The moment the breakthrough was completed, Xiao Qing felt a thunderous roar in his mind as countless inspirations and techniques regarding fire manipulation emerged out of thin air.

Many obscure and difficult points he had encountered while Cultivating the "Fire Palm" in the past, which had felt slightly sluggish when executed, now suddenly became clear and seamlessly connected.

It was as if a Master who had been immersed in this path for decades had poured his entire life's experience into him.

Xiao Qing's heart stirred; he subconsciously raised his hand and circulated his Qi.

Yellow Rank Intermediate Dou Technique, Fire Palm!

"Whoosh!"

It was not a simple eruption of flames; instead, a condensed, scorching flame, vaguely outlining the silhouette of a Dragon, roared out from Xiao Qing's palm.

The intense heat instantly evaporated the humidity in the cave, and the emitted firelight illuminated the entire cave in a crimson glow.

The Dragon-shaped flame struck accurately against a hard rock outside the cave.

Boom—crack—

Amidst a loud bang, the rock shattered directly, its interior violently exploding into countless small fragments that splattered in all directions; many of the stone fragments even showed traces of melting!

A moment later, Xiao Qing withdrew his palm. Looking at the pale red Qi still lingering on his palm and the hot air remaining in the atmosphere, he was astonished by the power of his strike.

'With the support of 【Fire Control · Advanced】, the power of this originally mediocre Yellow Rank Intermediate Dou Technique is probably approaching or even comparable to some Yellow Rank Advanced Dou Techniques, right?'

'If used by surprise, this strike is enough to severely injure or even kill a Nine-Star Dou Zhe!'

Xiao Qing murmured inwardly, his eyes flashing with excitement.

'If this is the power of a mere Mortal Grade Advanced 【Talent】, then what would the Spiritual Grade and Heaven Grade... look like?'

Xiao Qing's eyes grew brighter, filled with anticipation and longing for the future.

Feeling the remaining two thousand-plus Innate Spiritual Essence within his body, as well as the critical sensation of being on the verge of another breakthrough, Xiao Qing did not hesitate.

Continue adding points!

With a slight movement of his mind, the mysterious book floating deep in his consciousness began to move without wind. The mysterious runes on its pages began to circulate, and an invisible yet indescribable great power emerged quietly, instantly locking and isolating the space within a ten-mile radius.

All external sounds suddenly vanished, as if even the wind had ceased to drift, turning this piece of heaven and earth into an independent Domain!

At the same time, the heaven and earth energy within the locked area seemed to hear the mobilization of a supreme existence, and with an unprecedentedly docile attitude, it frantically gathered towards the cave and towards Xiao Qing.

The massive amount of energy was compressed to the extreme, emitting a faint buzzing sound, and finally transformed into a fist-sized, dazzling, almost solid pure white light ball, emitting heart-palpitating energy fluctuations.

It was also at this moment that a wisp of purer Origin separated from the spiritual radiance representing the opportunity for evolution, merging with the extremely compressed pure white energy light ball!

In the next instant, this fused ball of radiance, as if it had found its target, entered Xiao Qing's glabella without resistance, surging directly into the depths of Xiao Qing's soul.

Hum—

Suddenly, Xiao Qing felt a refreshing sensation in his mind, as if a sweet divine spring had washed over him; every trace of impurities in his soul was being purified and refined, becoming increasingly miraculous!

The fused energy did not stop, but continued to surge throughout his entire body, merging into every inch of flesh and even every Meridian.

An indescribable feeling of comfort instantly spread throughout his body, as if the very Origin of life had been nourished and sublimated at this moment!

The light ball provided the massive energy required for the breakthrough, while that miraculous spiritual light was the most critical and essential element in pushing the 【Talent】 from the Mortal Grade to the Spiritual Grade; it was a fragment of the Law, a manifestation of a higher level of mystery.

In an instant, Xiao Qing felt his consciousness detach from the shackles of his physical body, wandering across the sky, and generating some mysterious and unknown resonance and Fusion with the surrounding heaven and earth.

Xiao Qing was no longer simply absorbing energy; it was as if he had become a part of heaven and earth, undergoing a leap in the level of life and a sublimation at the level of the soul.

A gentle yet thick warm current continued to cleanse his body and soul, bringing an extreme feeling of being reborn!

