Taking a Master

The shock and silence in the hall had not yet fully faded, but the clan members' gazes toward Lin Hai had already changed completely, filled with awe, fervor, and a touch of dazed disbelief.

The three elders huddled off to one side, wishing they could sink into their chairs. They did not dare make another sound.

Xiao Zhan looked at Lin Hai. His lips moved a few times, but in the end, all that came out was a sigh of indescribable complexity, filled with shock and joy, along with a hint of worry he could not put into words.

He stepped forward, about to speak, but Lin Hai gave him a slight nod first.

"Brother-in-law, I'll take Xiao Yan outside for a walk first. There are a few things I need to tell him." Lin Hai's tone was calm, but left no room for question.

Xiao Zhan nodded at once. "Good, good! You two, uncle and nephew... have a good talk." He looked at Xiao Yan, his eyes full of encouragement and the relieved hope of someone who had finally set down a heavy burden.

Lin Hai said nothing more. He turned his gaze to Xiao Yan, who was still reeling in shock and confusion, and said gently, "Xiao Yan, come with me."

With that, he strode toward the hall's exit.

His pace was unhurried, yet he carried himself with the imposing stillness of a deep pool and a towering mountain. Wherever he went, the clan members instinctively cleared a path, bowing their heads.

Xiao Yan froze for a moment, watching Lin Hai's retreating figure. Then he instinctively touched the black ring on his finger, gritted his teeth, and hurried after him.

Xun Er hesitated briefly, but ultimately chose to stay where she was. Her beautiful eyes followed the two of them, glimmering with thought.

The setting sun dyed the horizon orange-red. On the path behind the Xiao Clan, lush plants grew on either side, and not a soul was in sight.

Lin Hai walked ahead with his hands behind his back. Xiao Yan followed half a step behind, his emotions in turmoil.

Everything that had happened that day had turned his world upside down: Nalan Yanran's humiliation and broken engagement, his uncle Lin Hai's sudden arrival, his crushing Ge Ye with overwhelming force, destroying the pill and sending him away... It all felt like some strange, fantastic dream.

At last, Lin Hai stopped in an open clearing by the cliff and turned to face Xiao Yan.

Excitement, confusion, gratitude, and a lingering trace of humiliation mingled on the young man's handsome face.

"Uncle... you..." Xiao Yan began, his voice a little hoarse. His heart was full of questions, but he did not know where to start.

As if he had seen through Xiao Yan's thoughts, Lin Hai did not answer directly. He raised a hand to stop him, his deep gaze settling on the black ring on Xiao Yan's finger.

"Xiao Yan, do you know why your Dou Qi kept disappearing for the past three years, leaving your cultivation weaker instead of stronger?" Lin Hai's voice was calm, but his words struck Xiao Yan's heart like a thunderbolt.

Xiao Yan's whole body jerked. He looked up sharply, disbelief blazing in his eyes. "Uncle, you know the reason?! Could it be... could it be that it wasn't because I..."

"It wasn't because you lost your talent, and it wasn't some strange illness." Lin Hai's denial was firm and decisive. He pointed a finger at the ring. "The cause lies with it. Or rather, with the... spirit hidden inside it."

Boom!

At those words, Xiao Yan felt as if he had been struck by lightning. The black ring on his finger trembled violently, and a soul fluctuation far surpassing Ge Ye's uncontrollably spilled out, carrying utter astonishment.

"You... who are you?! How can you see through my existence?!" An old voice, full of shock, rang directly from the ring and echoed across the cliffs.

Xiao Yan stared dumbfounded at his trembling ring, then at Lin Hai's calm expression. For a moment, his mind went completely blank.

The one who had stolen his Dou Qi was actually... a spirit inside a ring?

All the anguish, mockery, and humiliation of the past three years surged into his heart. A profound sense of betrayal and fury erupted like a volcano!

"Were you behind this?! You stole my Dou Qi?! You made me a useless good-for-nothing?! You made me suffer everyone's contempt?! You almost made me endure that utter humiliation today?!" Xiao Yan's eyes turned blood-red. He was about to rip off the ring and throw it away—maybe even crush it!

"Xiao Yan, calm down!" Lin Hai barked. His voice was not loud, but it carried a strange soothing force that slightly checked Xiao Yan's boiling blood and fury.

"Uncle! He..." Xiao Yan panted heavily, pointing at the ring, his face full of grief and indignation.

"I know you're furious. I know what you've suffered these past three years." Lin Hai looked at him with understanding in his eyes. "But anger won't solve anything. Don't you want to know why he absorbed your Dou Qi? And why he chose you in particular?"

Inside the ring, Yao Chen's soul fluctuated violently as well. Someone had seen through his greatest secret at a glance, and might even be a legendary Spirit Saint. He felt a crisis like never before.

But he had once stood among the strongest on the continent. He quickly forced himself to calm down and asked in a low voice, "What exactly do you want?"

