Dou Po: Beginning the Road to Rise at Canaan Academy

The reason was simple: the moment that thought arose, he immediately recalled Qin Chen's amused smile.

"I'll arrive on time tomorrow. I'll take my leave for today!" Suppressing the irritation in his heart, Xiao Yan said to Nalan Jie on the bed.

"Little 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 face immediately darkened. "No need. I still have things to do."

With that, he ignored the others and headed for the door.

"This..."

Seeing Xiao Yan leave so decisively, Nalan Jie was clearly stunned. After recovering his senses, he said to Nalan Yanran, "Girl, go see the little brother off."

"Alright!" Nalan Yanran nodded slightly and quickly followed after him.

On the narrow path paved with broken stones, Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran walked side by side.

Though Nalan Yanran's pretty face remained calm as water as she looked at the expressionless young man beside her, her heart was filled with frustration.

Ever since she had entered the Misty Cloud Sect, this was the first man who had treated her with such indifference.

Although some people had previously tried to pursue her through unconventional means, attempting to approach her with deliberate aloofness, they would usually reveal their eagerness before long.

But Yan Xiao was different. His indifference toward her was not an act—it was a distance that came from the depths of his bones.

In the end, Nalan Yanran could no longer bear the stifling atmosphere and took the initiative to speak with Xiao Yan.

After chatting for a while, the two soon arrived at the Nalan Family's front gate.

"Miss Nalan, there's no need to see me off. Farewell." Before Nalan Yanran could reply, Xiao Yan walked out through the gates on his own.

As Xiao Yan's figure vanished beyond the gate, an imperceptible smile curled across Nalan Yanran's lips. "Interesting..."

Chapter 71: Gathering

The imperial capital of the Jia Ma Empire, Jia Ma Holy City.

Inside the room Hai Bodong had prepared for Qin Chen at the Mittel Family headquarters.

Sitting cross-legged on the soft bed, Qin Chen flipped his wrist. A surge of green flame burst from the Spirit-Absorbing Stone within his body, eventually forming a blazing fireball that hovered in the air not far from him.

He flicked his arm forward, and a black jade fragment shot out as a streak of light, plunging into the fireball formed by the Green Lotus Core Flame.

The green flames slowly burned around the jade fragment, yet strangely, the seemingly battered fragment showed no sign of damage, as though the intense heat around it did not exist.

After an unknown amount of time, the jade fragment within the green flames finally showed a slight reaction. Its originally rough surface began to ripple like a layer of 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 damaged black jade fragment no longer existed. In its place was a pool of crystalline green liquid. Like a living thing, it flowed slowly within the green flames, looking exceptionally strange.

A few breaths later, the flowing liquid suddenly stopped. A dazzling green radiance erupted, forming a broad and mysterious curtain of light within the room.

Dense lines of text were neatly arranged across the light curtain. Beside them was an extraordinarily complex image of a human body made of light.

Within that image, countless fine lines connected to one another, forming a special network of pathways.

"Three Mysterious Changes of Heavenly Flame."

Looking at those five especially prominent words, Qin Chen smiled softly. After putting away the Green Lotus Core Flame, he extended a finger into the liquid.

Though it had just undergone the scorching heat of a Heavenly Flame, the green liquid was not burning hot. Instead, it gave off a warm sensation.

The instant Qin Chen's finger touched the liquid, the light curtain in midair began to tremble violently.

Moments later, the words and images upon it turned into an enormous torrent of information, flowing through Qin Chen's finger and directly into his mind.

Fortunately, Qin Chen was not weak now, and his soul power was strong as well. Otherwise, this flood of information would have overwhelmed him.

He took a deep breath and hurriedly closed his eyes, beginning to digest the mysterious information contained in the secret technique.

"As expected of a secret technique created by a half-emperor. It truly is incomparably profound." After a long while, Qin Chen slowly opened his tightly shut eyes, his face full of admiration.

Looking at the sky gradually darkening outside, 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 transformations of the Three Mysterious Changes of Heavenly Flame.

If so, not only will my combat power increase dramatically, but my grand plan can also advance another step...

Because of Qin Chen and Xiao Yan's involvement, the major families and the royal family of Jia Ma Holy City had all gained considerable benefits. With the Alchemist Grand Meeting also approaching, the entire city had become far livelier and more festive than usual.

Several more days passed amid such an atmosphere.

Mittel Family, inside a hidden underground chamber.

"Phew~"

After letting out a breath, Qin Chen slowly opened his eyes, ending his cultivation of the past several days.

Feeling the power within his body, which had improved only slightly, Qin Chen gave a helpless wry smile. "I'm still a little short of a six-star Dou Huang. As expected, if I cultivate step by step, my strength grows far too slowly."

He was still at the Dou Huang stage, and his talent still had room to develop. If he continued cultivating like this after reaching the Dou Zun stage, wouldn't it take years to gain a single star?

