The Returning Genius

The following night, Zhang Tian sneaked into the Xiao Family again. This time, he directly gave Xiao Yan a Grade 2 Pill, a Foundation Nurturing Pill. With Yao Lao present, Zhang Tian was not worried that Xiao Yan would be unable to withstand its medicinal power. Even if he could not bear it, Yao Lao could help absorb it.

Xiao Yan, on the other hand, hesitated after receiving the pill. After all, absorbing a Grade 2 Pill with only Three Duan Dou Qi was indeed risky.

"Whatever." Xiao Yan was not lacking in ruthlessness. He bit his lip and swallowed the Foundation Nurturing Pill. The pill dissolved within him, and its violent medicinal power slammed into his still-narrow meridians. The channels in his body swelled as though they were about to tear apart, making his entire body tremble in agony.

Yet Xiao Yan did not regret it. If he did not fight now, was he supposed to wait until he was old and still stuck at Third Stage Dou Qi before regretting it?

That senior probably hoped he could shatter himself and rebuild, treating a dead horse as if it were alive.

Fortunately, Xiao Yan had once possessed the strength of a Dou Zhe. Although his Dou Qi was gone now, his realm remained. He could barely endure the refinement process, and Xiao Yan actually absorbed more than Yao Lao did.

Zhang Tian pondered for a moment. It seemed Yao Lao was about to awaken. Xiao Yan could not sense it, but Zhang Tian could clearly feel that Yao Lao's rate of absorbing Dou Qi had slowed considerably. He was no longer draining Xiao Yan's Dou Qi as desperately as before.

This sounded an alarm for Zhang Tian. As the Medicine Venerable, one of the continent's greatest alchemists, Yao Lao's scheming and knowledge were far beyond Zhang Tian's. Zhang Tian was not yet prepared to wake him.

After absorbing the Grade 2 Pill, the Dou Qi Core within Xiao Yan spun faster and faster. His vortex continued to expand, quickly reaching the Early Stage Four Duan Dou Qi before gradually stabilizing and solidifying.

But Zhang Tian was not satisfied. At this rate, it was equivalent to one pill being eaten by two people. If he wanted Xiao Yan to break through rapidly again, he could only keep using Grade 2 Pills, or even Grade 3 Pills.

However, Zhang Tian only had one Grade 3 Pill on him. Besides, he had brought these pills to feed Xiao Yan, not Yao Lao. Out of selfishness, he did not want Yao Lao to awaken so soon.

Having broken through to Four Duan Dou Qi, Xiao Yan burst into laughter until tears streamed down his face. As the Son of the Patriarch, every word and action of his could be used against him. An adult had endured insults from a group of brats for nearly two or three years, unable to fight back or curse them. Any normal person would have broken down.

Xiao Yan was overwhelmed with excitement. For the first time in years, he wore a smile as thrilled as a child's.

Still, breaking through by consuming so many pills would require an enormous amount of resources. He could not help feeling grateful toward that mysterious person.

For the next half month, Zhang Tian continued supplying Xiao Yan with pills, though they were Grade 1 Pills each time. Xiao Yan also knew that his meridians could not withstand another impact in such a short time, so he cultivated with peace of mind.

If that mysterious person had continued providing Grade 2 Pills, Xiao Yan would have had to wonder whether the man wanted to destroy his foundation by forcing his growth.

Xiao Yan's rise from Third Stage Dou Qi to Four Duan Dou Qi brought Zhang Tian another one-star increase. The Dou Qi of a Three-Star Dou Ling became several degrees richer.

Zhang Tian even considered abducting Xiao Yan, repeatedly knocking down his realm, then feeding him pills to make him break through again and farm realms endlessly.

But Zhang Tian knew this method was not viable. Repeatedly making Xiao Yan lose his Dou Qi, then forcing him to consume massive quantities of pills, would severely damage his meridians and Dantian. His meridians might even close, while large amounts of Pill Poison would accumulate in his body. In other words, he would become crippled.

At most, Zhang Tian would become a Dou Wang or Dou Emperor this way. After farming Xiao Yan only a couple of times, Xiao Yan would be ruined. With Zhang Tian's talent, let alone breaking through to Dou Zong, even raising a single star as a Dou Emperor would be extremely difficult.

As for stealing Yao Lao's Flame Mantra and then devouring Heavenly Flames, if Xiao Yan could advance one major realm and several minor realms by devouring the Azure Lotus Core Flame, then if Zhang Tian devoured it as a Dou Wang, he would gain at most Three Stars.

The better choice was obvious at a glance.

Therefore, Zhang Tian's best option was to find a way to help Xiao Yan reach the highest possible level without making Xiao Yan dependent on him.

Given how Xiao Yan's strength would continuously rise in the future, once Xiao Yan reached Dou Zong, Zhang Tian could immediately become a Dou Di. But by then, even gathering all the resources on the entire continent would be useless.

Xiao Yan needed to devour Heavenly Flames to advance, and devouring Heavenly Flames was incomparably dangerous. No one could help him. Once Xiao Yan slackened, the result would be being burned alive by a Heavenly Flame.

By then, Zhang Tian could at most become a Dou Di, and one who could never level up for the rest of his life. Who knew when another person might emerge and advance to Dou Di, then cultivate for a few thousand years before killing him?

It was another Clan Gathering. As the Young Patriarch, Xiao Yan naturally had to take the field. But now that his cultivation had broken through, every word and movement carried a deep, steady air. The former dejection and gloom were gone.

This made many people see him in a new light.

Previously, he had remained at Third Stage Dou Qi and had to focus on stabilizing his realm, leaving him no energy to compete with them. Now Xiao Yan had broken through. Though he only had Four Duan Dou Qi, he had once been a Dou Zhe. Even those at Six Duan Dou Qi were generally no match for him.

After defeating Xiao Chu, who had Six Duan Dou Qi, with a single punch, Xiao Yan wore a faint smile. Over the past half month, the Dou Qi within him had grown increasingly pure. The inexplicable suction from his Dantian, which seemed to have reached the end of the road, had weakened, and his cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds.

Cultivating by swallowing pills every day was not a privilege ordinary Xiao Family disciples could enjoy.

"Uh... this..." Fourth Elder stared at the scene in astonishment. Even the hand tugging at his beard paused.

"Why hasn't Fourth Elder announced it yet? Could it be that you intend to play favorites?" Xiao Yan looked at Fourth Elder with a smile. Now, every word he spoke carried weight.

Strength comparable to Seven Duan Dou Qi was considered outstanding within the clan. Combined with his return to Four Duan Dou Qi, it made people unable to help but speculate.

"His talent... has returned?"

This was the shared thought in everyone's mind.

The crowded square seemed to hold its breath because of one person. Powerful strength, a confident smile—it was as though the Xiao Family's true Young Patriarch had returned.

"Third Match, Xiao Yan versus Xiao Chu. Young Master Xiao Yan wins!" Fourth Elder came to his senses and hurriedly announced the result. Old and shrewd, his wrinkled face was now covered in a gratified smile.

Boom!

The entire square erupted. Fourth Elder's announcement seemed to shatter the silence, and countless people began discussing loudly, as if they had seen that rising new star return once more.

"Young Master Xiao Yan, you're the best!"

"How is that possible... How could he have returned..."

"Impossible! This has to be fake! What price did the Patriarch pay?"

Countless people argued loudly with different expressions, and the noise did not cease. Xiao Yan had not been a failure for very long, so the idea of him being worthless was not as deeply rooted as it had been in the Original Work.

Xiao Yan had clearly been in the Xiao Family all along, yet from this day onward, everyone felt that

he had returned!