After obtaining the Qi-Collecting Powder, Xiao Yan did not immediately take it. Instead, he took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the growing impatience swirling within him, and compelled himself to lie down on the bed and rest. Xiao Yan was very clear in his mind that, given his current condition, his chances of successfully advancing to the Battle Rank were likely over seven in ten. Although the Qi-Collecting Powder was not difficult for the Elder Medic to prepare, Xiao Yan did not wish to take on such an unnecessary risk. Seeing that Xiao Yan could withstand the immediate temptation to break through to the Battle Rank, the Elder Medic nodded with satisfaction, a look of欣慰 appearing on his face. His body gently swayed, transforming into a shimmering beam of light, and then drifted into the ring. And after five days of such relaxed ease, Xiao Yan finally adjusted his state to its peak—this was precisely the optimal moment for him to make his breakthrough. Staring at the lustrous, smooth pills, Xiao Yan smiled slightly, inhaled the refreshing, invigorating aroma once more, and gently licked his lips before hesitating no further, swallowing the pill whole. As soon as the pill touched his mouth, a subtle coolness spread throughout his oral cavity. A moment later, a warm, pure energy surged directly into his body, causing Xiao Yan to suddenly tremble. With a calm face, he swiftly formed hand seals to absorb the Qi, his breathing gradually steadying. The delicate Qi within him responded instantly, swiftly intertwining with the powerful, refined medicinal energy and beginning a rapid process of refinement. Within the quiet cave, the still air suddenly rippled, thin strands of pale Qi seeping out of the atmosphere and continuously flowing into Xiao Yan's body. His teeth were clenched against his lips, and the collision of two internal energies sent waves of sharp pain rippling through his meridians. Fortunately, his meridians were notably more resilient than those of ordinary people, so though the pain was intense, it had not yet caused significant damage. Inside his body, the Qi of battle enveloped clusters of pure green energy. As these clusters were relentlessly refined, increasingly larger amounts of green energy were being transformed into pale, battle Qi. With this steady support, the volume of battle Qi within him was expanding at a pace clearly visible to the eye. Although the pure medicinal energies were continuously being absorbed, they seemed to flow in an unceasing stream—whenever a cluster of medicinal energy was consumed by the battle Qi, a fresh, larger cluster of green energy surged in to replace it. Under the combined effect of internal refinement and the constant infusion of battle Qi from outside, the battle Qi within him had gradually filled most of his meridians. Refinement continued. As the residual potency of the refined medicinal energy began to wane, Xiao Yan, deeply immersed in the rapid surge of his strength, suddenly became acutely aware that his Qi of Combat had reached a critical point—expanding beyond any further capacity. The expansion of his Combat Qi caused his meridians to subtly tremble, sending waves of intense pain that cracked the corners of his mouth. "Quick! Gather the Combat Qi vortex! Or it will burst!" The elder's voice rang out like thunder, vividly resonating within Xiao Yan's mind. Taking a deep breath of cool air, Xiao Yan swiftly adjusted his hand seals—his index and thumb interlaced, while his middle fingers gently touched each other, forming a unique hand seal. Having previously practiced this seal, Xiao Yan now executed it with ease and fluidity, completely free of any stiffness. As his hand seals shifted, the surging Combat Qi within him was suddenly drawn with powerful suction, rapidly contracting toward the region of his abdomen. The pale Qi of the Du-qi flowing through every part of the body began retreating simultaneously. As all the Du-qi converged toward the lower abdomen, the pale Qi had already started transforming into a milky white hue. "Hurry! Compress the Du-qi! Use your soul perception to drive them inward—should the condensation of Du-qi spirals fail, you'll plunge back down to the eighth stage of Du-qi!" The elder Yao's voice resonated perfectly within Xiao Yan's mind. Nodding slightly, Xiao Yan focused his concentration, and his exceptional soul perception instantly gained control over the Du-qi within his body, then began an intense compression. Under the influence of his soul perception, however, the milky white Du-qi started to resist, violently swirling and surging. Though the resistance was strong, Xiao Yan's soul perception had initially even amazed Elder Yao, so the Du-qi's protests were like trying to stop a great flood—after a brief standoff, they eventually gave in and began to contract helplessly. When the Qi of battle contracted down to the size of a palm, it once again solidified and remained motionless. "Press harder!" the herbal elder commanded. Grasping his teeth, Xiao Yan closed his eyes, and at once activated his soul perception power—originating beyond the white, orb-like Qi—reaching its maximum intensity, then forcefully compressing it downward! "Ahh—" A soft, muffled sound quietly echoed within his body... As the sound resonated, the intense resistance that had drained Xiao Yan's strength vanished entirely. With a deep, heavy sigh, Xiao Yan collapsed, his entire body weakened, his chest heaving vigorously.