One month later, atop a mountain peak in the back hills, two figures—one clad in green, the other in purple—interwove in midair like streaks of flowing light, colliding again and again. Each clash of their bodies unleashed pure, brute force, producing resounding sonic booms in the air.
Suddenly, two light shouts rang out.
"Overlord Fist!"
"Overlord Fist!"
The green and purple streaks converged, and a powerful surge of energy erupted from the point of impact. Green and purple energies pressed against each other, locked in fierce contention.
"Break for me!"
Accompanied by a crisp cry, the green energy was ultimately overwhelmed by the purple. The green figure was blasted backward from the collision point, crashing into the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.
The purple figure descended immediately afterward.
"Lin Yuan, Lin Yuan, I won this time! According to our agreement, you have to make me a big feast, hehe!" Ziyan said excitedly to Lin Yuan, who was still amid the dust cloud.
"Of course. And as a reward for you mastering the Overlord Fist, I'll even add an extra course for you," Lin Yuan said with a smile as he emerged from the dust. His clothes were somewhat torn, but he had suffered no real injuries, and his aura remained robust.
"But you're getting more and more resistant to getting beaten. Using just your physical body, you can fight me for this long—just like a magical beast," Ziyan complained as she sized him up.
Lin Yuan chuckled softly. Over this period, he had gathered quite a bit of High-Rank magical beast essence blood through various trades and had already completed a second Spirit Ascension. His physical strength had increased yet again, and his durability had skyrocketed. He could now spar with Ziyan relying purely on his physical body—though he was still far inferior to her. It could only be said that the Ancient Void Dragon truly lived up to its title as the king of magical beasts.
"I've fully mastered my surging strength, and I've finally helped Ziyan learn the Overlord Fist, an attack Dou Technique that suits her perfectly. I haven't let the First Elder down," Lin Yuan thought. He was quite satisfied with the results of this past month.
Throughout the month, through constant sparring with Ziyan, Lin Yuan had completely adapted to his dramatically increased physical power, and his Dou Qi cultivation had also advanced noticeably. Overall, the gains were substantial.
"Come on, let's head back. I'll make you a big feast to celebrate!"
"Yay!"
Laughing and chatting, the two headed toward the Inner Academy.
Inner Academy, First Elder's Office
"You want to ask for leave?" Su Qian looked at Lin Yuan with mild surprise.
"Yes, First Elder. This student wishes to return home to pay respects to my parents. I haven't done so for many years. Now that I've achieved something in my cultivation, it's time to go back, repair their graves, and then travel outside for a period," Lin Yuan replied.
"I see. That's only natural for a filial son. You should indeed do so. You're already a Dou King—traveling across the Northwestern Continent would be an excellent choice. How long do you plan to be away?" Su Qian stroked his beard and nodded in understanding.
"Two to three years, roughly," Lin Yuan estimated before answering.
"Two to three years, huh… Very well, I approve. Sigh, that little girl Ziyan will probably make a huge fuss with me. When do you plan to depart?" Su Qian gave a wry smile and asked.
'So that means Ziyan still isn't allowed to travel with me for now? That makes sense. My current strength still isn't enough to put the First Elder at ease, and this trip really isn't suitable for taking Ziyan along,' Lin Yuan thought inwardly.
"Thank you, First Elder. This student plans to depart next month," Lin Yuan said, cupping his hands in thanks. After a moment's thought, he added, "During my travels, I'll return once. If the timing is right, we can see whether it's appropriate to take Ziyan out for some travel then."
Hearing this, Su Qian waved his hand. "We'll talk about it then."
After discussing the specific arrangements, Lin Yuan took his leave.
The next day, in the back hills
"Brother Lin Yuan, are you leaving?" Ziyan stood before him, looking up with an expression full of reluctance.
"Yes. I need to go out and handle some matters. We'll have to part for a while," Lin Yuan said softly, gently patting Ziyan's head.
"Then can you take me with you? I'm already bored staying in the Inner Academy anyway. And if you leave, there'll be no one to make delicious food for me," Ziyan pleaded pitifully.
"Little Ziyan, I have things to do on this trip, so I can't take you along," Lin Yuan replied, pinching her small cheek.
"Can you really not take me with you?" Zi Yan continued to act spoiled.
"No. It's too dangerous outside," Lin Yuan shook his head.
"I'm very strong!" Speaking of this, Zi Yan became a little proud, puffing out her small chest.
"Oh?" Lin Yuan's tone carried obvious doubt. Then, with a trace of clear temptation in his voice, he began to set a trap. "How about this—let's make a bet. We'll have a fight. If you can defeat me, that'll prove you're strong enough to protect yourself, and I'll find a way to take you out with me!"
"Really? Then let's bet! You're not allowed to go back on your word!" Perhaps due to their sparring over the past few days—especially her victory yesterday, Zi Yan's confidence had greatly increased, and she readily accepted the challenge.
"No problem! Then let's begin!" Lin Yuan nodded, a hint of 'everything is going according to plan' flashing in his eyes.
Immediately, streaks of green and purple light shot into the sky as the two began to clash.
Half an hour later.
Zi Yan stared blankly at the green-robed youth before her, touching the red mark on her forehead, her entire expression one of utter confusion.
Lin Yuan looked at Zi Yan with a smile. "I won—three times in a row. Looks like I can't take you out with me this time."
Hearing this, Zi Yan snapped back to her senses. Recalling the three overwhelming defeats she had just suffered, she said resentfully, "Why are you so strong?! It clearly wasn't like this when we sparred a few days ago!"
Lin Yuan smiled.
In the past few days, the evenly matched exchanges or even deliberately losing to Zi Yan had been to help her train in Dou Techniques, as well as to help himself gain control over his rapidly increased physical strength. Thus, he had adopted a purely power-based combat style that suited Zi Yan's strengths, rather than his true fighting style. Today, he had used his real combat approach, and the result was naturally worlds apart. Given his understanding of Zi Yan's fighting methods, her chances of winning were practically nonexistent.
"Of course it's because you're still not strong enough," Lin Yuan said, pinching Zi Yan's puffed-up little cheeks. Upon hearing this, Zi Yan puffed up even more like an angry pufferfish, which Lin Yuan found extremely amusing.
Looking at the pufferfish-like Zi Yan, Lin Yuan smiled and tempted her again. "How about this—next time I come back, if you can land even one hit on me, I'll take you out with me. How does that sound?"
"Next time, I'll definitely defeat you!" Zi Yan glared at Lin Yuan fiercely.
"Then I'll be looking forward to it," Lin Yuan replied gently, stroking Zi Yan's smooth long hair. He felt reassured—although Zi Yan was childlike by nature, she was very serious about agreements based on victory and defeat, and would not continue insisting on following Lin Yuan away.
"Let's go, Zi Yan," Lin Yuan said, taking her hand and leading her deeper into the back mountain.
"Where to?"
"I still have a month before I leave. This month, I'll accompany you around the back mountain—let's find some suitable ingredients and make some good food to store."
"Really? I felt something strange over there before. There must be good stuff, let's go grab it!"
"Not grab, take. Those heavenly materials and earthly treasures are ownerless to begin with."
"Ah, right, right—we'll go take them!"
Accompanied by Zi Yan's lively, cheerful voice as she regained her energy, the two began a new round of treasure hunting in the back mountain.
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