Four Years Later, Gu Yuan Sends His Daughter

"This... How is that possible? Don't I still have twenty years left to live?"

Xiao Ling could hardly believe it. The system had just told him he had only ten years left.

No one would believe that a peerless prodigy like him had only ten years to live...

[ Ding! Host, there's no need to worry. After scanning you, the system has determined that your constitution is unique throughout history. You simply need to spend your lifespan to cultivate.]

"This..."

Listening to the voice in his mind, a flicker of surprise crossed Xiao Ling's eyes.

He finally understood why his original body had such incredible talent. It had all been bought with his life.

This was even more terrifying than the E'nan Poison Body...

He could already imagine how difficult the road ahead would be.

"Forget it. I should deal with the problem at hand first."

Xiao Ling shook his head, turned, and walked back inside to consolidate his cultivation.

The night passed in a blink. Xiao Ling had thoroughly consolidated his cultivation, and his eyes gleamed.

He planned to clear out the Xiao Clan's Back Mountain first. At the very least, he needed to get back to eleven years of life.

Otherwise, if he ran into danger, he wouldn't even have enough lifespan to trade for the cheapest life-saving measure. Wouldn't he be done for?

A host of thoughts flashed through his mind. Xiao Ling rose and headed for the clan's Martial Arts Arena.

Along the way, every young Xiao Clan member who saw him greeted him. Xiao Ling responded to each of them. His manner was cool, but not distant; he carried himself like the big brother who led them all.

At the Martial Arts Arena, Xiao Ling looked down at the gathered Xiao Clan disciples and said calmly,

"For today's morning lesson, I'll teach you an auxiliary cultivation technique called the Zi Wu Body Tempering Technique. It was taught to me by a senior expert, and it can increase your cultivation speed."

This was the very technique he had traded for earlier. It came in two volumes, a parent volume and a child volume. Those who cultivated the parent volume could receive one percent of the cultivation gains of those practicing the child volume.

At his words, the young Xiao Clan disciples below were utterly stunned. They had never imagined that a technique could improve their cultivation speed, much less that Xiao Ling would truly be willing to teach it to them.

"Brother Xiao Ling... are you really willing to teach it to us?" one young Xiao Clan disciple asked, still unable to believe it.

"Of course. You're all members of the Xiao Clan. The stronger you are, the stronger our clan's future will be."

Xiao Ling declared righteously.

The young Xiao Clan disciples looked at him differently now. Before, they had mostly felt awe toward him. Now, they felt respect and admiration.

Xiao Ling naturally noticed. It had all gone exactly as he expected.

They were just a bunch of kids. With two lifetimes of experience, all he had to do was use a few little tricks, and they would willingly work for him.

He spent some time personally guiding the youths in their cultivation. Under his careful instruction, they quickly mastered the hand seals and footwork of the child volume.

Dozens of Xiao Clan children, aged four to eight, moved through the hand seals and footwork in the Martial Arts Arena. After one round, they were all drenched in sweat, but no one complained. They had all benefited from the practice.

When the morning lesson ended, Xiao Ling felt the slight increase in the Dou Qi within his body and nodded in satisfaction. Then he slipped into the clan's Back Mountain to catch living creatures and steal their lifespan.

As Xiao Ling's large-scale hunt continued, the vitality in the Xiao Clan's Back Mountain dwindled. This naturally drew some attention, but no one questioned him. It was clear that the Xiao Clan's upper ranks had given the word.

He had expected as much. He had earned this with his strength.

He still remembered the shock and excitement on Xiao Zhan and the others' faces when he had revealed his Dou Zhe cultivation to the Xiao Clan's four senior figures. Afterwards, his strength had not been made public. That had been one of Xiao Zhan's thoughtful decisions.

After a month of hunting, he finally managed to restore his lifespan to eleven years.

He had gained only one year, but the creatures he had hunted were just ordinary animals. Xiao Ling was already satisfied with the results. He believed that once he broke through to Dou Master, he could head to the outer reaches of the Magic Beast Mountain Range and hunt again. Then his lifespan would surely exceed a hundred years.

As these thoughts passed through his mind, Xiao Ling began planning his cultivation from here on. First came his Dou Qi cultivation, then alchemy, and finally, stealing lifespan.

And so, as Xiao Ling cultivated furiously, time slipped quietly through his fingers.

In the blink of an eye, four years had passed.

One day, as Xiao Ling sat in his small courtyard thinking about all the progress and gains he had made over the past four years, a voice suddenly interrupted him.

"Brother Xiao Ling, the elders want you to go to the Reception Hall. I heard an important person wants to see you."

