Relying on Himself

"Without a master's guidance or medicinal pills to help him, what does Xiao Yan have to surpass Nalan Yanran?"

The moment Gu He said this, Nalan Su's heart began to waver as well. He suddenly understood. Talent was talent. From ancient times until now, there had been countless talented people, but in the entire Jia Ma Empire, only a mere handful had ever become Dou Emperors.

And just as Gu He had said, the further one went down the path of cultivation, the greater the resources required, while talent actually became less and less important. Without any resources to help him, what could Xiao Yan use to surpass his daughter? If his daughter truly could defeat Xiao Yan, then she could choose a husband according to her own wishes. Perhaps she might even find someone stronger.

After all, the strong were drawn to one another.

"Thank you, Gu He Master, for clearing up my confusion. If Gu He Master does not mind, you may come to my Nalan Mansion as a guest. I, Nalan Su, will certainly receive you warmly," Nalan Su said, cupping his fists.

Gu He waved his hand and refused. "No. Recently, I plan to trade an item with a powerful expert, then refine a cauldron of pills. I truly have no time."

Nalan Su hurriedly said, "I wonder if our Nalan Family has any way to help?"

Gu He smiled and shook his head. "I do not think it will be necessary. That person is a Dou Emperor."

Hiss! A Dou Emperor!

To be able to trade with a Dou Emperor, in the entire Jia Ma Empire, perhaps only Pill King Gu He had that kind of capital.

At this moment, Xiao Yan, whose protagonist script had been snatched away by someone else, stood beside a deep pool. With one hand, he picked up the Heavy Xuan Ruler that was stuck in the ground, then jumped into the pool with a splash.

The incomparably heavy Heavy Xuan Ruler dragged Xiao Yan's body down rapidly. After sinking to the bottom of the pool with a thud, Xiao Yan gripped the Heavy Xuan Ruler with both hands and continuously swung it. Horizontal sweeps, vertical chops, thrusts, upward lifts—the extremely heavy Heavy Xuan Ruler moved in Xiao Yan's hands as if it were an extension of his own arm.

Weighted training!

Xiao Yan had already been cultivating the Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler for more than half a year, and he could already freely swing the Heavy Xuan Ruler. However, Xiao Yan felt this was still not enough, so he used the resistance and pressure of the water to increase the weight of his training! When he did not have enough oxygen, he would put away the Heavy Xuan Ruler, float up to breathe, and then continue cultivating.

As Xiao Yan swung the Heavy Xuan Ruler faster and faster at the bottom of the pool, he actually stirred up a whirlpool in the water, causing it to tremble violently.

His gaze focused. Xiao Yan suddenly gathered all the Dou Qi in his body. The mysterious patterns on the Heavy Xuan Ruler emitted a faint red light, and the terrifying heat could not be cooled even underwater. Huge bubbles continuously rose.

"Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler!"

Xiao Yan swung fiercely toward the sky. A wave of scorching flame shot straight up from the bottom of the pool, dozens of meters deep, its terrifying heat constantly "devouring" the water waves! With a thunderous boom, it was as if a torpedo had exploded. The pool, larger than a football field, instantly blasted open, and the water surged dozens of meters high before falling as a torrential rain.

Using the force of this strike, Xiao Yan leaped out of the pool with the Heavy Xuan Ruler on his back.

"Hm? Why are you two here?" After Xiao Yan jumped out of the pool, he discovered Xiao Mei and Xiao Yu standing by the water's edge.

The two pitiful girls had originally been chatting with great interest, discussing their plans to join Jia Nan Academy half a year later while Xiao Yu explained interesting things about Jia Nan Academy. In the end, disaster had fallen from the sky, and they were drenched like drowned chickens.

"Xiao Yan! It's you again!"

Xiao Yan rubbed his nose, suppressing his laughter as he said, "I couldn't tell, Xiao Yu. You're actually quite pure."

Xiao Yu lowered her head and looked. Today, both of them were wearing white clothes. After being drenched like this, they had become transparent! Xiao Yu's white underwear could be seen clearly. As for the younger Xiao Mei, she was even bolder than Xiao Yu—it was black.

