Wu Tan City wasn't large, but its strength lay in its tranquility.
Living in seclusion in this city, occasionally hearing that the Xiao Family and the Gale Family had clashed in the market was already big news.
Of course, none of this had anything to do with Chen Xiao.
For him, the few months spent waiting for the Jia Nan Academy recruitment team were peaceful and fulfilling.
After pre-emptively using the Earth Core Body Tempering Milk, Chen Xiao's daily routine was reduced to just three things.
Cultivating, practicing Dou Skills, and spending time with Xun Er and Qing Lin.
The effect of the Earth Core Body Tempering Milk was excellent. Although Chen Xiao couldn't utilize its effects perfectly like an Alchemist and had to dilute the medicinal bath with clean water each time, the benefits were still immense.
Not only was his strength steadily increasing, but even his relatively weak physical body had been greatly enhanced.
Comparing it to Magical Beasts was an exaggeration, but compared to adults, Chen Xiao's physical strength was already not bad.
Furthermore, the amount of Earth Core Body Tempering Milk he had pre-emptively obtained was quite a bit, a full four bottles.
One of the bottles was clearly of higher quality, extremely thick and fragrant.
The remaining three bottles were of poorer quality, far inferior in both color and viscosity.
According to Yao Chen, this was the difference between 'real' and 'fake' Earth Core Body Tempering Milk.
But even the 'fake' Earth Core Body Tempering Milk was extremely precious in the outside world.
Each of the four jade bottles contained roughly forty drops of Earth Core Body Tempering Milk. Chen Xiao initially estimated that bathing once every three days and using two drops each time should be enough to last him until he entered Jia Nan Academy.
By then, after completing the subsequent steps and pre-emptively obtaining other cultivation resources to bridge the gap, the empty period would be very short.
Now, regarding Dou Skills.
Just as Xun Er had said, as Chen Xiao's realm increased, he could clearly feel that performing Mystic Ice Dragon Flight was becoming more and more effortless. As a result, the Xiao Family's Back Mountain would occasionally echo with passionate dragon roars late at night during this period.
Unfortunately, from beginning to end, only Xun Er and Qing Lin had personally witnessed Chen Xiao's Mystic Ice Dragon Flight.
To display this Dou Skill in front of others, he would have to wait for a fated person.
Besides Mystic Ice Dragon Flight, Chen Xiao also cultivated Hai Bo Dong's Ice Mirror, Whirlwind Ice Kill, and other Dou Skills, all of which he had achieved some success with.
Finally, there were Xun Er and Qing Lin.
These two, one was intelligent and had a good temperament, the other was well-behaved and lovable.
As they spent more time together day by day, the relationship between the two girls naturally grew better and better. He often saw them holding hands affectionately, which truly made Chen Xiao envious.
As for Chen Xiao and Xun Er...
Chen Xiao did feel that after returning this time, Xun Er seemed a little more clingy than before.
The most significant manifestation was that the frequency with which she actively sought him out had increased several times compared to before, and occasionally she would even make some more intimate gestures.
For example.
During this time, Xiao Yan also frequently went to the Back Mountain alone. Every time Chen Xiao and Xun Er went and saw him, this girl would pull Chen Xiao to a distance, sit side by side with him, and chat about whatever came to mind until Xiao Yan left, and then they would resume practicing Dou Skills.
The repeated physical contact had gradually exceeded the scope of ordinary friendship.
Clearly, after nearly seven years of acquaintance, this simple sketch of friendship was gradually becoming richer in color and more delicate in brushstrokes through their daily interactions, evolving towards a more brilliant painting.
...
Years passed, days and nights contended.
Five months flew by quickly.
It wasn't until this evening, when Chen Xiao received a message from the Little Fairy Doctor, that he suddenly realized the day the Jia Nan Academy recruitment team would arrive should be within these few days.
"Magical Beast Mountain Range..."
Looking at the delicate small characters on the letter and the rather simple map, Chen Xiao carefully recalled the layout of the Magical Beast Mountain Range in his mind and finally confirmed that the small valley where the other party was located was still in the outer area, which put his mind at ease.
