Early Morning, Xiao Bai's Courtyard.
Sitting cross-legged on his bed, Xiao Bai slowly opened his eyes, a flash of multicolored light flickering through them.
"Five years... finally, it's complete!"
It had been two years since Xiao Yan had come looking for trouble. Now fifteen years old, Xiao Bai had been in this world for a full decade.
When he first transmigrated, his adoptive parents had already passed away.
Upon realizing which world he was in, he immediately began training. At ten years old, he broke through to the Ninth Stage Dou Zhi Qi, shocking the Xiao Clan at the time. The elders believed he had the potential to become a Dou Wang, thinking that with proper cultivation, he might restore the clan to its former glory during the old patriarch's time.
However, as years passed and his cultivation showed no progress, the clan's expectations gradually faded.
Their attention shifted toward another rising talent—Xiao Yan. Unlike Xiao Bai, Xiao Yan had not disappointed them.
He, too, had reached the Ninth Stage Dou Zhi Qi at ten years old, but at eleven, he broke through to become a Dou Zhe, reigniting the clan's hopes.
From then on, Xiao Bai's name faded into obscurity, rarely mentioned.
But he didn't mind. He knew his own circumstances. After reaching the Ninth Stage Dou Zhi Qi, he was unable to condense a Qi Whirlpool in his dantian.
Instead, he began absorbing a massive amount of five-element Dou Qi, which, rather than entering his dantian, was absorbed by his five internal organs: wood-attribute Qi into the liver, fire into the heart, earth into the spleen, metal into the lungs, and water into the kidneys.
The five-element Dou Qi nourished his organs and strengthened his body, making his physique far superior to his Dou Qi realm. To conceal this anomaly, he deliberately picked an obscure Yellow Rank body refinement technique from the clan's library.
This was why Xiao Bai had been able to easily defeat Xiao Yan, a Two-Star Dou Zhe.
At the Dou Practitioner stage, Dou Qi couldn't be externally released yet, so fights relied on physical combat, even when using Dou Techniques. And for body cultivators, physical combat was their specialty.
Today marked exactly five years since he had reached the ninth stage of Dou Disciple. Now that his five internal organs had fully absorbed the five-element Dou Qi, Xiao Bai felt that his body alone could take on any opponent below the Dou Master realm.
Stretching his limbs, he assessed his physique and nodded in satisfaction.
"Next, it's time to attempt another breakthrough. This time, that damned talisman shouldn't be able to suppress me, right?"
Xiao Bai held a deep grudge against the talisman.
He had a house and a car, a decent career, yet it had suddenly dragged him into this familiar yet foreign world without warning.
Thankfully, he had landed in the Xiao Clan, which was relatively safe. If he had been thrown into a more perilous environment, he might not have survived.
And fine, since he was already here, he had chosen to go with the flow—he had no particular attachments to his previous life anyway. Starting an adventure in a different world wasn't the worst outcome.
But suppressing his breakthroughs? That was just infuriating. If not for the talisman's interference, he might already be close to the Dou Grandmaster realm by now.
Walking over to a cabinet, Xiao Bai retrieved a small wooden box. He placed it on the desk, unlocked it with a key, and opened it. Inside, on a layer of bright yellow silk, lay two white jade bottles.
Looking at them, Xiao Bai couldn't help but recall a certain girl. Usually as graceful and cold as a lotus, she was always endlessly chattering in front of him.
"Xiao Bai-gege, don't listen to what they say. I believe you'll regain your former glory!"
"Xiao Bai-gege, this is Gathering Qi Powder. It can help someone break through to Dou Practitioner. If one pill isn't enough, take two. If two aren't enough, take three. And if even that isn't enough, I'll get you more! No refusing!"
"Xiao Bai-gege, don't worry. You'll definitely succeed!"
"Xiao Bai-gege, even if you don't break through, it's okay. Trust me—I'll find a way to help you!"
Sigh...
Xiao Bai let out a sigh.
