Inside the Xiao Family market, a piercing scream rang out only several breaths after the fact.
There was nothing to be done—Jia Lie Ao's right hand had exploded far too abruptly, so suddenly that the pain registered only after a few seconds' delay.
Xiao Xue found his shrieking noisy; with a thought she sealed his mouth and tongue with water, leaving him to emit only faint whimpers.
Yes, both Jia Lie Ao and Xiao Xue were Dou Practitioners, her cultivation merely three-stars above his.
But don't forget—Xiao Xue possessed the ability to control water.
At the same time, her Cultivation Technique, the Water-Refining Manual, had been raised to Yellow Rank High-Grade with experience points; thanks to its "none-tier" nature it rivaled a Profound Rank technique.
Whereas the technique Jia Lie Ao currently practised was only mid-to-upper Yellow Rank.
Add to that the fact he broke through to Dou Practitioner only at twenty and spent his days lost in brothels—he was a combat weakling.
Thus the gap between them lay not only in the quantity of Dou Qi but also in its quality.
Against a rookie like Jia Lie Ao, barely a Dou Practitioner at twenty-one, Xiao Xue could smack his head crooked with a casual wave.
With one hand crippled, Jia Lie Ao twitched on the ground; the young master's Guards gaped for ages before remembering to staunch the bleeding.
His entire right hand was gone; blood gushed from the wound as if it cost nothing.
If they forgot to stop the bleeding, he might die of blood loss right there!
At the sight of his misery the onlookers all drew a cold breath, faces filled with shock.
Xiao Yan gaped, staring at the convulsing Jia Lie Ao, eyelids twitching uncontrollably.
Without a high-grade pill capable of regrowing severed limbs, that hand of his was finished.
Such regenerative pills, Old Yao had said, were at least sixth-tier—priceless and unobtainable.
"Anti-Inflammation Mom's Classroom is in session: if your kid turns out like Jia Lie Ao, odds are he's trash… ahem."
Before Xiao Yan could speak, Xiao Xue swung a foot into his rear while pulling Xun'er, using the recoil to leap backward.
Newton contentedly climbed back into his coffin.
The next instant, the stone slabs where the trio had stood exploded apart!
Newton's sworn brother, Niu Bi, took over the scene.
"So young, yet so vicious—today this Old Man will discipline you in place of Xiao Zhan!"
An elder appeared from nowhere; judging by his attire he was a senior of the Jia Lie Family.
The Jia Lie Family naturally wouldn't send only a good-for-nothing like Jia Lie Ao; this Old Man was presumably the real scout.
While other Guards carried Jia Lie Ao away, the elder resolved to recover face for the young master.
At the sight of a Dou Master taking action, the crowd scattered at once.
In Utan City a Dou Master counted as upper-mid combat strength; anyone caught in the crossfire would suffer beyond their means.
A spectacle is only fun if you're alive to watch it.
Xiao Xue eyed the Old Man and sneered, "Teach me a lesson? With what?"
According to the System, this geezer was an Eight-star Dou Shi—an entire major Realm above her Five-Star Dou Practitioner.
Yet with the current small gap between each star, she would dare fight even a Great Dou Master.
"A mere Dou Practitioner dares rave before me—like a mayfly shaking a tree, ridiculously over-confident!"
The elder's voice was grating, like a screaming chicken that had learned human speech.
Finding him noisy, Xiao Xue lashed out with Soul Power, striking straight into the Old Man's Sea of Consciousness.
The instant he faltered she kicked a nearby bucket of stall-washing water, drenching the Old Man in filth.
With only Eight-star Dou Shi cultivation, her current strength couldn't directly control the blood or water inside him.
But if external water coated him, that was another matter.
Splattered with dirty water, the elder came to his senses in dishevelment—only to see Xiao Xue draw an ice-blue longsword.
The blade, exchanged from the System, was of modest grade—sufficient only up to Great Dou Master—but adequate for now.
After Great Dou Master came Dou Spirit, who could condense weapons from Dou Qi; paired with her Water Control, blades became less essential.
Hence she hadn't obsessed over hoarding points for some peerless divine weapon.
With a casual flourish she swept her sword, eyeing the fuming elder in disdain.
"I never wished to waste time on small fry like you—yet some fail to appreciate the beauty of being alive."
She gave a soft laugh. "Just now you said I was a mayfly shaking a tree, ridiculously over-confident?"
Then she raised her right hand; the icy tip of her sword pointed straight at the Old Man as she regarded him coldly and said,
"Come—crush this presumptuous Ant!"
