On the mountain path, Xiao Bai strolled leisurely toward the small lakeside.
Although there were two streaks of bloodstained tears on his face, Xiao Bai felt quite good at the moment—refreshed and clear-headed.
Suddenly, his expression froze. He cautiously glanced at the talisman in his sea of consciousness before muttering softly:
"Bah! Kids say the darndest things! Who the hell feels refreshed and clear-headed? I'm not the Ice Emperor, what's with this 'refreshed and clear-headed' nonsense!"
Every time he felt refreshed and clear-headed, the talisman would find some way to stir up trouble. It had become a conditioned reflex.
From now on, he was allergic to feeling "refreshed and clear-headed."
Arriving at the lakeside, Xiao Bai crouched down, scooped up a handful of water, and splashed it on his face. The cool lake water jolted him awake.
"Ah, refreshing!"
He then scooped a few more handfuls of water to wash his face clean and looked at his reflection in the water.
"Huh? What's this?"
Xiao Bai noticed a strange silver rune on his forehead in the reflection.
He reached up to touch the spot between his eyebrows, but there was no unusual sensation. He rubbed it a few times, but the rune didn't disappear.
"Do I have some special bloodline? On the Dou Qi Continent, only the Ancient Eight Clans have runes on their foreheads. Am I a descendant of one of those Dou Di clans?"
Xiao Bai was both shocked and pleasantly surprised. Could this mean he was about to strike it rich?
Back in his previous life, when he read the original novel, Xiao Bai had flipped through the pages, each filled with the words "hot-blooded youth." He couldn't sleep, so he stayed up late reading, only to realize that between the lines, the entire book was filled with four words: "bloodline and physique!"
Although there were figures like Jing Lian and Huang Quan before him, who knew if they had some special constitution or something like that.
He didn't know what the imperial runes of each clan looked like. He had long since forgotten what he had read in the original about this part. Resting his chin in his hand, he stared absentmindedly at the silver rune in the reflection.
"No way! I have to hide this for now. If it's from the Hun Clan's Dou Di rune, it would be quite the joke!"
He tore off a piece of cloth from his clothes and fashioned a headband to cover the silver rune on his forehead.
If this truly was the Dou Di rune of the Hun Clan, how would he face Xun'er? How would the Xiao family treat him now? Xiao Bai was momentarily a little anxious.
After spacing out for a while, he shook his head. He wasn't sure yet, and it might not even be an imperial rune. Maybe it was just an anomaly from his cultivation technique.
Even if it were the Dou Di rune of the Hun Clan, he was already in this situation, so he'd take things one step at a time. What else could he do? Was he supposed to find a knife and scratch the rune off? Xiao Bai wouldn't do something so foolish. If it came to that, he'd just live his life as a wanderer, aimlessly roaming the world.
Putting his worries aside, Xiao Bai examined his new look in the reflection and nodded in satisfaction. He said to his reflection:
"Wow, bro, are you serious? You're supposed to be the strong, silent type. Do you really need to be this handsome?"
"Pfft!"
A soft laugh came from behind him, and Xiao Bai's whole body stiffened. When did she arrive? Could she be a relative of Cao Cao? He had just thought about her, and here she was, standing behind him.
He turned to look, and a graceful young woman was standing not far away.
When she saw Xiao Bai looking at her, she took a few steps forward, walking beside him.
The young woman was wearing a light green dress, her features exquisite, her temperament serene and elegant. At this moment, her delicate face held a playful smile, her eyes full of amusement. With her hands behind her back, her body slightly leaned forward, and she looked down at Xiao Bai.
"Xiao Bai gege, it seems Xun'er just heard someone being a little too narcissistic!"
As she finished speaking, her tone lingered playfully, teasing him a little.
Xiao Bai looked at Xiao Xun'er, whose face was full of teasing, and his expression darkened slightly. He pretended to be angry and said:
"Little girl, you'd better forget what happened just now, or be careful, I might kill you and silence you. Xiao Bai gege is notorious for turning his back on people!"
"Mm, mm... Xun'er will never tell anyone. Hee hee hee!"
Xiao Xun'er initially had a serious expression, shaking her little fist vigorously, nodding obediently in agreement. But soon, she couldn't hold it in and covered her mouth, laughing.
