A pale-faced young man, dressed in luxurious clothes, emerged from the parted crowd, his gaze burning as he looked at Xiao Xun Er.
"Ah!"
Just as the young man was about to speak again, a jade-like stick appeared before him, and he let out a scream as he was sent flying. The young man's lackeys quickly ran out, trying to catch him, but none succeeded.
"Oh, isn't this Young Master Gale Ao? Aren't you also a Dou Zhe? How could you not even withstand a single blow from my dog-beating stick? Did you spend all your Dou Qi on women's bellies, making it soft?" Xiao Zhitian walked to Xiao Xun Er's side and said with a smile to Gale Ao, who was sprawled on the ground.
"Xiao Zhitian, don't think that just because you've become a Dou Zhe, you can act so arrogant. Be careful, you might end up like your younger brother, whose Dou Qi started disappearing after he became a Dou Zhe!" Gale Ao scrambled to his feet, enraged, and pointed at Xiao Zhitian.
"You don't need to worry about that. You should worry about yourself right now!" Xiao Zhitian said, twirling the dog-beating stick in his hand.
After hearing Xiao Zhitian's words, Gale Ao clenched his fists, making a crunching sound, and stared at Xiao Zhitian with a gloomy expression. His subordinates, seeing their master's ugly face, cleverly spread out to surround Xiao Zhitian and Xiao Xun Er, all with ill intentions.
Seeing Gale Ao's subordinates surround them, Xiao Zhitian said to Xiao Xun Er, "Protect yourself!"
Xiao Zhitian directly imbued the dog-beating stick with lightning and used lightning to boost his speed, creating one after another afterimages.
A moment later, after Xiao Zhitian stopped, he plunged the dog-beating stick into the ground, then clapped his hands and said, "Not a single one of them could fight."
Gale Ao and all his subordinates were already lying on the ground, howling continuously, clearly having been electrocuted. Even Gale Ao, a one-star Dou Zhe, was no match for Xiao Zhitian's abnormal strength, being knocked down with a single strike.
Just then, a shout came from the crowd: "Who dares to cause trouble in the Xiao Family market?"
Uncle Payne quickly rushed over with a large group of guards. Seeing Xiao Zhitian and a group of people howling on the ground, he couldn't help but go to Xiao Zhitian's side and ask, "Third Young Master, has something happened?"
"Nothing much, just someone trying to cause trouble and harass a young lady in the Xiao Family market. I just gave him a beating. Uncle Payne, please arrange for someone to send them back to the Gale Family's territory, so they don't affect everyone's business here." Xiao Zhitian answered with a smile.
After Payne responded, he arranged for a few subordinates to carry the people out and throw them outside the market. Just as they were carrying Gale Ao, Xiao Zhitian remembered that he had a bracelet with a first-tier magic core on him. He searched Gale Ao for the bracelet, took it, and placed it into the System space.
Seeing Payne handle the matter, Xiao Zhitian threw the dog-beating stick and a bag of gold coins to Payne. "If Gale Ao causes trouble again, use this dog-beating stick to teach him a harsh lesson. As for these one hundred gold coins, they are for everyone to eat and drink."
Watching Payne catch the money bag and the jade stick, Xiao Zhitian took Xiao Xun Er's hand, ready to leave. However, his gaze fell upon a rather handsome young man in the distance, whose eyes occasionally flashed with lewdness, and whose hand was reaching into the clothes of a nearby maid, completely disregarding the people around him. Xiao Zhitian recognized him as Liu Xi, the Alchemist from the original story who had ill intentions toward Xun'er.
Xiao Xun Er noticed his gaze and asked, "What's wrong, Tian Ge?"
"Nothing, just looking around casually." Xiao Zhitian thought for a moment. It might be a butterfly effect, but it didn't matter. He would find a time to deal with him.
After this disturbance, and having wandered for a long time, neither of them had the desire to continue shopping, so they returned directly to the Xiao Family. Before reaching Xun'er's courtyard, a women's bracelet appeared in Xiao Zhitian's hand, exactly the one rewarded by the System. Xiao Xun Er couldn't help but stare at the bracelet Xiao Zhitian took out.
Xiao Zhitian waved the bracelet at the suddenly dazed young lady and said, "Do you still want it? If not, I'll take it back."
Xiao Xun Er immediately reached out to grab the bracelet. After putting it on her fair wrist, her face turned slightly red. She took a deep breath and gracefully said, "Thank you, Tian Ge."
Xiao Zhitian pinched the young lady's cheek lightly. "This bracelet has a calming and focusing effect. Wearing it regularly is beneficial for cultivation. All right, you go back now and cultivate well, striving to break through to a Dou Zhe as soon as possible."
Startled by the young man's intimate gesture, she fled like a frightened rabbit, saying, "Then I… I'll go back first."
Watching her retreating figure, Xiao Zhitian passed by Xiao Yan's small courtyard and saw that he had already returned. He should be cultivating and refining the Foundation Establishment spiritual liquid after everyone left.
Xiao Zhitian didn't think much of it and headed toward the back mountain, preparing to continue cultivating, familiarize himself with Dou Techniques, and check in at the back mountain. His intuition told him that the back mountain, as the birthplace of Xiao Yan's rise, would yield excellent rewards.
Arriving at the summit of the back mountain, he confirmed that there was no one around.
"System, check in."
"Ding! Location: Xiao Family's Back Mountain Summit. Check-in successful. Reward obtained: Fire-wood attribute, Purifying Devouring Lotus Burning Flame, Pill Formula Book, Heaven Smiting Thunder Halberd, Thunder Origin * 1."
Xiao Zhitian glanced at the description. The fire-wood attribute was a weak attribute and could not be used as a primary cultivation attribute.
The Purifying Devouring Lotus Burning Flame was a gray flame,
The Pill Formula Book contained meticulously detailed formulas for various pills.
On the Dou Qi Continent, to become a revered Alchemist, one must possess a fire attribute with a trace of wood Qi and strong Soul perception. Xiao Zhitian, having lived two lives, had sufficient Soul conditions; the only thing he lacked was the attribute, which the System now provided.
The Heaven Smiting Thunder Halberd allowed him to transform his own lightning attribute power and Spirit Thunder into a halberd for combat, possessing immense power and unparalleled sharpness.
The Thunder Origin could accelerate the speed of condensing Spirit Thunder.
Seeing these rewards, Xiao Zhitian's smile was almost uncontrollable. He could now become an Alchemist, and the Pill Formula Book contained detailed records of medicinal ingredients, pictures, animated alchemy scenes, and precautions.
After checking in, Xiao Zhitian extracted the Exotic Flame. The bright Bright Red flame had an explosive aura. He asked the System, "System, how do I refine it?"
The System responded: "Host will receive the Purifying Devouring Lotus Flame. Its color is gray, It appears in lotus form with a golden dragon standing inside. Host can summon only the lotus, only the dragon, or both together at will. The dragon and lotus will move and act according to the host's will."
Xiao Zhitian's eyes gleamed. With this, the next phase of cultivation and refinement would be extraordinary.