Jia Ma Empire

Two months later.

On the western border of the Jia Ma Empire, a massive fortress like a gigantic beast stood tall at the empire's frontier. Built against the mountains, it was surrounded by enormous city walls that seemed to stretch beyond sight, and the faint sound of orderly drills rang out from atop them.

This place was the fortress known as "Ghost Suppressing Pass." As an imperial border military fortress used by the Jia Ma Empire to deter foreign powers, its defenses were extremely tight, guarded by one of the top three elite corps in the Jia Ma Empire.

Among a merchant caravan being inspected beneath the fortress, a handsome young man dressed in green robes was sizing up the mighty pass before him.

The young man looked about twenty-one or twenty-two. A longsword hung at his waist, and a faint scent of medicinal herbs clung to him. What drew the most attention was the badge pinned to his chest. On the badge was drawn an ancient, simple medicinal cauldron, and on the cauldron's surface, two silver ripples reflected an unusual light beneath the sun.

The people around him looked at the badge on the young man's chest with envy, greed, or ingratiation, because this badge represented the esteemed status of a Grade 2 Alchemist.

"Master Xu, please!" The soldier in charge of the inspection looked at the young man somewhat obsequiously. Even his originally rough voice unconsciously softened as he politely let the young man pass. The young man passed through the checkpoint with ease and entered the Jia Ma Empire.

The young man was none other than Lin Yuan in disguise, a new alias he had created: Xu An from the Southwestern Region. On the surface, he was a Grade 2 Alchemist out traveling, with the strength of a Five-Star Great Dou Master.

He had quite a few things to do in the Jia Ma Empire this time, so using his real identity was not very suitable. Therefore, to make it easier to use an alias, Lin Yuan had specifically bought a secret technique at an auction in the Black Corner Region that could change one's appearance. With his powerful Soul Power concealing him as well, it was very convenient for him to use a smurf account now. He did not even need to use a Human Skin Mask.

As for Xu An, he had indeed existed, but he was merely one of the unlucky fellows Lin Yuan had hooked while fishing during his departure from the Black Corner Region. Thinking back on those few fishing trips in the Black Corner Region, Lin Yuan's mood unconsciously brightened a little. The gains from those waves of fishing had not been small, and they had quickly made him extremely well-off. In particular, that Blood Sect Dou Wang had been a fat fish. After killing him, Lin Yuan had immediately ended his fishing and flown toward the Jia Ma Empire at full speed.

The Black Corner Region really is like a piggy bank for the strong. It truly deserves to be called a purgatory for the weak and a paradise for the strong, Lin Yuan thought to himself.

Stepping onto the Jia Ma Empire's soil once more, Lin Yuan could not help feeling a little emotional. Back when he left the Jia Ma Empire, he had only been a child mixed in with Jia Nan Academy's Recruitment Team. Now that he had returned to the Jia Ma Empire, he was already one of the empire's few powerful experts and a high-level alchemist.

The ways of the world really are unpredictable! Shaking his head, Lin Yuan put away his stray thoughts and considered his next move.

After refusing the invitation of the caravan leader who had come over to treat him to a meal, Lin Yuan parted ways with the caravan. It had only been a caravan he had casually rescued on the road. They had traveled together for a while by chance, but he had no interest in deeper interaction.

Gently pressing his right hand to his forehead, Lin Yuan pondered for a moment, then flew toward the Southwest Direction.

I'll go back and pay respects to my parents first!

Guili Town, Lin Yuan's hometown, was an ordinary small town in the Jia Ma Empire located around the Magical Beast Mountain Range southwest of "Ghost Suppressing Pass."

Three days later.

In a secluded and quiet valley somewhere in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, a Green-Robed Youth stood before a joint grave, rambling on as he spoke. It was Lin Yuan, who had moved his parents here for burial.

Before his parents' grave, Lin Yuan spoke to himself about his experiences over the past few years. A long time later.

"Mother, you once said that you really wanted to find a quiet place to live. I hope you'll like this place."

"Father, you loved Mother so much, so I believe the place Mother liked would be the place you liked too!"