The Little Fairy Doctor, who was familiar with pharmacology, would cause great trouble for anyone who treated her as a weak woman with no strength to fight back.
Especially after mastering the Seven-Colored Poison Manual, the Little Fairy Doctor's self-preservation ability was not to be underestimated.
Some of the poisons in that poison manual, even a Da Dou Shi level expert would suffer a hidden loss if they touched them.
Even Chen Xiao, who had already advanced to Dou Ling, had some prepared poisons stored in his Storage Ring for backup.
Seeing a leopard through a tube, one can see the whole picture!
Therefore, while the Little Fairy Doctor might find the Magical Beasts in the outer area of the Magical Beast Mountain Range tricky due to lack of experience, those that could truly threaten her were very few.
Moreover, with the Little Fairy Doctor's talent, once she started cultivating, her speed would definitely be beyond common sense.
Perhaps, she would soon be able to casually farm the outer Magical Beasts as experience packs.
Putting this matter aside for the moment, Chen Xiao felt the surging Dou Qi within his body.
"Then let's set a small goal. Before entering Jia Nan Academy, reach Four-Star Dou Ling..."
In Jia Nan Academy, ordinary status was useless. They only focused on cultivation talent. The higher the talent, the stronger the strength, and the more attention one received.
Having made up his mind, Chen Xiao put away the Little Fairy Doctor's letter, took out a jade bottle from his Storage Ring, and carefully poured two drops of liquid resembling emerald jade beads into the wooden tub.
As the Earth Core Body Tempering Milk mixed with the clean water, its color instantly faded, becoming almost invisible to the naked eye.
However, when Chen Xiao stripped off his clothes and sat in, he could feel waves of stinging pain coming from his skin all over his body, like chili water being applied to broken skin.
Hiss~
Although Chen Xiao had experienced it dozens of times, he still couldn't help but let out a soft hiss at this moment.
Slowly adapting, Chen Xiao held his breath and focused, forming cultivation hand seals with both hands, and quickly entered a state of cultivation.
...
The time when Jia Nan Academy arrived in the Jia Ma Empire each year had never been a secret.
They might postpone it by a day or two for various reasons, but they were never absent.
As this date gradually approached, the atmosphere in Wu Tan City and the surrounding cities also gradually heated up, even more lively than during festivals, all looking forward to being chosen as this year's enrollment location by the recruitment team.
After all, the early bird catches the worm.
If their city was chosen as the enrollment location, it would be a great thing, not only bringing a huge flow of people but also making things much more convenient for them, saving them from traveling back and forth.
The young disciples of the Xiao Family were also looking forward to it. Those who intended to sign up for the assessment were sweating profusely on the training grounds every day, cultivating with countless times more seriousness than usual, attempting to cram at the last minute to increase their chances.
During occasional breaks, they would also gather together, guessing whether anyone in the family would be able to pass the assessment this year.
"I think our Great Elder's granddaughter, Cousin Xiao Yu, has hope this year. I saw her yesterday, and she looked full of confidence, not faking it."
"Speaking of that, Young Master Xiao Yan must be included. He broke through to Dou Zhe half a year ago, which is already beyond the threshold of Jia Nan Academy."
"Young Master San seems to have changed into a different person in the past six months. He only knows how to cultivate diligently and is rarely seen."
"No, speaking of this, I'm more suspicious of whether something happened to him. A few days ago, I met our Clan Leader, and his face was terrifyingly grim."
"I ran into Young Master Da and Young Master Er before, and they both had gloomy faces."
"Really? You can't just say things like that!"
Paper ultimately can't wrap fire. Although Xiao Yan tried his best to avoid appearing in front of people, after such a long time, his abnormal behavior still sparked speculation.
It was predictable that the day of complete exposure wouldn't be too far off.
In this atmosphere, another four days passed in a flash.
And the Jia Nan Academy recruitment team, which countless people had been eagerly anticipating, finally arrived.
And they set the assessment location in Wu Tan City!
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