Starting with Twenty-Three Heavenly Flames

On a grassy slope behind the Xiao Household on the Battle Qi Continent.

"As long as I greet Xiao Yan one more time, I'll be able to obtain the system's super newbie gift pack." Xiao Ni stood straight, his lazy expression revealing a hint of anticipation.

Ten years ago, Xiao Ni had transmigrated into the world of Battle Through the Heavens with the Meeting System. He became a young man with no parents and mediocre talent. Since then, the system hadn't given him any rewards; it simply required him to meet Xiao Yan in different places three times a day and say, "What a coincidence, Xiao Yan."

He had never missed this task in ten years because the system promised that if he persisted for a decade, it would grant him an unexpected gift pack.

It wasn't that he didn't want to cultivate, but his talent was average. After barely breaking through to the Seventh Duan of Dou Qi three years ago, he had made no further progress. So, rather than struggling with cultivation, he preferred to live a leisurely life. Besides, with the system by his side, he was certainly not destined to be a loser for his entire life.

"What a coincidence, Xiao Yan." After pondering for a moment, he saw Xiao Yan walking up the hill, and Xiao Ni immediately greeted him with a smile.

"What a coincidence..." Xiao Yan managed a forced smile. Just as he was about to ask something, Xiao Ni walked straight past him and headed down the hill.

"Sigh, as expected, he leaves right after the greeting. I actually wanted to ask how he managed to break through from the Fourth Duan of Dou Qi to the Seventh Duan of Dou Qi in just three months back then. Forget it, I'll just have to rely on myself." Xiao Yan shook his head with a bitter smile, watching Xiao Ni's retreating figure with complicated emotions.

He knew Xiao Ni wouldn't tell him the details of his breakthrough, but he still held a glimmer of hope in his heart. With the family assessment only two days away, he really didn't want to disappoint his father again.

"Congratulations to the host for completing the task of meeting Xiao Yan. Level promoted directly to Four-Star Dou Zhe. Rewards: twenty-three types of Heavenly Flames, Low Heaven Tier Dou Technique Flame-Splitting Wave-Shattering Ruler, High Earth Tier Dou Technique Eight Extremes Collapse, Low Earth Tier cultivation method Flame Mantra, two hundred-fold strengthened Black Heavy Rulers, and 1,000 Qi Gathering Powders." Less than twenty meters down the hill, the system's voice suddenly echoed in Xiao Ni's mind. Xiao Ni stopped in his tracks, his eyes becoming incredibly fiery.

My goodness, the system had actually given him twenty-three Heavenly Flames all at once, and the cultivation methods, Dou Techniques, and Black Heavy Rulers were all evolved versions. On top of that, he had obtained a thousand Qi Gathering Powders. This was simply too powerful; he wondered if Yao Lao would vomit blood from anger if he knew about this.

"Congratulations to the host for obtaining a new task: in front of Yao Lao, hand over all the obtained cultivation methods and Dou Techniques to Xiao Yan, include three types of Heavenly Flames and ten Qi Gathering Powders as a gift, and ask Yao Lao three times what he thinks of it." The system's voice sounded again, and a strange light flashed in Xiao Ni's eyes.

Yao Lao, this matter couldn't be blamed on him; it was the system that thought you had lived too long.

After feeling sorry for Yao Lao for three seconds, Xiao Ni immediately turned around and returned to the hill.

"Xiao Yan, I have some good things to give you here. In exchange, how about you let me see the ring Aunt Lan left you?" Xiao Ni's tone revealed a sense of boldness. Upon hearing this familiar voice, Xiao Yan felt excited for three seconds before calming down again.

Xiao Ni must have come to give him some miraculous medicine. As long as he used it, he would likely be able to successfully break through to the Seventh Duan of Dou Qi within a year. Stay calm, stay calm!

"Brother Ni, this is the only memento my mother left me. I usually don't even let others touch it. If what you're bringing is..."

"How about ten Qi Gathering Powders plus a set of Earth-tier cultivation methods and Dou Techniques?" Xiao Ni interrupted Xiao Yan directly, putting on an inscrutable expression.

After transmigrating, he had slowly unraveled some mysteries in his heart, such as the fact that Xiao Yan's mother was named Lan Suyin, who had died from poison when Xiao Yan was two years old—the year he himself was six—and that Pill King Gu He's master was named Shen Mi, and that Xiao Zhan and Lan Suyin had once been to the Central Plains.

"Uh... Brother Ni, you aren't pulling my leg, are you?" Xiao Yan chuckled as he sized up Xiao Ni, expressing ten thousand percent doubt regarding Xiao Ni's words.

Qi Gathering Powder was a miraculous pill that allowed someone at the Ninth Duan of Dou Qi to break through to the Dou Zhe level with one hundred percent certainty. Given Xiao Ni's financial resources and strength, it would be impressive if he could produce even one, let alone ten.

As for Earth-tier cultivation methods and Dou Techniques, that was even more of a fantasy. The strongest Dou Technique in the Xiao Household, the Wild Lion Rage, was only Mid Xuan Tier. Earth-tier techniques were rare across the entire Battle Qi Continent; how could Xiao Ni possibly produce them?

"Take it and see." With a thought, a jade bottle appeared out of thin air in his sleeve and rolled into his palm.

"It really is Qi Gathering Powder!!!" Xiao Yan took the jade bottle with half-belief. After opening the cap, a strange fragrance instantly permeated the entire hilltop. Xiao Yan only took one look at the ten emerald-green pills resting quietly inside, and his expression shook violently. He very readily handed the black ring with the blurred patterns over to Xiao Ni.