Don't be fooled by her young age—this girl's methods were terrifying. She had already reached the realm of winning without making a move. He was certain he'd never escape her grasp in this lifetime.
Back when he read the original novel, he had found Xun'er too perfect—so perfect that it felt fake.
But after spending these years with her, he realized that she had given him her whole heart. Aside from hiding her true identity, she had held nothing back from him.
It felt nice.
No one could refuse a girl like that.
This was why, despite Xiao Yan coming to challenge him three times, Xiao Bai only found it a little annoying—he never actually disliked him. If not for Xiao Yan, he might never have had the chance to receive Xun'er's undivided devotion.
He still remembered what happened the second year after he transmigrated, when he was seven.
That day, he had gone to the back mountain to break through to the Fourth Stage Dou Zhi Qi. On his way home, it got late, and as he passed by a courtyard, he noticed a small figure sneaking around, climbing a window.
Shouting loudly, he startled the figure, who fell from the window. The commotion woke up the person inside, who opened the door and stepped out.
Looking closer, Xiao Bai recognized her—it was Xun'er, who had recently arrived at the Xiao Clan.
Then he turned to the small figure on the ground, who was now getting up.
Sure enough, it was Xiao Yan.
Standing at the door, Xun'er's eyes were cold. She first looked at Xiao Bai, who stood not far away, then at Xiao Yan, who was just getting up from below the window. Finally, she glanced at the open window and seemed to piece everything together.
Her gaze toward Xiao Yan gradually changed—it was the look one would give a thief… or perhaps, a pervert.
Xiao Yan's face turned pale at first, then quickly flushed red. His ears and neck turned bright crimson as well. He opened his mouth as if to explain but couldn't get the words out. Instead, he shot a resentful glare at Xiao Bai before running away.
For the next few years, Xiao Bai didn't see Xiao Yan causing any trouble for him and assumed he had forgotten about it.
But then, the moment Xiao Yan reached the Ninth Stage Dou Zhi Qi at ten years old, he immediately rushed over to challenge Xiao Bai to a duel.
Only to leave bruised and battered.
As he left, he cursed, "You have no honor! Bullying me when I just reached ninth stage! Just you wait—once I become a Dou Zhe, I'll come for you again!"
Xiao Bai had been dumbfounded.
So this is the real Xiao Yan? Just how old was he when he transmigrated?
Mature? Not quite—look at all the childish things he did in the clan. A complete troublemaker at times.
Immature? Not really—he was also shameless enough to say things like that. Waiting until he was a Dou Zhe to challenge someone still at the Ninth Stage Dou Zhi Qi? There was no trace of youthful arrogance there.
A year later, Xiao Yan reached Dou Zhe.
And got beaten up again.
Two years ago, he tried for the third time and got kicked away.
Sometimes, Xiao Bai had to admire him—truly a fated protagonist. His determination was unshakable.
But now, Xiao Yan had lost his former confidence. Not long after their third fight, news spread through the clan: the genius had fallen. From a Two-Star Dou Zhe, he had plummeted all the way to the Third Stage Dou Zhi Qi.
Shaking his head, Xiao Bai set those thoughts aside.
Compared to a transmigrator-protagonist-with-cheats like Xiao Yan, he was still missing a protagonist's halo.
He had his own problems to deal with.
Closing the box, he picked up the two jade bottles and left his courtyard.
What? A storage ring? Of course not! Even the Xiao Clan, one of the ex-Ancient Eight Clans, only had a few of them. The patriarch and the grand elder were the only ones known to possess one. How could an orphan like him possibly own one?
This time, he was heading to the back mountain to attempt his breakthrough.
He had a feeling—this time, he might just succeed.
If he were to breakthrough here, and if the talisman created a big scene, wouldn't that expose him? After all, the Xiao family currently had two perverted individuals—one who absorbs essence and the other who secretly spies on people. They're truly the "Crouching Dragon and Hidden Phoenix" of the Dou Po world.