Six Years

Three days later,

Xiao Li spent three days mastering the Cultivation Method. He felt refreshed all over, and he now felt like he could take on thirty clan brothers!

"Mm, very good. You successfully cultivated the technique, 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.

"I have to thank Teacher for your guidance." Xiao Li politely bowed.

"Mm. When I examined your body just now, I discovered that you had done some physical training. Your bones and tendons have been trained quite well, but it seems you overdid it, leaving some hidden injuries within your body.

For now, they're nothing serious, but when you break through a Great Realm in the future, they could be fatal!"

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

"Ah? Then what should I do?" Xiao Li had never expected that simply enjoying exercise could leave him with hidden injuries.

"Don't worry! Isn't this old man here? I'm a Rank 6 Alchemist, after all. Treating your hidden injuries is no trouble at all."

Wang Ming had great confidence in his Alchemy.

"Uh, that's good, then. Teacher, what do we do next? Go out for experience, or continue training hard?" Xiao Li asked. Now that he had a teacher, his previous training plans were no longer suitable.

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

"Stay home for now—meaning the Imperial Capital—and cultivate until I'm satisfied. Once you break through to Da Dou Shi, this old man will take you out to gain experience.

"And one more thing! What use is it for my disciple to only know how to fight? I didn't take you as a disciple just to have you fight. Memorize these two books first."

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

Xiao Li looked at them. One was the Herbal Encyclopedia, and the other was the Magical Beast Encyclopedia.

"Finish reading these two books first. Then this old man will teach you Alchemy." Wang Ming stood with his hands behind his back, speaking sternly.

"Yes, Teacher!"

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

Thus, on the Dou Qi Continent, knowledge was also a form of power.

Six years later,

Xiao Clan, Medicine Hall

A youth sat cross-legged before a blue cauldron that looked somewhat ancient yet carried a faint, profound aura. The Medicine Cauldron radiated a purplish-red heat.

This Medicine Cauldron actually had Five Fire Mouths. As everyone knew, Medicine Cauldrons were divided into ranks. The more Fire Mouths a cauldron had, the higher its grade and the rarer it was. Cauldrons with more Fire Mouths also provided stronger assistance in refining pills.

At that moment, a mass of purple flame churned violently within the Medicine Cauldron.

Inside the cauldron, amid the roiling flames, a thumb-sized purple pill embryo slowly took shape under the searing heat.

"Out!"

The youth suddenly struck the Medicine Cauldron with his palm. The lid shot into the air, and great swathes of purple flame surged out like a tidal wave. At the center of those purple flames, an even more eye-catching purple glow burst forth, instantly overshadowing the flames.

As the light shot out, a rich purple pill fragrance slowly rose, eventually forming a cloud of purple mist above the youth's head like a spiritual fog.

"What a rich colored pill fragrance..."

"Shh! 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 youth refine a pill.

That youth was Xiao Li. He was now fifteen years old, and he was currently refining an extraordinary pill!

"Disperse!"

The purple flames in midair slowly faded away, revealing a purple pill the size of a longan. 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!"

Huff—

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

"Li'er, you are now a Peak Rank 4 Alchemist. Heavens, Grandfather truly never dared imagine it. In just six years, you grew from a little fellow who knew nothing into a Peak Rank 4 Alchemist."

Xiao Ting slowly walked over. As he looked at this youngest grandson, he felt that heaven had not treated the Xiao Clan unfairly. With such a gifted child in the clan, 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, Grade 6 Pills at Dou Wang, and Grade 7 Pills at Dou Emperor.

"Grandfather, Teacher still hasn't returned?" Xiao Li turned to 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. It is said to be the place where a Dou Zun Expert fell, attracting countless Dou Wangs, Dou Emperors, and Dou Zongs."

Xiao Ting spoke slowly. To be honest, he also wanted to try his luck. His lifespan was nearly at its end, and he had only barely reached Eight Star Dou Wang. Dou Emperor still seemed impossibly far away.

If Xiao Ting could not break through to Dou Emperor before his time ran out, he could only quietly pass away. Fortunately, he had no worries about the Xiao Clan now. His eldest grandson, Xiao Lin, would break through to Dou Wang within a few years.

Once Xiao Lin inherited the Patriarch Position, with Xiao Li assisting him, the Xiao Clan would become the Head of the Four Great Clans before long!

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 kept yielding the Patriarch Position to each other. Moreover, with Xiao Li, a Rank 4 Alchemist, the Xiao Clan's overall strength had greatly increased.

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

Because of Xiao Li, the Xiao Clan had also begun selling pills and working with the Mittel Family, greatly increasing the clan's wealth. At last, the clan 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. A disheveled old man walked in, looking utterly bedraggled, scarcely different from a beggar.

If not for the pair of azure-blue Feather Wings on the old man's back, slightly illusory and clearly condensed from his own Dou Qi, he would surely have been taken 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 over half a year.

"I'm back. Damn it, I didn't get anything good and instead got myself into a whole mess!" Wang Ming sat down on the floor angrily.