Xiao Yu at the Hot Spring

Half an hour later, a small mountain of medicinal herbs and Magic Cores had piled up before Xiao Yan.

Beside the herbs was another pile of gold coins, numbering in the thousands.

"No wonder they say murder and arson make a man rich..." Xiao Yan shook his head with a bitter smile. "Just taking out a mercenary squad earned me nearly twenty thousand gold coins. That's more than the Xiao Clan's market district makes in a month."

Yao Lao was still studying the Dou Technique Xiao Yan had created. After examining it for a long while, he said regretfully, "If not for your insufficient Dou Qi, this Dou Technique could have been even more powerful!"

Looking at the deep ravine stretching several meters across the ground, Yao Lao could still seemingly see that move, as though brilliant starlight had blossomed before his eyes.

With a single strike, the originally indestructible rock-crystal fist had shattered instantly. Even Hemon, who cultivated rock-attribute Dou Qi, had been cleaved in two.

The force of the blow burst outward, and the five mercenaries behind him had not even had time to react.

Six quite formidable Dou Practitioners had died almost without realizing it. It was truly terrifyingly powerful.

This Dou Technique demanded strength and an extreme concentration of Dou Qi. Xiao Yan's execution had been incomparably precise and flawless, a truly rare feat.

Generally speaking, a Dou Technique that allowed someone to unleash several times more power than their own strength was already quite impressive. Yet Xiao Yan's Star Transformation: Wolf Fang Shatters the Sky had raised his power to a degree Yao Lao had rarely seen in his entire life.

This Dou Technique was already difficult to judge by rank. It was somewhat like a secret method that highly condensed strength and Dou Qi.

As Xiao Yan's strength improved, using it again would still make it no less powerful than an Earth-tier Dou Technique.

Hearing Yao Lao's regretful words, Xiao Yan smiled and shook his head. "That's only temporary. My Dou Qi will increase sooner or later."

"That's true." Yao Lao shifted his gaze away from the ravine and looked at Xiao Yan, still marveling inwardly.

When ordinary people obtained a Dou Technique, they could perhaps improve it somewhat. Xiao Yan, however, constantly developed new ideas from it. At first, merely refining Eight Extremes Collapse had been one thing, but now he had extended it to the Black Heavy Ruler. He truly knew how to draw inferences from one thing to another!

After briefly glancing over Xiao Yan's haul, Yao Lao said, "You're still short one second-tier fire-attribute Magic Core."

"I'm not short of one anymore." Xiao Yan waved his hand and pointed to the pile of gold coins. "With this money, buying a second-tier fire-attribute Magic Core won't be difficult."

"You little fellow, you really know how to take shortcuts..." Yao Lao smiled faintly.

Originally, he had planned to make this wealthy young master of the Xiao Clan train in the Magical Beast Mountains for several months, mastering his Dou Techniques while also tempering his character.

However, Xiao Yan's talent for comprehending Dou Techniques was simply too strong. If he continued training like this, his Dou Qi would not be enough to support the Dou Techniques he could create.

His gaze fell upon the Qi-Replenishing Fruit and Blood-Coagulating Herb amid the little mountain of medicinal ingredients, and Yao Lao's heart stirred. Being highly gifted in Dou Techniques did not mean he would be equally heaven-defying in alchemy.

Alchemy required more than merely qualifying as an alchemist. It also required countless medicinal ingredients and experience accumulated through the refining process.

Yao Lao pondered for a moment before saying, "Make a trip to the auction house. You're already a Dou Practitioner now, and you can refine medicine with your own Dou Qi. It's time I taught you alchemy."

"Become an alchemist! Now?" Xiao Yan was somewhat taken aback. He had not even had his fill of excitement yet.

"You can't keep relying on this old man forever, can you?"

Xiao Yan gave a sly grin and rubbed his hands together. "Teacher, the cauldrons used by alchemists are quite expensive. This disciple can't afford one with what little money he has."

Seeing Xiao Yan's little-fox expression, Yao Lao said helplessly, "Don't worry. Since you're my disciple, I'll certainly prepare one for you. When the time comes, I'll also let you see some true alchemy!"

