Be My Disciple!

"It's just like making steel cable."

That was how Xiao Yan had once described it.

Roll steel strands into their preliminary shape, mix in lubricant, then twist them together into a stronger cable.

Dou Qi cultivation was basically the same.

"The way blood and qi circulate in your body is the reason the great circulation through your meridians has been thrown into disorder," Yao Lao's voice continued.

"It is merely coordinating with your internal organs. Your blood and qi are charging around wildly. It may look grand and imposing, but in truth, the power is scattered and poorly controlled."

Xiao Yan's condition had now more or less been fully analyzed.

Because during the Dou Qi stage, the meridians and physical body were still in the process of being shaped, and it happened to be the period of childhood before the body had begun to grow.

Relying on his powerful Soul Power to mess around however he liked, Xiao Yan had somehow gotten half a foot onto the path of body tempering.

But as everyone knew...

Pure body tempering? Not even a dog would do it.

It was true that you could take hits, and it was also true that your endurance was high, but you couldn't wear armor and go fight a machine gun! Besides, Dou Qi practitioners had no fewer than hundreds or thousands of ways to strengthen the body, and even the physical toughness granted by Dou Qi alone was already astonishing enough.

Every last one of them had high attack, thick health, and long mana bars.

The latter two even far exceeded their attack.

A fire lotus that could blow up a stone plaza had been set off right in Nalan's face, yet it still failed to blast this Da Dou Shi to death; even her Dou Qi Armor had not been vaporized...

Zhu Kun, who had seized the opening after Soul Emperor's attack, revealed his true form, and even after landing a solid blow, he only made him cough up some blood. Whether his health bar even trembled was questionable...

Looking across the entire story, the only one whose attack far surpassed his health and defense was Xiao HuoHuo, who kneaded nuclear bombs from beginning to end, blasting people when he saw people and blasting ghosts when he saw ghosts.

It was precisely because of all the above that body-tempering techniques were basically limited to Dou Techniques, at most bringing along a few medicinal formulas.

And now...

"When I traveled the continent back then, I once happened to obtain a body-tempering cultivation method. I thought it could only serve as a collectible... Now, calm your mind and listen. I will pass part of it on to you."

Following his memories, Yao Lao dug out that body-tempering method. "Because this thing will also occupy the meridians, you only need to learn the method of guiding blood and qi. There is no need to rush with the rest. There will be plenty of opportunities to study it in the future."

"All right."

Listening to an expert was never wrong~ Could you possibly understand Dou Qi better than Yao Lao?

Xiao Yan slowed the circulation of Fen Jue, restrained his blood and qi, and coordinated them with Fen Jue, which counted as completely bidding farewell to the fool's mode of brainlessly pouring everything into his blood vessels.

Not only could it better nourish the body, it could also slightly improve the efficiency of refining Dou Qi.

If this keeps going, the speed of digesting energy might surpass the speed at which Fen Jue absorbs it...

Wouldn't it be refined in an instant as soon as it entered his body...?

As the fine adjustments within his body continued, Xiao Yan's chaotic aura also began to draw in its misaligned edges, slowly becoming rounded, harmonious, and calm.

"Whew—"

Xiao Yan opened his eyes, and the breath he exhaled lingered for a long while, condensing into thin droplets of Dou Qi.

Dou Qi Gauze.

"How does it feel?" Yao Lao smiled with a hint of smugness.

Guiding the cultivation of such an ultimate genius was the wish in the heart of any expert.

All one had to do was pour in effort. However much was invested, that much growth would appear, and sometimes there were even extra gains.

It was practically a training game you could enjoy however you liked!

"It couldn't feel better."

Xiao Yan smiled from the bottom of his heart. "It was all thanks to senior's guidance. I have received this favor for nothing..."

"Haha... It was just a small matter~"

Yao Lao waved a hand and cut him off, acting as if he did not care at all, but the smile on his face betrayed him. "Unfortunately, I still haven't thought of a way to deal with the Dou Qi in your internal organs. Wait for this old man to study it for a while, and I'll customize a personal cultivation method for you!"

