organs—every cell, even—were being filled with energy, and the Five Yuan Qi Chambers were expanding.
Most importantly—it didn't hurt at all.
By the time he emerged from the euphoric sensation, he realized…
He had broken through!
"I don't know which senior came up with this miraculous method… sure, the resource consumption is steep, but the cultivation speed is truly outrageous!"
Feeling the denser and higher-quality Dou Qi in his Chambers, Xiao Yuan couldn't help but mutter to himself.
All in all, in just eight months, he had gone from someone with no Dou Qi to a full-fledged Dou Zhe. No one would believe such a terrifying pace if he told them.
However...
Now came a new problem—
What about his cultivation method?
Although having five Qi Chambers allowed him to train in five different elemental methods, the Xiao family's best cultivation method was still Furious Lion's Rage Qi, a mid Xuan-tier technique used exclusively by the clan leader—and it was wind-attribute.
There were still three months until the coming-of-age ceremony. Before that, a preliminary test would be held to eliminate those with unqualified Dou Qi. Anyone above the seventh stage would be granted access to the Dou Qi Pavilion to search for techniques afterward.
But in Xiao Yuan's opinion, if he could get a method that matched his Dou Qi element now, he could likely increase his power by two or three stars before then.
Which meant...
—Miteer Auction House, Ya Fei's Office—
Upon seeing that Xiao Yuan had truly broken through to Dou Zhe before year's end, Ya Fei's eyes widened, her mouth slightly agape, full of astonishment.
Eight months. A Dou Zhe.
Ya Fei had mixed emotions.
Of course she was happy for him.
But alongside that joy, she couldn't help feeling a little jealous.
Her own talent wasn't great. Despite starting cultivation as a child, she was nearing twenty and was still just a Dou Zhe.
On top of that, managing affairs daily left her with little time to train. Her combat power was leagues behind Xiao Yuan's now.
Still, the feeling didn't last long.
After all, the Miteer clan was a merchant family. As long as her business acumen remained sharp, she still had the potential to lead it.
Thanks to the ideas Xiao Yuan had shared with her, she was enjoying a great reputation within the Miteer family and would likely be promoted to the leadership tier once she returned to the capital.
Her future looked bright.
"Sister Ya Fei?"
Xiao Yuan smiled and waved his hand in front of her to snap her out of it.
Returning to herself, Ya Fei chuckled and shook her head. "Even though I always believed in you, actually seeing it with my own eyes… is still hard to believe."
"Sister Ya Fei trusted me, so of course I couldn't let you down!"
Xiao Yuan beamed.
"You came today for Dou Techniques, didn't you?"
Ya Fei snorted softly and asked knowingly.
"Yeah. But if they come with a compatible cultivation method, even better. The clan's methods are too low-grade… I figured I'd have to turn to you, Sister Ya Fei."
Xiao Yuan nodded honestly, eyes filled with expectation.
Ya Fei nodded thoughtfully. "Then… what's your Dou Qi element?"
Just as Xiao Yuan was about to respond, the scroll in his soul sea pulsed, drawing his attention.
The scroll opened further, revealing the materials needed to advance to Dou Shi—and some shocking information that turned his understanding on its head.
Seeing the contents, Xiao Yuan's lips curled into a mysterious smile.
"Ice element."
(END CHAPTER)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 30 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Albino1