Watching Xiao Xue's rather arrogant move, Xiao Yan's face showed clear anxiety, but the girl's light, clear voice made him freeze mid-step:
"Cousin Xiao Yan, trust Sister Xiao Xue. She's not reckless; she wouldn't provoke someone without confidence."
"Xun'er…" Xiao Yan turned back, looked at the smiling Xun'er, hesitated for a moment, and could only sigh and nod—though he still began secretly calling for Old Yao.
The Xiao Family Guards were some distance away; it would take them time to arrive, and none of them had the strength of a Dou Master.
If the opponent really tried to kill, he would have to let Old Yao intervene and save his sister.
If his sister truly faced danger, Xiao Yan would act even at the risk of exposing Old Yao's existence.
While Xiao Yan and Old Yao were communicating, Xiao Xue opened the System interface and selected [Upgrade].
The Old Man was, after all, an Eight-star Dou Shi—a full major Realm above her. Xiao Xue was confident, but not arrogant; she had always been cautious.
So Xiao Xue raised her level straight to nineteen, Peak Dou Practitioner.
In the courtyard, Xiao Xue's Aura suddenly surged, startling both Xiao Yan and Xun'er.
After boosting her character level to nineteen, Xiao Yan—who sensed the change—was already a bit numb.
Before, his sister had been stuck and unable to break through to Dou Practitioner, but now her Breakthroughs were as easy as eating and drinking.
No—as easy as breathing!
He didn't know how she managed it; he only knew that the current Xiao Xue could only be described as Heaven-Defying.
The ring on Xiao Yan's finger trembled slightly, showing that Old Yao's heart wasn't calm either.
With his strength, he could naturally tell Xiao Xue hadn't used some secret art to boost her power—she had genuinely become a Nine-Star Dou Practitioner!
A fourteen-year-old Nine-Star Dou Practitioner; breaking through to Dou Master before fifteen was almost guaranteed.
In the history of the Fighting Qi Continent, only a handful had become Dou Masters at fifteen.
And as long as those people didn't fall midway, they all became towering pillars of cultivation.
Old Yao glanced at his own disciple who only had Third Stage Dou Qi and couldn't help sighing, while Xiao Xun Er looked at Xiao Xue, brilliant light flashing in her beautiful eyes.
Though Xiao Xue acted cautiously, she would give her all against any opponent, striking with full force from the start.
Although the Old Man was an Eight-star Dou Shi, to Xiao Yan and the others it seemed Xiao Xue held the upper hand.
The Old Man tried to overwhelm Xiao Xue with speed and Dou Qi, only to find his own body incredibly sluggish.
An invisible force was suppressing his movements, slowing him down.
That force was scattered among tiny Water Droplets—seemingly insignificant, yet it always played a crucial role at key moments.
Using the advantages of her Cultivation Technique and Dou Technique, along with her Water Control ability, Xiao Xue erased the gap in strength between them.
Xiao Xue's Mist Sword had already reached Minor Achievement; faint misty effects drifted from her blade, making the entire scene dazzling!
Xiao Xue was even displaying an overwhelming momentum!
Leaving aside whether it was fierce, the Mist Sword's special effects were genuinely cool!
A fan of flashy effects, Xiao Xue was very satisfied.
Moreover, Mist Sword was a Black Rank High-Grade Dou Technique—more than enough to deal with this Old Man.
After only a few exchanges, the Old Man revealed a flaw, and Xiao Xue seized the chance to strike.
Xiao Xue's Sword Qi, after thrusting out steadily, curved smoothly in mid-air, tracing a strange arc.
Such sword manipulation was peculiar and utterly ruthless!
The thrust looked casual, elegant, and free, yet the next instant the Old Man's right arm suddenly separated from his body.
The sword was simply too fast and too bizarre; the Old Man had no time to block.
Realizing the dire situation, the Old Man immediately tried to flee.
"Today's humiliation—this Old Man will remember. Just you wait—"
"Trying to leave?"
A cold voice sounded beside his ear; at some point Xiao Xue had quietly appeared next to him.
"So noisy."
The Old Man's stereotypical villainous voice grated on Xiao Xue's nerves; she really wanted to crush his Larynx.
That's exactly what she thought—and exactly what she did.
With a crooked smile and icy eyes, her merciless iron hand clamped around the Old Man's neck.
Under his terrified gaze, she squeezed hard, crushing his throat, then flung the corpse away like trash.
Her casual manner suggested she'd merely squashed another insignificant Ant.