The Medicine Elder Who Couldn't Stop Making Wild Guesses

Yao Chen was feeling a little panicked.

A year ago, he had absorbed Dou Qi from this boy, Xiao Yan, and awakened from his slumber.

After that, intending to temper Xiao Yan's character, Yao Chen had kept his cultivation at the third stage of Dou Qi.

Meanwhile, he continued to observe Xiao Yan's character and waited for the right moment to take him as his disciple.

He hadn't expected someone else to discover him after only a year.

That made no sense.

Yao Chen watched Qi Fei talking with Xiao Yan from inside the Ring.

This boy's soul seemed unusually powerful.

That was Yao Chen's first impression.

Souls in this world could be divided into four realms: Mortal, Spirit, Heaven, and Emperor.

A Mortal Realm soul was ethereal and intangible. With a Soul Dou Technique, it could still be of some use;

a Spirit Realm soul could take shape and imbue pills with spirit, allowing its owner to refine Eighth-Tier Pills;

a Heaven Realm soul could refine Ninth-Grade Pills. At Paragon, it could even condense into a clone indistinguishable from a physical body;

as for the Emperor Realm, it corresponded to the legendary Emperor-Grade Pill.

A soul at this level could wield the power of an eight-star Dou Sheng on its own, second only to the nine-star Dou Sheng, the pinnacle of the mortal world.

"Is this boy's soul at the Spirit Realm? No, it might even be at the Heaven Realm. How is that possible?"

If he'd been born with it, then the boy had certainly been lucky.

But if it wasn't innate talent, then his luck was even more extraordinary.

As Yao Chen marveled at the boy's soul strength, he made another discovery.

The boy's Dou Qi cultivation was at the level of a Dou Emperor.

Thirteen years old and already a Dou Emperor. Could he have the support of a Dou Di Bloodline?

"But I've never heard of another Dou God Clan with the surname Qi... Wait, that's Yellow Tier Dou Qi?"

Yao Chen caught sight of the Dou Qi inside Qi Fei.

Although it had a few unusual traits, overall, there was no doubt it had been cultivated using a Yellow Tier technique.

Now Yao Chen could be absolutely certain that Qi Fei had no Dou Di Bloodline.

Whether through talent or opportunity, Qi Fei's Heaven Realm soul was genuine.

No normal Dou God Clan would let him cultivate with a Yellow Tier technique, let alone reach the level of a Dou Emperor with one.

So, had a powerful expert passed their cultivation on to him?

Another possibility surfaced in Yao Chen's mind.

But Qi Fei's Dou Qi was perfectly suited to him, and it flowed without the slightest discord.

Neither his mere Dou Emperor strength nor the harmony of his cultivation matched what one would expect after having cultivation passed on to him.

Besides, who would pass on their Dou Qi without passing on their technique?

Could this be a deliberate attempt to conceal their tracks?

"Now it all makes sense."

Yao Chen suddenly understood.

To hide his tracks, that expert naturally couldn't pass on his technique.

At the same time, he had forcibly stripped away every distinctive trait of his own Dou Qi, leaving only its purest Origin.

Thus, though only Dou Emperor-level Dou Qi remained, it wouldn't expose Qi Fei to his enemies or affect his future.

But an expert who went to such lengths would be doomed to die, even if he had no other injuries...

No wonder Qi Fei's soul had reached the Heaven Realm!

Yao Chen felt that he understood everything.

Qi Fei must have been exceptionally gifted to begin with, and then gained the Soul Origin passed down by that expert.

Together, the two had created a Heaven Realm soul.

If that was the case, couldn't he make use of someone else's successor?

Yao Chen couldn't help imagining the chance to benefit from another person's legacy.

For a supreme expert to have poured their heart and soul into paving the way for Qi Fei, the boy's character and talent must have earned that expert's approval.

And that expert was already dead...

Heh heh heh—

Yao Chen let out a sly chuckle.

As he pondered, Xiao Yan and Qi Fei continued discussing the face outside the Ring.

"So, what should I do about the face on my chest?"

Xiao Yan looked at Qi Fei, hoping he'd have an idea.

"From what I can tell, that face is probably connected to your Ring. Why not take it off and have a look?"

Qi Fei suggested cautiously.

How strange. We've already pointed it out, so why hasn't the Medicine Elder shown himself?

Could the old man be betting that he's just making things up?

"Oh."

Xiao Yan took the Ring from around his neck and placed it on the rock in front of them.

The Ring still showed no sign of change.

"What now?"

Xiao Yan looked at Qi Fei.

"Now it's up to you whether you still want the Ring."

Qi Fei decided to put pressure on the Medicine Elder.

"If you still want it, we can find somewhere to bury it. Far enough away, and he probably won't be able to absorb your Dou Qi."

