Chapter Four: Under a Clear Moon and Scattered Stars, Catching a Big Black Rat

Watching the opportunity refresh once more, Chen Xiao beamed with joy.

At first, he thought becoming friends with Xiao Yan would be easy, but it unexpectedly took a full six months just to reach a nodding acquaintance.

“I’ve already reached the sixth level of Dou Qi; I’ve long qualified to cultivate a Dou Technique. Being skillless is no good—I'll advance the Swallow’s Return Strike first to practice self-defense!”

After some calculation, Chen Xiao quickly made up his mind.

They say children change daily, and this isn’t far from the truth. In just six short months, Chen Xiao had grown over a finger’s length taller.

Moreover, having left a reliable impression since childhood, some elders of the Xiao family often asked him to run errands, which meant he had to leave the Xiao residence occasionally.

On one such occasion, Chen Xiao witnessed two mercenaries fiercely battling in the market district. Intoxicated, they paid no heed to bystanders, dragging several unfortunate stall owners into the fray.

In this world, without some strength to lean on, one doesn’t even have the right to watch such spectacles.

Fully understanding this truth, Chen Xiao’s urgency to cultivate Dou Techniques deepened.

The Swallow’s Return Strike is a high-level Profound Dou Technique, and naturally, mastering it would not be easy. Though in the original timeline, Xiao Yan began cultivating the Eight Extremes Smash—a high-level Profound Dou Technique reputed to rival Earth-level ones—when he was only at the fourth level of Dou Qi, that was under the tutelage of Medicine Ancestor.

Chen Xiao had no such grandfatherly guide. He didn’t expect to master the Swallow’s Return Strike perfectly; merely grasping a fraction would suffice to surpass ordinary Yellow-level Dou Techniques and provide some self-defense capability.

More importantly, according to the timeline, Chen Xiao estimated that Xiao Yan’s wall-climbing phase was imminent.

After all, Xiao Xun’er’s meridian problems had already surfaced; a few days ago, Chen Xiao had seen her pale face from afar, deeply alarming.

Therefore, advancing the Swallow’s Return Strike now meant the subsequent steps wouldn’t be long in coming. This high-level Profound Dou Technique was simply too good to pass up!

[Would you like to advance the Swallow’s Return Strike?]

“Yes!”

Chen Xiao nodded without hesitation.

The next moment, he felt a sudden pressure between his brows, and his mind seemed to fill with abundant new information.

Upon closer inspection, he realized it was the method for cultivating the Swallow’s Return Strike.

Using qi to transform power, leveraging force with force, blending hardness and softness, balancing emptiness and substance...

Just reaching the initial stage could rebound about ten percent of an enemy’s attack power; mastering it fully would reflect sixty percent!

If sixty percent of an attack’s force is reflected, only forty percent remains to contend with, dramatically reducing difficulty—this was truly a secret technique for the weak to overcome the strong!

“No wonder it’s a high-level Profound Dou Technique—indeed powerful. It’s somewhat similar to Tai Chi, which I practiced before, and its demands on physical fitness aren’t high.”

After a brief attempt to comprehend, Chen Xiao patiently awaited the update on the advanced information.

[Subsequent Task: Desperate times call for desperate measures—Stop Xiao Yan’s uncivilized behavior of climbing walls; practice boxing in the back mountain for half a month.]

[Completion of subsequent tasks required to unlock next advance; current advances available: zero!]

What was going on?

Chen Xiao was surprised. Could the subsequent tasks for advancing the same technique vary at different times?

He clearly remembered that last time, all he needed to do was stop Xiao Yan from climbing the wall.

But on second thought, it made sense. Chen Xiao reasoned that if he became a Dou Spirit or Dou King or higher, advancing a Qi Gathering Dispersal technique would surely make things easier.

“I’ll study you thoroughly sooner or later!”

Muttering to himself, Chen Xiao tidied his room and checked again the gold coins hidden beneath his bed.

A storage ring would have been great, but he didn’t have one.

After finishing his chores in the storage room and dinner, Chen Xiao headed straight for the back mountain.

However, to keep an eye on Xiao Xun’er’s courtyard, he didn’t climb over the mountain but chose a spot with a clear view and began practicing the Swallow’s Return Strike with precise punches.

Huff! Puff!

The gusts from his fists looked somewhat impressive.

Still, Chen Xiao knew well this was a clumsy display; the Swallow’s Return Strike was never about brute force.

Moreover, he had to divide his attention monitoring Xiao Xun’er’s courtyard, which slowed his comprehension.

“Haste makes waste. For now, I’ll focus on stretching and loosening my muscles to let my body adapt.”

Changing his mindset, Chen Xiao practiced more freely—and luckily there were no spectators, or else they’d have to cover their eyes.

Day after day, Chen Xiao repeated this nearly three-point-one-line routine: cultivation, daily tasks, boxing in the back mountain...

This cycle persisted until the deep night of the seventh day, when it was abruptly broken.

That night, while practicing atop the mountain, Chen Xiao caught sight by moonlight of a sneaky figure stepping out from the courtyard next to Xiao Xun’er’s, glancing back every step.

Because of the small stature and black clothes, from afar, the figure resembled a large black rat.

“Finally found you…”

Chen Xiao was absolutely certain this black rat was Xiao Yan.

Such furtive behavior made his intentions easy to guess. The third young master of the Xiao family—if it were something aboveboard, would he act so stealthily?

Without hesitation, Chen Xiao sped down the mountain.

Though the sixth level of Dou Qi didn’t grant incredible speed, a few hundred meters took only a bit over ten seconds.

When Chen Xiao reached behind the two courtyards, Xiao Yan was just about to climb the wall.

Meanwhile, inside Xiao Xun’er’s room—

Xiao Yan’s supposedly secretive actions were no secret to Ling Ying, the strongest Dou Emperor of the Ancient Clan.

“Miss, Xiao Yan is acting suspiciously, sneaking over the wall. I’ll throw him before Xiao Zhan and see how he explains himself!”

Ling Ying rose to act.

Unfortunately, Xiao Xun’er stopped him.

“Wait, Elder Ling. The book says to catch the thief with the stolen goods. You hide yourself, and I’ll pretend to keep sleeping. Let’s see what cousin Xiao Yan really intends. If he means harm, then Elder Ling can intervene.”

The young girl did not yet realize that this seemingly prudent decision might come at an unimaginable cost.

Ling Ying, unwilling to let his young mistress face the slightest danger, yet unable to disobey her, hesitated on how to persuade her otherwise.

Suddenly, he smiled.

“Miss, it seems we don’t need to trouble ourselves. Chen Xiao has returned from practicing and has noticed Xiao Yan. Now, we just don’t know if he’ll…”

“Ah!”

Before Ling Ying finished, a loud thud came from outside, followed by a clearly stifled scream.

Xiao Yan scrambled up awkwardly, looking around warily but saw no one.

What the devil?

Rubbing the swelling bump on his forehead, Xiao Yan gave a sheepish laugh and retreated along his original path.

Clearly, unable to find the culprit, he assumed it was his mysterious cousin issuing a warning.

Caught climbing the wall the moment he started, without any awareness on his part, one could imagine how cunning his cousin’s methods were; no wonder he dared not entertain a single sly thought.

“You are supposed to be the illustrious Flame Emperor—not someone with such a shady history.”

Muttering to himself, Chen Xiao wiped the dirt off his hands clean and, stepping lightly, turned back toward his residence.

Tonight’s moonlight was indeed beautiful.