Xiao Yan's Fury!

Xiao Clan's rear courtyard.

Warm sunlight streamed through the gaps in the window, scattering tiny patches of light across the neat room.

On the bed, Xiao Yan sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, his hands forming an unusual seal before him as his chest rose and fell slightly.

Each breath formed a perfect cycle.

Amid that cycle of breathing, faint white streams drifted through the air and entered his body through his nose and mouth, nourishing his bones and flesh.

Yet as the youth cultivated with his eyes closed, he failed to notice that the ancient Black Ring on his finger suddenly gave off an eerie, faint glow.

The glimmer was extremely weak and vanished in an instant before immediately fading away.

As the light flickered, a wisp of white energy slowly slipped into the Black Ring.

"Phew..."

A moment later, Xiao Yan slowly exhaled a breath of stale air. His eyes abruptly opened, and a faint white gleam flashed through his dark pupils.

It was the Dou Qi he had just absorbed but had not yet fully refined.

As he focused inward and sensed his body, Xiao Yan's expression abruptly changed.

The Dou Qi he had worked so hard to cultivate had vanished again.

Thinking of the contempt and ridicule he had endured over the years, and the weariness on his father's face, fury immediately surged within Xiao Yan.

"The Dou Qi I worked so hard to cultivate is disappearing again... I... damn it!" Xiao Yan's face was filled with rage as he let out a sharp curse.

Bang!

Xiao Yan slammed a fist into the bed, clenching his hand tightly.

"Heavens, how long are you going to torment me?"

After a long while, Xiao Yan shook his head in frustration.

He got off the bed wearily, feeling utterly exhausted in both body and mind.

Although the Dou Qi in his body had constantly vanished over the years, Xiao Yan had always clung to the hope that one day, the lost Dou Qi would return.

Therefore, no matter how dull and tedious cultivation was, he had persisted in practicing every day.

In the room, Xiao Yan stretched his slightly numb ankles and thighs. With only three stages of Dou Qi, he did not have the ability to ignore fatigue.

After resting for a while, Xiao Yan suddenly remembered the Foundation Building Pill his father had given him before entering seclusion.

Over the years, his father had secretly given him many pills behind the clan elders' backs, yet his condition had never improved in the slightest.

Thus, Xiao Yan had not thought much of the Foundation Building Pill after receiving it.

But since it represented his father's heartfelt effort, he could not bear to waste it.

With that thought, Xiao Yan slowly took out the jade bottle containing the Foundation Building Pill.

"This Foundation Building Pill is a Second-grade Pill. Perhaps it can be of some use..."

With that thought in mind, Xiao Yan directly opened the bottle. A rich medicinal fragrance immediately filled the room.

It truly was worthy of being a Second-grade Pill!

Smelling the medicinal scent, Xiao Yan's eyes immediately lit up.

Perhaps this Foundation Building Pill really could help him.

Thinking this, Xiao Yan returned to the bed and sat cross-legged once more.

Tilting the jade bottle, Xiao Yan slowly poured out the Foundation Building Pill, then gently picked it up and placed it in his mouth.

The pill melted as soon as it entered his mouth, and a dense yet gentle medicinal energy instantly flowed into Xiao Yan's body.

As the medicinal energy entered his body, Xiao Yan's youthful face suddenly took on a jade-like luster.

Under the effects of the powerful medicinal energy, dense streams of white energy slowly poured from the air into Xiao Yan's body.

Feeling the Dou Qi within him steadily filling up, excitement suddenly appeared on Xiao Yan's face.

At this rate, he should soon reach the fourth stage of Dou Qi.

Having tasted the benefits, Xiao Yan was filled with motivation. His eyes remained shut, the seal at his fingertips utterly motionless. He focused his mind and gathered his breath, maintaining the best possible cultivation state as he continued greedily absorbing the gentle energy of the Foundation Building Pill.

The medicinal energy transformed from the Foundation Building Pill flowed through Xiao Yan's limbs and bones, nourishing his skeleton and cleansing his meridians.

Cultivation slowly passed amid Xiao Yan's relentless efforts, to the point that he forgot food and sleep.

Soon, two hours had passed.

At that moment, Xiao Yan's eyelashes trembled slightly. A moment later, his dark eyes abruptly opened.

White light flashed through his black pupils as usual, but this time, it carried a faint trace of pale green.

Feeling the cultivation within his body, excitement appeared on Xiao Yan's face.

Fourth stage of Dou Qi!

His cultivation had now reached the fourth stage of Dou Qi.

After so long, he had finally stepped into this realm again.

Just as Xiao Yan was overwhelmed with excitement, he failed to see the Black Ring on his hand emit another eerie glimmer.

The instant the light flashed and vanished, Xiao Yan's expression suddenly changed.

"My Dou Qi!"

The next moment, he focused inward, and his face instantly turned pale.

"Damn it!"

"It's gone again!"

The Dou Qi he had painstakingly cultivated had vanished into thin air once more, and his cultivation had fallen back to the third stage of Dou Qi.

"What the hell is going on?" Xiao Yan's face darkened, his chest heaving as though a raging fire burned in his stomach.

He could not understand why the Dou Qi he had worked so hard to cultivate kept vanishing for no reason.

This question had plagued him for years, yet he had never found an answer.

"Looks like I can only go find him!"

Flowing Cloud's confident appearance flashed through his mind. Xiao Yan slowly rose to his feet, splashed some water on his face, and left the Xiao Clan.

"Please inform Young Master Flowing Cloud that Xiao Yan has come to discuss something with him."

A short while later, outside the Mittel Auction House, Xiao Yan politely spoke to the guard at the entrance.

"Who are you?" the guard asked suspiciously as he looked at Xiao Yan.

"Xiao Yan of the Xiao Clan," Xiao Yan replied neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"Xiao Yan?"

The Xiao Clan's Third Young Master, that worthless trash?

A trace of doubt flashed across the guard's face.

"Wait here. I'll go report it first." After leaving those words behind, the guard slowly entered the auction house.

Without strength, even a mere guard looks down on me. Although the contempt on the guard's face had vanished in an instant, Xiao Yan had keenly caught it, and he could not help but mock himself inwardly.

"Flowing Cloud, I hope you truly can help me regain my talent."

If I regain my talent, I'll make them repay every humiliation I've suffered! A determined glint flashed through Xiao Yan's eyes as he muttered inwardly.

"Xiao Yan of the Xiao Clan?"

"Why has he come looking for the Young Master?"

Inside the auction house, after hearing the guard's report, a trace of confusion appeared on Ya Fei's beautiful face.

Suddenly, Ya Fei recalled that Flowing Cloud had attended the Xiao Clan's annual test ceremony.

Could the Xiao Clan's Third Young Master be an old acquaintance of the Young Master?

With that thought crossing her mind, Ya Fei immediately said to the guard before her, "Go invite him in."

"Yes." The guard bowed in response, then went straight to the auction house entrance and said to Xiao Yan, "You may enter."