Time is like water, forever slipping silently through one's fingers when least one expects it. The sweltering summer had already given way to the cool of autumn, and the branches that had once bristled with greenery were now streaked, here and there, with flecks of wilting yellow. It was still the same tidy little hut, with sunlight slanting in through the windows and mottles of brightness scattered across the floor. Within a great wooden tub inside, a youth sat with both eyes closed, his hands knotted into a hand seal, his breathing rising and falling as though born of nature itself. Over half a year of bitter cultivation had carved a trace of hard-won resolve onto his once youthful, gentle features, and his firmly pressed lips held a measure of unyielding will. The skin that had once been as fair as a young maiden's had, through months of being beaten and broken in training, taken on a slight tan; and the small frame that looked none too sturdy yet coiled within it the fierce, explosive strength of a hunting leopard. However one looked upon it, the youth seemed to be transforming at a terrifying speed — and when that transformation was complete, it would shock anyone who laid eyes upon him.
Within his remarkably fluid breathing, wisps of airflow tinged with flecks of green seeped slowly up from the wooden tub, gathered at last around his breath, and were drawn into his body. Sunlight filtered through the window and fell upon the still water in drifting coins of light, yet the youth paid them no heed; all his being was bent toward a single point, a single distant door that had always stood just beyond his reach. "Today, I must surely break through to the seventh rank of Dou Qi!" Even as he cultivated, a thought brimming with confidence suddenly welled up in Xiao Yan's heart. The urge came without any discernible cause, and yet it appeared at the center of his mind as naturally as water that has reached its level. Over the past month, Xiao Yan had thrown himself against the barrier of the seventh rank several times, and every attempt had ended in failure. Perhaps this day, the cultivation had at last added that final drop to the brimming basin, so that the flash of inspiration he had so long awaited unveiled itself, unexpectedly, in his heart.
The sudden thought made his hand seal tremble, and he nearly slipped out of his meditative state entirely. Happily, Xiao Yan's composure was more than adequate; forcing down the excitement that surged in his breast, he steadied his breathing, stilled his heart, and labored to calm the turbulence of his mind. Little by little his breath smoothed out once more, and he began to greedily draw in the energies of the outside world, stocking them up for the leap into the seventh rank.
Within the tub, the green water rippled faintly, shimmering with a strange brilliance, and gentle currents of warm energy issued from its depths, vying with one another to burrow into Xiao Yan's body. The pale green currents swelled larger and larger, and in the space of a moment they had not only swallowed his whole body but left even the great wooden tub only faintly visible through the haze. Seen from a distance, it was a curious spectacle indeed.
Under such a boundless draining demand, the color of the green water in the tub began to pale at a speed plainly visible to the eye. Because so much energy was flooding into him, a slight flush colored Xiao Yan's small face, and through it one could faintly perceive an inner light of pale green breaking out. In assaulting the seventh rank of Dou Qi, Xiao Yan had, without question, transformed into a great magnet. Not only was the Dou Qi of the surrounding space being dragged into him at speed, even the pale green liquid of the tub began to stir with a succession of tiny water spirals.
Of the initial nine ranks of Dou Qi, the first through the third were considered low rank, the fourth through the sixth mid rank, and the seventh through the ninth high rank. The seventh rank of Dou Qi was, in truth, the watershed of all the initial ranks. Once one had set foot upon the seventh, one entered the high reach of the initial stages; at that point, the Dou Qi stored within one's body would be several times what the sixth rank could hold. For this reason, the seventh rank was widely regarded as the very first key to becoming a true Dou Fighter, and its importance went without saying.
As the green currents surged out in torrents, the color of the liquid in the tub grew fainter and fainter. At last, at a certain moment, the green liquid turned once more into a basin of clear, transparent water, limpid to the very bottom. Robbed of the energy of the Foundation Liquid, the pale green upon Xiao Yan's face slowly dimmed as well, and now he could draw no more than the thin, scant Dou Qi from the air around him to sustain his assault.
Absorbing the Dou Qi of the air could indeed support Xiao Yan through his breakthrough, but it would not only demand far more time; even after he broke through, the Dou Qi within his body would still need a full month of careful nurturing before it could recover to a state of fullness. What Xiao Yan most lacked at this moment was time!
In the instant the medicinal force of the Liquid faded away, the black ring upon Xiao Yan's finger flashed with a faint light, and a single drop of top-grade Foundation Liquid, the color of jade, was cast once more into the wooden tub. In a trice, the clear water turned to a deep green again. Uplifted by that fresh drop, Xiao Yan's spirit rallied as his heart sent a silent word of thanks to Yao Lao. Keeping his hand seal unbroken, he guided his breathing with his mind and threw himself madly into absorbing the rich energies that came surging to meet him.
The unrestrained draining continued for a full half hour before at last it gradually slackened, and by then the deep green water had once more faded several shades. When the final wisp of gentle energy followed his breath and burrowed into his body, Xiao Yan's frame sank into a brief stillness, then shook with a sudden, violent trembling. His abdomen drew in slightly, his eyes snapped open, and within his dark pupils flashes of green and white light darted swiftly past. His mouth parted a little, and with it he expelled a breath of somewhat murky air...
Scarcely had that murky breath left his body when Xiao Yan's small face instantly seemed several shades more spirited. He stared blankly for a long while with his eyes open; then, twisting his neck, he let a string of crisp cracks ring out from his bones. Clenching his hand gently, a sensation of brimming strength seeped into his palm and drew up the corner of his mouth in a smile of delight.
"The seventh rank, at last..." Closing his eyes and sinking his senses into the sonorous tide of Dou Qi within him, Xiao Yan murmured softly to himself with a low laugh.