Yao Lao Appears

Xiao Family, Back Mountain.

Xiao Yan looked angrily at the ring floating in midair before him—or rather, at the translucent, elderly figure drifting above it!

"Was it you, you old bastard, who stole the Dou Qi I cultivated over the past three years and made me suffer all that ridicule and humiliation?" Xiao Yan asked coldly.

"Hehe, little fellow, haven't these three years of experience taught you to endure and temper your mind?" Yao Lao said with a smile as he looked at Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan's mouth twitched at Yao Lao's words. What, was he supposed to thank him instead?

Xiao Yan suddenly remembered something and raised his head to ask, "Are you saying that my talent never disappeared? You were absorbing it all along, and now I can continue cultivating?"

Yao Lao smiled noncommittally. "Naturally. Now that I've awakened, as long as nothing goes wrong, I'll only absorb your Dou Qi with your permission!"

Xiao Yan sneered. "I'll never let you absorb my Dou Qi again!"

Yao Lao did not dwell on the matter. Instead, he tempted Xiao Yan, "Little fellow, do you want to grow stronger? Do you want the respect of others and to reclaim the glory that belongs to you?"

Hearing Yao Lao's words, Xiao Yan immediately said warily, "What are you trying to do? I'm telling you, I won't believe a single word you say!"

"Oh? Is that so? But I seem to recall that you only have one year before your Coming of Age Ceremony. One year—do you think your talent can reach the Seventh Stage Dou Qi within a year? And then there's your Three-Year Agreement with that girl. That little girl's talent is no worse than yours, so do you think you can surpass her in three years?" Yao Lao smiled like an old fox.

Xiao Yan gritted his teeth and cursed, "You old bastard! If it weren't for you, would she have humiliated me like that? Would I still be stuck at the Third Stage Dou Qi?"

After venting his anger, Xiao Yan gradually calmed down. He looked at Yao Lao and sneered. "Don't tell me it's impossible to improve my Dou Qi in one year. My younger brother, Xiao Yu, went from a One-star Dou Zhe to a Four-star Dou Zhe in just one year. If he could do it, so can I!"

To his surprise, Yao Lao said mysteriously, "Heh, of course I've observed your younger brother Xiao Yu as well. Both of you have exceptionally powerful souls. Back then, I hesitated between the two of you, but in the end, I chose you. Can you guess why?"

Xiao Yan glanced at Yao Lao and curled his lips. "Why?"

Yao Lao gave a strange laugh. "Because your talent is better, of course! Think about it—how could someone with less talent than you improve by three stars as a Dou Zhe within a year?"

Xiao Yan frowned slightly. "You mean Xiao Yu was hiding his true abilities? That he might actually have cultivated for two or three years?"

Only then did Yao Lao look at Xiao Yan as though he was teachable. After stroking his beard, Yao Lao spoke again. "Do you still think you can raise your Dou Qi by four stages in one year?"

Xiao Yan fell silent. He truly had never considered that question. After a moment of silence, he looked at Yao Lao. "Seeing how confident you are, I suppose you have a way?"

Yao Lao proudly raised his head. "Naturally!"

"What way?" Xiao Yan's eyes lit up as he asked eagerly.

"I can't tell you what it is yet!" Yao Lao said, shaking his head.

Xiao Yan looked at Yao Lao with a dark expression, doing his best to suppress the anger in his heart. "Fine. What conditions do you want before you'll tell me?"

After looking Xiao Yan up and down, Yao Lao said, "It's not impossible for me to tell you, but you must acknowledge me as your master first!"

"Acknowledge you as my master? Master of what?" Xiao Yan asked in confusion.

Yao Lao's somewhat hunched figure straightened slightly, and his tone carried a trace of pride. "Naturally, an alchemist!"

Xiao Yan was stunned for a moment, then looked at Yao Lao mockingly. "You? An alchemist? What kind of alchemist would be as down-and-out as you?"

At Xiao Yan's words, embarrassment flashed across Yao Lao's face. Deep in his eyes, a trace of pain and regret passed by, though Xiao Yan did not notice it at the time.

