"Cousin Xiao Yan, what's the meaning of this?"
In the hall, Xiao Lei looked at the black longblade before him. He was inwardly marveling at what a fine weapon it was, but still put on a show of modesty.
The black longblade radiated a fierce aura that pierced straight into the soul. As a man who loved blades, Xiao Lei immediately wanted to own it.
"Master Xiao Lei, this is just a small token of my regard. I happened upon this blade by chance. I'm no good with blades myself, but I noticed you seem to use a longblade, so I thought I'd give it to you!"
Xiao Yan spoke with a generous smile, though his heart was already bleeding.
What a fine blade! And Yao Lao wouldn't give it to him, instead telling him to use that heavy ruler that looked like a coffin lid!
Xiao Lei inwardly rolled his eyes. There was no way Xiao Yan had happened upon this thing by chance. In his estimation, it had probably come from Venerable Wind.
After all, Yao Chen's Bone Flame Ring had come from Venerable Wind. After becoming a Dou Venerate, the latter seemed to have acquired some knowledge of artifact forging and developed an interest in it, eventually becoming an artifact smith.
In truth, Xiao Yan wasn't the only one whose heart was bleeding. Yao Lao wasn't treating the blade as some worthless thing, either.
"Old friend, I hope you won't blame me for giving this blade away!"
Yao Lao sighed to himself, unable to help thinking of his close friend, Venerable Wind. So many years had passed, and Yao Lao didn't even know how his old friend was faring. It was truly lamentable.
Venerable Wind had specially forged this blade for Yao Lao because he didn't have a suitable weapon. But Yao Lao was used to fighting by channeling Heavenly Flames, so the blade had been left to gather dust ever since.
"Ahem. It's certainly a fine blade. Since it's a gift from you, cousin Xiao Yan, it wouldn't be right for me to refuse. How about this? Cousin Xiao Yan, I'm an alchemist too, though my skills aren't particularly impressive. For any pill below the fifth grade, you can name what you want, and I'll refine one for you free of charge."
Xiao Lei played dumb. In his eyes, the blade was undoubtedly extremely valuable, after all, it had come from Yao Lao.
How could its worth possibly be measured by a fourth-grade pill?
But Xiao Lei was currently playing the part of a backwoods bumpkin from a tiny empire, so of course he could pretend not to know its true value.
"Anything below the fifth grade! Does that mean Master Xiao Lei's alchemy has already reached the fourth grade?"
Xiao Yan was once again at a loss for words. He was still struggling to make it past the first grade, so how had the other man already become a fourth-grade alchemist?
Xiao Yan gave a bitter smile. He really had no idea what to do!
"Of course. So, cousin Xiao Yan, what pill do you want?"
"Master Xiao Lei, you've misunderstood. I didn't give you the blade so you'd refine a pill for me..."
Xiao Yan tried to say more, but Xiao Lei raised a hand to stop him.
"How about this? My alchemy skills really aren't that great yet. Instead of refining a pill for you now, I'll owe you a favor. In the future, you can use that favor to ask me to refine one pill for you. How does that sound?"
Xiao Lei's sudden revelation of his alchemy skills had thrown Xiao Yan's thoughts into disarray. At a loss for how to respond, he could only seek Yao Lao's help in his heart.
"Teacher, teacher!"
Yao Lao didn't respond.
"Since cousin Xiao Yan hasn't refused, I'll take that as a yes!"
With that, Xiao Lei burst into hearty laughter. Trading a promise to refine a pill in the future for a fine weapon he could use now was a worthwhile deal in his eyes.
Yao Lao didn't respond to Xiao Yan because he was just as stunned!
A few months ago, he had seen Xiao Lei with his own eyes. Back then, Xiao Lei had only been a four-star Dou Zhe. How had he become a Dou Ling and a fourth-grade alchemist in just a few months?
His cultivation could be explained by some special physique or bloodline, but what about his alchemy skills?
Even the bloodline of the Dou Emperor-descended Yao Clan, the clan most skilled in alchemy, had never produced anyone like this!
Yao Lao cautiously probed Xiao Lei with his soul power, only to find that Xiao Lei's soul really was at the fourth-grade level, and was even stronger than that of an ordinary fourth-grade alchemist.
At the same time, Yao Lao sensed a rich pill fragrance on Xiao Lei. Extremely sensitive to pills, he could even roughly identify them from their scent alone.
"Bone Tempering Pill, Marrow Cleansing Pill! Both are fourth-grade pills. He wasn't lying; he really is a fourth-grade alchemist."
After confirming everything, Yao Lao hesitated. He was now a hundred percent certain that Xiao Lei hadn't raised his strength with pills. It was talent—an extraordinarily heaven-defying talent.
What would happen if I had him cultivate the Flame Mantra? Judging by the talent he's shown, he's very likely to have some kind of special physique. As long as it doesn't have some major flaw, he could very well break through to Dou Sheng. By then, getting him to subdue a few Heavenly Flames and refine a body for me would be as easy as pie!
At that thought, Yao Lao began to struggle.
As Yao Lao himself had said, everyone had desires. Yao Lao's desire was to come back to life.
Yao Lao had no physical body, yet he seemed to feel a chill.
"Alas!"
After a long while, Yao Lao let out a deep sigh.
If only I'd discovered him sooner! I've already been absorbing that little fellow's Dou Qi for three years, and even had him cultivate the Flame Mantra. If I found someone else now, wouldn't I be harming him?
I, Yao Chen, would never stoop to such a filthy deed!
Yao Chen only cried those words out in his heart.
If he really did such a thing, how would he be any different from Han Feng, that treacherous disciple who betrayed his master for the Flame Mantra?
A person's life was always full of temptations. We had to choose what to take and what to leave behind...
Xiao Yan had no idea what kind of soul-searching Yao Lao was going through. All he knew was that making friends with Xiao Lei seemed to be going surprisingly smoothly. Xiao Lei didn't seem all that difficult to get along with.
The truth was that both of them had long since resolved to befriend the other in hopes of gaining something they needed!
The whole world bustled for profit; the whole world jostled for gain!
Xiao Lei didn't immediately get a Dou Technique from Xiao Yan, mainly because there was no suitable opportunity. After all, Yao Lao hadn't revealed himself, and on the surface Xiao Yan was still just an ordinary person. It obviously wouldn't make sense for Xiao Lei to ask an ordinary person for a Dou Technique.
He needed the right opportunity...
As it happened, Xiao Lei used Ya Fei to hold a special auction at the Mittal Auction House, which would also let him get rid of some resources he'd acquired recently but had no use for.
At the same time, Xiao Yan and Yao Lao were planning an outing to gain experience.
"Take a look. If you come across any of these medicinal ingredients during your experience, do your best to collect them. They'll be extremely important when you devour a Heavenly Flame later."
Yao Lao handed Xiao Yan a list. Clearly written on it were: Ice Spirit Flame Grass, Blood Lotus Essence...
"Teacher...what are these?"
"Heavenly Flames are treasures of heaven and earth. If you recklessly try to devour one directly, death is almost certain. That's why you'll need the help of external aids."
"These are the ingredients needed for a pill called the Blood Lotus Pill. It can form a layer of blood scabs over your body, helping you approach the source flame."
"This is the first step in devouring a Heavenly Flame. If you can't manage it, everything else is just empty talk. So, if you come across these medicinal ingredients, you must do everything you can to collect them. After all, we don't know when we might encounter a Heavenly Flame."
If Xiao Lei had heard that, he probably would've given Yao Lao a thumbs-up.
He was just worried you wouldn't be willing to spend money!
Before you continue