Xiao Mei's face turned bright red, but she did not deliberately cover herself. Xiao Yu screamed, covering her chest with her left hand, then picked up a huge rock, wanting to smash Xiao Yan to death.

In the time it took her to pick up the rock, Xiao Yan had already greased his soles and run off, leaving only the words "This was an accident too" before disappearing from sight.

After returning to the hidden cave, Xiao Yan changed into a dry set of clothes and grumbled, "Enemies really do meet on narrow roads."

Xiao Yan touched his Storage Ring and released the Bone Chiling Flame. He sat cross-legged half a meter away from the Bone Chiling Flame, closed his eyes, and slowly circulated the Flame Mantra.

One could see some special energy being absorbed bit by bit by Xiao Yan, continuously strengthening his vortex.

Even when the Heavenly Flame occasionally became unstable and burned Xiao Yan, making him sweat all over and scorching his skin, Xiao Yan still did not stop cultivating.

If someone asked him, without a master's guidance or medicinal pills to help him, what could he rely on to win, Xiao Yan would certainly tell them firmly and decisively: himself.

After Xiao Yan completed his dull daily cultivation, he leisurely returned to the clan. Before Xiao Yan had even stepped through the clan gates, he saw the three elders anxiously waiting for him.

"Xiao Yan, you brat, you're finally back!"

"Something big happened!"

"Quick, quick, quick! Hurry to the clan Meeting Hall."

Xiao Yan was directly lifted up by the Second Elder and Third Elder and carried to the Meeting Hall, giving him no chance to escape at all.

After listening to a round of chattering in the Meeting Hall, Xiao Yan more or less understood what had happened. In summary, the Galio Clan and Oba Clan had somehow invited a First-Rank Alchemist. They had also monopolized all the low-grade medicinal ingredient markets in Wutan City ahead of time, spent a long time preparing, and refined two types of First-grade Pills, stealing more than half of the market's business.

They had monopolized the market.

"Young Clan Leader, these are the 'Spring Return Powder' and 'Little Dou Qi Pill' being sold in Leo Town Market."

Xiao Yan picked up the bottle on the table labeled Spring Return Powder, poured out a little powder, and sniffed it. He shook his head and said, "This can be called a pill too? This is merely the lowest-grade kind of First-grade Pill. It cannot even speed up a wound's scabbing."

The Third Elder smiled bitterly and said, "Young Clan Leader, don't joke around. Ordinary Mercenary Groups can only afford this kind of pill, and as long as it can stop bleeding and pain, that is enough."

Xiao Yan then picked up the bottle labeled Little Dou Qi Pill and poured out a blue pill even smaller than a longan seed. Xiao Yan gently crushed it, rubbing the powder between his fingers.

"It's a bit better than that Spring Return Powder. It counts as a middle-grade First-grade Pill. It should allow someone whose Dou Qi has been exhausted to use a Yellow Middle Grade Combat Technique one more time." As Xiao Yan spoke, he wiped his hands clean with a handkerchief, as if the pill had dirtied them.

"Yan'er, do you have a way to deal with this?" Xiao Zhan had immediately pulled Xiao Yan over precisely because more than half a year ago, Xiao Yan had already sensed the other side's intentions and had made everyone in the clan prepare early.

Xiao Yan took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, revealing his usual confident smile. "Of course."

The Great Elder hurriedly asked, "Quick, tell us. All of us will cooperate with you."

Xiao Yan waved his hand and said, "No rush. As the saying goes, when the heavens want to destroy someone, they first make them mad. Let those two clans enjoy themselves first."

The Second Elder asked in confusion, "Then what should we do?"

Xiao Yan looked at the white powder crushed on the ground and said calmly, "Play along with them for now. Do what we should do. If we break their pill scheme now, at most it will make them lose some money. It will not hurt them to the bone."

"When dealing with enemies, we are not trying to defeat them. We are trying to kill them."