"Boom!"
The flood-dragon-shaped energy body swept across the air, surging fiercely as it dove down and slammed into the cliff face on the opposite bank of the river, erupting in a deafening roar.
Dust billowed skyward as a large section of the cliff face collapsed, crashing down into the river below and throwing up one massive splash after another.
"Hu…"
Xiao Ting landed heavily back on the ground, taking a long breath.
To impress… ahem, no—the business of a transmigrator could not be called "showing off."
It was purely to give Yao Lao a little shock and prove that he wasn't just some "country bumpkin." He'd put a bit too much power into the second stage of the "Heavenly Seal"; in that instant, more than half his Battle Qi had been consumed. That wasn't exactly easy for him to handle.
Fortunately, he cultivated a low-tier Earth-rank cultivation method. Once he started circulating his energy, drawing in the power of heaven and earth to replenish his Battle Qi, the vortex in his dantian quickly refilled.
Watching all this, Xiao Yan could barely contain his envy. "So strong…"
This was the "cultivation" he dreamed about day and night—power truly belonging to oneself.
Too bad that right now he was still just a little nobody whose Battle Qi was barely about to break through to the ninth stage.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but cast a resentful glance at Yao Lao. Originally, he could have already become a Dou Master by now.
Still, with such a mysterious teacher, his future would surely be brighter.
"Today is really your first day cultivating this Earth-rank battle skill?" Yao Lao couldn't help but double-check.
"Yeah." Xiao Ting showed a simple, honest smile. "Senior, I've been practicing for so long and barely managed to reach entry level. I don't know when I'll be able to master it. My performance is probably only average, right? I still can't compare to the geniuses of Central Plains—I'll have to work much harder, won't I?"
Yao Lao: "…"
If this was only "average", then this Battle Qi Continent might not have a single "genius" worthy of the name.
Back in the day, he had been a member of the Yao Clan. He'd seen the continent's top-tier talents, including those with Dou Emperor bloodlines—yet none of them were this monstrous.
For most people, half an hour of first-time practice with a battle skill—especially an Earth-rank one—would at best get them to entry level, and even that was enough to label them a seed-level genius in their clan.
The same thought surfaced in Ling Ying's mind from his hidden vantage point.
Judging purely by comprehension in cultivation methods and battle skills, Xiao Ting didn't lose out in the slightest to those top heaven's-proud sons of the Ancient Clans, and might even faintly surpass them. It was simply unbelievable.
"Well, you can't exactly call that 'average'. It's… quite good," Yao Lao said, his heart guilty but his expression serious. "But there's still a certain gap between you and true geniuses."
"That said, with me personally guiding you, catching up to those peak talents won't be a problem."
"Tsk."
Hidden in the shadows, Ling Ying shook his head inwardly.
This "Medicine Venerable" really dared to brag—taking advantage of Xiao Ting's ignorance of Central Plains and puffing himself up without shame. He wasn't worried in the slightest about how awkward it would be once the truth came out in the future.
And he even insisted on slapping gold leaf on his own face. Quite the eye-opener today.
"My little brother is this amazing, yet that's still only 'quite good'?" Xiao Yan exclaimed in all seriousness. "Those so-called geniuses, what, can they master an Earth-rank skill at a glance? Or do they casually create their own techniques?"
"Looks like if I want to become strong in the future, I'll have to create my own battle skills."
Yao Lao: "…"
Ling Ying: "…"
And there we have it—a poor kid who'd actually been successfully misled.
"Come here, boy. Let me show you where you went wrong just now." Despite the tough talk, Yao Lao was quite serious in his teaching.
Either he really did have a gift for instruction, or Xiao Ting's comprehension was just that outstanding. Everything felt easy to understand, and his level of mastery clearly improved.
After a few minor corrections and adjustments, Xiao Ting completely exhausted his Battle Qi and went to rest at the side.
He didn't waste this time. Instead, he began writing his cultivation insights into the Journal.
…
[Thanks to the blessing of the Plane, I've already reached minor success in Heavenly Seal, this low-tier Earth-rank battle skill.]
