Xiao Yao asked a few more questions and learned the whole story.
Sure enough, Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran had made no Three-Year Agreement, and neither Xiao Yan nor Xiao Zhan had accepted the Qi Gathering Powder and other compensation Nalan Yanran had offered.
They had only said that since the Nalan Family had broken off the engagement, the two families would have no further dealings, and all debts and grievances between them were settled.
Xiao Yao patted Xiao Yan on the shoulder.
"What man of worth needs to worry about finding a wife?"
"Little Yanzi, you're still young, and there's a long road ahead of you. Maybe one day your talent will suddenly come back, and your strength will soar by leaps and bounds. Then let Nalan Yanran regret it."
Xiao Yan gave a bitter laugh, taking it all as Xiao Yao's attempt to comfort him.
"Don't worry, Brother Yao. I'm really used to it, and I haven't taken it too much to heart."
Xiao Yao thought it over. Judging by Xiao Yan's expression, Yao Lao did not seem to have appeared yet. Perhaps it would happen today.
He would not disturb Xiao Yan and Yao Lao's first meeting.
"All right then, Little Yanzi. If you need anything from me, just say the word."
Xiao Yao spoke earnestly, and Xiao Yan nodded gratefully.
Xiao Yan was one of the few people in the Xiao Clan who knew about Xiao Yao's circumstances. He knew that Xiao Yao had displayed astonishing talent from a young age and had later opened up the Extreme Yang Land for the Xiao Clan, bringing the clan enormous benefits.
But precisely because of that, Xiao Yao spent his days in the Extreme Yang Land and devoted much of his time at night to reading.
The two brothers had not actually spent that much time together, but Xiao Yan could feel Xiao Yao's concern.
Whether he had been dazzling as a genius or fallen into hardship after becoming a cripple, Xiao Yao's attitude toward him had never changed.
Xiao Yan watched Xiao Yao leave. He had just closed the door when he saw the ring he had taken off and placed on the table suddenly float into the air!
Xiao Yan's eyes widened, his face full of disbelief.
Just then, an aged voice came from the ring.
"That brother of yours truly has remarkable talent, but you're no slouch either. And thanks to your offerings over these past three years, little fellow, this old man was finally able to awaken."
When Xiao Yan heard the last part, the shock on his face was instantly replaced by anger.
"Fuck! You old bastard! So you were behind it!"
Xiao Yao had just left Xiao Yan's courtyard when he heard Xiao Yan let out an angry roar. He paused despite himself and glanced back at the courtyard, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
Then he turned around and continued toward his room, thinking to himself.
The Xiao Clan's genius has returned.
The next day.
Xiao Yao had just opened his door when he saw Xiao Yan waiting outside. Rubbing his hands together like a fly, Xiao Yan spoke somewhat sheepishly.
"Morning, Brother Yao."
"Morning, Little Yanzi. Did you need something?"
Xiao Yan spoke a little awkwardly.
"Brother Yao, I'd like to borrow some money."
Xiao Yao smiled at that. With a turn of his wrist, he took out a gold deposit card and placed it directly in Xiao Yan's hand.
"Take it and use it. We're brothers, so there's no need to talk about borrowing."
Pleasantly surprised, Xiao Yan took the card, then spoke a little sheepishly.
"Thanks, Brother Yao. But how many gold coins are on this card?"
"Twenty or thirty thousand, I think. I don't quite remember," Xiao Yao said casually.
Xiao Yan stared at him, dumbfounded.
Although he knew Xiao Yao had opened up the Extreme Yang Land for the Xiao Clan, producing large quantities of fire-attribute medicinal ingredients and earning a lot of money, he had not expected him to be this rich.
Seeing how little Xiao Yao seemed to care, Xiao Yan chuckled.
"Thank you for your generous gift, Brother Yao. Then I won't stand on ceremony."
"Haha, you brat, always saying strange things. If you need anything, you can find me at the back mountain. I'll be off now."
Xiao Yao headed straight for the back mountain, thinking that his Yang Attribute was stronger than the usual fire attribute.