"That makes sense. If he can absorb Dou Qi from far away, then the rest of my family should be in trouble too."

Xiao Yan followed along with Qi Fei's words.

"Exactly."

Qi Fei nodded.

"But if you don't want it, we can break the Ring apart right now and see what's going on with the old man inside."

He spoke in a menacing tone.

As if he really intended to attack the Ring.

"Hmm... Never mind. It was my mother's keepsake."

Xiao Yan hesitated, then chose the first option.

At least if he kept the Ring, he'd still have something to remember her by.

"Besides, even if we called my father over, we probably still couldn't beat this ghost, right?"

Xiao Yan speculated.

If his father could beat the ghost, he probably would have noticed it long ago.

"True."

Qi Fei agreed.

If they really fought, he could probably go toe-to-toe with Yao Chen.

Coiling Dragon Qi Fei's Rules of Fate, Shen San Qi Fei's Divine Will, and the mental-type skills copied by Heavenly Jewel Change Qi Fei could all attack souls.

It was just that none of them could fully unleash the power they had in their original worlds.

Meanwhile, Yao Chen had a specialty of the Dou Po World: Heavenly Flames.

Without that one advantage and disadvantage, Qi Fei reckoned he could probably win by a narrow margin.

But speaking of the Rules of Fate...

Qi Fei glanced at Xiao Yan from the corner of his eye.

Even in front of this protagonist, he didn't see anything like the visions Coiling Dragon Qi Fei had experienced.

So those visions really were due to the Coiling Dragon Universe's unique system of fate?

He wondered whether, once he had made sufficient progress in the Rules of Fate, he'd be able to see protagonists' destinies in other worlds.

As he pondered, Qi Fei spoke up. "Then let's go back for a shovel and find somewhere to dig a hole and bury it."

"Yeah, we should bury it deep so the Ring can't come back and harm anyone."

Xiao Yan agreed, preparing to return to the clan right away.

Unlike Qi Fei, who was lost in wild speculation, he really did intend to go back for a shovel and bury the Ring.

"Young friends, there's no need to go that far."

At last, the aged voice Qi Fei had been waiting for sounded.

As Qi Fei and Xiao Yan looked on in surprise—one genuinely, the other not—a translucent old man emerged from the Ring.

"You've absorbed so much of my Dou Qi, and you still dare come out?"

Xiao Yan's surprise immediately turned to anger.

This was the one who had drained all the Dou Qi he'd cultivated over the past decade, leaving him with nothing, and made him suffer in vain for an entire year.

In a fit of rage, Xiao Yan lunged at him, swinging his fists at the Medicine Elder.

Unfortunately, Xiao Yan wasn't even a Dou Zhe yet, and couldn't land a blow on Yao Lao's soul form.

The future Flame Emperor, who had tried to kill his own master, was soundly defeated and nearly fell flat on his face.

"Don't get so worked up. It was only a little Dou Qi."

Yao Lao said lightly.

As a former Dou Zun, a mere beginner Dou Zhe's worth of Dou Qi meant nothing to him.

"That's easy for you to say! I cultivated every bit of that Dou Qi myself."

Xiao Yan scrambled to his feet and shouted.

At the Dou Qi stage, the body's meridians couldn't handle pills, so the only way to progress was through painstaking cultivation.

And then this guy had swallowed it all.

"How are you going to pay me back for all that time I spent?"

Thinking about all the time he'd wasted made Xiao Yan feel as if his heart were bleeding.

"Exactly. My brother has to start cultivating from scratch now. How are you going to make it up to him?"

Qi Fei joined in the chorus of complaints.

Whether he could get his hands on an Earth Tier technique depended on this.

"How about I take both of you as my disciples?"

Yao Lao said with utter confidence.

"No. I won't learn from a Dou Qi thief."

Xiao Yan refused without hesitation.

Yao Lao's eyebrows twitched.

I, Yao Chen, am a dignified Dou Zun expert and Grade Nine Alchemist, and you're calling me a Dou Qi thief?

Never mind. I'll let it slide, since this little brat is sheltered and doesn't know who the true experts on the continent are.

The other one is what matters.

If I can bring him up, I can't promise to come back to life, but I can certainly get my revenge.

Yao Lao turned to Qi Fei.

Qi Fei, meanwhile, was contemplating life.

Originally, he'd come to help Xiao Yan expose the Medicine Elder early because he wanted to squeeze an Earth Tier Dou Qi technique out of him.

He had cultivated using a Yellow Tier Advanced technique for two reasons. First, he wanted to make sure the Medicine Elder didn't trick him with the Flame Mantra.

Second, he wanted the Medicine Elder to notice the mismatch between his cultivation and his technique, then offer him a better one of his own accord.

Qi Fei had already planned the whole story.