Xiao Qing involuntarily closed his eyes slowly, his entire focus immersed in internal vision, carefully experiencing every subtle and magical change brought about after the 【Talent】 broke through to the Spiritual Grade.

His understanding of fire was being overturned and reconstructed.

After a long time, Xiao Qing's eyelashes trembled slightly, and he slowly opened his eyes!

Sss—

It was as if two substantial flames had been ignited in the deepest part of Xiao Qing's pupils!

Deep within his originally black pupils, there was faintly a crimson light circulating.

Looking closely, it seemed as if there were truly two tiny flames burning quietly.

This caused the temperature of the air wherever Xiao Qing looked to seem to rise quietly, carrying an invisible pressure.

Spiritual Grade 【Talent】!

Achievement!

Chapter 3, Fire Control; Xiao Qing, who plans to live off Gu Xun'er

The book in his consciousness updated the information at the right time:

【Fire Control · Initial Stage (1/100): Your control over fire has entered a very high Realm; with a slight movement of your mind, you can wield fire like an extension of your arm, with exquisite precision. The speed of absorbing and refining fire-attribute energy is greatly increased; resistance to fire and fire-attribute energy attacks is greatly enhanced. Fire element affinity is slightly increased.】

'Fire element affinity?'

Xiao Qing recited this brand-new term in his heart.

Subconsciously, he touched his chin; the flames dancing in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by deep contemplation.

This no longer seemed to be just a simple increase in control and resistance...

Affinity means that the relationship between Xiao Qing himself and the fire element, a basic energy between heaven and earth, has undergone a brand-new change!

Closer, more harmonious, and even...

Easier to understand its "emotions" and "Law"!

'Is this... an elevation in status?'

Xiao Qing quickly realized that the changes brought about by this breakthrough were far more miraculous than he had imagined.

This was not just an accumulation of quantity, but a qualitative leap, opening a door to something more mysterious for Xiao Qing!

Xiao Qing's mind sank into his body, and after a slight check, he was both surprised and delighted.

His cultivation, along with the 【Talent】 breakthrough, had actually also risen to a Three-Star Dou Zhe!

The Dou Zhi Qi vortex was a full circle larger than before, spinning faster, and the Dou Qi contained within it had significantly soared in both quantity and quality.

What made Xiao Qing even more delighted was that for this two-star cultivation forcefully raised, the Dou Qi did not have the slightest feeling of instability or superficiality in the Foundation!

On the contrary, it was extremely condensed, and the Foundation was as solid as if he had Cultivated it step by step himself, or even better!

Every wisp of Dou Qi flowing through his meridians carried a sense of substantial power, moving with ease and without any feeling of obstruction.

'What an unexpected joy!'

Xiao Qing could not help but slightly raise the corners of his mouth.

Xiao Qing carefully estimated his current true strength.

Although he was only a Three-Star Dou Zhe, Xiao Qing could directly feel that relying on his pure Dou Qi, which far exceeded those of the same Level, and his newly transformed Spiritual Grade 【Fire Control】 talent, even if he were to face a Dou Master expert who could condense a Dou Qi gauze, he was confident that he could face them head-on for a few moves without falling into a disadvantage!

Between a Dou Zhe and a Dou Master, although it is not like the later major Realms which have a chasm-like gap, the difference still cannot be underestimated!

A Dou Master is stronger than a Dou Zhe in terms of total Dou Qi amount, recovery speed, and the application of Dou Qi.

Xiao Qing knew clearly that his advantage at this moment lay in the quality of his Dou Qi and his extreme Fire Control techniques, which were enough to smooth out the gap between Levels in a short time and burst out with astonishing combat power.

'But after all, the storage of Dou Qi is far inferior to a real Dou Master.'

Xiao Qing thought calmly.

'If I cannot end the battle quickly, after exchanging a few moves, once the Dou Qi is exhausted, I will be powerless and left to be slaughtered!'

Thinking of this, a flash of heat crossed Xiao Qing's eyes, and his obsession with cultivation techniques deepened significantly.

If he could cultivation a Profound Rank Low-level cultivation technique...

Relying on the Dou Qi quality and total amount far superior to Yellow Rank cultivation techniques, plus his Spiritual Grade 【Talent】, perhaps...