Xiao Yu hurried in and looked at the White-robed Youth sitting deep in thought on a reclining chair. She spoke urgently.

At her words, a trace of surprise appeared on Xiao Ling's face.

"An important person wants to see me?"

He couldn't remember having dealings with any important figures.

Even during the period he had left the Xiao Clan a year ago, he had only stolen lifespan near the Magic Beast Mountain Range. He had never killed anyone, let alone offended some important person.

Wait. According to my memories, there really was an important figure who came to the Xiao Clan around this time...

But someone of his status—how could I possibly come into contact with the Ancient Clan Chief? Why does he want to see me?

Could he have seen through my cultivation? That shouldn't be possible either... Even if the system were useless, a Dou Sheng shouldn't be able to see through it...

A flurry of thoughts flashed through his mind, but Xiao Ling couldn't make sense of it. In the end, he decided not to dwell on it and went to meet this peak figure of the Dou Qi Continent.

He looked at Xiao Yu and smiled. "Come on, girl. Show me the way."

Xiao Yu rolled her eyes at him, flicked her ponytail, and hurried toward the Xiao Clan's Reception Hall, her still-developing long legs carrying her along. The whole way, she kept urging Xiao Ling to hurry up.

Xiao Ling could only smile helplessly and quicken his pace to catch up.

Meanwhile, in the Xiao Clan's Reception Hall, Xiao Zhan and the Three Great Elders stood with smiles, facing the yellow-robed middle-aged man seated at the head of the room with his eyes closed, and the little girl beside him.

"Senior Gu, please wait a little longer. Xiao Ling will be here soon."

"No rush!"

The yellow-robed man waved a hand.

Besides carrying out his clan's plan, he had come to see the boy from years ago. When his spiritual sense had swept over the Xiao Clan just now, he had spotted him. He had wanted to see how the young fellow's cultivation had progressed, but he hadn't been able to see through him at all. That had surprised him.

The only explanation was that the young fellow had encountered some fortuitous opportunity and possessed a treasure that concealed his strength.

Thinking this, he glanced at his daughter, seated beside him, his eyes glinting with meaning.

Just then, the quiet hall was interrupted by a voice. "Xiao Ling greets the clan chief and the three elders."

A White-robed Youth strode into the Reception Hall without the slightest trace of nervousness. First, he gave Xiao Zhan and the others a slight bow.

Only then did he look at the yellow-robed man at the head of the room, who had been staring at him ever since he entered, and the little girl beside him.

"May I ask who this is?"

Although he had already guessed the man's identity, he pretended not to know.

"Ling'er, this is Senior Gu. Come over and pay your respects." Xiao Zhan rose and introduced them, giving him a meaningful look. "Senior Gu, this is the Xiao Clan's genius, Xiao Ling."

"Xiao Ling pays his respects to Senior Gu."

Xiao Ling rolled his eyes inwardly but bowed respectfully on the outside.

"Haha, there's no need to be so polite, young friend. We've met before. The commotion when you broke through back then was quite something..."

Gu Yuan smiled warmly.

At that, Xiao Ling looked blank for a moment. Then, as if remembering something, a glint flashed through his eyes, and he ventured a guess.

"Could it be that you protected me while I cultivated back then?"

"Yes and no. I just happened to be passing by and lent a hand." Gu Yuan waved it off, then smiled warmly. "Would you be willing to do me a favor, Xiao Ling? Look after my daughter for a while. I'll make it worth your while, of course."

Gu Yuan looked warmly at the youth before him. He had his reasons for doing this. In his eyes, Xiao Ling was not only monstrously talented, but also blessed with tremendous fortune.

A six-year-old Dou Zhe was rare, but he had seen one before.

But a foundation more than ten times stronger than that of others at the same level... He had never heard of anyone like that, throughout history.

"This..."

Looking at Gu Yuan, who didn't seem to be joking, Xiao Ling was stunned. He hadn't expected the man to say something like that. Could he be trying to use his daughter's beauty to win him over?

But Xiao Ling was just a poor boy. What was he worth to make Gu Yuan go to such lengths?

Could it be... he thinks the Tou She Ancient God Jade is on me?

All sorts of thoughts crossed Xiao Ling's mind, but on the surface he maintained all the reactions appropriate for someone his age.

"Senior, you must be joking. I'm afraid I wouldn't take proper care of her."

As he spoke, he looked at the little girl in the purple dress before him. She looked just as confused. When she noticed him looking, she smiled slightly, her delicate little face like a porcelain doll's.