A powerful expert had passed on their cultivation but not their technique, and they'd formed a bond...

But before he'd even started spinning his tale, why had the Medicine Elder already started asking to take him as a disciple?

Wasn't it supposed to be the transmigrator who tricked the locals around his little finger?

He'd tried to trick someone twice: once, he'd been seen through as soon as he started, and the other time, his plans had been disrupted before he'd even begun.

How was he supposed to talk his way past anyone else in the future?

"Young friend, what do you say? With your abilities, you should be able to tell that there's something special about me, right?"

Yao Lao asked expectantly.

Although the expert who had passed on their cultivation couldn't give Qi Fei a technique, they must have taught him the basic knowledge of the world.

For example, Yao Chen, the top alchemist who had once been famed throughout the Central Plains.

Come on, boy, tell me my name!

"Senior, the fact that your soul can exist independently after death certainly makes you extraordinary. But we don't know what you're capable of..."

Qi Fei wore an expression of polite refusal.

Of course, he wasn't actually trying to turn him down.

A friend of his, a former playboy who'd settled down, had once said that in a relationship, regardless of gender, you had to keep the other person on tenterhooks now and then.

Things that came easily got old fast, but the ones you had to work hard for were different.

"...I'm an alchemist. I can teach you both how to refine pills."

Yao Lao said, feeling put upon.

If boasting about himself weren't so embarrassing, he'd have loved to recite his full list of titles to the two of them.

"Oh, an alchemist."

Xiao Yan was clearly excited.

Though Qi Fei was somewhat tempted, he still felt a little resistant.

Yao Lao couldn't help feeling puzzled.

Being interested meant that the powerful expert had only taught Qi Fei the basics and hadn't taught him alchemy.

But why was Qi Fei still unwilling?

Could it be that Qi Fei knew his reputation after all, but was deliberately rejecting him because he thought he already had a teacher?

Yao Lao's impression of Qi Fei improved.

"Don't worry. I'm not asking you to betray your teacher."

Yao Lao wore a kindly expression with a hint of ulterior motive, like a creepy uncle trying to lure a schoolchild.

"Your teacher chose such a complicated way to pass on his knowledge, which clearly means he was prepared for you to take someone else as your master."

Otherwise, he would certainly have passed his cultivation technique on to Qi Fei.

"?!"

Qi Fei felt that Yao Lao had probably misunderstood something.

Yao Lao noticed Qi Fei's expression shift and assumed he'd hit a nerve. He immediately decided to press on.

First, he praised the expert's skill in passing on his knowledge, then lamented how the expert had been forced to leave even his cultivation technique unpassed.

After that, he turned to how arduous Qi Fei's future path would be.

Finally, he said that he didn't want the expert's efforts to go to waste, and that was why he wanted to lend Qi Fei a hand.

He was absolutely not some despicable person trying to steal another man's disciple.

His speech touched on regret, dreams, the future... and many other topics, leaving Qi Fei completely dumbfounded.

How did this expert who supposedly passed on his knowledge have a more fully fleshed-out backstory than the one I made up?

"Then I'm grateful for your kindness, Senior."

Qi Fei accepted Yao Lao's offer to take him as a disciple.

After all, Yao Lao had gone this far. It would be a little unreasonable to refuse now.

"Good."

Yao Lao said excitedly.

"Don't worry. I'll carry on that senior's legacy and train you into a great expert."

"What about me? What about me?"

Xiao Yan, swept up by Yao Lao's speech, asked.

"Didn't you already refuse?"

Yao Lao turned to him and asked in puzzlement.

He was deliberately teasing Xiao Yan.

Qi Fei, who had some understanding of souls, could clearly see that.

"You..."

Xiao Yan glared furiously at Yao Lao, unable to say a word.

"Senior, stop teasing him. You already said you'd take both of us as your disciples."

Qi Fei spoke up.

"Hahaha! I'm just so excited to have two talented disciples today. Forgive your master."

Yao Lao said with a laugh.

"...Fine. I won't hold it against you."

Xiao Yan sighed.

I'm the one whose Dou Qi was drained, so why does it feel like my little brother's the protagonist?

"Young man, you lack patience. How about training for another two years?"

Yao Lao said, shaking his head.

"Please, no. I could cultivate back to Dou Zhe on my own in two years."

Thinking Yao Lao was serious, Xiao Yan couldn't help groaning.

"Just joking."

Yao Lao chuckled, then turned to Xiao Yan and Qi Fei with a solemn expression before Xiao Yan could say anything.

"I'll ask you both one more time: are you willing to take me as your master and learn alchemy and how to cultivate Dou Qi?"

Xiao Yan and Qi Fei exchanged a glance, then respectfully performed the disciple's bow to Yao Lao.

"Your disciples, Qi Fei and Xiao Yan, pay their respects to Master."