Nalan Yanran Has Arrived

The next morning, Xiao Yuan sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, his hands forming a strange seal before him. His chest rose and fell slightly, each breath forming a perfect cycle. As his breathing circulated, faint white streams of air entered through his nose and mouth, flowing into his body and being divided among the Five Elements Qi Palace into five portions.

A moment later, Xiao Yuan opened his eyes and inspected the amount of Dou Qi accumulated within the Five Elements Qi Palace. A trace of disappointment flashed through his eyes as he muttered, "Sigh, the remaining energy from five magic cores, plus half an hour of absorbing Dou Qi, only raised each of my qi palaces to the third stage!"

But Xiao Yuan quickly perked up again. After all, just yesterday, he had been someone with no Dou Qi at all. If he became a Fighter overnight, it would probably attract far too much attention. The third stage was fine! Besides, after formally opening the Five Elements Qi Palace, the scroll within his soul seemed able to unfurl a little further. It contained a secret technique called Five Qi Convergence, which could channel the qi from four of the five qi palaces into one, granting a short burst of explosive power.

Of course, such a method did not come without a price. First, because Xiao Yuan's current strength was too low and he had only just begun learning the secret technique, part of the Dou Qi—or rather, battle qi—would be lost during the channeling process.

Second, given the current strength of his qi palaces, the most they could withstand was the qi of three palaces after losses. If he poured the qi of all four palaces into a single one, the result would be that before he could even use his surging strength against an enemy, his qi palace would burst, his internal organs would rupture, and he would end up severely injured or even dead.

Lastly, after the secret technique ended, its backlash would worsen according to the number of qi palaces Xiao Yuan had channeled into it.

Even so, Xiao Yuan was more than satisfied.

He was only a measly third-stage Dou Qi cultivator, yet he could already use a secret technique that dramatically increased his strength. Its effect could even ridiculously push his power to the peak of his current rank. He was already content!

"Sadly, it still probably won't be enough for what happens today."

Xiao Yuan rubbed his temples with a headache. He had sweated all over last night, and his whole body felt sticky and uncomfortable.

"Forget it. Without pressure, where would motivation come from? Worst case, Little Yan and I will just storm the Misty Cloud Sect together. For now, I should take a bath and tidy myself up."

Xiao Yuan soon stopped dwelling on it. He gathered the dirt on the floor, which had turned into grayish-brown residue, along with other miscellaneous items that had lost their effects and become complete trash, and placed them beside the door so he could throw them out when he left later.

Then, he found a clean set of clothes and took a thorough hot bath. Feeling completely refreshed, he put on a spotless white robe, combed his hair neatly before the mirror, and donned a silver-white crown.

Just as he finished preparing, there came a perfectly timed knock at the door.

A familiar aged voice followed. "Third Young Master, the clan head requests your presence in the main hall."

"Oh, all right."

Xiao Yuan patted down the tiny wrinkles in his clothes and gave the graceful young man in the mirror a satisfied look. Then he opened the door and greeted Steward Mo with a smile. "Let's go, Steward Mo!"

Although Steward Mo had watched Xiao Yuan grow up since childhood, the youth's excessively handsome face, paired with that immaculate white robe carrying a touch of otherworldly elegance, still made him sigh inwardly: If the Third Young Master could cultivate, even the princesses of the Jia Ma Empire's imperial family might want him as a son-in-law! "Third Young Master, please proceed ahead. This old servant still needs to summon the Young Master so he may come along."

Steward Mo spoke respectfully.

"Oh, I'll go get him."

Xiao Yuan waved for Steward Mo to wait where he was, then quickly headed toward Xiao Yan's room. Just as he was about to knock, he heard a sharp curse from within. "The Dou Qi I worked so hard to cultivate is disappearing again... I—I fuck!"

A smile curled onto Xiao Yuan's lips. He knocked on the door and called out loudly, "Little Yan, we have honored guests at home. Father wants us to go to the main hall."

Duang!

As Xiao Yuan's voice fell, something seemed to drop onto the floor inside the room. Then Xiao Yan's embarrassed voice came from within. "Got it, Brother. I'll change clothes. Wait for me a moment!"

A moment later, Xiao Yan emerged after changing into clean clothes, though his gaze was still somewhat unfocused.

"Hehe, let's go!"

Xiao Yuan did not say anything that would embarrass Xiao Yan. He habitually patted Xiao Yan on the shoulder, then turned and headed toward the main hall.

"Oh!"

Xiao Yan looked at Xiao Yuan's back and secretly breathed a sigh of relief before hurriedly following him.

Soon, led by Steward Mo, the brothers Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yan crossed the rear courtyard and stopped outside the solemn guest hall. They respectfully knocked on the door and only gently pushed it open after receiving Xiao Zhan's permission.

The hall was quite spacious, and many people were seated inside. At the very top sat Xiao Zhan and the three clan elders, whose expressions were indifferent and whose authority was no less than the clan head's.

Below and to the left of the four sat some of the clan's influential and powerful elders. Beside them were several outstanding members of the younger generation.

On the other side sat three unfamiliar people, who were presumably the so-called honored guests.

Xiao Yuan's gaze swept swiftly over them. Among the three was an old man dressed in a moon-white robe. He wore a smile and looked full of vigor. Though his eyes were somewhat narrow, they occasionally gleamed sharply. On the chest of his robe was embroidered a silver crescent moon, surrounded by seven glittering golden stars.

Seven Star Great Fighter. Two stars higher than Father. I can't beat him now, but I'll definitely crush him in the future. Nothing to fear.

As for the Five Star Fighter beside the old man, whose looks were nothing compared to his own, he seemed nearly twenty yet had only just reached five stars. Not worth mentioning.

Some of the clan's young women had been paying attention to that young man, who was fairly handsome and reasonably strong. But the moment Xiao Yuan entered, all their attention shifted to him.

Clearly, while the gap in strength between that young man and Xiao Yuan seemed considerable, it was nowhere near enough to make up for the difference in appearance.

The young woman beside him, however, surprised Xiao Yuan slightly. Nalan Yanran was exceptionally beautiful. Among the women of the Xiao Clan, only Xiao Xun'er could surpass her, though she still fell somewhat short before Xiao Yuan.

Yet three golden stars were embroidered on her robe's chest. Clearly, she was a Three Star Fighter.

If I catch her off guard, I should be able to beat a three-star fighter. But she's my younger brother's future wife who hasn't been cast aside yet, so I can't hit her!

Nalan Yanran seemed to sense Xiao Yuan's gaze. Though she had originally been unwilling to spare a proper glance for her worthless fiancé, she turned her head toward him. The next instant, shock flooded her eyes.

Huh? How could he be so handsome?