The end of the Fire Energy Hunting Competition didn't mean that the new students could now cultivate peacefully in the Inner Academy.
They still had to undergo a baptism: the constant visits from older students demanding tribute fees.
Even though, besides Chen Xiao, the fifty new students only had two days of fire energy left, the older students who came to collect tribute fees arrived in wave after wave, an endless stream.
As a result, in the past few days, every time Chen Xiao returned to the New Student Accommodation Area, he would see conflicts erupting between new and old students.
Calling it a conflict was more like a one-sided lesson.
After all, among the new students, apart from a limited few Da Dou Shi who could put up a slight resistance, the rest were almost no match for a single blow. The gap was clear at a glance.
What was interesting was that although older students came to cause trouble every day, none of them set their sights on Chen Xiao. Occasionally, when they met on the road, these older students, whom he didn't know at all, would even nod kindly at Chen Xiao.
The reason for this was related to three small matters.
Firstly, the news spread by the Black White Twin Devils Team and the fifty new students.
Secondly, when he was in the Sky Burning Qi Refining Tower, Elder Liu personally confirmed that Chen Xiao was already a five-star Dou Ling.
Finally, there was the gossip from the Medicine Gang that Chen Xiao and Zi Yan had a close relationship.
These three things combined meant that Chen Xiao, despite having done nothing yet, was already somewhat famous in the Inner Academy, making the new students extremely envious.
Chen Xiao didn't care about this. For him, it was undoubtedly more convenient if the older students didn't bother him. This way, he could spend all his time improving himself.
Every day, he would go to the Sky Burning Qi Refining Tower to refine his Dou Qi for two hours, then go to Grand Elder Su Qian's study to read for an hour, and then head to the deep mountains behind, meditating and cultivating while waiting for a thunderstorm to arrive.
His life was a three-point line, peaceful and fulfilling.
In this atmosphere, half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
...
In the vast deep mountains, the lush green color extended to the horizon, like an endless green ocean. Standing within it, as the strong wind blew, the forest sea swayed slightly, and waves of green surged from far to near, a breathtaking sight.
On a mountaintop, Chen Xiao and Zi Yan, who was idle all day, stood steadily. Besides the rustling of leaves in the wind, there was only the girl's 'crunching' sound of chewing.
"Do you want some?"
Seeing Chen Xiao look down, Zi Yan generously spread out her small hand, revealing three irregularly shaped pills.
Chen Xiao shook his head helplessly and pushed the little dragon girl's paw back.
"What I want to ask is, on average, how often do thunderstorms occur in these deep mountains?"
He clearly remembered that when Huo Huo cultivated the Three Thousand Lightning Movement, it only took one or two days to wait for suitable thunderstorm weather. Why was it that for him, not a single drop of rain had fallen for half a month?
Could it be that Xiao Yan was really that lucky?
"I haven't paid attention, but the weather in the deep mountains is unpredictable. Sometimes it rains for several days in a row, and sometimes it doesn't rain for a long time. I just remember that time I accidentally ate the Transformation Grass, it rained for several days in a row, making me so hungry that I couldn't stand it. As a result, I went out to grab something to eat and ended up eating the Transformation Grass."
Zi Yan shook her head and replied, still full of resentment when mentioning that unlucky experience.
As if sensing her emotions, the sky, which had been bright and sunny, suddenly had dark clouds surging from nowhere, covering the sky and the sun. Gusts of strong wind suddenly arose, making the trees in the mountains rustle.
"You're right, this weather is really unpredictable!"
After a brief moment of surprise, Chen Xiao finally smiled.
Hiss!
A bolt of lightning shot out from the dark clouds, its dazzling light dyeing the mountains silver.
"I need to cultivate a Dou Skill. If you have nothing to do, help me keep an eye out from a distance and don't let these Magical Beasts come and disturb me."
"Okay, then hurry up. I've been going to the medicinal materials management library more often these days, and Old Man Hao is watching more and more closely."
Zi Yan instructed, throwing the empty jade bottle in her hand towards a Magical Beast below, hitting it accurately on the head. She chuckled and chased after it.
Without worrying about Zi Yan, Chen Xiao sat down cross-legged on the spot, looking at the increasingly dim world, and took out the scroll of the Three Thousand Lightning Movement from his Storage Ring.
As the sound of wind and thunder intensified, large raindrops fell from the sky, instantly lowering the temperature of the world by several degrees.
