I'll Take You in Through the Back Door!

In Ya Fei's room, Xiao Ze toyed with a thumb-sized jade bead.

Qi Gathering Bead!

This wondrous item had a decent storage capacity.

As long as someone else absorbed Dou Qi, it would automatically absorb and store it.

Besides mainstream weapons, all sorts of such wondrous items emerged endlessly across the Dou Qi Continent.

It might have been something a forger had accidentally tinkered into existence.

Xiao Ze tried it himself. As expected, the Dou Qi inside the bead was exceptionally difficult to absorb.

But that was not a problem!

Old Ya's remnant soul could silently absorb the Dou Zhi Qi within Xiao Yan's body.

Absorbing the Dou Qi inside the Qi Gathering Bead should not be a problem either.

Once the Dou Qi within the Qi Gathering Bead was depleted, it would automatically absorb and store more.

This should greatly speed up Old Ya's awakening.

Xiao Yan would then be able to regain his title as a genius sooner.

Besides hoping Xiao Yan could return to normal, Xiao Ze also had his own objective.

He intended to bind Xiao Yan's alchemy!

Although binding Old Ya's alchemy would also be good, Xiao Ze was greedy!

Xiao Yan's future achievements in alchemy would surpass even his master!

Xiao Yan's growth potential and upper limit far exceeded Old Ya's!

That was the fundamental reason Xiao Ze chose to bind Xiao Yan's alchemy!

Of course, as the future Flame Emperor, Xiao Yan certainly possessed more than just alchemy that was worth taking.

However, the system's Subordinate Binding allowed each person to bind only one ability.

In the end, Xiao Ze still chose alchemy, the ability with the highest practical value!

"All right! This Qi Gathering Bead is useful to me, so thank you, Sister Ya Fei!"

Xiao Ze put it away with satisfaction, along with the items he had bought earlier.

"Sister Ya Fei, I won't disturb you any longer. I'll head back and prepare for tomorrow's admissions!"

"Mm-hmm, good luck, Little Brother Xiao Ze!"

Ya Fei rose to see Xiao Ze out.

After returning to her room, a trace of loneliness flashed across Ya Fei's face.

"A gift for his family? Does this sworn sister of his not count as a sister? Sigh..."

Ya Fei sighed and walked over to sit down.

Suddenly, she noticed an exquisite gift box on the chair across from her.

A few small words were written on the box in elegant silver script.

"A gift for Sister Ya Fei!"

"Hmph, at least that guy has a conscience. All I did for him wasn't for nothing, and his handwriting is actually quite pretty!"

Ya Fei happily picked up the gift box and examined it carefully for a while.

Then she hurried back to her room to see what gift Xiao Ze had left for her.

On the other side, Xiao Ze returned to the Xiao Family.

There were only a few gifts prepared this time.

Xiao Zhan, Xiao Yan, Xiao Xun'er, Xiao Yi Xian, and Xiao Yu barely counted as one.

Though he called them farewell gifts, the only people truly parting with Xiao Ze were Xiao Zhan and Xiao Yan.

But giving gifts to only those two would seem rather unfair.

He might as well give them to everyone.

In any case, none of these gifts were expensive.

That evening, Xiao Ze had a long-overdue family dinner with Xiao Zhan and Xiao Yan.

After dinner, Xiao Ze gave Xiao Zhan the gift he had prepared.

With Xiao Ze's strength, he would definitely pass Jia Nan Academy's admissions.

Therefore, his departure from the Xiao Family in the near future was a certainty.

Xiao Zhan held Xiao Ze's gift and left with a cheerful smile.

He left the space to his two sons.

"Third Brother, nothing's been troubling you lately, right?"

Xiao Yan pursed his lips, then forced a smile.

"Nothing much. Cultivation has just been as unsuccessful as ever."

"Those guys haven't been bothering you, have they?"

"No, no. When they see me now, they don't even dare speak in front of me. Besides, I've actually gotten much closer to Cousin Xiao Ning."

Xiao Yan hurriedly replied, worried that Xiao Ze would go beat someone into a pig's head again at the slightest disagreement.

"Haha, that's good. You and Cousin Xiao Ning really did become acquainted through a fight."