Lin Hai paid Yao Chen no heed. He continued looking at Xiao Yan and said slowly, "He absorbed your Dou Qi to keep his soul from dissipating. He needed energy to nourish it. As for why he chose you..." Lin Hai paused. "Perhaps it was because of your talent and character. In all his long years, you were the most suitable person he had encountered to inherit his legacy."

"Inherit his legacy?" Xiao Yan froze. His anger eased a little, caught by those words.

"That's right." Lin Hai nodded. "Xiao Yan, do you know what kind of person the spirit inside this ring was when he was alive?"

Xiao Yan instinctively shook his head.

Lin Hai's voice took on a solemn note. He spoke each word clearly. "His name is Yao Chen, known as Venerable Yao! He wasn't from the Gama Empire. He came from the Central Plains, the heart of the continent, and was the master of Star Cloud Pavilion. In life, he was not only a Peak Spirit Venerable, but also an—Eighth-Rank Alchemy Grandmaster!"

"Spirit Venerable?! An Eighth-Rank Alchemy Grandmaster?!" Xiao Yan sucked in a sharp breath. His eyes widened, and he froze completely.

To a boy from Wutan City, those titles belonged to figures of legend! Spirit Emperors and Spirit Sect powerhouses were already beyond his reach. A Spirit Venerable was on an entirely different level!

And Grade 8 Alchemists... Even a single Sixth-Grade Pill could cause a sensation throughout the entire Gama Empire!

Yao Chen fell silent inside the ring, too. His past had been laid bare down to the last detail. That extinguished his final shred of hope, leaving only deep shock and confusion.

Seeing Xiao Yan's stunned expression, Lin Hai dropped another bombshell. "With Yao Chen teaching you everything he knows and personally guiding your cultivation and alchemy, you won't just recover your former talent. Surpassing Wutan City and the Gama Empire, roaming the continent, and reaching the Spirit Emperor or Spirit Sect realms would all be entirely within reach! At the very least, you'll become a Spirit Venerable! And perhaps... even touch a higher realm."

Those words rang out like a great bell, striking Xiao Yan's heart and soul!

The gloom and despair of the past three years were swept away by the magnificent future Lin Hai had painted for him!

A Spirit Venerable? A teacher who was an Eighth-Rank Alchemy Grandmaster? Roaming the continent?

Every word sent his heart pounding and his blood surging!

Faced with this enormous opportunity, his fury and humiliation seemed... no longer so unbearable.

He even suddenly felt that if the suffering of the past three years could win him the devoted guidance of a Venerable, perhaps it had... been worth it?

The young man's expression changed like the turning pages of a book: from utter fury to utter shock, then to joy and burning longing!

The speed of the change left Yao Chen staring in astonishment from inside the ring.

"Of course," Lin Hai continued, turning his gaze to the ring. His tone was calm, but carried a hint of warning. "Venerable Yao, since you used my nephew's Dou Qi to nourish your soul for three years, you owe him for that. From now on, guide him properly. If you harbor any ulterior motives or hold anything back..."

Lin Hai did not finish, but a faint chill that seemed capable of freezing the soul spread through the air once more, making Yao Chen's soul tremble.

He had no doubt that this mysterious "uncle" had a way to make him perish in body and spirit.

Yao Chen gave a bitter laugh, sending his voice through a soul fluctuation. "Rest assured. I, Yao Chen, am no ingrate. Absorbing young Xiao Yan's Dou Qi was a necessity, and I do feel guilty about it. Now that you've brought it into the open, I'll do everything in my power to help him return to his peak, and even surpass it! To take such a promising young talent as my disciple is a blessing for me as well."

Some of those words came from the heart; others were born of fear of Lin Hai's power. Either way, the matter was settled.

Only then did Lin Hai nod in satisfaction and turn to Xiao Yan. "All right, Xiao Yan. What are you standing there for?"

Xiao Yan was no longer angry in the slightest. Trembling with excitement, he dropped to one knee before the ring without hesitation. His voice shook with emotion, but every word was clear and solemn:

"Your disciple Xiao Yan greets you, Master!"

The black ring trembled slightly. A gentle white light surged from within and gathered into the figure of an old man, faintly illusory yet possessed of an immortal's bearing.

Yao Chen's spirit floated in midair. Looking at the youth below, whose eyes burned with fervor and whose expression was full of respect, he too showed a hint of conflicted emotion and relief.

He accepted the bow and raised a hand slightly. "Rise, young man. These past few years... have been hard on you. From today onward, I'll repay you many times over for everything you lost during those three years!"

"Yes, Master!" Xiao Yan rose, his face radiant with a hope and brilliance he had never felt before.

Lin Hai watched the scene, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

Yao Chen had formally taken a disciple. Under the influence of the unexpected wing Lin Hai had flapped, the gears of fate had begun turning anew, and with far greater force and momentum.

With his uncle, a Peak Spirit Saint, and his teacher, an Eighth-Rank Alchemy Grandmaster, Xiao Yan's rise was destined to be even more brilliant and unstoppable than before!

And the Misty Cloud Sect... Lin Hai glanced toward it, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

That was only the beginning.