Strongest Experts Convention

"This..." Xiao Ting was too shocked to speak. He had only recently broken through to the Dou Emperor realm. With the power of an Earth Rank Intermediate Cultivation Method and his hard training over this period, he had reached the One Star Dou Emperor Peak and would break through to Two Star Dou Emperor in a few more days.

Yet his grandson had brought him an Imperial Origin Pill—and a Supreme Imperial Origin Pill at that!

His eldest grandson, Xiao Lin, had previously told him that Xiao Li had given him a Dou Spirit Pill, one he had refined himself. How long had it been? He could already refine Imperial Origin Pills?

"Don't worry, Grandfather. I didn't buy this on credit from Teacher. I refined it myself. Look."

Xiao Li raised his right hand slightly, and a transparent flame instantly appeared in his palm.

"A Heavenly Flame?"

Xiao Lin and Xiao Ting cried out in shock. Neither had expected Xiao Li to obtain a Heavenly Flame.

"Exactly. My Alchemy has already surpassed Teacher's, so there's no need to worry. Leave the clan's advancement to me." Xiao Li smiled.

"Then Grandfather will accept it. Oh, Li'er, after I broke through to the Dou Emperor realm, I went deep into the Magical Beast Mountain Range and found some good things—two rather fine medicinal herbs. Take a look."

Xiao Ting suddenly recalled that, after breaking through, he had wanted to test the strength of a Dou Emperor and had ventured into the depths of the Magical Beast Mountain Range. There, he happened upon two Rank 5 Magical Beasts fighting over a medicinal herb.

Xiao Ting took out a Wooden Box and opened it.

"Eight Mausoleums Magic Needle Fruit! A material for refining a Soul Fusion Pill. Good stuff!" Xiao Li had not expected his grandfather to obtain such a herb.

"There's more. I found a severely wounded Rank 6 Magical Beast. It seemed to be guarding something as well, so I killed it outright. Its Rank 6 Magical Core is here, along with that medicinal herb."

Xiao Ting had gained quite a harvest from this trip to the Magical Beast Mountain Range. Whether it was simply good luck or something else, he felt that everything had gone smoothly since breaking through to the Dou Emperor realm.

Xiao Ting took out another azure Rank 6 Magical Core, along with a strange medicinal herb. The herb was entirely blood-red and resembled ginseng in shape.

"Damn! This is a Thousand Year Blood Ginseng King! One of the main ingredients for refining the Grade 7 Intermediate Pill, the Zong Yuan Pill! Grandfather, isn't your luck a little too ridiculous? I stayed in the Black Horn Region for so long and still didn't collect much of this kind of material."

Xiao Li was speechless. What kind of luck was this? He had to trade pills to obtain such medicinal herbs, while his grandfather had practically picked them up for free—and even got a Rank 6 Magical Core as a bonus.

"Oh? It's actually a material for refining a Grade 7 Pill. Hehe, this Old Man's luck truly is quite good." Xiao Ting stroked his beard and laughed.

"More than quite good—it's unbelievably good." Xiao Li was nearly at a loss for words. He had thought his own luck was excellent, but someone's luck was even better than his.

"By the way, Little Brother, it's good that you're back. The Jia Ma Empire and the Chu Yun Empire will soon hold a Strongest Experts Convention. At that time, the experts of our Jia Ma Empire will gather to fight a life-and-death battle against the experts of the Chu Yun Empire."

Xiao Lin suddenly spoke up. Some time ago, he had received word from the Jia Ma Royal Family. As one of the Jia Ma Empire's Four Great Clans, the Xiao Clan was required to participate.

"Oh? A convention with the experts of the Chu Yun Empire? How exactly does it work?" Xiao Li asked.

"This Old Man knows. I took part twenty years ago, when I had only just entered the Dou Wang realm. The Strongest Experts Convention is an arena-style competition held by the two empires, except lives are on the line.

Whichever side has more and stronger experts may allow its empire to annex the enemy's territory and increase its own interests. It is plunder between major powers. Sects, clans, and royal families all fight for benefits. But the Jia Ma Royal Family... hehe."

Xiao Ting smiled without speaking further, because he had witnessed the Jia Ma Royal Family's schemes firsthand. Back then, Yun Shan killed a Dou Emperor Expert. What did he get in return?

Jia Xingtian of the Jia Ma Royal Family schemed endlessly, as though everyone wanted to seize his Jia Ma Empire. He even stationed troops below Misty Cloud Mountain. Yun Shan had merely been mild-tempered; knowing internal conflict was meaningless, he turned a blind eye.

Instead, Jia Xingtian became even more excessive. That was why, after the Xiao Clan produced a Dou Emperor, Xiao Ting hid himself away. Given Jia Xingtian's nature, with a Dou Emperor in the Xiao Clan, that petty-minded bastard would definitely stir up trouble.