However, the silver scroll in Chen Xiao's hand seemed to be automatically activated, emitting a faint warmth. Looking closely, he could even see tiny silver electric sparks flashing from it, making Chen Xiao's palm tingle.
Raising his head to look at the constantly flashing electric arcs in the dark clouds in the sky, Chen Xiao took a deep breath and, without hesitation, suddenly tore open the scroll and placed it on his legs.
In an instant, a dazzling silver light shot out from the scroll, turning into a silver electric energy column as thick as a washbasin that soared into the sky, directly piercing into the thick dark clouds high above.
The dazzling light column was extremely conspicuous in the dim world. Zi Yan, who had already run several miles away, could see it clearly. She decisively abandoned the Magical Beast she was chasing and approached to watch with a look of surprise.
Fortunately, this energy light column did not last long. It only lasted for a few breaths before rapidly retracting from the dark clouds with a 'hiss', finally completely shrinking back into the scroll.
Seeing this, Chen Xiao's heart relaxed slightly.
His gaze fell back on the scroll in front of him. He could see that the silver scroll was now wrapped in a faint silver light. On the surface of the light, strange images flickered in and out, as if demonstrating the correct cultivation method of the Three Thousand Lightning Movement.
Chen Xiao dared not be distracted. He focused his mind and concentrated, pouring out all his soul power, which was no less than that of an ordinary Alchemist, and firmly memorized every movement demonstrated by the images.
It was also at this moment that the silver light on the scroll became stronger and stronger. In the end, the scroll actually floated up slowly under the support of this light, finally stopping when it reached Chen Xiao's chest.
The flickering images became clearer and brighter, lifelike, until a certain moment, these little figures running in various forms seemed to have come to life. In the slight ripple of space, they actually broke through the shackles of the light and directly shot towards the distant sky!
"Ice Mirror!"
Chen Xiao had been prepared for a long time. An Ice Mirror suddenly appeared above his head, blocking all the escaping energy figures.
Unable to escape successfully, these energy figures stopped haphazardly in mid-air.
Seeing this, Chen Xiao's mind stirred. He controlled his soul power to wrap around all the energy figures, pulling them all into his mind.
Hiss~
A low sound of wind and thunder emanated from within Chen Xiao's body. Following closely were extremely mysterious images of figures, constantly flashing in his mind, causing Chen Xiao's body to tremble slightly.
Looking inward at this moment, Chen Xiao could clearly see countless tiny electric arcs flickering in the meridians around his body. Each flicker caused him a pain like being pricked by needles. If he hadn't undergone countless medicinal baths with the Earth Core Body Tempering Milk, which gave Chen Xiao a certain tolerance for pain, he would probably have found it difficult to maintain his composure at this moment.
"You've come to my territory and still want to run..."
Knowing that these tiny electric arcs were the manifestation of that trace of wind and thunder power, and that its origin was hidden within, Chen Xiao chuckled inwardly. He quickly formed cultivation hand seals, and the Dou Qi within his body surged, flushing the tiny electric arcs between his meridians over and over again, making them circulate along with the cultivation technique's route.
After an unknown number of cycles, the tiny electric arcs covering his meridians finally receded, revealing a silver lightning bolt shaped much like a small snake.
This was the origin of that trace of wind and thunder power!
Without hesitation, Chen Xiao's Dou Qi circulation speed suddenly increased, like a torrential flood. Before this small snake could react, it was swept up and circulated repeatedly within his meridians, until he felt that it had become as easy to control as the ice-attribute Dou Qi within his body. Only then did he slowly stop.
Opening his eyes, the thunder and rain outside continued, and the sky seemed to have become even darker.
Chen Xiao stretched out his palm and gently rubbed his two fingers together. Immediately, an extremely faint silver electric light, accompanied by a subtle hissing sound, emerged from between his fingers.
"It's done already?"
A petite figure appeared beside him like a ghost, staring curiously at Chen Xiao's fingertips.
"How could it be that easy? I've only successfully refined this trace of wind and thunder power and gained the qualification to formally cultivate it."
Although he said this, the joy on Chen Xiao's face was undeniable.
After all, the most difficult step in cultivating the Three Thousand Lightning Movement had been taken!
Next, he only needed to diligently cultivate and practice, and he would gradually master it. The cultivation conditions were no longer harsh, and he could completely practice and gain experience in the Black-Corner Region at the same time.
"So troublesome."
This complaint...
Chen Xiao couldn't refute it.
"Oh right, Old Man Su just sent me a message saying that two guests suddenly arrived and asked us to go back earlier today."
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