While in Battle Through the Heavens, one can pre-appoint oneself as an emperor.

Seeing the opportunity refreshed again, Chen Xiao smiled broadly.

I initially thought becoming Xiao Yan's friend would be easy, but it turned out to take a full six months to reach the point of mere acquaintance.

"I've already reached the sixth level of fighting power, and I'm qualified to cultivate fighting techniques long ago. Being without any skills is ultimately a bad thing; I'll first prepare for the Swallow Counterattack training for self-defense!"

After considering the matter for a moment, Chen Xiao quickly made a decision.

It's often said that children change every day, and that's not entirely untrue. In just six months, Chen Xiao grew more than a finger's width taller.

In addition, he had left a reliable impression since childhood, so some elders of the Xiao family often asked him to run errands during this period, which inevitably meant he had to leave the Xiao family.

On one occasion, Chen Xiao witnessed two mercenaries fighting fiercely in the market. In the heat of the moment, they disregarded everyone else, affecting several unfortunate stall owners.

In this world, without some strength to rely on, you don't even have the right to watch the show.

Having clearly understood this, Chen Xiao gradually became more eager to cultivate his combat skills.

Swallow Counterattack is a high-level Xuan-rank Dou Technique, and it is certainly not easy to cultivate. Don't be fooled by the fact that Xiao Yan started cultivating the Eight Extremes Collapse, which is also a high-level Xuan-rank Dou Technique and is even said to be comparable to the Di-rank Dou Technique, when he was only at the fourth level of Dou Power in the original story. That was with the guidance of Yao Chen.

Chen Xiao didn't have a grandfather by his side, and he didn't expect to master the Swallow Counterattack. Just mastering a little bit of it would be enough to surpass ordinary Yellow-rank combat skills and give him a certain ability to protect himself.

More importantly, according to the timeline, Chen Xiao estimates that the point at which Xiao Yan will climb over the wall is very close!

After all, Xiao Xun'er's meridian problems had already manifested. Just a few days ago, Chen Xiao saw her from afar; her face was deathly pale, which was quite frightening.

Therefore, after this advance payment for the Swallow Counterattack, it shouldn't be too long to complete the follow-up. This high-level Xuan-rank combat skill is too good to pass up!

[Should we preemptively launch a counterattack?]

"yes!"

Chen Xiao nodded in confirmation without hesitation.

The next moment, Chen Xiao felt a throbbing sensation between his brows, and his mind seemed to be flooded with a lot of information.

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed the cultivation method of Yan Fanji.

Using internal energy to generate power, borrowing force to strike, combining hardness and softness, and creating a balance between emptiness and fullness...

Once you reach the beginner level, you can reflect about 10% of the enemy's attack power. If you master it completely, you can reflect up to 60%!

Sixty percent of the power was reflected back, and the remaining forty percent became much easier to deal with. This was simply a superb technique for the weak to defeat the strong!

"As expected of a Xuan Gao fighting technique, it is indeed powerful. It is somewhat similar to Tai Chi that I used to practice, and it does not require high physical fitness."

After a brief attempt to understand, Chen Xiaojing and others received an update on the advance payment information.

[Update: Only a cornered dog will jump over a wall. To stop Xiao Yan's uncivilized behavior, he practiced boxing on the back mountain for half a month.]

[Complete the following steps to unlock the next advance payment. Current advance payment opportunities: zero!]

What's going on?

Chen Xiao was somewhat surprised. Would the outcome of pre-paying for the same item change at different points in time?

He clearly remembered that when he checked last time, all he needed to do was stop Xiao Yan from climbing the wall.

But thinking about it carefully, it makes sense. Chen Xiao imagined that if he became a Dou Ling Dou Wang or even higher, and if he could get another Qi Gathering Powder in advance, he definitely wouldn't need to go through so much trouble.

"I'll figure you out sooner or later!"

With a muttered thought to himself, Chen Xiao tidied up the room and did his usual routine check of the gold coins hidden under the bed.

