Six Years

Three days later,

Xiao Li spent three days completing the cultivation method. He only felt refreshed all over, and now he felt like he could take on thirty elder brothers of the clan!

"Mm, not bad. You've successfully cultivated the method, and your cultivation has reached the level of a Three Star Dou Practitioner. Is this the power of an Earth Rank Cultivation Method? Heh! When I was young, I wasn't as lucky as you, kid."

Wang Ming stroked his beard and smiled self-deprecatingly.

"This is all thanks to Teacher's guidance." Xiao Li politely bowed.

"Mm. When I examined your body just now, I found that you've done some physical training. Your muscles and bones are quite well tempered, but it seems you overtrained and left some hidden injuries inside your body.

They don't seem serious for now, but they'll be extremely fatal when you break through a Great Realm in the future!"

Wang Ming pointed out the problem with Xiao Li's body.

"Ah? What should I do?" Xiao Li had not expected that merely enjoying exercise could result in hidden injuries.

"Don't worry! Isn't this why you have me? I'm a Rank 6 Alchemist, after all. Treating your hidden injuries is hardly difficult."

Wang Ming was very confident in his alchemy.

"Uh, that's good. Teacher, what should we do next? Go out for training, or continue cultivating bitterly?" Xiao Li asked. Now that he had a teacher, his previous cultivation plans could no longer be used.

Wang Ming rubbed Xiao Li's head. "Why are you in such a hurry? You're only a Three Star Dou Practitioner, yet you're already getting carried away? Kid, the Dou Qi Continent is enormous, and there are countless geniuses. Your talent may be astonishing, but compared with true geniuses, you still fall short."

"First, stay home—in the Imperial Capital—and cultivate until I'm satisfied. Once you break through to Da Dou Shi, I'll take you out for training.

"And! What good is it for my disciple to know only how to fight? I didn't take you as my disciple just to send you into fights. Memorize these two books first."

Wang Ming took out two extremely thick books and handed them to Xiao Li.

Xiao Li looked them over. One was the Herbal Encyclopedia, while the other was the Magical Beast Encyclopedia.

"Finish reading these two books first. Then I'll teach you alchemy." Wang Ming stood with his hands behind his back and spoke sternly.

"Yes, Teacher!"

Xiao Li was rather impatient to begin. Ever since he was young, aside from cultivation, he loved reading, because the Dou Qi Continent was truly vast and filled with all kinds of strange things. Without knowledge, one would not even know how one died.

Therefore, on the Dou Qi Continent, knowledge was also a kind of power.

Six years later,

Xiao Clan, Medicine Hall

A youngster sat cross-legged before a blue cauldron that looked somewhat ancient yet carried a faint, profound aura. Purple-red heat radiated from the medicine cauldron.

This medicine cauldron actually had Five Fire Mouths. As everyone knew, medicine cauldrons also had grades. The more Fire Mouths a cauldron had, the higher its grade and the rarer it was. A cauldron with more Fire Mouths also provided greater assistance in alchemy.

At that moment, a mass of purple flames churned violently within the medicine cauldron.

Inside the roiling cauldron, a thumb-sized Purple Pill embryo slowly took shape amid the burning flames.

"Out!"

The youngster fiercely slapped the medicine cauldron. The lid shot into the air, and a vast amount of purple flames surged wildly from within, spreading in every direction. At the center of those purple flames, an even more conspicuous purple radiance burst forth. In an instant, it outshone the flames.

As the radiance shot out, a rich purple medicinal fragrance slowly rose. In the end, it formed a purple mist cloud above the youngster's head, like a sentient mass of fog.

"What a rich colored medicinal fragrance!"

"Shh! Keep quiet. Don't disturb Li'er!"

Those two faint voices broke the silence. In a corner of the Medicine Hall, seven or eight old men stood shoulder to shoulder, quietly watching the youngster refine a pill.

That youngster was Xiao Li. He was now Fifteen Years Old, and he was currently refining an extraordinary pill!

"Disperse!"

The purple flames in midair slowly extinguished, revealing a Dragon Eye-sized Purple Pill floating in the air. Xiao Li beckoned with his hand, and the Purple Pill shot into his palm. Holding the pill, the corners of his mouth kept rising.

"Heh, a Peak Grade 4 Pill—the Purple Heart Breaking Barrier Pill! Success!"

Whew—

Several heavy breaths sounded at that moment. There was no helping it. Their family's only Alchemist was refining a pill, and being allowed to watch was already them shamelessly relying on their seniority. How could they dare make even the slightest noise?

"Li'er, you're now a Peak Rank 4 Alchemist. Heavens, Grandfather truly never dared imagine that in just six years, you would grow from a Little Fellow who knew nothing into a Peak Rank 4 Alchemist."

Xiao Ting slowly approached. As for this youngest grandson, he felt that heaven had not treated the Xiao Clan unfairly. With such a gifted child in the family, he could die without regrets.

Xiao Li grinned and first placed the Purple Heart Breaking Barrier Pill into a Jade Bottle.

"Once I reach Dou Ling, I should be able to try refining Grade 5 Pills."

Xiao Li set a goal for himself: Grade 5 Pills at Dou Ling, Rank 6 at Dou Wang, and Rank 7 at Dou Emperor.

"Grandfather, Teacher still hasn't returned?" Xiao Li turned to look at Xiao Ting.

"Not yet. The place Old Wang went to is rather far away. He not only left the Jia Ma Empire, but also had to cross the entire Chu Yun Empire to reach the Mu Lan Empire. I heard it is the place where a Dou Zun Expert fell, drawing countless Dou Wangs, Dou Emperors, and Dou Zongs there."

Xiao Ting spoke slowly. To be honest, he also wanted to try his luck. His time was running out, and he had only barely reached Eight Star Dou King. Dou Emperor was still far beyond his reach.

If Xiao Ting could not break through to Dou Emperor before his end came, then he could only quietly pass away. Fortunately, he was now very reassured about the Xiao Clan. His eldest grandson, Xiao Lin, would be able to break through to Dou Wang within a few years.

Once Xiao Lin inherited the Patriarch Position and Xiao Li assisted him, the Xiao Clan becoming the Head of the Four Great Clans would only be a matter of time!

What especially gratified Xiao Ting was that no one in the Xiao Clan had fought over the Patriarch Position!

Instead, Xiao Lin and Xiao Li deferred the Patriarch Position to each other. Moreover, because of Xiao Li, a Rank 4 Alchemist, the Xiao Clan's overall strength had greatly increased.

This was especially obvious among disciples at the Dou Master, Da Dou Shi, and Dou Ling levels, whose cultivation had advanced the most dramatically.

Because of Xiao Li, the Xiao Clan had also begun selling pills and conducting business with the Mite'er Family, greatly increasing the clan's wealth. At last, the family possessed Profound Rank High Grade Cultivation Technique Dou Skills.

"Mm?" Xiao Ting's gaze suddenly sharpened. He sensed an astonishing aura!

Bang—

The doors of the Medicine Hall were suddenly kicked open with force. A disheveled old man walked in. He looked exceedingly ragged, no different from a beggar.

If not for the pair of Blue-Green Feather Wings behind him, somewhat illusory and apparently condensed from his own Dou Qi, he would surely have been mistaken for a beggar. Dou Qi Wings were the hallmark of experts above Dou Wang.

"Teacher! You're back!" Xiao Li naturally recognized his teacher, who had been gone for more than half a year.

"I'm back. Damn it, I didn't get anything good, and instead ended up covered in trouble!" Wang Ming huffed angrily as he sat on the floor.