Xiao Ze said with a smile.

He then took out a wristguard with the Qi Gathering Bead embedded inside.

"Third Brother, I bought this especially for you. It might ease your condition somewhat!"

Xiao Yan was somewhat confused. What could possibly be special about a wristguard?

"All right, put it on quickly. There's something hidden inside it. It's best to wear it all the time and not take it off unless necessary!"

Xiao Ze said with a serious expression.

Seeing Xiao Ze's expression, Xiao Yan nodded solemnly.

He trusted Xiao Ze!

"I'll head back first and prepare for tomorrow's admissions."

Xiao Ze rose to take his leave.

Before he left, Xiao Yan suddenly raised a hand and asked Xiao Ze.

"Fourth Brother, what realm are you at now?"

"I happened to break through to Da Dou Shi when I returned today."

Xiao Ze left behind those casual words as his figure gradually receded into the distance.

Leaving Xiao Yan standing there alone, petrified!

Xiao Yan's throat felt somewhat dry as he muttered.

"Da Dou Shi... terrifying indeed!!!"

At the same time, Xiao Yan became even more determined to take Xiao Ze as his goal!

Early the next morning, Xiao Yu knocked on Xiao Ze's door.

"Xiao Ze, get up quickly! We need to hurry, or there'll be too many people later!"

Creak—

The door opened, revealing a delicate little face. Xiao Yu's raised hand froze mid-slap.

"You are? Xiao Ze actually hid such a little beauty in his room!?"

"Cousin Xiao Yu, you need to take responsibility for your words. This is my friend, Xiao Yi Xian."

Xiao Ze's voice came from behind Xiao Yi Xian as he walked over while putting on a white coat.

"She stayed at the Xiao Family for the night and is also planning to attend Jia Nan Academy's admissions."

Xiao Yu pointed at the two of them in surprise, her red lips slightly parted as she said.

"You two... are living together!"

Only then did Xiao Xun'er's voice slowly drift over.

"Cousin Xiao Yu, you're overthinking it. Brother Xiao Ze was with me all night and only returned to his room this morning to wash up and change."

Xiao Xun'er said with a smile.

Xiao Yi Xian had nowhere to stay yesterday, and it would have been troublesome to hastily prepare a guest room.

Xiao Ze let Xiao Yi Xian stay in his room, while he spent the entire night in Xun'er's room, nourishing her Meridians.

"All right, Cousin Xiao Yu, you were the one rushing me, yet you're also the one gossiping nonstop!"

Xiao Ze fastened his belt and spoke to Xiao Yu, who still wanted to get to the bottom of things.

Only then did Xiao Yu give up on the idea.

The group of four headed toward the square where Jia Nan Academy was holding its admissions.

Xiao Ning and Xiao Mei did not come with them.

Jia Nan Academy's admission standard was to reach the eighth stage of Dou Zhi Qi before the age of eighteen.

They clearly had not met the requirement, so they did not come to join the excitement.

As they neared the square, the crowds suddenly grew denser.

A bad feeling rose in their hearts, and Xiao Yu said.

"Those people are still as crazy as ever. Some of them waited in the square all night just for Jia Nan Academy's admissions team."

Having successfully passed last year, Xiao Yu understood deeply and offered an explanation.

"Although recruitment is being held in Wu Tan City, it is also open to several large cities nearby. It's normal for so many people to come."

"What do we do now?" Xiao Yi Xian said as she looked at the crowd, which had nearly filled the square.

"It's fine, I'll take you in through the back door!"

Xiao Yu said confidently.

Led by Xiao Yu, the group arrived behind the square.

The City Lord's Mansion had stationed troops here, and every one of them was fully armed!

They formed layers upon layers of encirclement, and the security looked extremely tight.

Xiao Yu told Xiao Ze and the other two to wait where they were.

She pulled out a green badge from her robes and stepped forward to speak with the commander of the guards.

The stern-faced commander glanced at Xiao Ze and the other three, his brows knitting slightly.

Dear readers, please keep following! Recommendations now depend entirely on follow-up reading, so please lend a hand and scroll to the very end of the book. My heartfelt thanks!