"That's right, I am an alchemist!" The confidence in Yao Lao's voice made even the originally skeptical Xiao Yan half-believe him.

Xiao Yan licked his lips and asked with a smile, "Then may I ask what grade of alchemist you used to be?"

Although alchemists were rare on the Dou Qi Continent, there were still different ranks among them. Pill King Gu He was a Sixth-grade Alchemist, considered the foremost figure in the alchemy world of the Gamma Empire!

"I don't remember what grade I was, but are you going to learn or not?" Yao Lao asked impatiently.

"I'll learn! Of course I'll learn!" Xiao Yan nodded his little head hurriedly.

"Fine, then acknowledge me as your master!" Yao Lao crossed his legs atop a bluestone and looked at Xiao Yan with a sly grin.

"Here?" Xiao Yan asked in surprise.

"Where else? Urgent matters call for flexibility. Hurry up, hurry up!" Yao Lao urged.

Only then did Xiao Yan properly perform the disciple ceremony before Yao Lao. Once he saw that Xiao Yan had completed every part of the ceremony, Yao Lao beamed and said, "Good, good, good! My name is Yao Lao. As for my background, I won't tell you for now, lest it distract you. As for my strength, you only need to know that Pill King Gu He is nothing but a fart in my eyes!"

Hearing Yao Lao's nearly arrogant words, Xiao Yan almost could not resist taking back the disciple ceremony he had just performed. Rolling his eyes, he said, "Old man, you really know how to brag, don't you? Pill King Gu He is a Sixth-grade Alchemist!"

Smack!

Yao Lao slapped Xiao Yan on the head and said angrily, "Now that you've acknowledged me as your master, call me Teacher! Call me old man again, and see if I don't beat you! No respect at all!"

Xiao Yan held his head and said nothing.

Yao Lao ignored Xiao Yan's aggrieved look and continued, "The first step to becoming an alchemist is learning a Fire Attribute Dou Qi technique. Only then will you have Flame Dou Qi to support you!"

"A Fire Attribute technique? Could it be that Teacher plans to teach me a Heaven-tier Technique?" Xiao Yan asked with a chuckle, reaching out his hand toward Yao Lao.

Hearing Xiao Yan's words, Yao Lao was so furious that his beard bristled and his eyes widened. He raised his hand to hit him again, but Xiao Yan nimbly dodged aside.

Yao Lao laughed and cursed, "Do you think Heaven-tier Techniques grow like cabbages?"

However, Yao Lao then added, "I don't have a Heaven-tier Technique, but I do have a technique even stranger than a Heaven-tier Technique. Do you want to learn it?"

The moment he heard that, Xiao Yan became interested. Something even stranger than a Heaven-tier Technique? He swallowed and asked with blazing eyes, "What technique is it?"

"Yellow Rank, low-grade," Yao Lao whispered into Xiao Yan's ear.

"Old man, you're messing with me!"

Xiao Yan's roar immediately rang through the Back Mountain.

After Xiao Yan calmed down, Yao Lao finally told him about this Yellow Rank, low-grade technique: the Burning Art!

In the end, Yao Lao decided to wait until Xiao Yan became a Dou Zhe before teaching him the Burning Art.

Xiao Yan looked at Yao Lao and asked, "Then how will Teacher help me reach the Seventh Stage Dou Qi within one year?"

"Through alchemy, naturally!" Yao Lao's expression suddenly changed. "Oh no, my flame is gone!"

"What?" Xiao Yan was stunned.

Yao Lao quickly regained his composure. "Forget it. Gone is gone. Go prepare some things for me. I'm going to refine Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid!"

Xiao Yan hurriedly nodded. "All right. What materials do you need?"

"Three intact Purpleleaf Orchid Grasses, the older, the better; two Bone Cleansing Flowers; and a first-tier Wood Attribute magic core!" As Yao Lao spoke, he slipped back into the ring.

"Damn it, those things together will probably cost over a thousand gold coins! Are you trying to bankrupt me?" Xiao Yan could not help cursing.

"Hehe, that's none of my concern. Come find me once you've prepared the materials. Remember, do not let anyone know of my existence, not even those closest to you!" Yao Lao's voice came from within the ring.