Who is this Old Sir?

Xiao Xun'er was deeply puzzled, murmuring to herself, "Who is this old gentleman? Could he be the one helping Brother Xiao Yan improve his strength?"

Xiao Xun'er was filled with curiosity, unable to stop herself from whispering in her heart.

Although she was unclear about the old gentleman's motives and did not know why he had approached Xiao Yan, Xiao Xun'er secretly made up her mind.

No matter who he was, if he dared to harm or deceive Brother Xiao Yan, she would never let him off easily.

She hoped this old gentleman would not try to play any tricks.

Otherwise, with the influence she had behind her, dealing with him would not be a difficult task.

In the entire Xiao Clan, very few people knew of the power behind Xiao Xun'er, and no one could realize just how formidable her Ancient Clan truly was.

Yao Chen, inside the room, naturally sensed Xiao Xun'er secretly observing from the corner.

With his current cultivation as a Dou Sheng, if he could not even detect this, he would truly be doing a disservice to his own strength.

Over the next few days, with the help of the medicinal pills refined by Yao Chen, Xiao Yan's strength improved rapidly.

Before long, he successfully broke through to the fifth stage of Dou Zhi Qi.

Xiao Yan was exceptionally agitated, unable to hide his excitement as he said, "Teacher! I never expected that with your help, my Dou Qi strength would improve so quickly!"

"How much time has even passed? My strength has actually recovered to the fifth stage of Dou Zhi Qi?"

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Xiao Yan would not have believed such a rate of improvement.

Three years ago, he had nowhere near this speed of cultivation, so it was inevitable that he would react this strongly.

Watching his excited appearance, Yao Chen gave him a helpless look, thinking to himself: Look at how easily satisfied you are.

Xiao Yan chuckled and quickly added, "Teacher, how could I compare to you!"

"I am already very satisfied to have recovered to the fifth stage of Dou Zhi Qi in such a short time."

Hearing Xiao Yan's words, Yao Chen felt even more helpless.

But on second thought, Xiao Yan had yet to leave the "newbie village," and his vision and experience were ultimately limited; such a reaction was perfectly normal.

He turned his gaze toward the system panel, where a few lines of text were clearly displayed.

[Current Task: Help Xiao Yan reach the fifth stage of Dou Zhi Qi.]
[Task Reward: Soul Power +10]
[Task completed, reward issued.]

After completing the system task, Yao Chen checked his personal attribute panel to confirm that his Soul Power had indeed increased.

Although the numerical value was not high, its quality was extremely high.

Improving Soul Power was never an easy task, so he was quite satisfied with this reward.

More importantly, Xiao Yan was only at the fifth stage of Dou Zhi Qi now.

As long as he continued to help him improve and executed the subsequent series of tasks according to the panel, the rewards he could obtain in the future would be endless.

At the thought of the generous rewards, Yao Chen could not help but reveal a smile, the corners of his mouth slowly curling upward.

Just as Xiao Yan was still immersed in his excitement, he suddenly sensed someone approaching.

Seeing this, Yao Chen immediately ducked into the ring.

Not long after, a figure walked toward the back mountain.

The person who arrived was none other than Xiao Yan's father, the current patriarch of the Xiao Clan, Xiao Zhan.

"Yan'er, I haven't seen you for the past few days," Xiao Zhan said as he walked up to Xiao Yan.

"I only found out after asking Xun'er that you have been cultivating in the back mountain of the clan these past few days."

Looking at his youngest son, Xiao Zhan's eyes were filled with heartache.

He certainly hoped to see Xiao Yan regain his once-stunning talent and become outstanding once again.

What father did not wish for his son to become a dragon?

But he hoped even more that his son would not bear too much pressure; that would only cause him, as a father, to ache for him.

Coming here this time, Xiao Zhan mainly wanted to persuade Xiao Yan not to put so much pressure on himself.

Xiao Yan had been cultivating day and night for the past few days, to the point where he couldn't even be seen, and he truly could not set his mind at ease.

"Don't worry, Father, I'm fine," Xiao Yan said with a firm tone.

"I have made a Three-Year Agreement with Nalan Yanran."

"Three years from now, I must go to the Cloud Mist Sect to challenge her."

"This matter doesn't just concern me; it concerns you as well," Xiao Yan continued.

"I don't want you to be subjected to ridicule in the clan because of this."

"Even if not for myself, for your sake, I must keep my word and defeat Nalan Yanran!"

Although, with his current strength at the fifth stage of Dou Zhi Qi, he was in no way comparable to Nalan Yanran.

Yet Xiao Yan's heart was filled with hope; he believed that with his teacher's help, he might not be without a chance.

Although he was unclear about his teacher's background, Xiao Yan trusted Yao Chen absolutely.

He only occasionally wondered how his teacher, who had been so powerful in life, could have suffered such a devastating blow.

If it weren't for the fact that his teacher was an alchemist, possessing soul strength far superior to ordinary cultivators, he likely would have perished long ago, let alone survived in his current soul form.

Regardless of who had harmed his teacher back then, Xiao Yan felt he needed to cultivate diligently and accelerate the growth of his strength.

Not only would this help his teacher seek justice, but it would also allow him to fulfill his Three-Year Agreement with Nalan Yanran and wash away the humiliation brought upon his father.

In short, there were too many things waiting for him to accomplish, and time was tight.

Just then, Yao Chen's system panel popped up with a new task.

[Current Task: Help your disciple, Xiao Yan, practice Eight Extremities Collapse.]

[Task Reward: Two white blind boxes.]

[Please choose whether to accept the task.]

Yao Chen chose to accept without hesitation.

At this moment, apart from his own soul form, the back mountain was completely deserted, save for Xiao Yan.

He looked at Xiao Yan before him and said, "Little fellow, since you are now my disciple, I have promised to help you defeat Nalan Yanran and win the Three-Year Agreement."

"Now that your strength has reached the fifth stage of Dou Qi and is gradually recovering, I shall teach you a Dou Technique called Eight Extremities Collapse."

"If you practice it well and push this technique to its limit, its power can rival a low-tier Earth-grade Dou Technique."

"A low-tier Earth-grade Dou Technique?" Hearing this, Xiao Yan became instantly excited and thrilled.

He couldn't wait to start practicing, rubbing his hands together in excitement as he waited quietly for Yao Chen to impart the technique.

Once a scroll was placed in his hands, Xiao Yan immediately began to practice.

Under Yao Chen's guidance, he successfully executed Eight Extremities Collapse after only half an hour.

"As expected of a high-tier Profound-grade Dou Technique, it is truly extraordinary; the power is indeed impressive!" Xiao Yan exclaimed sincerely.

"My teacher is truly worthy of the title; the techniques he imparts to me start at the high-tier Profound-grade and possess such immense power."

On the other side, seeing Xiao Yan successfully execute Eight Extremities Collapse, Yao Chen's attention shifted to the rewards.

He was well aware of Xiao Yan's talent for cultivation, so he wasn't surprised that he had succeeded so easily with his guidance.

As for Yao Chen, he was quite curious about what he might draw from these two white blind boxes.

[Current Task: Help Xiao Yan practice the Dou Technique Eight Extremities Collapse.]

[Reward: Two white blind boxes.]

[Reward successfully issued and stored in the system's inventory.]