Overconfident and Incompetent

Ever since the contract Gale Ku had signed took effect, the Rejuvenation Powder that the Jia Lie Family had once displayed in the market and sold like wildfire was pulled from sale in every Marketplace in less than a day.

This baffling move immediately enraged the mercenaries, who had already been deeply dissatisfied with the ever-rising price of Rejuvenation Powder. How could something that saved lives simply be cut off without warning?

Yet the other side was wealthy and powerful, so the mercenaries could only swallow their anger. They simply used their actions to vent their dissatisfaction—

Without Rejuvenation Powder as its signature product, not only did the mercenaries who had switched to the Jia Lie Family's Marketplace leave, but even its old customers began flocking to the Xiao Family's Marketplace in large numbers.

In their eyes, the Xiao Family's Marketplace had stable prices and good order. There was never any need to worry about tyrannical terms that changed prices by the day, making it clearly more suitable for long-term purchases of all kinds of resources.

Thus, burdened by troubles within and without, the Jia Lie Family sank completely into the mire, unable to pull itself free anytime soon.

Patriarch Jia Lie Bu was so furious that he directly ordered Gale Ku, his right-hand man, to have his cultivation crippled. He also called on the entire clan to tighten their belts in an attempt to gather the astronomical compensation payment.

Unfortunately, no matter how quickly he reacted, the Jia Lie Family's decline could no longer be reversed.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yan, the culprit behind it all, lived a remarkably fulfilling life—

In the morning, he soaked in Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid and cultivated his Dou Qi. Before noon, he tempered his body and developed practical combat abilities under Old Man Yao's training. At noon, he lay on the grassy slopes of the Back Mountain for a brief rest. In the afternoon, he refined his Soul Force, battled Hun Ruoruo, and had his soul drained dry.

Even when he finally had a little free time at night, his father would occasionally drag him off to play chess. The old man and the youth would chat until late into the night.

Day by day, his cultivation steadily climbed in a sharp upward curve.

Xiao Family, Back Mountain.

Strolling through the woods, Xiao Yan casually chose an ancient tree thick enough for several people to encircle. A faint aura rose from his body.

"Eight Extremes, Break!"

With a thunderous shout, the ancient tree let out a deafening boom before beginning to sway under the unbearable force, as though making one final struggle.

At last, as if its strength had run dry, the ancient tree slowly toppled in the direction opposite his shout.

A series of crackling sounds rang out. Because the trees stood close together, the heavy trunk smashed through countless lush branches tangled in their growth. Then came a second thunderous crash, and the ground trembled faintly.

That was the sound of the ancient tree hitting the ground.

Watching leaves whirl through the sky, the black-haired youth seemed to have exhausted all his strength. He collapsed onto the ground and began panting heavily.

He pulled up the slightly torn sleeve on his right arm. The skin beneath was already bright red, while the veins on the inside of his arm spasmed wildly beyond his control, sending waves of intense pain through him.

"Hiss!"

Seeing the miserable state of his arm, he could not help drawing a sharp breath. He hurriedly took out the medicinal paste he had prepared beforehand and carefully applied it.

After evenly spreading the paste over his elbow, Xiao Yan finally let out a breath and sighed. "One damages the body, while the other harms the soul. Special Dou Techniques really aren't so easy to cultivate."

"Heh heh, kid, don't be so ungrateful. With cultivation not even at the Dou Zhe level, you can already unleash such power. You should be secretly celebrating."

Old Man Yao's voice suddenly rang out. His figure then slowly emerged from the ring. With a flick of his finger, a nearly imperceptible stream of Dou Qi struck Xiao Yan's forehead.

"Relax your body. Don't force yourself."

Feeling the force on his forehead, the already exhausted Xiao Yan immediately fell backward into the pile of leaves behind him. He did not even have the desire to move a finger.

He said weakly, "The power is great, but it hurts the enemy for a thousand while damaging myself for eight hundred. With my current physical strength, if that strike had landed on a boulder just now, my bones would probably have shattered first."

"Oh? In that case, why not use the Soul Skill Ruoruo taught you? With your current Soul Force, using it against cultivators below the Dou Zhe level won't drain your Soul Force dry."

Old Man Yao raised a brow at Xiao Yan teasingly.

Xiao Yan gave a bitter smile. "How can that Soul Skill be used against clan members? Once I use it, even if they don't die, they'll become idiots. I don't want to earn a reputation for maiming my own clansmen."

"I knew you had your eye on the little bit of wealth I have. The two Dou Techniques you're cultivating now do have too many limitations. Fine, I'll pass you another Dou Technique of a different tier, something you can use in sparring and probing exchanges."

Xiao Yan's eyes lit up. He quickly rubbed his hands together and asked, "What tier?"

"Let me see... Profound Tier Low Grade."

"Profound Tier? Could it be another Dou Technique that relies on physical strength?"

"Brat, why are you so lacking in confidence?"

Old Man Yao sighed in disappointment and slowly said, "Your Dou Qi is already far more abundant than that of ordinary people. Even with ordinary Dou Techniques that rely on Dou Qi, it will no longer be difficult for you to bring out their power."

"Xiao Yan, you've already become stronger."

Xiao Yan froze, unable to speak for a moment.

Over the past few months, he had grown much stronger without even realizing it. Yet for some reason, he still always felt that his strength was too weak and often became anxious.

Old Man Yao saw through everything and said slowly, "There's nothing wrong with feeling a sense of urgency. But keeping your nerves too tightly wound is not a good thing for you. I've told you this before."

"But Teacher, hasn't my cultivation been a balance of work and rest?"

Old Man Yao raised a hand to interrupt him and shook his head. "It has nothing to do with cultivation. I think you've unknowingly begun treating that girl Ruoruo as someone you need to catch up to, haven't you?"

"Uh, it seems... maybe a little?" Xiao Yan touched his nose guiltily.

Old Man Yao chuckled. "It's just you and me here, master and disciple, yet you're still putting on an act. It's perfectly normal to use someone more outstanding as your goal, but..."

He paused, lifted his eyes to look into the distance, then placed his palm beneath him and struck an extremely peculiar pose.

"...?"

Xiao Yan leaned his neck back slightly, completely unable to understand what his Teacher was doing.

Old Man Yao said nothing, merely pursing his lips at him.

Helplessly, and filled with confusion, Xiao Yan studied his Teacher's strange movements once more.

After a while, the corner of his mouth twitched, and his expression became rather colorful.

This rotten old man... was he calling him overconfident and incompetent?

But—

Looking at Old Man Yao's peculiar, half-joking pose, Xiao Yan's gaze gradually softened. The knot that had long weighed on his heart quietly dissolved without him realizing it.

"Teacher, thank you."

"Heh heh, brat, hurry up and get up to cultivate. If you still haven't adjusted by tomorrow, that girl Ruoruo won't be as lenient as I am about letting you rest."