He could truly possess the strength to fight a low-star Dou Master head-on, or even defeat them!

Rumble—

Just then, an extremely loud sound suddenly came from Xiao Qing's stomach, and an intense feeling of hunger surged into his heart, directly scattering his thoughts.

"So hungry..."

Xiao Qing held his instantly empty stomach.

He felt as if his body had been hollowed out, and he urgently needed to consume a large amount of food to replenish the consumed energy.

'How come promoting a Spiritual Grade 【Talent】 feels like it's about to suck me dry?'

Xiao Qing complained faintly in his heart, and at the same time noticed the changes in the surrounding environment.

Inside and outside the cave, the heaven and earth energy had become extremely thin, as if it had been completely drained, and was now flowing back very slowly from further away to replenish.

'It seems that this breakthrough consumed not only Innate Spiritual Essence, but the energy required also reached a terrifying level.' Xiao Qing felt a chill in his heart.

'No, next time if I want to advance or breakthrough again, I cannot choose here!'

'It's still too close to the Xiao Family, and the commotion is too big, making it easy to attract attention; I must find a more remote place with abundant energy.'

'Let's stop here for today; I'm so hungry I'm starving, getting back to eat is what's important.'

Xiao Qing patted his famished stomach, jumped down from the bluestone, and left the cave with slightly hurried steps.

Xiao Qing walked back to the area where the Clan lived, the setting sun stretching his shadow very, very long.

The hunger in his stomach was still intense, but a greater longing in his heart was churning at this moment!

'It seems I need to plan my future cultivation techniques properly.'

Xiao Qing pondered secretly, frowning.

The Yellow Rank Intermediate "Mystic Fire Technique" is still enough for the Dou Zhe, and even the early Dou Master stage, but with the improvement of strength and the evolution of the Spiritual Grade 【Talent】, it has already become his current shortcoming.

The cultivation technique Level directly determines the speed, total amount, and recovery ability of Dou Qi Cultivation, which is crucial.

As his thoughts turned, a name naturally appeared in his mind—

Xiao Yan!

This nominal "younger cousin", actually a "fellow countryman", is only over three years old now, still a young child.

And about half a year later, that girl who is enough to change the entire Wutan City, and even affect the situation of the continent for countless years in the future, will be sent to the Xiao Family...

'Gu Xun'er...'

Xiao Qing recited this name in his heart, a complex light flashing in the depths of his eyes.

Who wouldn't like such a perfect partner with a deep background, who is wealthy enough to rival a nation, is "super rich", and once she sets her sights on someone, will be "brain-dead in love only for you"?

Xiao Qing shook his head, very calmly facing this version of himself.

Sorry, he, Old Qing, is just a vulgar person; he might be able to rely on himself for delicacies, but when this fragrant soft meal is delivered to his mouth, how could he not eat it?

As for how to attract the gaze of this young lady of the Gu Clan from the originally fated Xiao Yan to himself...

Xiao Qing raised the corners of his mouth slightly, having already thought of a plan.

There are many ways, and it's not to the point of using some low-class means.

'Sneaking over the wall in the middle of the night to touch a little girl?'

Xiao Qing chuckled.

He, Xiao Qing, would not do such a thing!

Subsequently, Xiao Qing's mind began to spin rapidly:

'Similar age is an advantage; she is coming to Wutan City for the first time, and being unfamiliar with the place, her heart must be sensitive and uneasy.'

'A first impression that is just right, not deliberate, but sincere, is crucial!'

Showing "Talent" and "mental state" far beyond his peers?

'No, not too much, especially under the nose of the Gu Clan, but the occasionally revealed maturity and unique insights into things might make her feel surprised.'

Most importantly...

"Companionship" and "sense of security"; at the time when she is most lonely and needs friends the most, appearing as a gentle, reliable, interesting, yet not overstepping big brother, influencing her subtly...

'And the Xiao Family... perhaps I can take this opportunity to slightly improve my current situation; if I can get even a tiny bit of care from the young lady of the Gu Clan, many things will become much easier.'

Countless thoughts and preliminary plans outlined a vague contour in his mind.

Xiao Qing took a gentle breath, suppressing all these emerging distracting thoughts in his heart.

For now, it's best to fill his stomach first, and then prepare for the "opportunity" that will come soon.