"Chance Encounter"

"Oh." Xiao Yan replied expressionlessly.

Seeing this, Old Man Yao raised a brow and continued coaxing him. "Hey! You little brat, your talent may be excellent, but you're already fifteen, and your Dou Qi is still only at the Third Stage. Forget competing with Nalan Yanran—even getting through the Xiao Family's Coming-of-Age Ceremony will probably be difficult, won't it? What if you're assigned to work as an assistant in one of the family businesses?"

At this point, Old Man Yao paused, shaking his head with a sigh. "Tsk, tsk. I'm afraid you'll never be able to turn things around for the rest of your life."

It had to be said that Old Man Yao's words struck straight at Xiao Yan's heart. Even if the other party stopped absorbing his Dou Qi, relying solely on his returning talent would not be enough for him to contend with Nalan Yanran.

After all, Nalan Yanran's talent was only slightly inferior to his. Catching up to the progress she had accumulated through years of cultivation in a short time would be extremely difficult.

His breathing grew slightly heavier. He was tempted, yet his expression still held considerable wariness.

"With my current cultivation speed, it truly is impossible to break through four stages of Dou Qi within a year. But words alone prove nothing. How do I know you're qualified to teach me? Miss Yao Ruoruo's strength is unfathomable, so I assume you're not much weaker than her. If you truly want me to take you as my master, then show me some sincerity."

"Oh? What a sharp-tongued little brat. Fine, fine. Come to think of it, I really do have abilities that girl doesn't."

Old Man Yao nodded helplessly and descended to the ground. His gaze swept over Xiao Yan several times, and a strange, triumphant grin flashed across his face before vanishing.

His expression turned solemn as he secretly set up a soul barrier that blocked perception. Then, he spread open his palm, and a cluster of ghostly white flames suddenly appeared at the center of his jade-like hand.

An aura of absolute coldness washed over Xiao Yan, yet it seemed to contain incomparably scorching heat, as though it would cast him into an endless hell.

"W-What is that?!" Xiao Yan's face filled with terror as he instinctively backed away.

"Hehe, little fellow, do you want to become an Alchemist?"

Hearing this, Xiao Yan, shivering from the cold, swallowed hard. His heart began pounding furiously against his will.

The next day, Xiao Yan walked along the Xiao Family streets with his eyelids drooping. Clearly, he had been unable to sleep for a long time the previous night.

With only the strength of the Third Stage Dou Qi, he naturally could not ignore his body's exhaustion. Two heavy dark circles hung beneath his eyes, making him look rather comical.

"An Alchemist, and Cultivation Techniques and Dou Skills that can evolve..." Recalling Old Man Yao's demonstration from the night before, Xiao Yan could not help letting out a long breath before yawning.

"It sounds enticing, but first, I have to break through to become a Dou Zhe."

Whether he wanted to become an Alchemist or cultivate Cultivation Techniques and Dou Skills, the prerequisite was becoming a Dou Zhe. Only a Dou Zhe could transform the Dou Qi within their body into battle qi and condense a Dou Qi Vortex.

Battle qi and Dou Qi differed by only one word, yet the difference in their power was as vast as heaven and earth.

Only battle qi could sustain the cultivation of a Cultivation Technique. Once he cultivated one and his battle qi's attribute was revealed, Xiao Yan would finally possess all the qualifications needed to become an Alchemist.

Xiao Yan, who had once been a Dou Zhe, naturally understood this better than anyone. Therefore, keeping his feet on the ground was what he needed to do now.

Thus, Xiao Yan hurried along, ignoring his body's exhaustion as he quickly ran out through the Xiao Family gates and headed straight for the Marketplace to gather medicinal ingredients.

After Old Man Yao parted ways with Hun Ruoruo yesterday, the girl had already prepared Gold Coins and the necessary medicinal ingredients inside the Storage Ring. Old Man Yao had informed Xiao Yan of this as well.

With Xiao Yan's current frail body, he simply could not withstand the impact of medicinal pill effects. Therefore, if he wanted to speed up his cultivation progress, he had to use a gentler method.

That was the Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid created by Old Man Yao himself.

As a low-grade medicine, the materials needed for Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid were not difficult to find. It only required three stalks of Purple Leaf Orchid Grass, two Bone Washing Flowers, and one first-tier wood-attribute Magic Core to refine.

What left Xiao Yan utterly depressed was that although they had given him an abundance of resources, they had not given him everything—

The Storage Ring contained a full three hundred stalks of Purple Leaf Orchid Grass and hundreds of first-tier wood-attribute Magic Cores, yet not a single Bone Washing Flower.

Xiao Yan absolutely did not believe they had not done this just to mess with him.

But there was nothing he could do. After all, he was benefiting from them, so he could not truly complain about anything. He would just treat it as running an errand.

"That Miss Ruoruo really does enjoy teasing me." Xiao Yan gave a bitter smile and quickly entered the Marketplace to purchase Bone Washing Flowers.

The Marketplace was quite bustling. The crowds flowing back and forth nearly filled the streets, yet everyone moved quickly, and there was no congestion or arguing. It was clearly managed in an orderly fashion.

This Marketplace was one of the several medium-sized marketplaces owned by the Xiao Family.

After looking around, fifteen-year-old Young Master Xiao Yan was unable to take in all the surrounding shops due to his height. Left with no choice, he found a vendor setting up a stall on the ground, crouched down, and asked, "Boss, how much are your Bone Washing Flowers?"

"Greetings, Third Young Master. One hundred gold coins each, with a ten percent discount if you buy more than a handful!" A playful, flirtatious voice answered, completely unlike that of a proper vendor.

"That voice... you?!" Xiao Yan was startled and abruptly looked up at the girl before him, who had once again wrapped herself in a black robe.

She was cupping her face in her hands as she looked at him. Her large eyes blinked, making her thick eyelashes flutter.

"Miss Ruoruo, you really are everywhere!"

"Bone Washing Flowers. Does Third Young Master wish to buy some?"

"...I knew you had them. Why did you deliberately make me come all this way?" Xiao Yan complained. "I don't really mind, but won't this delay my cultivation progress?"

"Getting something for nothing is not a good habit. Even if the cost is small, Third Young Master must learn to give something in return." The girl propped her cheek on one small hand, her eyes narrowing slightly as though they held some special meaning, yet it vanished without a trace like drifting clouds.

"Mm... I understand."

"Hehe, just as expected of the Third Young Master I've taken a liking to."

The fleeting seriousness on the girl's face vanished completely, replaced by laughter as clear and bright as silver bells.

The girl's voice was crisp and pleasant, soothing to hear, but Xiao Yan found it impossible to tell how much truth and how much falsehood that laughter contained.

After a moment, he took a deep breath and voiced the question that had been buried in his heart for a long time. "Miss Ruoruo... Ruoruo, why does it seem like the people around us cannot sense your existence at all?"

When Xiao Yan said "Miss Ruoruo" again, he felt an inexplicable chill and could only helplessly change how he addressed her to "Ruoruo."

Indeed, whether it was their first meeting beneath the moon, her spying in the Xiao Family hall, or now in the Marketplace, the people around them seemed completely unaware of her existence. It left Xiao Yan with an indescribable feeling.

It was not exactly fear. Rather, it was more like curiosity and resistance toward the unknown.

Seeing Xiao Yan ask about her, Hun Ruoruo's eyes turned as she said, "Third Young Master, since you already know about Soul Force, there is naturally no reason for me to hide it from you."

"After you reach the Seventh Stage Dou Qi, I'll teach you the wondrous uses of Soul Force. How about it?"