For no other reason than that the moment the thought arose, he instantly recalled the amused smile on Qin Chen's face.
"I'll arrive on time tomorrow. I'll take my leave for today!" Suppressing the irritation in his heart, Xiao Yan spoke to Nalan Jie on the bed.
"Young brother, it's getting late. Why not stay at the Nalan Family tonight?" Nalan Jie invited him warmly.
Glancing at the smiling Nalan Yanran, Xiao Yan's expression immediately darkened. "No need. I still have things to do."
With that, he ignored the others and strode toward the door.
"This..."
Seeing Xiao Yan being so decisive, Nalan Jie was clearly taken aback. After coming to his senses, he said to Nalan Yanran, "Girl, go see the young brother off."
"Alright!" Nalan Yanran nodded slightly and quickly followed after him.
On the pebble-paved path, Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran walked side by side.
Looking at the expressionless young man beside her, Nalan Yanran's pretty face remained as calm as water, but her heart was filled with frustration.
Ever since she had joined the Misty Cloud Sect, this was the first man who had treated her with such indifference.
Although some people had previously tried to take a different approach in pursuing her, attempting to get close to her through aloofness, they would usually reveal their attentiveness before long.
But Yan Xiao was different. His indifference toward her was not deliberate; it was a distance that seeped from his very bones.
In the end, Nalan Yanran could no longer endure the stifling silence and took the initiative to speak with Xiao Yan.
After talking for a while, the two soon arrived at the gates of the Nalan Family residence.
"Miss Nalan, there is no need to see me off. I shall take my leave." Before Nalan Yanran could respond, Xiao Yan walked out through the gates on his own.
When Xiao Yan's figure disappeared beyond the gates, an imperceptible smile lifted the corners of Nalan Yanran's lips. "Interesting..."
Gathering
Jia Ma Empire, Jia Ma Holy City.
Mittel Family headquarters, in the room Hai Bodong had prepared for Qin Chen.
Sitting cross-legged on the soft bed, Qin Chen flicked his wrist. A surge of green flames burst from the Spirit-Absorbing Stone within his body, eventually forming a blazing fireball that hovered in the air not far from him.
He swung his arm forward, and a black jade fragment turned into a streak of light that shot into the fireball formed by the Green Lotus Core Flame.
The green flames slowly burned around the jade fragment, but strangely, the seemingly battered fragment showed no sign of damage, as though the surrounding heat did not exist.
After an unknown amount of time, the jade fragment within the green flames finally stirred slightly. Its originally rough surface now flowed like rippling water.
Qin Chen was delighted at the sight and urged the battle qi within his body to further raise the flame's temperature.
In this manner, the time it took for an incense stick to burn passed.
By then, the battered black jade fragment had vanished. In its place was a pool of crystalline green liquid. Like a living creature, it slowly flowed within the green flames, an extremely strange sight.
A few breaths later, the flowing liquid suddenly stopped. A dazzling green light burst forth, forming a vast and profound light screen within the room.
Dense lines of text were neatly arranged upon the light screen, while beside them was an exceptionally intricate image of a human body made of light.
Within the image, countless tiny lines of light connected with one another, forming a special network of pathways.
"Three Mysterious Changes of Heavenly Flame."
Looking at those five striking words, Qin Chen smiled softly. After putting away the Green Lotus Core Flame, he extended a finger into it.
Though it had just endured the scorching of a Heavenly Flame, the pool of green liquid was not burning hot. Instead, it emitted a warm aura.
The instant Qin Chen's finger touched the liquid, the light screen in midair began to tremble violently.
Moments later, the words and images upon it transformed into a torrent of information, pouring directly into Qin Chen's mind through his finger.
Fortunately, Qin Chen was not weak now, and his soul power was abundant. Otherwise, this flood of information would have left him utterly disoriented.
He took a deep breath, hurriedly closed his eyes, and began digesting the profound information contained in the secret technique.
"As expected of a secret technique created by a Half-Emperor. It truly is unparalleled in its profundity." After a long while, Qin Chen slowly opened his tightly shut eyes, his face filled with admiration.
Looking at the gradually darkening sky, Qin Chen let out a breath and could not help thinking of the middle-aged man who had sold him the jade fragment.
"I wonder whether that man can bring me the other two changes of the Three Mysterious Changes of Heavenly Flame."
"If so, not only will my combat strength greatly increase, but my grand plan can also advance another step..."
Due to Qin Chen and Xiao Yan's involvement, several major families of Jia Ma Holy City and the Imperial Family had all gained considerable benefits. Coupled with the approaching Alchemist Grand Meeting, the entire city had become far more lively and festive than usual.
In such an atmosphere, several more days passed.
Mittel Family, within a hidden underground chamber.
"Phew~"
After exhaling softly, Qin Chen slowly opened his eyes, ending his cultivation for the past few days.
Feeling the power within his body, which had improved only slightly, Qin Chen smiled bitterly. "I'm still a little short of becoming a Six-Star Dou Emperor. As expected, if I cultivate step by step, my strength grows far too slowly."
He was still at the Dou Emperor stage, and his talent still had plenty of room to be developed. If he continued cultivating like this after reaching the Dou Zun stage, would it not take years just to gain a single star?
And that was already considered exceptional talent. Just look at Earth Demon Old Ghost. As a genius from the same generation as the headmaster, he might not even gain one star in twenty years at the Dou Zong stage.