"...Ah..."

Xiao Yan sighed with a warm smile.

Perhaps it was the vigilance and distrust common to transmigrators, but Xiao Yan had some inexplicable feelings toward people who sincerely treated him well.

To put it unpleasantly, he was too sensitive; to put it nicely, his perception was sharp—

In a nearly unfamiliar new world, a transmigrator was no different from an orphan.

What normal people were there? They were all pretending. Psychological problems came by the stack for everyone.

"Senior... Thank you."

Xiao Yan sighed with a trace of regret, but there was even more gratitude. He completed the full courtesy and bowed in thanks.

Although he had failed to take him as his master and there was no hope for alchemy for the time being, Yao Lao's actions were already not much different from those of a master. He could be called wholehearted and diligent.

If there was gain, then there had to be loss.

Taking favors for free was not his style; staying indebted the whole way would never sit right with him.

"What is the meaning of this?!"

With a sweep of his sleeve, Yao Lao stopped Xiao Yan's movement. "You and I already agreed on a transaction. I was merely acting according to our agreement, so where does talk of favors and thanks come from? By doing this, you make this old man seem rather ungenerous."

"Besides, it was only a scroll of cultivation method no one wanted. If I passed it on, then I passed it on. If you act like this, won't you have to thank people endlessly whenever you receive the slightest benefit? At least have a little of a genius's pride!"

Xiao Yan: ...

Damn, so it turns out I was the one in the wrong, huh.

Why was this eccentric old man so hard to deal with? In the original, hadn't he been pretty easy to talk to? "However—"

Yao Lao, who had been lecturing with a stern face and perfect seriousness, suddenly changed his tone, and a completely unserious expression instantly surfaced on his face.

"If you really want to bow, it's not impossible~ Heh heh... Take me as your master, and you'll still have to properly perform a big one!"

"Huh?"

The abrupt hairpin turn threw Xiao Yan off so hard that the train of his thoughts instantly derailed and shot straight out of the bend without looking back.

"Hmph—what, you're unwilling?"

Yao Lao spread his hands. His Soul Body trembled slightly, then rose into the air, pale flames shifting and burning behind him. "This old man was once a renowned alchemist across the continent. Never mind this so-called Jia Ma Empire—even if you gathered all the alchemists in the entire northwest corner of the continent, in my eyes they would be nothing more than clay chickens and pottery dogs, not worth mentioning at all."

"You're... going to teach me alchemy?!"

Xiao Yan's eyes lit up.

What did it mean for the willows to darken and flowers to brighten into another village? What did it mean for the worldline to converge? The alchemy he had thought was temporarily hopeless had just come crashing down onto his head with a clang! "Tch... What else?"

Yao Lao put on an indifferent air and casually glanced over, as if impatient. "An exalted existence like an alchemist isn't something just anyone can become~ Where would ordinary people get the talent and aptitude?"

"It's only a little genius like you who can catch this old man's eye. If it were anyone else, and they wanted to learn under this old man? What a joke!"

"Uh."

The corner of Xiao Yan's mouth twitched.

This old thing—things had already reached this point, yet he still had to get the upper hand with his mouth...

"To receive Senior's favor is the fortune of three lifetimes for this junior!" Xiao Yan's face was full of excitement and joy. "Xiao Yan is dull-witted; in the future, I hope Master will give me much guidance!"

Sigh... This feels like coaxing a child.

"Master above, please accept this disciple's bow!"

Xiao Yan completed it in one breath, one line after another like a string of firecrackers, giving the old man not even the slightest chance to cut in.

The words Yao Lao had been brewing in his heart for ages had nowhere to go, so he could only keep a strained face and accept the salute.

"You little fellow, you did that on purpose, didn't you!"

"Of course n—pfft... pffhahaha..."

In the end, Xiao Yan's straight face still failed to hold.

Joy.