Chapter Forty-Seven: The Half-Baked Fighter

Su Yi calmed himself, thinking that it was impossible for him to be a Dou King. Based on his earlier examination, his own strength was merely that of a first-rank Dou Practitioner—the weakest level. This meant he was certainly not a Dou Cultivator, only a Dou Practitioner.

Still, this was not necessarily a bad thing. A faint smile crossed Su Yi’s lips as he thought to himself: now that he possessed the ability of inner vision, and relying on his talent for cultivation, his speed of advancement would surely be much faster than before. Previously, he could advance three ranks in a year, roughly one rank every four months. Now, perhaps he could shorten that to two or three months.

“Perhaps I should try my profound-level Dou Technique.” Su Yi murmured somewhat wistfully. Ever since he had been injured, he hadn’t used this Dou Technique; it had been a year, and he wondered if he could still perform it smoothly.

Without summoning the Dou Cyclone, Su Yi focused his mind, and the unfamiliar yet familiar Dou Qi surged from every part of his body, pouring into the meridians of his right arm. Feeling the swelling power in his arm, he shifted the route of his cultivation method and suddenly punched the rock beside him!

“Frozen Ice Strike!”

A dull thud echoed out. At the spot where the rock was struck, a faint chill appeared, leaving behind a patch of icy droplets.

“Alas, it seems that with the strength of a first-rank Dou Practitioner, I still can’t unleash the true power of Frozen Ice Strike.” Su Yi sighed softly. After all, when he first learned it, he was already a fourth-rank Dou Practitioner; naturally, a newcomer at the first rank couldn’t compare.

Still, he was fortunate to possess a robust physical strength, enough to shatter these massive rocks. Even recalling how he smashed the black stone table in his duel with Auburn Yu, Su Yi felt a measure of satisfaction. It wasn’t just about breaking Auburn Yu’s hand, but he knew just how tough that black stone table was. To achieve such an effect, one would need at least the strength of an entry-level Dou Cultivator to rely on Dou Qi for such a feat.

With the bitter training underwater these past few days, his physical strength had grown further. Su Yi believed he now had one foot into the realm of Dou Cultivators, and could even contend with some who had only just entered that stage—unless the opponent possessed some secret Dou Techniques or powerful weapons, then it would be a different matter.

“A first-rank Dou Practitioner really isn’t enough. Just one move and most of my Dou Qi is spent…” Feeling the scant Dou Qi left within him, Su Yi couldn’t help but feel helpless. He sat down to meditate, preparing to restore his Dou Qi through cultivation.

Yet, after circulating his Dou Qi for a while, something happened that he could scarcely believe: he hadn’t absorbed a single bit of energy!

Cultivating Dou Qi was similar to cultivating Dou Spirit: through meditation, letting Dou Qi circulate endlessly within the body, forming a loop, creating a strange attraction that draws in the surrounding elemental energy and a little chaotic Dou Qi, which is then refined into pure Dou Qi within the cyclone.

But after fiddling for ages, Su Yi realized he had none of that strange attraction—he simply couldn’t absorb any surrounding energy. Though he hadn’t touched Dou Qi for a year, he couldn’t possibly have forgotten the method. Could it be that this cyclone was defective and lacked this function altogether?

Then wouldn’t his Dou Qi be like water in a cup—use a little, and it’s gone. There’s no way to replenish it, nor to know how much the cup can hold, or how big it is.

Cursing inwardly, Su Yi felt bitterly frustrated. After all this effort, he was still stuck in this half-crippled state. Was he doomed to spend his life as a first-rank Dou Practitioner? Once his remaining Dou Qi was depleted, he wouldn’t even be able to maintain that.

It took Su Yi quite a while to calm himself. After a year, his temperament had matured, and his true mental age was several years older than his appearance—he was always relatively composed. He thought to himself: he had managed to condense a new cyclone even after being crippled; what else couldn’t he accomplish?

Perhaps there was a solution to this situation as well.

Su Yi encouraged himself: “This cyclone is strange, but who knows what peculiarities it might have? Maybe there are hidden features I’ve yet to discover.”

