The Ring Has a Problem

"Master, Manager Ya Fei, please come in."

The elders exchanged glances and respectfully stepped aside to clear a path.

They crossed the courtyard and arrived at the Xiao Family's main hall.

Xiao Zhan arranged for Xuan Jin to sit in the seat of honor, while Ya Fei sat below him.

Xiao Zhan himself stood respectfully to one side.

"Someone! Go invite Young Master Yan here!" Xiao Zhan ordered the servants.

"Yes, Clan Leader!"

In the Xiao Family's rear courtyard, there was a secluded little yard.

Xiao Yan sat on a stone bench, staring at an old book in his hands with tightly furrowed brows.

His temperament had grown much steadier. He was no longer the impulsive youth he had been three years ago.

A servant hurried inside.

"Young Master Yan! The Clan Leader requests that you go to the main hall immediately!"

Xiao Yan closed the old book and raised his head, his voice calm. "May I ask what this is about?"

"Yes! Yes!"

The servant panted heavily as he hurriedly replied,

"The Clan Leader... seems to have invited that alchemy master who caused such a stir in the city. He said... he said the master would examine you!"

Xiao Yan's movements abruptly froze. He shot to his feet, a complicated feeling rising within him.

That alchemy master?

Just then, a crisp and pleasant voice drifted from inside the room.

"Brother Xiao Yan, if he is here to examine you, then let us go take a look."

The door opened, and Xiao Xun'er stepped out in a pale green dress. Her bearing was elegant and untouched by worldly dust.

She had heard the servant as well. Though she was puzzled, the words "examine you" weighed more heavily on her mind.

She had only heard that a mysterious and unfathomable alchemy master had arrived in the city and had never seen his true face. But at this moment, what mattered most to her was whether this person could restore Brother Xiao Yan to how he had been.

Xiao Yan looked at Xun Er and nodded.

No matter what, this was an opportunity.

The moment they stepped through the hall doors, nearly everyone's gaze converged on them.

Xuan Jin also raised his head.

The first person he saw was Xiao Yan.

Dressed in black, he had delicate features, but there was a despondency and stubbornness between his brows that did not suit his age.

But the girl beside Xiao Yan made him look twice.

Clad in pale green, she possessed the grace of a lotus. Her clear eyes, set in a lovely face, regarded him with scrutiny and curiosity.

Xiao Xun'er!

While Xuan Jin examined Xiao Xun'er, Xiao Xun'er was also examining him.

The instant she clearly saw the face in the seat of honor—far too young—her heart jolted.

This person... was actually so young!

Her mind raced. Someone so young who was already called an alchemy master... could he truly be Xuan Jin of the Pill Tower?

But according to the rumors, that man had a hidden ailment and his cultivation had stagnated. His temperament was completely unlike the person before her.

Countless thoughts flashed through Xiao Xun'er's mind in an instant, and she became even more curious about Xuan Jin's identity and strength.

"Father."

Xiao Yan called out to Xiao Zhan, then turned his gaze toward Xuan Jin.

He, too, was stunned.

This was the Sixth Grade Alchemist being talked about all over Wutan City?

Was this a joke?

He looked only a few years older than Xiao Yan himself!

A sense of absurdity and unwillingness rose from the depths of Xiao Yan's heart.

"Yan'er, do not be rude!" Xiao Zhan rebuked him softly, then hurriedly introduced him. "This is Master Xuan, Xuan Jin!"

"This is my niece, Xun Er, and this is my disappointing son, Xiao Yan."

"Greetings, Master Xuan." Xiao Yan suppressed his shock and cupped his hands in salute.

Xiao Xun'er gave a graceful bow, her voice cool. "Xun Er greets Master Xuan."

Xuan Jin paid no heed to Xiao Yan's attitude and merely nodded faintly.

After a moment, Xuan Jin spoke.

"Step forward."

Hearing this, Xiao Yan slowly walked forward.

Only three feet separated them.

The next instant, an invisible, vast, and majestic force erupted from Xuan Jin's body, engulfing Xiao Yan like a tidal wave!

This was not Dou Qi!

Xiao Yan was horrified!

He felt as though an invisible giant hand had seized his soul, slowing even his thoughts.

The Dou Qi within his body instantly solidified, unable to move in the slightest.

Xiao Zhan and Ya Fei, standing nearby, also felt that terrifying pressure.

Xiao Zhan felt as if a massive boulder were pressing against his chest, making it hard to breathe.

Ya Fei's face went pale, and she could not help taking a step back.

Behind Xiao Yan, Xiao Xun'er's reaction was the most intense.

The golden Dou Qi within her body began circulating on its own, resisting the invading force.

For the first time, intense shock appeared on her lovely face!

Such powerful Soul Power!

How old was he?

How could he possess such terrifying soul cultivation!

"Miss!"

An aged voice rang urgently within Xiao Xun'er's mind.

"This person's soul cultivation is unfathomable! And he is so young—he is definitely not the Pill Tower disciple with a hidden ailment from the rumors!"

Ling Ying's voice was filled with unprecedented gravity.

Even if clothes were thrown into the snow, no secret could remain hidden!

Yet at this moment, the most shocked ones were not them.

It was what lay within the ancient Black Ring on Xiao Yan's finger.

Within a void-like space of darkness.

An illusory, aged figure abruptly opened his eyes.

"This... this is... Soul Power at Mortal Realm Grand Completion?"

Yao Chen's soul form rippled violently. He had awakened some time ago, but had remained hidden, observing Xiao Yan and absorbing Dou Qi without revealing himself.

But today, he had been completely jolted awake!

A youth not yet twenty possessed Soul Power at Mortal Realm Grand Completion!

This was simply absurd!

Even in his day, among those monstrous geniuses of the Pill Tower, he had never seen anything so outrageous!

"Something is wrong!"

Yao Chen quickly sensed something unusual.

Within that vast Soul Power, he caught a trace of an extremely subtle yet incomparably familiar aura.

"Could he... be from the Pill Tower?"

Yao Chen's mind shook violently. He immediately concealed every trace of his aura to the utmost, becoming like a true stone, not daring to make the slightest movement.

Outside.

Xuan Jin's Soul Power swept through Xiao Yan's body once before receding like the tide.

The oppressive feeling in the hall instantly vanished.

Xiao Yan gasped for breath, his face pale and his entire body drenched in cold sweat.

As he looked at Xuan Jin, all his earlier defiance was gone, replaced only by deep fear and reverence.

Xuan Jin returned to the seat of honor and picked up his teacup, as though nothing had happened.

He leisurely blew on the steam before speaking slowly.

"Xiao Yan, there is nothing unusual about your body. Your meridians are clear, and your natural constitution is not bad."

At those words, Xiao Zhan and Xiao Xun'er's hearts sank.

Could it be that even this master could not see where the problem lay?

Xiao Yan's face turned ashen. The faint hope that had just ignited in his eyes was instantly extinguished.

He gave a self-mocking laugh. Sure enough, he was nothing but trash.

Just as the atmosphere in the hall fell to freezing point.

Xuan Jin set down his teacup with a soft clink.

He raised his head and looked at the finger of Xiao Yan's right hand.

"However..."

"An alchemist's senses differ from those of ordinary people."

"I sensed an unusual aura from the ring on your hand."

Xuan Jin's voice was calm, yet every word was incomparably clear.

"Perhaps the problem with you lies in this ring!"