48: Six-month seclusion

Jiang Donghua sat cross-legged deep within the cave, his Dou Qi surging like flames, casting a crimson glow throughout the entire cavern.

"Hmph—"

He slowly exhaled a turbid breath, which shot out like an arrow, leaving a shallow mark on the rock wall.

"Finally, a Dou Master!"

He opened his eyes, and deep within his pupils, crimson flames seemed to dance. An aura several times more powerful than before erupted from his body, causing gravel to rattle down from the cave ceiling.

One-star Dou Master!

Upon entering the Dou Master realm, the Dou Qi within the body was no longer as dispersed as it was during the Dou Practitioner stage.

Instead, it condensed into a liquid, flowing within the cyclone, each strand containing even greater explosive power.

Jiang Donghua clenched his fist, feeling the surging power within his body, and a hint of arrogant smile played on his lips.

"Is this the power of a Dou Master?"

He suddenly punched the cave wall!

"Boom!"

The rock cracked, and where his fist wind passed, it actually smashed out a half-foot deep indentation!

"Not bad!"

Previously, his full-strength strike could only leave a shallow mark.

But now, a casual punch had such power!

The two Yellow Rank High-Tier Dou Techniques he knew, Blazing Flame Palm and Roaming Cloud Steps, had long been cultivated to a state of perfection. Now, with the boost from the Dou Master realm, their power surged even more!

"Blazing Flame Palm!"

Crimson Dou Qi condensed in his palm, and he slammed it forward!

"Rumble!"

A scorching wave of fire swept out, directly smashing the giant rock at the cave entrance, sending gravel flying and smoke billowing!

"This palm strike is enough to instantly kill an ordinary one-star Dou Master!"

Jiang Donghua nodded in satisfaction, then his figure flickered. He executed Roaming Cloud Steps, and his entire being moved through the cave like a ghost, so fast that he almost left afterimages!

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

In just a few breaths, he had circled the cave several times, finally landing steadily back in his original spot, his breathing not even disturbed.

"My movement technique has also improved significantly."

Activating the afk, another clone appeared!

"Host: Jiang Donghua"

"Realm: One-star Dou Master (0/1000)"

"Main Cultivation Method: Heaven Burning Art (profound rank mid-level)"

"afk Earnings"

"Clone 1: 4 points/hour"

"Clone 2: 4 points/hour"

"Clone 3: 4 points/hour"

"Current Total Earnings: 12 points/hour"

"Dou Technique: yellow rank high grade Movement Technique Roaming Cloud Steps (perfected) No further improvement possible, yellow rank high grade Palm Technique Blazing Flame Palm (perfected) No further improvement possible"

"Pill Formula: bone-mending pill, not yet initiated (0/100)"

Jiang Donghua stared at the system panel, his brows slightly furrowed.

"It's good that there are more clones, but why has the cultivation speed of each clone decreased by one point?"

It changed from the original 5 points/hour to 4 points/hour. Although the total income increased from 10 points to 12 points, the efficiency of a single clone did indeed decrease.

"Strange, is it because the realm has improved, and the quality of experience has increased?"

He shook his head, too lazy to delve deeper.

"Forget it, as long as I have the afk!"

Anyway, he didn't plan to rely entirely on afk for cultivation; true growth still had to come from combat!

His gaze swept to the bottom of the system panel, and Jiang Donghua's lips curved into a smile.

"bone-mending pill? It's time to afk it!"

He hadn't paid attention to this function before, as alchemy was still an unfamiliar field to him.

"Let's try it!"

With a thought, the system responded immediately.

"bone-mending pill afk cultivation has been activated!"

"Current progress: 0/100"

"afk efficiency: 0.1 points/hour"

"Why is it still this speed, 0.1? This is too slow!"

Jiang Donghua pouted, just about to close it, when he suddenly noticed.

"Wait, has the system updated?"

He looked closely and found that the afk speed of the bone-mending pill was slowly increasing!

0.1 → 0.5 → 1.0 → 2.0 → 3.0!