Putting aside thoughts of the cyclone, Su Yi turned his attention to the formidable Profound Dragon Tendon. He took it from his robes. The Profound Dragon Tendon was exceptionally mystical; a small amount of Dou Qi could activate it, making it sharp and resilient. Guided by soul power, it could dart and stab with lightning speed.

Just these qualities made the Profound Dragon Tendon a coveted weapon, though perhaps not equal to the legendary “divine artifacts” used by Dou Void and Dou God experts. Those artifacts were exceedingly rare and mysterious—only two or three were said to exist—and no one had seen them for years.

Moreover, the Profound Dragon Tendon had another special feature: it was extremely lethal to Dou Practitioners and Dou Cultivators alike. For Dou Cultivators who couldn’t project Dou Qi externally to form a protective aura, it could ignore their internal Dou Qi defenses.

Though not absolutely unstoppable, it remained a nightmare for yellow-rank cultivators among Dou Practitioners and Dou Cultivators.

As Su Yi had little Dou Qi left and no means of replenishing it, he only tested the Profound Dragon Tendon’s might a few times before stopping. He resolved to reserve his remaining Dou Qi solely for this mysterious weapon; with an unexpected strike, even encountering a powerful Dou Cultivator wouldn’t be too daunting.

“When did Dou Qi become so precious that I have to ration it…” Su Yi said ruefully, putting the Profound Dragon Tendon back in his robe and shaking his head.

He then took out his storage ring, feeling the band with his fingers. A golden currency card worth one hundred thousand gold coins appeared in his hand; he had already erased its soul imprint.

Su Yi thought to visit the city markets to look for herbs that could restore Dou Qi. He didn’t know if they'd work, but it was worth a try.

After transferring all the gold coins into his storage ring, he looked at the empty currency card and finally crushed it in his hand.

Although the currency card was sturdy, it was far more fragile than a storage ring of the same rank, and certainly couldn’t withstand the strength of a tenth-rank Dou Practitioner. Soon, it was reduced to a pile of powder, which Su Yi tossed into the pool.

From this moment on, Su Yi had eliminated any trace of the Lie family’s stolen property; the hidden threat was gone. He didn’t believe the Lie family could possibly have left any mark on these hundred thousand gold coins. The only thing left to consider was how to spend such a large sum without arousing suspicion.

As for the white mask in his storage ring, he hadn’t had time to examine it closely, being so focused on cultivation these past days. The thought of the massive bone scythe suddenly struck him—if he wore the white mask, donned a black robe, and wielded the bone scythe… Such an appearance would both conceal his identity and intimidate opponents. It seemed like a promising disguise.

With that in mind, Su Yi took out the bone scythe from his ring. Its shaft was taller than a man and felt impressively heavy in his hand. He wondered what kind of magical beast the bone came from, for it was heavier than refined iron. If not for his formidable strength, it would be difficult to wield.

He swung it a few times, the heavy blade whistling through the air. Glancing at the nearby rock, Su Yi gripped the scythe and slashed at it!

The bone scythe, powered by tremendous strength, buried its tip deep into the hard rock. He pulled it out and examined the blade—there wasn’t a single mark or dent on it. Su Yi silently marveled at its durability.

“I wonder which is tougher, the bone scythe or the Profound Dragon Tendon?” Su Yi mused, and quickly withdrew the Profound Dragon Tendon, infused it with a trace of Dou Qi and guided it with his soul power, then struck at the bone scythe!

With a clear metallic ring, the Profound Dragon Tendon—which could easily pierce stone—left no mark on the bone scythe.

Seeing this, Su Yi thought to himself: it seemed the bone scythe was indeed the main weapon of that mysterious elder. He had no idea how it was obtained, but its material was astonishingly resilient—even the Profound Dragon Tendon, which could cut through stone like mud, could do nothing against it.

He tossed the bone scythe in his hand; each time it spun slowly in the air before landing, and he caught it steadily by the shaft. After several tries, he noticed the scythe’s peculiar shape—the crescent blade and the long shaft formed a rather mysterious angle, one that felt oddly familiar.

Could it be used as a boomerang? Su Yi suddenly wondered. He positioned his right arm, held the blade horizontal at a strange angle, aimed at the distant trees, and swung with a unique force!