Without a special opportunity, that would be the limit of his life.
It seemed that normal... no, ordinary cultivation methods were not suitable for him.
Rubbing his chin, Qin Chen thought to himself, It seems I need to make plans early. If I still cultivate like this at the Dou Zong stage, forget reaching the realm of dominion—I won't even be able to leave the Battle Qi Continent.
Qin Chen rose gracefully, stretched lazily, and only then left the secret chamber.
Who said one would feel energized after finishing cultivation? It clearly depended on one's mood. Qin Chen was not happy in the slightest right now.
As he walked, Qin Chen unintentionally arrived at the discussion hall. Hai Bodong, Mittel Tengshan, and Ya Fei were all inside, seemingly discussing something.
Qin Chen raised an eyebrow slightly and walked in with a hint of curiosity.
He did not deliberately conceal himself, so the three noticed him as soon as he entered the meeting room.
"Mr. Qin Chen." Ya Fei rose and bowed with a slight bend of her slender waist.
From the moment she had met Qin Chen, Ya Fei had felt that he was no ordinary person. But she had never imagined that he would be outstanding to such an extent.
A Tier 6 Alchemist. Even Gu He, who was the same age as Qin Chen, could not compare to him—much less Gu He as he was now.
Unfortunately, she had interacted with Qin Chen too little over the past month. Otherwise, she would certainly have taken the time to get to know him properly.
"Oh, it's young friend Qin Chen. Hehehe..." Mittel Tengshan also stood to greet him.
"Haha, little brother Qin, have you finished your seclusion?" Hai Bodong was in quite a good mood.
"Patriarch Tengshan, Miss Ya Fei."
Qin Chen nodded slightly before turning to Hai Bodong. "Hai Lao, you've broken through to the Seven-Star Dou Emperor level. Congratulations."
Hai Bodong had been fortunate. A few days ago, he had only been a Five-Star Dou Emperor, but with the medicinal power of the Emperor's Extreme Pill, he had directly advanced to a Seven-Star Dou Emperor.
Perhaps it was also because he had been sealed for so long, allowing his accumulated strength to erupt all at once.
"It is all thanks to your pill." Mentioning this, Hai Bodong said with a beaming smile.
A Sixth-Grade Pill—and one of the better Sixth-Grade Pills at that. In the past, let alone taking one, even seeing one had been difficult.
Yet in just two short months, he had not only consumed an Emperor's Extreme Pill, but a Sect-Breaking Pill now lay quietly at the bottom of his Storage Ring.
Hai Bodong could practically see the Ice Sect beckoning to him.
Qin Chen merely smiled softly. Hai Bodong had earned all of it.
"I seemed to hear you mentioning me just now, so I came in to take a look. What were you discussing?" After a brief pause, Qin Chen asked with curiosity in his eyes.
"Oh, that? Here, take a look at this first." As he spoke, Hai Bodong picked up an invitation from the table and handed it to Qin Chen.
Qin Chen accepted the invitation and looked it over, an odd expression appearing on his face. "This is... the Nalan Family is already celebrating so soon?"
"Yes."
Mittel Tengshan nodded lightly, then praised, "I never expected Yan Xiao to be so formidable. At such a young age, he has already mastered a Heavenly Flame."
"That old bastard Nalan Jie really trusts him. The poison in his body has not even fully healed, yet he is already eager to begin celebrating."
As he spoke, Mittel Tengshan stroked his beard and asked with a smile at the corners of his lips.
"Young friend Qin Chen, would you like to go take a look? It would also be a good chance to meet a few more friends."
Thoughts on Going Premium (Please Support With First-Day Subscriptions)
As the title says, the novel will be going premium tomorrow. First, I want to thank everyone for your support, and then ask for some monthly votes and first-day subscriptions.
Since I do not write full-time, and my ability is limited, I can only try my best to maintain 4,000 words a day. I should apologize to everyone for that.
After all, this is my first time writing a novel. I know I have many shortcomings, so I welcome everyone's suggestions and help correcting my mistakes.
Some people keep saying that the protagonist does not have any major cheat abilities. How will he crush opponents of the same level or challenge those above his level later on?
Uh...
I just want to say, let's not rush, alright? He has only just learned to walk, and he does not have advanced tools in hand. How could he possibly build airplanes and cannons?
As the protagonist of a fanfiction, he will certainly have the ability to fight above his level. I will use some of the brief descriptions from the original work as a foundation and expand from there, gradually improving the protagonist's combat strength. I only hope you will not think I have made his cheats too overpowered when the time comes.
As for whether I will borrow element systems from other novels, I can only say that you do not need to worry. I have barely read any of the popular novels on the market.
For example, a reader suggested at the beginning that I write about the Nine Secrets. Honestly, I did not even know what the Nine Secrets were at the time, so I specifically looked them up on Baidu.
Haha, my own ignorance actually made me laugh.
As for updates...
The update will probably be around noon tomorrow.
My editor told me that I do not need to release extra chapters, but I want to ask everyone what you think. Do you think I should?
Just kidding. Since I have already shamelessly begged for first-day subscriptions, how could I possibly not release a few extra chapters?
Protector Wu's Movements
"Well..." Faced with Mittel Tengshan's invitation, Qin Chen frowned and rubbed his chin.
Before you continue