It finally stabilized at 3.0 points/hour!

"What the heck?!"

Jiang Donghua's eyes widened, and he couldn't help but curse.

"This afk speed can actually increase on its own?!"

At this rate, 100 points of experience would only take a little over 30 hours to get started!

"I can learn the bone-mending pill in a day and a half?!"

If all three clones afk together, it would only take half a day to get started.

This was truly a huge advantage.

This was much faster than him fumbling around on his own!

A hint of playfulness flashed in Jiang Donghua's eyes.

"Mo Xuan, that old fellow, he used to bluff people by flaunting his power. Now if he knew that I not only broke through to Dou Master but also knew alchemy~"

He couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"I wonder if he'd be so scared his beard would stand on end?"

However, alchemy isn't something that can be mastered just by afk; subsequent material collection and temperature control all require personal effort.

"No rush, let's get started first!"

Besides, he still had ten sets of bone-mending pill ingredients in his large and small bags.

He just forgot that he didn't have a Medicine Cauldron on him, so he couldn't even experiment and practice.

Jiang Donghua stepped out of the cave, sunlight falling on him, making him appear like a drawn sword, its sharpness fully revealed.

He stretched, feeling the surging Dou Qi within his body, and a satisfied smile played on his lips.

"Four-Star Dou Shi, this afk is simply heaven-defying!"

In just over twenty days, he not only afk the bone-mending pill to a state of perfection, but his cultivation also soared, directly breaking through to Four-Star Dou Shi!

One must know that an ordinary Dou Master would need at least several months of arduous cultivation, or even longer, to advance by one star.

And he, relying solely on the afk, broke through while lying down!

"If those old fellow who have cultivated for decades knew about this, they'd probably be so angry they'd spit blood."

He looked down at his bulging packages, filled with medicinal herbs, demonic cores, and some unexpected treasures he had plundered in the mountain range during this time.

"Too many things, they're almost overflowing. I need to go back to Jia Nan Academy first."

"These many resources are more than enough to exchange for a dozen storage rings."

"In the future, I definitely won't have to carry these large and small bags like I'm moving house again."

"It's time to go back."

He took a deep breath, just about to use Roaming Cloud Steps to travel, when suddenly.

"Boom!"

A muffled sound came from afar, followed by the explosive sound of Dou Qi colliding, faintly mixed with a few urgent shouts.

"Someone needs help?"

Jiang Donghua frowned, listening intently.

The sound came from the dense forest on the other side of the mountain path, not far from Jia Nan Academy.

Logically, this area should be active only with people from the academy.

"Could it be that students are in danger?"

He didn't want to meddle, but then he thought, he was a Four-Star Dou Shi now, his strength had surged, and it was a good opportunity to test his skills.

Moreover, if it really was one of their own, saving them might earn him a favor.

"Whoosh!"

Dou Qi surged under his feet, Roaming Cloud Steps instantly activated, and his entire being swept out like a ghost, his figure rising and falling among the treetops, as swift as a nimble monkey.

In a few breaths, he had approached the source of the sound.

Through the tree shadows, he vaguely saw three young men dressed in Jia Nan Academy uniforms standing back-to-back in the clearing ahead, their faces pale, their Dou Qi erratic, clearly having overexerted themselves.

"Damn it! This beast is too fast!"

One of the youths gritted his teeth.

"Careful! It's coming again!"

Another exclaimed.

"Swish!"

A dark golden shadow suddenly darted out from the bushes, moving so fast it almost left an afterimage, its sharp claws aimed directly at the throat of one of the youths!

"Get out of the way!"

Jiang Donghua's eyes swept over, and he instantly recognized this magical beast.

"Golden Shadow Demonic Ape?!"

This was an extremely rare ape-type magical beast, naturally incredibly fast. Upon reaching adulthood, it could achieve the strength of a Nine-star Dou Zhe, and even temporarily burst out with speed comparable to a Dou Master!

