Chapter 3: Nourishing the Meridians.
Approaching Xiao Xun'er's room, Xiao Ling gently pushed the door open. Noticing no one noticed him, he quietly approached the bedside. Gazing in the moonlight, he saw Xiao Xun'er's adorable face. Compared to the rosy glow of the morning, it was now paler, her brows furrowed, as if she were enduring some kind of torture.
Xiao Ling had almost guessed it: it was probably because the Golden Emperor's Burning Heaven Flame had been sealed directly into a child's body, and she wasn't quite used to it yet. He hadn't had time to check it out at the Ancient Clan, and had been brought directly to the Xiao family. It was certainly a bit strenuous, but it would ease as she grew and fully developed.
Slowly approaching the bedside, he saw a bead of sweat on Xiao Xun'er's forehead. Without giving it any more thought, he placed his hand on her wrist and began to nourish her meridians.
Injecting a touch of Dou Qi, he felt a warmth flow through his fingers into Xiao Xun'er's body. Xiao Xun'er, initially a little tense, relaxed a little, her brows softening.
Taking in Xiao Xun'er's current state, she was breathing evenly, like a sleeping beauty. Her slightly childish face already showed the beginnings of beauty.
A few minutes later, Xiao Ling was pale and sweating. His Dou Qi was so thin it was barely noticeable. He thought to himself, "This Dou Qi level isn't enough; it's gone all at once." He removed his hand from Xiao Xun'er's wrist, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and exhaled. Seeing that Xiao Xun'er was fast asleep, he stood up and left. Tiptoeing, he opened and closed the door, then scurried out of the yard and back to his cabin.
Unbeknownst to Xiao Ling, as he exited, Xiao Xun'er opened her eyes and stared in the direction he had left, a complex expression flashing in her eyes.
In the cabin, Xiao Ling lay in bed, still trembling.
When he emerged from Xun'er's room, he felt a gaze fixed on him, and a cold sweat broke out. Xiao Ling, naturally gifted with powerful spiritual power, was extremely sensitive to sight.
"Did Ling Ying return to the courtyard, or hasn't left at all?"
"After all, Xiao Xun'er's safety is more important than the fragments of the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade. He might have stayed by her side the entire time," Xiao Ling
thought, rubbing his chin.
"But today went pretty smoothly. I hope everything will be done smoothly tomorrow."
"Oh, I really don't understand."
Feeling fatigue creeping over him, Xiao Ling closed his eyes and fell asleep.
The next morning, Xiao Ling woke up, tidied his room for a while, washed his face, opened the door, and went out to get breakfast.
On his way to the cafeteria, he noticed someone staring at him from behind. Turning back, he saw it was Xiao Xun'er, staring at him with a complicated look. Xiao Ling felt uneasy and scurried into the cafeteria.
After finishing breakfast, Xiao Ling came out of the cafeteria and walked towards the cabin, intending to start a new day of practice.
Returning to the cabin, he sat on the bed, formed a practice hand seal, and began to meditate and practice Dou Qi.
The moon was bright and the
stars were sparse. After the hustle and bustle of the day, the Xiao family also fell into a quiet.
In the courtyard of the Xiao family, a dark figure flexibly shuttled through it, and in a moment it had arrived outside Xiao Yan's yard. Xiao Ling looked into the house and saw Xiao Yan was already fast asleep in bed.
Xiao Ling breathed a sigh of relief. "It seems that after what happened yesterday, Xiao Yan has given up the idea of experimenting with Dou Qi." So he turned and left, running towards Xiao Xun'er's yard.
The first time is unfamiliar, the second time is familiar, this time Xiao Ling easily arrived in front of Xun'er's house.
After ensuring Xiao Xun'er was sound asleep inside, he walked in and channeled his Dou Qi to nourish her meridians.
Once his Dou Qi was depleted, Xiao Ling turned and left, returning to his cabin and falling asleep.
Time flew by like a fleeting horse, and before he knew it, four years had passed in his cultivation.
In a courtyard in the Xiao family's backyard, Xiao Ling formed the hand seal to end his training, waking from his practice. He exhaled deeply, and with a thought, he called the system panel.
"System, open my personal dashboard."
"Ding, the host's personal dashboard is automatically opening."
Host: Xiao Ling.
Gender: Male.
Cultivation: Dou Qi Stage 9.
Age: 8.
Cultivation Technique: None.
Fighting Skills: Claw Strike (Yellow Rank Intermediate), Mountain Splitting Palm (Yellow Rank Intermediate), Stone Crushing Palm (Yellow Rank Intermediate).
Item: Twenty-Four Bridges Moonlit Night Qi Gathering Powder.
Number of draws: 8.
Rising from his training mat and dusting himself off, Xiao Ling pushed open the door and walked to the pavilion in the courtyard to rest, reminiscing about the past four years.
Since he hadn't initially intended to hide his cultivation talent, he had taken the annual Dou Qi test since he began training.
I still remember the scene when I was five years old and the younger generation of the family were tested. On the test stone tablet, the other younger generations of the family were all at the first level of Dou Qi, and some hadn't even cultivated Dou Qi. Even Xiao Yan, the Xiao family's top genius at the time, was only at the second level of Dou Qi. When it was his turn to step onto the magic stone tablet, the test result was directly Dou Qi third level. Xiao Yan, who had just stepped off the stage, was stunned on the spot. Even the middle-aged elder who was testing nearby was speechless with surprise.
At first, I thought the magic stone tablet was broken, but after three consecutive tests, he was at the third level of Dou Qi, proving that the magic stone tablet was functioning normally.
The younger members of the family were all stunned and stunned, their jaws dropping in disbelief. The elders gasped in shock, exclaiming, "This boy is truly terrifying."
Xiao Ling was secretly pleased, and he understood their surprise. A five-year-old reaching the third stage of Dou Qi was unheard of in the Jia Ma Empire, let alone in tiny Wu Tan City. With that kind of training speed, he'd surely become a Dou Zhe before the age of ten. Just imagine the boundless potential for a Dou Zhe under ten, and the family might even be poised for a resurgence.
Xiao Yan had just secured his position as the Xiao family's top talent, but within a year, he was replaced. Xiao Ling's status within the family grew, and his treatment improved. Even his accommodations were upgraded from a small cabin to a private courtyard, with two maids providing care for his daily needs.
While the family's recognition of Xiao Ling's exceptional talent brought obvious benefits, including increased adulation, Xiao Ling remained undeterred by arrogance or overbearing. He remained gentle and often offered guidance to those who sought his advice. Although this talent could be considered powerful in the tiny city of Wutan, it pales in comparison to the ancient races, those with special physiques, and those with divine bloodlines. It could only slightly compare to the prodigies of Zhongzhou. Even in the Jia Ma Empire, there were several with greater talent than him.
Because Xiao Ling had taken away the title of the family's top genius, and Xiao Xun'er and Xiao Ling's growing relationship, Xiao Yan was deeply dissatisfied and often challenged Xiao Ling to fights. Although he almost always lost to Xiao Ling,
Xiao Yan took out his anger on the younger members of the clan, especially Xiao Ning, who often got beaten. Xiao Yan's personality became increasingly domineering. However, due to his exceptional talent, Xiao Ling would not actively challenge him to a fight. With the clan leader as his father, no one dared to challenge him.
Xiao Ling observed all of this and could only say that the subsequent low point and the ridicule he faced was inevitable. If Xiao Yan hadn't been so high-profile, perhaps the family wouldn't have been so focused on mocking him, but would have felt sorry for him instead.
(End of Chapter)