With a wave of his hand, Yao Lao stored the huge pile of items on the ground in the Bone Flame Ring. He then placed a hand on Xiao Yan's shoulder. Ripples spread through the space around them, and they abruptly vanished from the camp, returning in the blink of an eye to the back mountain of the Xiao Clan.

If Xiao Yan had not continuously supplied him with Dou Qi over these past years, Yao Lao could never have restored his Soul Strength to such a degree.

Looking at the somewhat unfamiliar surroundings and seeing that they had not returned to their original spot, Xiao Yan asked in confusion, "Teacher, did you get lost? Is this really the Xiao Clan's back mountain?"

"You little fellow, are you not even familiar with your own home?" Yao Lao's figure slowly returned to the Bone Flame Ring. "Clean yourself up, then go to the auction house in Wutan City."

Xiao Yan shrugged and muttered, "Isn't it because someone kept absorbing my Dou Qi? I spent most of my time cultivating."

After Yao Lao returned to the ring, he fell silent and gave no response.

With a sigh, Xiao Yan walked forward. Fortunately, the back mountain was not very large, so finding his way would not take long.

As he walked, the surrounding air suddenly became moist. Xiao Yan, who had been using Soul Perception to guide his way, immediately perked up.

"Xiao... Cousin Xiao Yu!"

Only then did Xiao Yan realize that he had unknowingly wandered near a hot spring located on the Xiao Clan's back mountain.

"Perfect, I can ask for directions." Xiao Yan nodded firmly in agreement with himself, crouched down, and silently slipped into the grass. His dark eyes were exceptionally focused.

In the pool some distance away, a breathtakingly beautiful young girl was bathing in something like a swimsuit.

Her ink-black hair hung wetly over her shoulders. Her rounded shoulders were so smooth and flawless that even the finest jade in the world would pale in comparison.

The girl scooped up water and gently ran her hands over her smooth, slender jade-like legs. Even Ya Fei, the alluring enchantress, did not possess such sexy long legs.

As the young master of the Xiao Clan, Xiao Yan had naturally visited Wutan City's largest Mittel Auction House many times. It was unavoidable that he would compare Xiao Yu with Ya Fei, the enchantress who had captivated all of Wutan City.

Xiao Yu was still young now. Who knew how alluring those legs would become after a few more years of growth?

A moment later, Xiao Yu slowly stepped out of the hot spring. After drying herself, she changed into a water-blue dudou.

The water-blue dudou clung tightly to Xiao Yu's skin, outlining her graceful figure.

A white crane was embroidered upon the dudou, lifelike enough to seem as though it might leap into flight at any moment.

With the dudou on, Xiao Yu's skin appeared even fairer and more tender, enough to intoxicate anyone who saw her.

As she was tying the silk straps, Xiao Yu's beautiful eyes suddenly caught sight of a black object. Her pupils immediately contracted.

"Who's there!"

Xiao Yu nervously covered the dudou over her chest and shouted sharply.

Xiao Yan's heart jolted. I've been discovered? How is that possible!

Then Xiao Yan suddenly remembered that he still had the Black Heavy Ruler strapped to his back.

He had not expected this thing to betray him! Xiao Yan cursed inwardly, but an idea immediately came to him.

"Run! There's a Magical Beast!" Xiao Yan suddenly sprang from the grass and sprinted toward Xiao Yu, calling out to her.

After seeing that it was Xiao Yan, Xiao Yu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Xiao Yan was too fast. In just one or two breaths, he arrived before Xiao Yu, grabbed her delicate wrist, and tried to pull her away with him.

"Where is there a Magical Beast?" Xiao Yu forcefully tried to pull her hand free, asking with some confusion.

Although the Magical Beast Mountains lay just beyond the back mountain, the Xiao Clan had lived here for many years and had never heard of a Magical Beast appearing on the back mountain!

Xiao Yu was far weaker than Xiao Yan. When she suddenly exerted force, she lost her footing and slipped. The two of them fell into the hot spring together.

Hot spring water splashed everywhere, followed by a startled cry.