The Golden Shadow Demonic Ape in front of him had clearly reached adulthood, and its strength was at least at the peak of Nine-star Dou Zhe!

And the three youths, the strongest of whom was only a Four-Star Dou Zhe, were no match at all!

"Roar!"

The Golden Shadow Demonic Ape missed its attack, roared angrily, turned its body, and pounced towards another youth again!

"It's over!"

The youth's face turned pale, and he had no time to dodge.

At this critical moment.

"Blazing Flame Palm!"

A scorching wave of fire suddenly struck from the side, fiercely hitting the Golden Shadow Demonic Ape!

"Boom!"

The Golden Shadow Demonic Ape was sent flying by this palm strike, crashing heavily into a tree, which instantly snapped!

"Who?!"

The three youths turned their heads in shock, only to see a slender figure slowly descending from the treetops, his body surging with Dou Qi like flames, his aura astonishing!

"Dou Master?!"

The three stared with wide eyes, looking at Jiang Donghua in disbelief.

Jiang Donghua ignored them, his gaze fixed on the Golden Shadow Demonic Ape.

"Roar!"

The Golden Shadow Demonic Ape crawled up from the ground, its eyes filled with even fiercer malice, staring intently at Jiang Donghua, clearly enraged.

"Beast, you're seeking death!"

Jiang Donghua sneered, Roaming Cloud Steps activated under his feet, and his figure instantly vanished from its original spot!

"Whoosh!"

The Golden Shadow Demonic Ape's pupils contracted, instinctively wanting to dodge, but Jiang Donghua's speed was even faster!

"Bang!"

With a punch, the Golden Shadow Demonic Ape's chest caved in, and blood spurted wildly!

"Roar—"

It let out a mournful shriek, then turned and tried to flee.

"Trying to run?"

A cold glint flashed in Jiang Donghua's eyes, crimson Dou Qi condensed in his palm, and he slammed it out!

"Blazing Flame Palm!"

"Boom!"

The wave of fire swept through, and the Golden Shadow Demonic Ape was directly sent flying dozens of meters, crashing heavily to the ground, its life force completely gone!

"Hiss—"

The three youths gasped, looking at Jiang Donghua as if he were a monster.

Jiang Donghua clapped his hands, turned to the three, and said indifferently, "Are you alright?"

"No... we're fine!"

The three quickly shook their heads, and one of them respectfully said.

"Thank you, senior, for saving our lives!"

Senior?

Jiang Donghua's mouth twitched. By his age, he looked younger than them, didn't he?

But he was too lazy to explain, so he waved his hand and said.

"Hurry back to the academy, this area isn't very safe."

After speaking, he turned to leave.

"Wait!"

One of the youths suddenly called out.

"Senior, if this Golden Shadow Demonic Ape has a demonic core?"

Jiang Donghua paused, glanced back at the magical beast's corpse on the ground, and said casually.

"Take it if you want it."

Anyway, he wasn't lacking in such things now.

Currently, Jiang Donghua's large and small bags, even his underpants, were already stuffed with valuable items.

Why would he care about a few hundred gold coins?

The three were overjoyed at his words and quickly thanked him.

Jiang Donghua said no more, his figure flashed, and he disappeared into the dense forest.

"This senior is so strong!"

"Indeed, he instantly killed a Nine-star Dou Zhe level Golden Shadow Demonic Ape with one move!"

"He just used Blazing Flame Palm, didn't he? I remember that's a yellow rank high grade Dou Technique, but in his hands, its power was almost comparable to a profound rank!"

The three discussed animatedly, their eyes filled with admiration.

Jiang Donghua didn't know that he had become the mysterious senior in other people's mouths. He was currently speeding towards Jia Nan Academy.

"That Golden Shadow Demonic Ape just now was quite interesting."

He stroked his chin, lost in thought.

"But why would a magical beast of this level appear near the academy? Has something changed?"

Thinking of this, his brows furrowed slightly, and the speed under his feet increased a few points.

"I need to go back and check quickly!"