Achieving Second-Rank

[Target: A well-known Second-Rank Alchemist.]

[Cultivation: Three-Star Da Dou Shi.]

[Technique: Fire Expelling Mantra, Middle Huang Class]

[Dou Techniques: ...]

[Alchemy: Second-Rank]

[Constitution: None]

[Copy Time: Twenty Minutes]

[Tip: Selecting Alchemy will also grant the other party's soul strength.]

[Copy?]

"There's even a perk like this? Copy!"

Xiao Lei had thought he would need to copy twice to obtain both the other party's alchemy skills and soul strength. He hadn't expected to get both in one go.

"Twenty minutes. I hope you can hold on!"

Xiao Lei looked at Guni with a trace of sympathy, making Guni feel a little uneasy under his gaze.

"Senior, why don't you tell me a little about alchemists first? I don't know much about them yet!"

Xiao Lei spoke respectfully, giving Guni plenty of face. Alchemists were an arrogant bunch. If he let the man show off, twenty minutes would fly by in no time.

"Then let's start with the ranks of alchemists!" Guni took the bait and began to brag. Xiao Lei chimed in from the side, and being praised by such a genius thoroughly satisfied Guni's vanity.

"..."

After a long while.

[Time Remaining: Two Minutes]

Guni began to sense something was wrong. At first, he had merely felt uncomfortable with Xiao Lei staring at him the whole time. Then his body began to itch and feel uncomfortable, but he thought he could bear it.

Until a raging force surged up inside him...

"Little friend Xiao Lei, why don't we take a look at your Dou Qi attribute first?" Guni strained beneath himself, his voice even changing.

He couldn't wait to rush to the toilet and let it all out!

"Don't rush, Master! We just got to the pill formulas. Please, go on. I'm in no hurry!"

Xiao Lei glanced at the countdown, which had only two minutes left. There was no way he would let Guni leave now.

If it had been anyone else, Guni probably would have left at once and dashed to the toilet. But Xiao Lei was different. Whether because of Ya Fei or Xiao Lei's talent, Guni felt it wouldn't be right to leave just like that.

[Copy successful. Host has become a Second-Rank Alchemist and possesses soul strength comparable to Guni's.]

As the system's voice faded, a flood of information poured into his mind.

Although this wasn't his first time copying, Xiao Lei was still incredibly excited. This was just too good. He hadn't lifted a finger, yet he'd gotten someone else's alchemy skills for free—skills they'd spent who knew how many years cultivating.

"Senior Guni, are you feeling unwell? Why don't we call it a day and continue our heart-to-heart another time?" Xiao Lei looked at Guni, whose face had changed after holding it in, and nearly burst out laughing.

Fortunately, Xiao Lei had received professional training...

At his words, Guni felt as though he'd been granted a pardon. He didn't even see Xiao Lei out, but headed straight for the toilet.

At a high vantage point in the Mittal Auction House, Ya Fei had found a secluded spot with a good view. She stared fixedly at the room where Xiao Lei and Guni were.

Then she saw Guni emerge, one hand clamped over his backside...

It wasn't that Guni wanted to cover himself. If he didn't, something might come out at any moment!

As the old saying went: hold in a piss and you could run like the wind; hold in a shit and you couldn't take a step.

Guni wanted to fly straight to the toilet, but the moment he took even a slightly longer stride, it felt as though something inside him was about to fall out.

In the end, all Guni could do was hobble toward the toilet.

But to Ya Fei—especially Ya Fei, who had already entertained certain thoughts—everything she saw carried a wealth of meaning.

"Why is Master Guni holding his backside? Could it be..."

"Master Guni actually went this far for my sake! This..."

As the person at the center of it all, Xiao Lei couldn't find Ya Fei anywhere. He had no choice but to ask someone to pass on a message, asking her to prepare a Storage Ring, a pill cauldron, and the like for him. Then he left on his own.

Now that he had left the Xiao Clan, there was no way Xiao Lei would go back to that shabby little room of his.

The Xiao Clan had done him no great favors, and it had plenty of troubles. There was the mess of the Three Year Agreement two years from now, as well as the Soul Clan's covetous interest in the Tou She Ancient God Jade. Both were troublesome matters.

Xiao Lei wasn't worried that he wouldn't be able to deal with them when the time came. Given how miraculous the system was, it seemed to have a way to handle all of that. But as he'd said, Xiao Lei didn't owe the Xiao Clan anything.

With not a coin to his name, Xiao Lei decided to get revenge first and earn some money for a place to stay while he was at it.

Xiao Lei had spent years in Wutan City. After awakening the system, the mercenaries beating him up could be chalked up to them feeling uncomfortable under his stare. But even before he awakened the system, he had often clashed with those mercenaries.

Being a member of the Xiao Clan was nothing but a name for Xiao Lei. He had neither strength nor elders to back him up, and those mercenaries had never held back when they roughed him up.

And so the mercenaries of Wutan City met their own disaster. A Five-Star Da Dou Shi going all out against a bunch of mercenaries was something no one could have anticipated.

Even without cultivating a technique, Xiao Lei could still beat a crowd of mercenaries until they howled. When he unleashed Sucking Palm, he could even draw the blood straight out of those with lower cultivation.

By dusk, Xiao Lei strolled back from outside the city. As for his hands, they now held a number of cards used to store gold coins.

Gold coins were extremely heavy. If mercenaries carried them around, they wouldn't be able to go anywhere. But they weren't wealthy enough to own Storage Rings, so these cards, made specifically to store gold coins, had come into use.

"Now that I've got money, there's no point buying medicinal ingredients when I don't have a pill cauldron and can't make pills yet. Besides, this much money wouldn't buy many ingredients anyway. I'll find an inn and get some rest first."

There wasn't much Xiao Lei could do about his finances for now. That reminded him of the cave in Green Mountain Town.

According to the original story, it seemed to contain hundreds of thousands of gold coins, as well as Dou Techniques and a map.

"It seems there's still some time before Xiao Yan cultivates the Flame Mantra. Should I go claim the resources there first?"

The map fragment for the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame was also extremely important. After all, it concerned the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame, and Xiao Lei had already decided to cultivate the Flame Mantra. Naturally, he had to get his hands on that map fragment.

As he walked along, Xiao Lei suddenly spotted a figure in a plain white dress hurrying toward him in the distance.

"Xiao Yu? What does this little girl want with me? Did she miss me? She just saw me at the Coming-of-Age Ceremony!"

So my charm had already reached this level?

Thinking this, Xiao Lei couldn't help running a hand through his hair, a little smugly.

His looks in this life were no worse than in his previous one. Even his shabby clothes couldn't stop his handsome face from winning people over!

As Xiao Yu drew closer, Xiao Lei spread his arms, ready for her to rush into his embrace.

But then...

Xiao Yu rushed right up to Xiao Lei, raised her right hand high above her head, then brought it down swiftly, striking him squarely in the chest.

"You heartless jerk—!"