"Lin'er, this time, you and Li'er can make the move. This Old Man will not go; I will remain as the clan's foundation. Li'er, remember this: if revealing your strength becomes unavoidable, then reveal your identity as an Alchemist as well.

"Hehe, a Rank 6 Alchemist—those old fellows would not even have time to fawn over you. No matter what ideas that old ghost Jia Xingtian has, he would not dare act on them. He does not have the nerve to offend a Rank 6 Alchemist.

"Hehe, why does Old Wang hold such an extraordinary position? Because he is the empire's only Rank 6 High Alchemist. No one dares offend him."

Xiao Ting reminded him, as he understood certain people's nature all too well.

"Understood. Grandfather, take the Imperial Origin Pill as soon as possible and raise your strength. I'll go see Teacher first, then gather some medicinal herbs. Oh, right, I also have a few Qing Yuan Pills here to assist your cultivation."

Xiao Li gave Xiao Ting several Qing Yuan Pills again, lending him another helping hand.

"Eldest Brother, these pills are for you too. Let me know in advance when you're going to participate in the convention, so I can make some preparations."

Xiao Li also gave Xiao Lin pills suitable for Dou Wang cultivation.

"Mm."

After giving them the pills, Xiao Li left. A pair of transparent Dou Qi Wings unfolded behind him, and he flew into the distance.

Alchemist Guild.

Xiao Li flew directly to the top floor to find Old Wang.

At that moment, Old Wang was lying leisurely in a recliner, basking in the sunlight.

"Teacher."

"Hm?" Old Wang opened his drowsy eyes and saw that familiar figure. "Oh? Li'er is back."

"Teacher, I didn't disturb you, did I?" Xiao Li sat down cross-legged beside Old Wang.

"Hehe, no. I only just refined a pill and got sleepy, so I wanted to take a short nap." Old Wang sat up and stretched his body.

"Hm? Your cultivation? I recall that you were only a One Star Dou Wang before. How did you reach Eight Star Dou Wang after not seeing you for a year? What happened?

"Logically, reaching Five Star Dou Wang should have been about your limit, shouldn't it?"

Old Wang was puzzled by how much Xiao Li's cultivation had improved.

"This is what happened: I subdued the Child Flame of the Fallen Heart Flame. During the process of absorbing the Heavenly Flame, I refined the Medicinal Power accumulated in my body, allowing my cultivation to reach Eight Star Dou Wang."

Xiao Li told Old Wang about what had happened when he absorbed the Heavenly Flame.

"So that's how it was. I never expected the Fallen Heart Flame to reach the Dou Ancestor Level. Fortunately, Headmaster Mang Tian Ruler stopped you. Now, you only need to focus on nurturing the Heavenly Flame in your hands. Before long, that Fallen Heart Flame will become a true Heavenly Flame."

Old Wang spoke with a smile, deeply gratified by his disciple's growth.

"Li'er, your Alchemy should have improved considerably by now. You must have already surpassed your Master, haven't you?" Old Wang had roughly guessed what was going on.

After all, Old Wang had just sensed that Xiao Li's Soul Force was stronger than his own.

"Mm. My current Alchemy can barely be considered Peak Grade 6. At Jia Nan Academy, I successfully refined two Breaking Ancestor Pills. I was lucky enough to trigger the Dan Soul Realm twice."

Xiao Li spoke with some pride.

Old Wang stroked his beard and smiled. His disciple had surpassed him. Nothing was more meaningful than seeing a disciple surpass his teacher.

"Come, Li'er. Refine a pill for Master and let me observe." Old Wang took Xiao Li's hand and laughed.

"No problem."

As for the female lead issue, Yun Yun and Zi Yan's positions as female leads are set in stone; there is no question about that. Medusa is still undecided. How should I put it? I need to think of a suitable plot point for her to enter. If there isn't one, then there won't be one, and things will proceed according to the normal plot. After all, I pay relatively close attention to age-related issues. Yun Yun, Medusa, Zi Yan, and Xiao Li are suitable in age, while Qing Lin and Xiao Yi Xian are not. I don't like the daddy-boyfriend setup.

As for Xiao Yan, he and Gu Xun'er are locked in. For those who think Xiao Yan having a harem is a problem, don't you understand the fun of watching the protagonist's backyard catch fire?

It will add a little liveliness to Xiao Yan's otherwise bland life of fighting.

Then, I plan to pair Xiao Yan with Xiao Yi Xian, because it is something of a lingering regret. Besides, this book does not intend to make Xiao Yi Xian a female lead, so this is how I'll make up for that regret.