Rewarded with a Dou Technique!

Back at the Xiao Clan, Xiao Yan had barely stepped through the door.

In the VIP room of the Miteer Auction House, a maid walked in carrying tea.

"Sister Ya Fei, did that Xiao Yan really kill someone from the Misty Cloud Sect?"

Ya Fei took a sip of tea and set down her cup.

"He admitted it himself. How could it be false?"

"But he's only fifteen."

The maid couldn't believe it.

Who would believe that a fifteen-year-old had killed a Seven-Star Great Dou Master?

"Being young doesn't mean anything."

Ya Fei rose and walked over to the window.

People came and went in the street. Xiao Yan had already gone far away.

"In a few days, the news will have spread."

"Then isn't he afraid the Misty Cloud Sect will retaliate?"

Ya Fei turned to look at the maid.

"If he could kill Ge Ye, he must have some means. Otherwise, he wouldn't dare act so brazenly."

The maid nodded and didn't ask anything else.

Ya Fei said nothing. Her thoughts had turned to something else.

Did Xiao Yan have a faction backing him?

There was no way he could have reached this level by himself at fifteen.

If he really had a faction behind him, just how terrifying would it be?

She didn't dare imagine.

As the maid tidied the tea things, she couldn't help asking again.

"Sister Ya Fei, what kind of people do you think the Misty Cloud Sect will send?"

Ya Fei sat back down and thought for a moment.

"Ge Ye was a Seven-Star Great Dou Master. To kill him, Xiao Yan must be at least a Dou Ling."

"If the Misty Cloud Sect sends someone, it'll have to be an elder at the Dou Wang level, at the very least."

"A Dou Wang?"

The maid drew in a sharp breath.

Ya Fei lifted her teacup, realized the tea had gone cold, and set it down again.

"Without the resources of a powerful faction, it's impossible to reach this level at his age."

"Then what kind of faction do you think is behind him, Sister Ya Fei?"

Ya Fei shook her head.

"Few factions in the Jia Ma Empire could cultivate a genius like him."

Ya Fei rose and walked to the window.

"Whoever is behind him, he's someone we can't afford to offend—and we'd best not provoke him, either."

The maid nodded vigorously.

The back mountain of the Xiao Clan.

He crossed a bamboo grove and arrived at the place where he usually cultivated.

A flat boulder stood in a secluded spot, hidden by the trees around it.

He sat cross-legged and took the medicinal ingredients out of his Storage Ring.

Snow Spirit Ginseng, Purple Spirit Ganoderma, Thousand Spirit Grass.

The Fifth-grade medicinal ingredients lay one by one on the ground.

He had to refine the Spirit Speed Pill as soon as possible.

The Misty Cloud Sect wouldn't let this go. Whoever came next wouldn't be trash like Ge Ye.

He took a deep breath.

A ball of flame gathered in his palm.

It was blue, and its temperature was scorching.

He picked up the Snow Spirit Ginseng and tossed it into the flames.

The ingredient slowly melted, turning into a pool of emerald-green liquid.

The flames burned away every impurity, leaving behind only the purest medicinal essence.

He carefully controlled the heat, not daring to be careless for even a moment.

One ingredient after another went into the flames.

Each ingredient needed a different amount of time to refine, and a different temperature.

The experience in his mind told him what to do, and he executed every step with precision.

Deep in the bamboo grove, on another path.

Xiao Xun'er walked softly. She had only wanted to find a quiet place to spend some time alone.

By chance, she looked up and saw a figure on the distant boulder.

She stopped in her tracks.

She didn't approach, but simply stood behind a tree.

He held a flame in his palm and tossed an ingredient into it.

Even from far away, she could feel the heat of the flames.

Her eyes widened slightly.

She stood where she was, without moving.

She even held her breath.

She knew that alchemy couldn't be interrupted.

Besides, she didn't want Brother Xiao Yan to discover her there.

No one knew how much time had passed.

All the ingredients had been refined.

Several pools of liquid in different colors floated above the flames.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

The most crucial step: fusion.

He slowly brought the pools of liquid together, focusing on the progress of each one as they fused.

The slightest mistake would blow up the furnace and ruin all the ingredients.

The medicinal liquids fused bit by bit, their mixed colors gradually turning pure white.

He kept adjusting the temperature of the flames, raising and lowering it.

At last, all the medicinal liquids fused completely.

The flames suddenly drew inward.

A pill floated in midair.

It was perfectly round, and gave off a faint white glow.

The Spirit Speed Pill had been successfully refined.

He reached out, snatched it, and held it in his hand.

[The host helped Xiao Yan refine the Fifth-grade Pill, Spirit Speed Pill, and received a feedback reward.]

[Reward: Earth-tier Advanced Dou Technique, Mountain Crushing Palm.]

[When cultivated to mastery, a single palm strike can shatter a mountain.]

A flood of information surged into his mind.

The palm technique's movements, the methods for applying force, the circulation of Dou Qi.

Everything was carved into his memory.

It was as if he had practiced it a thousand times already.

His lips curled into a smile.

An Earth-tier Advanced Dou Technique was already considered top-tier in the Jia Ma Empire.

With his current strength, he could now fight even a Peak Dou Wang.

She watched from beginning to end, standing behind the tree the whole time.

The flames gathered, the ingredients went in, and the pill took shape.

She hadn't missed a single step.

She made no sound and kept her breathing as quiet as possible.

Her heart was already churning like a storm-tossed sea.

The aura given off by that pill couldn't possibly belong to a low-grade pill.

Fifth-grade? Or even higher?

Fifteen years old.

Brother Xiao Yan was only fifteen.

Across the entire Dou Qi Continent, how many people could refine a pill of this grade at fifteen?

And weren't all of them core disciples of powerful factions?

They had the best teachers, endless resources, and had been cultivated from childhood.

But what about Brother Xiao Yan?

The Xiao Clan was only a small family.

They didn't even have a decent alchemist.

No teacher, no resources, and he had never left Wutan City from childhood until now.

How had he learned alchemy?

And he had refined a pill of such a high grade on his very first try.

It defied reason. It made no sense at all.

Xiao Xun'er had seen plenty of geniuses.

In her clan and in the Central Plains, she had heard of all kinds of monsters.

But none of them were like Brother Xiao Yan.

Three years as a good-for-nothing, then a sudden rise.

Not only had his strength returned, he had also become an alchemist.

And his grade was absurdly high.

Such a leap, at such a speed, was unheard of even among the top factions in the Central Plains.

Xiao Xun'er bit her lip and stayed silent.

She remained behind the tree without stepping out.

On the boulder, he put the pill into his Storage Ring.

He jumped down from the boulder and brushed the dust from his clothes.

He glanced toward the bamboo grove.

He saw nothing.

Then he turned and left the back mountain.

His footsteps gradually faded into the distance.

After waiting a while longer, Xiao Xun'er finally stepped out from behind the tree.

She watched in silence for a long time as Xiao Yan left.

Her thoughts were still occupied with what she had seen.

She turned and left the back mountain, heading in another direction.

Her footsteps were soft. She hadn't disturbed anyone on the way in, and she left just as quietly.

As Xiao Xun'er walked back to her residence, she felt not only shock but also an emotion she couldn't quite explain.

She reached the entrance to her residence, opened the door, and went inside.

She sat in a chair and poured herself a cup of water from the teapot.

She took a sip and set the cup down.

Her gaze was still a little dazed.

Her mind kept returning to what she had seen.

The aura the pill had given off as it floated in midair.

That was the aura of a Fifth-grade Pill. When Xiao Xun'er thought of this, she immediately drew in a sharp breath, stunned.