"Father, Mother, thank you for giving me this life in this world. I will use it to climb to the absolute peak. When I reach the summit, I will make your names resound throughout the Dou Qi Continent."

"It's about time. I should go."

Afterward, Lin Yuan performed several solemn bows and left the valley.

Outside the valley, Lin Yuan and a Fifth-Tier Magical Beast stood facing each other. The Magical Beast was the Fifth-Tier Wind Attribute Magical Beast, the Heavenly Wind Wolf King, and also the lord of this area of the Magic Beast Mountain Range.

"Wolf King, according to the agreement from our battle the day before yesterday, I'll have to trouble you to watch over this grave for ten years. Just don't let anyone disturb the peace here," Lin Yuan said in a clear voice.

Hearing this, the Heavenly Wind Wolf King nodded in a human-like manner. Thinking back to the scene of losing three battles in a row the day before yesterday, it still felt lingering fear. The human youth before it was terrifyingly strong. Not only was his Dou Qi cultivation close to that of a Six-Star Dou Wang, his physical body could also fight it blow for blow, and he could even release that kind of Destructive Power. Fortunately, he had deliberately aimed off target, or it would have died on the spot. Moreover, a trace of supreme pressure from deep within its bloodline would occasionally come from the youth, making it involuntarily want to submit.

That was right. One week before Lin Yuan left Jia Nan Academy, he had broken through to Five-Star Dou Wang while refining pills. On the road to the Jia Ma Empire, he had also completed two more rounds of spirit refining and spirit ascension. The Hundred Beast Refining Spirit Art had taken a large step toward great success, and his physical body could now rival an ordinary Fifth-Tier Intermediate Magical Beast.

Seeing this, Lin Yuan was also slightly pleased. His idea had indeed been correct. Among Magical Beasts, the principle that the strong were respected was even more thorough than among humans. Therefore, most of the time, if one needed the power of Magical Beasts, the best method was to set a proper Battle Agreement, then tame their hearts by defeating them multiple times.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Yuan took out one medicinal pill and threw it to the Heavenly Wind Wolf King. The rich pill fragrance made the Heavenly Wind Wolf King's spirits rise. Then, under the wolf king's expectant gaze, Lin Yuan spoke and set an agreement. "Take good care of the valley. The next time I return, I'll give you an opportunity."

"Awooo." The wolf king agreed to the promise. Fifth-Tier Magical Beasts still could not speak, but their intelligence was already no different from that of ordinary humans.

"Then we'll meet again." Lin Yuan nodded. Under the Heavenly Wind Wolf King's gaze, he rose into the air, turned into a streak of light, and flew into the distance.

After swallowing the medicinal pill, the Heavenly Wind Wolf King rested for a while. Two hours later, once it had finished digesting the medicinal strength, it felt that its power had increased by quite a bit and let out a satisfied long howl. Afterward, the Heavenly Wind Wolf King arranged for two Fourth-Tier Magical Beasts under its command to watch over the valley, then walked toward its own cave dwelling.

Not far away, Lin Yuan, who had been watching this side with his Soul Perception, sensed that the Heavenly Wind Wolf King had arranged for Magical Beasts to watch over the valley. A relieved smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he truly left this place.

At the same time, in the Xiao Clan of Wu Tan City.

There was still one month left until the Xiao Clan's coming-of-age ceremony, and the Xiao Clan was holding the preliminary test before the ceremony.

The black-robed youth, under the nervous gazes of everyone present, steadily and confidently reached out his hand and gently pressed it against the cold testing stone tablet.

Then, the stone tablet suddenly burst with bright light. The huge golden characters made the hearts of everyone present stop beating for an instant.

"Dou Force... seventh stage!"

"Xiao Yan: Dou Qi, seventh stage, high level!"

The golden characters on the stone tablet and the tester's voice, filled with unconcealable shock, seemed to be announcing the official return of the fallen genius.

Thank you to the book friends for your support. Some book friends have been helping vote all along, and I truly thank you. Going forward, I hope everyone will continue to support this, help with follow-up reading and voting. Follow-up reading in particular is really very important, and everyone is also welcome to come to the comments section more often to chat.