I'll Take You Through the Back Door!

In Ya Fei's room, Xiao Ze toyed with a jade bead about the size of his thumb.

A Qi Gathering Bead!

This curious item had a decent capacity.

Whenever an outsider absorbed Dou Qi, it would automatically absorb and store some of it.

Aside from the mainstream weapons, all sorts of curious items continually appeared across the Dou Qi Continent.

Perhaps a blacksmith had accidentally tinkered one into existence.

Xiao Ze tried absorbing the Dou Qi inside the bead himself. As expected, it was extraordinarily difficult to draw out.

But that wasn't a problem!

Yao Lao's remnant soul could absorb the Dou Qi within Xiao Yan's body without anyone noticing.

Absorbing the Dou Qi inside the Qi Gathering Bead should be no problem either.

Once the bead's Dou Qi ran out, it would automatically absorb and store more.

That should greatly speed up Yao Lao's awakening.

Xiao Yan would then be able to reclaim his reputation as a genius sooner.

Besides hoping Xiao Yan could return to normal, Xiao Ze had his own reasons.

He planned to bind himself to Xiao Yan's alchemy skills!

Binding himself to Yao Lao's alchemy skills would be great too, but Xiao Ze was greedy!

Xiao Yan's future accomplishments in alchemy would surpass his master's.

Xiao Yan's rate of growth and potential were both far greater than Yao Lao's!

That was the fundamental reason Xiao Ze had chosen to bind himself to Xiao Yan's alchemy skills!

Of course, as the future Flame Emperor, Xiao Yan would surely have more than just alchemy skills worth learning from.

But the system's auxiliary binding only allowed one ability per person.

In the end, Xiao Ze had chosen alchemy, the most practical skill!

"All right! This Qi Gathering Bead will be useful to me. Thank you, Sister Ya Fei!"

Xiao Ze contentedly put it away along with the few other things he had bought earlier.

"Sister Ya Fei, I won't keep you any longer. I should head back and prepare for tomorrow's entrance exams!"

"Mm-hmm, Xiao Ze, do your best!"

Ya Fei rose to see Xiao Ze off.

When she returned to her room, a hint of melancholy crossed her face.

"A gift for your family? Does your sworn older sister not count as family? Sigh..."

Ya Fei sighed and went over to sit in a chair.

Suddenly, she spotted an exquisitely made gift box on the chair across from her.

A few small characters were written on top in bold, elegant strokes.

"To Sister Ya Fei!"

Ya Fei happily picked up the gift box and examined it closely for a while.

Then she hurried back to her room to see what gift Xiao Ze had left for her.

Meanwhile, Xiao Ze returned to the Xiao Clan.

He had only prepared a few gifts this time.

Xiao Zhan, Xiao Yan, Xiao Xun'er, Xiao Yi Xian, and, more or less, Xiao Yu.

He might have called them parting gifts, but the only people he was truly parting from were Xiao Zhan and Xiao Yan.

Yet giving gifts only to those two would have seemed unfair to the others.

So he decided to give everyone something.

Besides, none of the gifts were particularly expensive.

That evening, Xiao Ze shared a long-overdue family dinner with Xiao Zhan and Xiao Yan.

Afterward, he gave the gifts he'd prepared to Xiao Zhan.

With Xiao Ze's strength, he was certain to pass Jia Nan Academy's entrance exams.

So his departure from the Xiao Clan was a foregone conclusion.

Xiao Zhan left with Xiao Ze's gift in his hands, beaming as he went.

He left his two sons alone together.

"Fourth Brother, nothing's been bothering you lately, has it?"

Xiao Yan pressed his lips together, then forced himself to smile.

"Nothing in particular. Cultivation's just as difficult as ever."

"Those guys haven't been giving you a hard time, have they?"

"No, no. These days, when they see me, they don't dare say a word. Actually, I've gotten a lot closer to Cousin Xiao Ning."

Xiao Yan hurriedly reassured him, worried Xiao Ze might suddenly go and beat someone into a pig's head again.