And that would already be considered exceptional talent. Just look at Earth Demon Old Ghost. As a genius from the same era as the academy headmaster, he might not even gain a single star in twenty years at the Dou Zong stage.

Without some special opportunity, that would be the limit of his life.

It seemed ordinary... no, mediocre cultivation methods did not suit him.

Rubbing his chin, Qin Chen thought to himself, I need to make plans early. If I still cultivate like this at the Dou Zong stage, forget about reaching the realm of supremacy—I won't even be able to leave the Battle Qi Continent.

Qin Chen rose gracefully to his feet, 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 inadvertently arrived at the discussion hall. Hai Bodong, Mittel Tengshan, and Ya Fei were all inside, seemingly discussing something.

Qin Chen raised his brows slightly and walked in with a trace of curiosity.

He did not deliberately conceal himself, so the three noticed him as soon as he entered the hall.

"Mr. Qin Chen." Ya Fei gathered her skirts, rose to her feet, and bowed with a slight bend at the 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 sixth-tier alchemist—forget Gu He at Qin Chen's age, even Gu He now was no match for him.

Unfortunately, she had interacted with Qin Chen too little over the past month. Otherwise, she would certainly have tried to get to know him better.

"Oh, it's young friend Qin Chen. Hehehe..." Mittel Tengshan stood up as well to greet him.

"Haha, little brother Qin, have you finished your secluded cultivation?" Hai Bodong was in an exceptionally good mood.

"Patriarch Tengshan, Miss Ya Fei."

Qin Chen nodded slightly, then turned to Hai Bodong. "Elder Hai has broken through to the seven-star Dou Huang level. Congratulations."

Hai Bodong's luck was quite good. Just a few days ago, he had only been a five-star Dou Huang, but with the medicinal power of the Emperor's Extreme Pill, he had directly advanced to a seven-star Dou Huang.

Perhaps it was also because he had been sealed for so long and was now finally reaping the rewards of accumulated strength.

"It's all thanks to your pill." At the mention of this, Hai Bodong said with a smiling face.

A sixth-tier pill—and one of the finest among sixth-tier pills at that. In the past, forget taking one; even seeing one had been difficult.

Yet in the span of just two months, he had not only consumed an Emperor's Extreme Pill, but a Sect-Breaking Pill was also lying quietly in the depths of his storage ring.

Hai Bodong seemed to already see the Ice Sect beckoning to him.

Qin Chen merely smiled softly at that. Hai Bodong had earned it.

"I seemed to hear you mention me earlier, so I came in to take a look. What were you discussing just now?" After a brief pause, Qin Chen asked with curiosity in his eyes.

"Oh, you mean this? Here, take a look first." As he spoke, Hai Bodong picked up the invitation on the table and handed it to Qin Chen.

Qin Chen took the invitation and looked it over. A strange expression appeared 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 capable. At such a young age, he has already mastered a Heavenly Flame."

"That old bastard Nalan Jie really trusts him. His poison hasn't even been completely cured, yet he's already impatient to start celebrating."

As he spoke, Mittel Tengshan stroked his beard and asked with a smile, "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."

On-Sale Note (Asking for First-Day Subscriptions)

As the title says, the book will go on sale tomorrow. First, I want to thank everyone for your support, and then ask for some monthly votes and first-day subscriptions.

Since I'm not writing full-time and my ability is limited, I can only try my best to maintain 4,000 words per day. I apologize to everyone for that.

After all, this is my first time writing a book. I know I have many shortcomings, so I welcome everyone's suggestions and help in pointing out 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 later, or challenge enemies above his level?

Uh...

I just want to say, let's not rush, alright? He has only just learned to walk, and he does not have high-end equipment in his hands. How could he possibly build aircraft and cannons?

As the protagonist of a fanfiction, he will definitely have the ability to fight above his level. I will draw on some of the brief descriptions in the original work and expand upon them, gradually improving the protagonist's combat strength. I only hope that when the time comes, you won't think I've made his cheat abilities too overpowered.

As for whether I'll use the systems or elements from other novels, I can only say that you needn't worry. I've barely read any of the popular novels on the market.

For example, one reader suggested at the beginning that I write about the Nine Secrets. Don't laugh at me, but at the time, I didn't even know what the Nine Secrets were. I specifically searched Baidu to find out.

Haha, my own lack of knowledge really made me laugh.

As for updates...

The update time will probably be around noon tomorrow.

My editor said I don't need to post a massive update. I want to ask everyone's opinion—do you think I should?

Just kidding. Since I've already shamelessly begged for first-day subscriptions, how could I possibly not update a little more?

Chapter 72: Protector Wu's Movements

"Well..." Faced with Mittel Tengshan's invitation, Qin Chen frowned and rubbed his chin.