A storage ring is a good thing, but unfortunately he doesn't have one.

After finishing his chores in the storage room and having dinner, Chen Xiao headed straight for the back mountain.

However, in order to keep an eye on Xiao Xun'er's courtyard at any time, Chen Xiao did not cross the mountain. Instead, he chose a place with a wide view and began to practice his fist techniques according to the Swallow Counterattack method.

call!call!

The force of the punches was quite impressive, with gusts of wind emanating from them.

However, Chen Xiao knew very well that this was a sign of not understanding the essentials; the Swallow Counterattack was never a fighting technique known for its fierceness.

Furthermore, he had to be distracted by monitoring Xiao Xun'er's courtyard during practice, which made his comprehension even slower.

"Haste makes waste. These days, let's focus on stretching and letting our bodies adjust."

With his mind changed, Chen Xiao practiced even more freely. Luckily, there were no audience members present, otherwise he would have covered his eyes.

Day after day, Chen Xiao lived a life that was almost entirely repetitive: cultivating, completing daily tasks, and practicing boxing in the back mountain…

This cycle continued until late at night on the seventh day when it was finally broken.

Late that night, Chen Xiao, who was practicing his boxing on the mountaintop, clearly saw a furtive figure emerge from the courtyard next to Xiao Xun'er's by the moonlight, turning back every step of the way.

And you know what? Because of its small size and the fact that it was dressed in black, it looked like a big black rat from a distance.

"Finally, you've arrived..."

Chen Xiao was absolutely certain that the big black rat was Xiao Yan!

His furtive behavior makes it easy to guess what he's up to. If it were something aboveboard, would the Third Young Master of the Xiao family need to act this way?

Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Xiao immediately flew down the mountain.

The speed of a sixth-stage Dou power is not particularly fast, but it only takes a dozen seconds to cover a distance of several hundred meters. When Chen Xiao arrived behind the two courtyards, Xiao Yan was just about to climb the wall.

Meanwhile, inside Xiao Xun'er's room.

Xiao Yan's seemingly discreet actions could not escape the perception of Ling Ying, the strongest Dou Huang of the ancient clan.

"Miss, Xiao Yan is behaving suspiciously; he's sneaking over the wall. This old servant will dump him in front of Xiao Zhan and see how they explain themselves!"

Ling Ying was about to leave as she spoke.

Unfortunately, Xiao Xun'er stopped her.

"Elder Ling, wait a moment. The books say that to catch a thief, you must catch him red-handed. You conceal your presence, and I will continue to pretend to be asleep. Let's see what Cousin Xiao Yan is up to. If he has ill intentions, it won't be too late for Elder Ling to stop him."

The young girl was unaware that this seemingly meticulous decision could very well come at an unimaginable cost.

Ling Ying was unwilling to let her young lady take any danger, but she could not disobey Xiao Xun'er's orders. She was struggling with how to dissuade her.

Suddenly, he smiled.

"Miss, it seems we don't need to worry about it anymore. Chen Xiao has returned from his boxing practice and spotted Xiao Yan. We just don't know if he'll try to stop us..."

"Ouch!"

Before Ling Ying could finish speaking, the two heard a thud outside, followed by a scream that was clearly being suppressed.

Scrambling to his feet, Xiao Yan cautiously looked around but couldn't find anyone.

Damn it!

Touching his forehead, which was swollen with a bump, Xiao Yan chuckled and returned the way he came.

Clearly, unable to find the killer, he assumed it was his mysterious cousin issuing a warning.

He was discovered as soon as he climbed onto the wall, and he hadn't noticed anything from the beginning. This shows how strange his cousin's methods were. He didn't dare to have any ulterior motives at that moment.

"You are the glorious and righteous Emperor Yan, you shouldn't have such a dark history."

Muttering to himself, Chen Xiao wiped the dust off his hands and turned to walk back to his residence with light steps.

The moonlight tonight is, well, absolutely beautiful.