"Haha, good. You and Cousin Xiao Ning really did have to fight before you could make peace."

Xiao Ze said with a laugh.

Then he took out a wrist guard and fitted the Qi Gathering Bead into it.

"Third Brother, I bought this especially for you. It might help with your condition!"

Xiao Yan looked puzzled. What could be so special about a wrist guard?

"All right, put it on. There's more to it than meets the eye. It's best to wear it all the time, and don't take it off unless you have to."

Xiao Ze spoke with a serious expression.

Seeing that look, Xiao Yan nodded solemnly.

He trusted Xiao Ze!

"Then I'll head back and prepare for tomorrow's entrance exams."

Xiao Ze rose to take his leave.

Just before he went, Xiao Yan suddenly raised a hand to stop him and asked,

"Fourth Brother, what realm are you at now?"

"I just broke through to Da Dou Shi today."

Xiao Ze left those casual words hanging in the air as he slowly walked away.

Xiao Yan was left standing there, frozen solid!

His throat a little dry, Xiao Yan murmured,

"Da Dou Shi... terrifying indeed!!!"

At the same time, Xiao Yan became even more determined to make Xiao Ze his goal!

Early the next morning, Xiao Yu knocked on Xiao Ze's door.

"Xiao Ze, get up! Hurry, before it gets too crowded!"

Creak—

The door opened, revealing a delicate face. Xiao Yu's raised hand froze mid-knock.

"Who are you? Xiao Ze actually has a beautiful young woman hidden in his room!?"

"Cousin Xiao Yu, you'd better watch what you say. She's my friend, Xiao Yi Xian."

Xiao Ze's voice came from behind Xiao Yi Xian as he walked over, pulling on a white coat.

"She's staying with the Xiao Clan for the night and is going to take the Jia Nan Academy entrance exams too."

Xiao Yu pointed at the two of them, her red lips parting in surprise.

"You two are living together?!"

Just then, Xiao Xun'er's voice drifted over.

"Cousin Xiao Yu, you're overthinking it. Xiao Ze was with me all night and only came back to his room this morning to wash up and change."

Xiao Xun'er said with a smile.

Xiao Yi Xian hadn't had anywhere to stay the night before, and preparing a guest room at the last minute would have been a hassle.

So Xiao Ze had let Xiao Yi Xian sleep in his room while he spent the night in Xun Er's room, helping her nourish her meridians.

"All right, Cousin Xiao Yu, you're the one who hurried me along, but you're also the one who won't stop gossiping!"

Xiao Ze fastened his belt and spoke to Xiao Yu, who was still trying to get to the bottom of things.

That finally put an end to her questioning.

The four of them headed to the plaza where Jia Nan Academy was holding its entrance exams.

Xiao Ning and Xiao Mei hadn't come along.

Jia Nan Academy required applicants to reach the Eighth Stage of Dou Qi before turning eighteen.

They clearly hadn't met the requirement, so they hadn't come to join the crowd.

As they approached the plaza, the crowd suddenly thickened.

A bad feeling rose in their hearts, and Xiao Yu said,

"Those people are as crazy as ever. Some of them have been waiting in the plaza all night, just to see Jia Nan Academy's recruitment team."

Having passed the exams the previous year, Xiao Yu knew what she was talking about. She added,

"Even though they're recruiting in Wutan City, they're also accepting applicants from several nearby cities, so it's normal for so many people to show up."

"What do we do now?" Xiao Yi Xian asked, looking at the crowd packed into the plaza.

"Don't worry. I'll take you through the back door!"

Xiao Yu said confidently.

Led by Xiao Yu, they made their way behind the plaza.

The City Lord Mansion had stationed troops there, every soldier fully armed!

They formed an inner and outer ring around the area, making the security look airtight.

Xiao Yu told Xiao Ze and the others to wait where they were.

She pulled a green token from her robes and went over to speak with the officer in charge.

The stern-faced officer glanced at Xiao Ze and the others, his brow creasing slightly.