Moreover, his Yang Attribute Dou Qi contained vitality, making it even better than ordinary fire and wood attributes. He wondered whether he could try becoming an alchemist.
But Yao Lao had been stabbed in the back by Han Feng and the Soul Hall, and was now like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bow. If Xiao Yao rashly exposed his identity, it might backfire.
He did not necessarily have to look to Yao Lao for a way to become an alchemist.
There were so many alchemists on the continent. There had to be a way.
Besides, whether he could become an alchemist was still unknown.
Meanwhile, Xiao Yan watched Xiao Yao's receding figure, the gold deposit card in his hand feeling both burning hot and heavy.
Just then, Yao Lao's aged voice sounded in his mind.
"Your brother's talent is indeed formidable. He's sixteen now, and already a Nine-Star Dou Shi."
Xiao Yan nodded instinctively, then abruptly opened his mouth wide.
"What? A Nine-Star Dou Shi!? That's impossible!"
"Why are you so worked up? What's impossible about it? A sixteen-year-old Nine-Star Dou Shi is rare, but not unheard of," Yao Lao said with a laugh.
Xiao Yan fell silent for a moment before speaking, his voice somewhat hoarse.
"Teacher, you might not know this, but Brother Yao started cultivating Dou Qi when he was four and broke through to Dou Zhe at seven."
"He has an extremely unusual Yang Attribute. After first reaching the Dou Zhe realm, he spent a long time getting nowhere."
"First, he spent six years reading every book in the clan's collection, then spent another two years. Only after enduring countless hardships did he create a Yang Attribute cultivation method."
At this point, Xiao Yan swallowed.
"As far as I know, Brother Yao actually created the Yang Attribute cultivation method around eight or nine months ago."
As soon as Xiao Yan finished, Yao Lao's incredulous voice rang out.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
"You mean to say he took three years to break through to Dou Zhe, and then spent nine months going straight from Dou Zhe to Nine-Star Dou Shi... advancing two stars a month?!"
Still filled with shock, Xiao Yan spoke with a somewhat dazed expression.
"If your senses weren't mistaken, Teacher, that's how it is."
Yao Lao fell silent for a moment, then spoke with a hint of shock in his voice.
"Your brother's talent is beyond what you could call genius. He's practically a monster!"
After a while, Yao Lao spoke thoughtfully.
"Your Brother Yao cultivates so quickly. It seems that has something to do with his special Yang Attribute, but... that's part of his talent too."
Suddenly, Yao Lao chuckled.
"Little Yanzi, why not make your Brother Yao your goal? Cultivate hard and try to surpass him."
Xiao Yan gave a bitter smile.
"Teacher, isn't that goal a little too difficult?"
"Even if my talent returns, it'll take me several years to cultivate to Nine-Star Dou Shi."
"And by the time I reach Nine-Star Dou Shi, who knows what realm Brother Yao will have advanced to?"
But Yao Lao said, "That's not necessarily true. From what you've said, he created his cultivation method himself, so its grade probably isn't high."
"And with a low-grade cultivation method, it's extremely difficult to maintain the same high cultivation speed at higher realms."
"It even often happens that someone has trouble breaking through because their cultivation method's grade is too low."
"Otherwise, why do you think those high-level cultivators switch to higher-grade cultivation methods?"
"It's because, even if they've accumulated enough Dou Qi cultivated with a low-grade method to meet the requirements for breaking through to the next realm, its quality isn't sufficient to break through the bottleneck."
"So... that's how it works. Doesn't that mean Brother Yao could very well get stuck at a higher realm, unable to break through?"
Xiao Yan spoke with some concern.
"It's possible, but even with his cultivation method's grade holding him back, breaking through to Dou Ling should be easy for someone with his talent."
"A Dou Ling expert is considered formidable even in the Jia Ma Empire. You'd better catch up to him before you start worrying about him."
Yao Lao spoke irritably. Someone at the Dou Qi stage was actually worrying about a Nine-Star Dou Shi.