Yao Lao Appears, Soul Body at Full Strength

"An eleven-year-old Dou Practitioner! He truly is the Xiao Clan's greatest genius!"

Hearing the examiner's announcement, everyone in the training ground gasped, their faces filled with shock.

As one's cultivation level rose, bottlenecks became increasingly difficult to break through.

To advance from Dou Qi to become a Dou Practitioner, one first had to condense a Dou Qi vortex within the body.

Yet condensing a Dou Qi vortex had a considerable chance of failure. Upon failure, one's ninth stage of Dou Qi would fall back to the eighth stage.

Some particularly unlucky people might need to condense it more than ten times before succeeding.

Such repeated attempts caused them to miss their best cultivation years, greatly damaging their future prospects.

"Young Master Xiao Yan truly is a genius among geniuses. Not only was his cultivation speed during the Dou Qi stage incredibly fast, but he even succeeded on his first attempt at condensing a Dou Qi vortex."

The four gleaming golden words on the black stone tablet were almost blinding, leaving them staring in astonishment with their cherry-red mouths wide open.

Becoming a one-star Dou Practitioner at eleven—he would likely become a Dou Master by fifteen.

Throughout the many years of history in the Northwest Region, only a mere handful had accomplished this. Moreover, those people had long since become towering figures in the world of Dou Qi cultivation.

At the back of the crowd, Xun'er also pursed her jade-like lips in amazement. She had not expected Brother Xiao Yan to advance to the Dou Practitioner realm so quickly!

Such terrifying cultivation speed was nearly unheard of even among the ancient clans.

The ancient clans valued the bloodline within their bodies. Before that bloodline awakened, they were not much different from ordinary people.

Even she had achieved her current strength only through her exceptional soul power and meridians that had been nourished day and night, allowing her cultivation to advance rapidly.

Gazing at the black-robed youth standing before the stone tablet, Xun'er blinked her lively eyes and murmured, "If Brother Xiao Yan's strength had not been affected by that mysterious person, his current strength would probably be enough to shock those old fellows in the clan."

"I hope that person means no harm. Otherwise... even if you hide inside Brother Xiao Yan's body, I'll drag you out." With a soft sigh, faint golden flames flickered within Xun'er's autumn-water eyes.

Slowly withdrawing his hand, Xiao Yan knew that today was an extraordinarily important day for him.

Although Yao Lao had constantly been devouring his Dou Qi, the speed of his absorption was clearly limited.

As his cultivation methods continued to improve under the boost of his heaven-defying comprehension, he soon caught up to Yao Lao's absorption speed, then surpassed it.

Thus, his strength had only declined once. After that, it had continued to rise, and today he had condensed a Dou Qi vortex once more.

Most importantly, after being nourished by Dou Qi for so many years, his foundation had become solid to a degree even geniuses could scarcely imagine.

"Today is Brother Xiao Yan's joyous day of breaking through to become a Dou Practitioner. Brother Xiao Yan has to treat us." Xun'er playfully pursed her lips at Xiao Yan as he returned.

"Alright." Xiao Yan nodded slightly. He was finally about to begin cultivating Dou Qi properly. It was indeed worth celebrating.

The coming days would likely bring arduous cultivation once again.

"Hehe, I want the most expensive..." Xun'er smiled sweetly at his words. The girl's clear, bell-like laughter made many hearts tremble.

However, they also knew that only a genius like Xiao Yan was worthy of a maiden as ethereal as Miss Xun'er.

Xiao Mei, dressed in a fiery red gown, walked forward with graceful steps. Her pretty face was flushed with excitement as she said, "Cousin Xiao Yan, congratulations on breaking through to become a Dou Practitioner."

"With your talent, Cousin, I believe you'll break through to the Dou Practitioner realm soon as well." Xiao Yan smiled faintly.

Xiao Mei gave a helpless laugh. "I'm afraid that will be two or three years from now."

Looking at the slightly raised curves beneath her red dress, Xiao Yan did not neglect this girl he had watched grow up since childhood. He invited her, "We can think about the future later. We're planning to go out for a feast in a while. Come with us, Cousin."

"Come with us, Sister Xiao Mei." Xun'er raised a hand to smooth her hair and smiled.

Xiao Mei nodded. "I was just wondering what it feels like to condense a Dou Qi vortex."

To celebrate the beginning of his Dou Qi cultivation, Xiao Yan took Xun'er and Xiao Mei around Wutan City for quite some time before they finally parted ways at the clan.

The moon hung like a silver disk, and stars filled the sky.

At the peak of a cliff, Xiao Yan stood with his hands behind his back, lightly rolling an ancient ring between the fingers of his right hand.

After a moment, Xiao Yan spoke to the empty air. "Old monster, you've absorbed my Dou Qi for so many years. Come out and meet me, will you?"

"Young fellow, how did you know of my existence?" The air trembled slightly. A ghostly white light flashed across the ring's surface, and an aged figure drifted out.

Xiao Yan shrugged. "Once, when I wasn't wearing the ring, my Dou Qi stopped disappearing. When I put it back on, my Dou Qi began vanishing rapidly again. After testing it several times, even an idiot should understand why my Dou Qi was disappearing."

"You are quite clever, little one." Yao Lao smiled as he stroked a strand of his beard.

Xiao Yan rolled his eyes. "Enough with the useless talk. You've absorbed my Dou Qi for so many years, so hurry up and bring out the high-grade cultivation methods you've collected. I happen to need one now. If you can't be of any help to me, then I think you should find another unlucky fellow."

Glancing down at the bottomless cliff, Xiao Yan chuckled. "If this fell in there, who knows how many more years you'd have to wait."

Hearing Xiao Yan's insignificant threat, Yao Lao smiled. "Others do not possess soul perception as strong as yours. Since I chose to reveal myself, I will naturally grant you immense benefits. What is a high-grade cultivation method worth... Do you wish to become an alchemist?"

"On the Dou Qi Continent, everyone wants to become an alchemist." Xiao Yan curled his lips.

"My name is Yao Lao. As for my origins, I won't tell you yet, lest it distract you. You only need to know that those people who call themselves the King of Pills are actually... merely insignificant figures."

As he spoke of his identity, Yao Lao's body trembled slightly. Like a primordial beast awakening, his terrifying power caused the winds and clouds in the sky to surge violently.

Having absorbed an endless stream of Dou Qi to nourish his soul, the injuries to Yao Lao's soul had fully recovered after all these years.

Though he was still far from his former peak strength, he could absolutely roam the Jia Ma Empire unhindered.

Xiao Yan raised a hand before himself. Pure white Dou Qi and his soul power surged forth together, condensing into a semicircular shield in front of him.

Forced back a step by the pressure, Xiao Yan slowly steadied himself, staring at Yao Lao in slight astonishment.