Seeing Xun'er like this, Xiao Bai couldn't help but smile as well. He stood up and affectionately patted her little head.
Xiao Xun'er couldn't help but squint her eyes, loving the pampering from the boy in front of her. She softly asked:
"Xiao Bai gege, did you break through?"
"Mm, last night I had some realization and finally broke through!" Xiao Bai nodded. He had used two layers of soul seals: one layer was the core, which concealed his Seven Star cultivation, and the other layer was the outward appearance, which could be sensed as the level of a One Star Dou Practitioner.
"Must have been really tough, right?"
Xiao Xun'er reached out to adjust his disheveled clothes. A hint of sympathy flashed in her eyes. This boy, who had always been clean and neat in his white robes, was now covered in dust, with patches scorched as if struck by lightning, and a bit of bloodstains. There was also a trace of fatigue between his brows.
When had she ever seen Xiao Bai looking so disheveled? Who would get into such a state just from breaking through to the Dou Practitioner level?
But she didn't ask any further. Xiao Xun'er knew that his situation was special. She had once subtly suggested finding someone to check on him, but Xiao Bai had refused.
After that, she never mentioned it again, thinking that once her strength grew, she would check on him personally. She believed Xiao Bai gege wouldn't refuse her.
Looking at the worried and concerned expression in Xun'er's eyes, Xiao Bai felt a bit complicated inside.
To ease her worries, Xiao Bai decided to tell a story to divert her attention, pretending to be casual:
"Tough? Not really, I just had a fight with three guys."
"Huh~? That's not from the breakthrough, it was from fighting? Who did you fight with?"
Xiao Xun'er was initially puzzled, but soon, her teeth clenched slightly, and the hand that was adjusting Xiao Bai's clothes tightened.
Who dared to bully her Xiao Bai gege!
"Well, let me think... last night when I broke through, suddenly a thunderstorm came down, and three humanoid lightning figures emerged from the thunderclouds. They said I had unparalleled talent, and to break through, I had to undergo a thunder tribulation. They claimed to be emperors and wanted to fight me at the same level. If I passed, I'd live, but if I failed, I'd die!"
Xiao Xun'er gave him a playful eye-roll, knowing he was making things up, but she didn't expose him. She was curious to see how Xiao Bai would continue his lie, treating it like a story.
"The first human-shaped lightning bolt jumped down from the thundercloud. His name was Wu Shi, and he was known as 'At the end of the Emperor's Dao, who stands at the peak? When you meet Wu Shi, the Dao turns to nothing.' He wielded an emperor-level weapon—the Wu Shi Bell."
"Hmph, 'At the end of the Emperor's Dao, who stands at the peak? When you meet Wu Shi, the Dao turns to nothing.' What an arrogant statement!" Xiao Xun'er snorted coldly when she heard this.
Xiao Bai knew she was defending her ancestors and didn't mind. He continued:
"Wushi and I fought for three thousand rounds, the battle was so fierce that the skies darkened and the sun and moon disappeared. In the end, I narrowly won with half a move. Wu Shi sighed and said, 'Each generation has its talents. Young man, you've won.' He then turned into lightning and returned to the thundercloud."
"Just then, the second humanoid lightning figure jumped down and shouted, 'I'll fight you!' I took a closer look and saw that this person was exceptionally heroic, already possessing 80% of my charm. My eyes lit up, and I shouted back, 'Who dares to face me? State your name!'"
"This person was called Ye Tiandi and was known by the saying 'I am the Heavenly Emperor, destined to suppress all enemies in the world.' He created a heaven-defying Dou Technique—the Heavenly Emperor's Reincarnation Fist—and was undefeated in the world."
"When I heard that, I couldn't stand it. Who am I? The future Thunder Emperor! I control all the lightning in the world, and execute the heavenly punishments. How can I be suppressed by him? In front of me, who dares to claim invincibility? Who dares to say they are undefeated?"
"And then?" Xun'er listened to his bold declaration, her eyes sparkling with admiration.
From the shadows not far away, Ling Ying also perked up his ears. Although he knew the boy was just boasting, he couldn't help but get excited hearing those words. He couldn't wait to find someone to battle and say those words himself.
He quickly pulled out paper and pen from his storage ring to jot down these "king of boasting" sayings, afraid of missing a few lines and losing some material for future boasting.