"This ring of yours seems a bit off." Xiao Ni frowned, and before Xiao Yan could react, he threw the ring away violently.

"Brother Ni, what are you doing?!" Xiao Yan shouted angrily, his face instantly turning ugly.

"Little doll, your soul perception is quite good. Would you consider becoming my disciple and learning alchemy with me?" An aged voice reached his ears, and immediately after, Yao Lao floated back onto the hill, holding the ring.

"You... who are you? How could you be inside my ring?" Seeing that a transparent old man was hidden in his ring, Xiao Yan widened his eyes and sat down on the ground with a thud.

What was going on? Had he run into a ghost?

"My name is Yao Lao. As for my background, I won't tell you now to avoid distracting you. You only need to know that someone like that so-called Pill King is actually... actually just a fart." Yao Lao's voice was very cordial, but Xiao Yan felt that Yao Lao must be a lunatic; otherwise, why would he call the famous Pill King Gu He of the Jia Ma Empire a fart?

"The disappearance of the Dou Qi in Xiao Yan's body must have something to do with you, right?" Xiao Ni asked, looking at Yao Lao with a sly expression.

"This... although I absorbed his Dou Qi for three years, hasn't he also grown quite a bit in these three years?"

"Good, so it was you, you old geezer, who caused my level to regress!" Upon learning the truth, Xiao Yan jumped up from the ground and cursed angrily.

"Little doll, don't be so impatient. Isn't it just absorbing three years of your Dou Qi? If nothing else, why don't you and this kid become my disciples together? I'll make sure you successfully break through to the Seventh Duan of Dou Qi within a year, how about that?"

"Can you really do it?" A flame ignited in Xiao Yan's heart.

"I can make you break through to a Dou Zhe within a year, so you'd be better off begging me than him," Xiao Ni interjected.

"Little doll, don't brag so much. Breaking through three Duan of Dou Qi in a year is already quite impressive," Yao Lao couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Xiao Yan, I have a Low Earth Tier cultivation method here called Flame Mantra. I will pass it on to you now, and from now on, you can rely on it to swallow Heavenly Flames." Ignoring Yao Lao's lecture, Xiao Ni continued.

"Little doll, your bragging is getting even bigger. The Flame Mantra is clearly only a Yellow Tier low-level technique; how can you say it's Low Earth Tier?"

"Whoosh!"

As soon as Yao Lao finished speaking, Xiao Ni's fingertip tapped the center of Xiao Yan's brow. A mysterious energy surged into Xiao Yan's body, and immediately after, both of their bodies were enveloped by a layer of golden-red light at the same time.

"It actually really evolved to Low Earth Tier?! No! This Flame Mantra clearly hasn't swallowed any Heavenly Flames yet, how could it be Low Earth Tier?" Yao Lao's heart trembled, and he muttered to himself, "How could the Flame Mantra this kid obtained be so strong? Could it be that my Flame Mantra is fake? Also, can the Flame Mantra be passed on to others as a legacy? I haven't cultivated it, so don't try to trick me."

"Alright, now you can swallow Heavenly Flames. Hmm... let me think about which three Heavenly Flames I should give you." Xiao Ni rubbed his chin for a while, then suddenly asked Yao Lao, "This Flame Mantra technique of mine was something someone knelt and begged me to accept. What does Yao Lao think of it?"

"Ahem, aren't you going to give Xiao Yan three Heavenly Flames? Bring them out and let us see," Yao Lao coughed awkwardly and then said in a strange tone.

Kid, he wanted to see how much longer you could show off. He had risked half his life to obtain the Bone Chilling Flame, ranked eleventh on the Heavenly Flame Ranking, and you actually said you wanted to give Xiao Yan three Heavenly Flames? Looking at you, it seems like you have plenty of Heavenly Flames. Do you really think Heavenly Flames are that easy to obtain?

"I've decided, I'll give you the Fallen Heart Flame ranked fourteenth, the Green Lotus Core Flame ranked nineteenth, and the Bone Chilling Flame ranked eleventh." As Xiao Ni's words fell, three Heavenly Flames of different shapes floated out from his body.

The Heavenly Flames rewarded by the system were easy to control and grew very quickly. As long as Xiao Ni was willing to give them to others, even if the recipient was only at the First Duan of Dou Qi, the flames would not cause any harm, let alone the fact that he was only separating a portion of the flames for Xiao Yan.

"Bone Chilling Flame?!" Yao Lao's cheeks twitched violently; he felt his worldview was about to collapse.

What was going on? The Bone Chilling Flame had clearly been obtained by him, so how could Xiao Ni have it? And looking at the momentum of this Bone Chilling Flame, it seemed even more terrifying than his own. This was too inconceivable, wasn't it?

"Kid, how many Heavenly Flames do you have on you? How did you obtain them?" Struggling to suppress the shock in his heart, Yao Lao tried to ask.

He was Venerable Yao, after all; what kind of storms and waves had he not witnessed? At a time like this, he had to remain calm.

"Only about seven or eight, I suppose." Xiao Ni answered modestly, then continued, "I think these three Heavenly Flames are the most suitable for Xiao Yan at the moment. What does Yao Lao think?"

"You..." Being asked for his opinion by Xiao Ni yet again, Yao Lao felt an unbearable, stifling pain in his chest. If he possessed a physical body right now, he would undoubtedly have been angered into spitting out a mouthful of blood by Xiao Ni.

Kid, it is fine if it is inconvenient for you to tell him how you obtained the Heavenly Flames, but is there really a need to strike at him one after another?