[My own comprehension really isn't bad, and Yao Lao truly deserves his reputation as a teacher of Flame Emperor—his teaching ability is excellent.]
[At this pace, by tomorrow I should be able to reach a proficient level with this skill and unleash the third stage, the Dragon Seal.]
[Aside from progress in cultivation, I've discovered that Yao Lao's mouth is very hard. He says my talent…]
[If we cremated his corpse, the only thing left would be his mouth.]
[On his whole body, his mouth is the hardest part.]
…
"Pfft!"
The various women holding the Journal copies couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Xiao Ting's final evaluation of Yao Lao was truly too amusing.
…
In the Pill Region of Central Plains, within the city of Cao, Cao Ying sat on a rooftop in a long dress, holding a copy of the Journal. A crafty gleam flashed in her lively eyes. "I never would've thought the Medicine Venerable who once shook the continent, whose alchemy surpassed the current three giants of the Pill Tower, would have this kind of personality."
"I heard he and Venerable Feng once shared life-and-death battles. Venerable Feng has spent all these years wandering the world searching for him. If I pass this intel on to him, they'll both owe me a favor. I might even get Medicine Venerable to take me as a disciple—it's not impossible."
"If I, Cao Ying, am to take a master, it'll only be the very best."
When it came to combat talent, Cao Ying wouldn't dare claim she was peerless, but in alchemy she considered herself second to none—at least better than Xiao Yan.
She was born with Peak Mortal State soul power. At seven, she became a 1-star alchemist. At twenty, a 7-star. At twenty-two, she became an 8-rank Pill Master.
Xiao Yan, on the other hand, only began learning alchemy after he became a Dou Practitioner at sixteen; in ten years he advanced to an 8-rank alchemist.
Clearly it wasn't that she was inferior to Xiao Yan; it was that her future master Xuan Kongzi simply couldn't compare to Yao Lao.
"Too bad I can't reveal the Journal's information to anyone," Cao Ying said with a troubled look on her delicate face.
…
Wu Tan City, West Street, Jade Flower Hall.
Having finished working out the details, Little Fairy Doctor and Xun Er shared a look of perfect understanding, both seeing the smile in the other's eyes.
"This Senior Yao is actually quite childlike," Little Fairy Doctor said, folding her hands over her lap.
Xun Er covered her mouth and laughed softly. "Indeed. Who would have thought he was once the number one below the Saint realm?"
"But he wasn't wrong about one thing: with his guidance, Brother Xiao Ting will definitely grow faster."
In the future, Yao Lao would be a genuine teacher of a Flame Emperor.
One might question his eyesight in judging people, and even his strength and alchemy—but never his ability to teach disciples.
…
"'Hardest mouth'…?"
In the southern province of the Jia Ma Empire, Queen Medusa, who was on her way toward the Snake-People's tribe, wore a very subtle expression.
If she remembered correctly, Xiao Ting's evaluation of her had been, "On her entire body, only her lips are hard."
Somehow she felt… called out.
"Heh." Queen Medusa stretched lazily.
"Little brat, I hope you'll still have the spine to match your words when you stand before this queen."
…
In the Wind Lightning Pavilion of the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, Feng Qing Er, who was cultivating a secret art on a mountaintop, let out a cold snort. "We geniuses from Central Plains are naturally not something those from random backwater places can compare to."
Perhaps because she had already been "corrected" by Xiao Yan as one of the representative talents of Central Plains, Feng Qing Er, who technically counted as part of the Beast Region, still felt an intense sense of personal involvement.
Her spirit of resistance was fully fired up.
Yet in the next moment, her expression turned wonderfully complicated—feeling like she'd just been slapped in the face.
…
[Yao Lao keeps going on about how amazing Central Plains is. I really wonder what his expression will be like when we encounter the Woeful Poison Body, the Jade Snake Three Flower Pupils, and the Seven-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python one after another in the mere Jia Ma Empire.]
[I'll make sure to record his reactions in detail.]
…
Women holding the Journal copies: !!!
…