Fallen Genius

Two hours later, Xiao Se successfully transformed the milky white, attributeless Dou Qi in his body into the Dou Qi unique to the Flame Mantra.

He stretched out his white palm, and the dou qi in his body circulated. The Dou Qi in the cyclone was transmitted along the acupuncture points in Xiao Se's arm to the palm of his hand. A light yellow glow gradually appeared on his white palm.

Xiao Se smiled bitterly; his current Flame Mantra was only at the lower yellow level. When he examined himself internally, he could clearly see that the attributeless, milky white Dou Qi in his body had completely transformed into light yellow Dou Qi.

After putting away the blurred black scroll, Xiao Se took out the three scrolls.

The first red scroll: Sword Fighting Skill, Red Flame Sword, Grade: Advanced Xuan Level.

The fire control technique condenses into a flaming sword, and the number of swords used depends on the strength of the user. When the skill is highly refined, it can be simplified and merged into a giant sword, which is as powerful as low-level Earth-level fighting skills. If used with strange fire, the power is comparable to that of the middle-level Earth-level.

The second white scroll: Body Fighting Skill, Misty Smoke Steps, Grade: Advanced Xuan Level.

The steps are like light smoke, making it hard to tell whether they are real or fake. There are two levels. The first level focuses on evasion, and the second level focuses on speed. The former can avoid danger in advance, while the latter can greatly increase the speed of the user. The combination of the two allows one to step on the snow without leaving any traces or get wet in the heavy snow.

The third black scroll: Secret Fighting Skill, Qi Gathering Technique, Grade: Unknown.

It can directly conceal a level of cultivation, and at its highest level, it can completely hide the cultivation, making it difficult for people to discern the truth. Unless you encounter a practitioner of the Qi Gathering Technique, those with strength below the Dou Zong level cannot see through it.

Looking at these three volumes of fighting skills, a bright smile appeared on Xiao Se's pretty, tender face.

These three fighting skill books came just in time.

They made up for the attacking and light fighting skills he lacked.

Especially the last secret fighting skill. He had been worried that he wouldn't be able to hide his strength after breaking through to the fighter level. After all, there is a huge difference between Dou Disciple and Dou Zhe.

Now everything was solved.

Having made up his mind, Xiao Se began intensive training.

The next morning, the sun shone brightly with no clouds in the sky.

Inside the stone chamber of the cave, Xiao Se sat cross-legged on a cushion.

The warm sunlight shone through the vents at the top of the stone chamber, illuminating Xiao Se's fair and tender cheeks.

Xiao Se slowly opened his eyes. "My cultivation has been completely consolidated. Next, I can go collect the herbs from Luo Han's memory and try to refine some hemostatic powder and recovery pills."

Both Hemostatic Powder and Recovery Pills are first-grade medicinal pills and have certain healing effects.

The former was created by Luo Han himself. It was viscous and could quickly stop bleeding from wounds. Its effect might not be as good as the blood-clotting powder prepared by the eighth-grade top alchemist in the original novel, but it was definitely not bad.

The latter is an ancient recipe passed down by Master of Luo Han. It is in the form of a pill and can be taken internally to treat internal injuries or crushed and applied externally to accelerate wound recovery.

Having made up his mind, Xiao Se walked directly out of the cave and headed towards the Xiao family. Before that, he still needed to see Xiao Yu off. Jia Nan's enrollment ended yesterday, and as expected, Xiao Yu had been admitted.

It was only reasonable and logical for Xiao Se to go and see her off today.

Using the Misty Smoke Step, Xiao Se moved very quickly and soon rushed towards the Xiao family. Although Xiao Se had only cultivated the first level of dodge, it was enough to allow him to walk on the winding and rugged mountain road as if it were flat ground.

After returning to the Xiao family, Xiao Se reverted to his previous low-key self.

Walking on the bluestone path, Xiao Se heard several young people from the Xiao family in the next courtyard chattering, as if they were discussing something.

He could vaguely hear the names of Xiao Yu and Xiao Yan.

Xiao Se couldn't help but slow down his pace and stretched his ears to listen:

"Hey, did you hear? Jia Nan College came to Wutan City to recruit students yesterday, and cousin Xiao Yu passed the assessment and officially became a student of Jia Nan College."

"Wow, cousin Xiao Yu is indeed the second most talented person in the family after Xiao Yan. She broke through the eighth level of Dou Qi at the age of fifteen and was admitted to Jia Nan College. Jia Nan College is a famous school in the Dou Qi Continent. It is said that its strength is even greater than that of the Jia Ma Empire's royal family and the Yun Lan Sect."

"Yes, cousin Xiao Yu is also a well-deserved genius of the Xiao family. But speaking of which, didn't Xiao Yan also participate in the enrollment of Jia Nan College? Why haven't I heard any news of his admission?"

"Hey, you don't know. Yesterday morning, I saw Xiao Yan hurriedly running to see the clan leader. Even when I accidentally bumped into him, he was rarely angry. Not long after, the clan leader announced that Xiao Yan was not allowed to go to Jia Nan College on the grounds that he was still young."

"How could this happen? Didn't the clan leader praise Xiao Yan at the clan test ceremony a few days ago, saying, 'My son Xiao Yan has the potential to become a Dou Huang, and he will definitely be able to pass the assessment of Jia Nan College'?"

Listening to the conversation as it gradually faded away, a strange smile appeared on Xiao Se's mouth. As expected, Xiao Yan's dou qi "disappeared," which means that Yao Lao has awakened.

Xiao Yan, oh Xiao Yan. I am really looking forward to seeing how your life will be in the next three years.

Xiao Yan's Residence

"Why... why did the dou qi in my body disappear?" Xiao Yan roared in his heart in the room.

Overnight, his cultivation dropped from one-star Dou Zhe to the ninth stage of Dou Qi. After only two days, it dropped again to the eighth stage of Dou Qi.

This was undoubtedly a devastating blow for Xiao Yan and a shame that was difficult to wash away.

He hadn't eaten or drunk anything for two days and hadn't slept or rested.

At this moment, his body was already in an extremely weak state, but it no longer mattered.

His spirit was in great torment. It was easy to imagine how humiliating it would be when others found out that his cultivation had regressed.

He could almost see everyone laughing at him, insulting him, and mocking him. Even the girls who used to fawn over him and revolve around him gradually distanced themselves, thinking he was unworthy of the title of the Xiao family's greatest genius in a hundred years.

"I can't accept this. Why... why is the dou qi in my body getting less and less? Why does every bit of dou qi I absorb disappear without a trace?"

He bit his lower lip until it bled, but he didn't even notice.

Xiao Yan's extreme unwillingness caused him to fall into an almost pathological state of training. However, no matter how much Dou Qi he absorbed, it would disappear without a trace before he could refine it.