Apprenticing Under Medicine Elder

[The most crucial point was that as long as Yao Chen appeared and stopped absorbing your Dou Qi, you were absolutely confident that you could catch up to Nalan Yanran and defeat her within three years.]

[After adjusting your condition, the next day, you put on the Ancient Ring and began breaking through to become a Dou Zhe.]

[You successfully broke through and became a Dou Zhe. Soon after, Yao Chen within the Ancient Ring began acting. Before you even had the chance to cultivate a technique, your Dou Qi Whirl was dispersed.]

[Next, having started from too high a point, you fell even harder and endured outrageously amplified ridicule. Having expected it, you were not affected by their mockery.]

[Fifteenth year: During the clan test, having fallen to Three-Stage Dou Qi, you were mocked mercilessly as in previous years.]

"Holy shit!"

Seeing that his talent had improved and that the absorption period had been extended to seven or eight years, yet he had remained at Three-Stage Dou Qi the entire time, Xiao Yan could not help but curse inwardly.

According to the first simulation, based on the amount of Dou Qi Yao Chen had absorbed back then, if he cultivated for another year or two, it was possible for him to withstand the pressure and raise his strength.

That was ruthless!

[Enduring the mockery of your peers, you made your decision and silently bore everything.]

[What comforted you was that, under your painstaking nurturing, Xiao Xun'er had now broken through to become a Dou Zhe.]

[However, even with such talent, she was still only the second greatest genius of the Xiao Clan. Compared with you, who had become a Dou Zhe before the age of ten, she was far behind.]

[The next day, after becoming a cripple and suffering Nalan Yanran's annulment of the engagement, you met the Medicine Elder within the ring once more.]

[Knowing something of Yao Chen, you not only accepted his "help," but also praised and flattered him without reservation.]

[Especially when he said that Gu He, the Pill King, was nothing but trash, you immediately buttered him up.]

[Medicine Elder of the Ancient Ring, whose virtue matched heaven and earth, whose might shook the universe, unparalleled throughout all ages!]

[Medicine Elder was immensely pleased by this. He told you to prepare some materials to help you accelerate your Dou Qi cultivation, and guaranteed that there would be no harm.]

[Having had your Dou Qi absorbed for years, you had long since boarded Medicine Elder's pirate ship. You had even become his disciple and trusted him completely, though you were somewhat shocked by the old man's abilities.]

"This Medicine Elder really has some skills. Something that accelerates Dou Qi cultivation without side effects has never even been heard of in the Jia Ma Empire." Xiao Yan's eyes lit up.

Medicine Elder might have been arrogant. Someone at Gu He's level might not even count as a person in his eyes, but he truly had the ability to back it up.

[The materials Medicine Elder required were quite valuable, and you did not have enough gold coins.]

[You chose...]

[A: Ask your father to borrow money.]

[B: Ask your peers in the Xiao Clan to borrow money.]

[C: Borrow money only from Xiao Xun'er.]

Xiao Yan raised a hand and scratched his head. After making his father lose so much face, could he really go borrow money from him right away?

As for his peers in the Xiao Clan, that was even more impossible. After he had embarrassed himself so badly, they would curse him to death, let alone lend him any money.

"I can only ask Xun'er." Xiao Yan muttered and chose C.

[Xiao Xun'er casually said that she had over a thousand gold coins. If that was not enough, she also had a Five-Pattern Purple Gold Card.]

[You were greatly shocked. A Five-Pattern Purple Gold Card required at least the strength of a Dou Ling to qualify for one of these gold cards representing status. Of course, certain superpowers also possessed such qualifications.]

"What exactly is Xiao Xun'er's background?" Xiao Yan was extremely curious.

This cousin who had been fostered in the Xiao Clan truly left him baffled.

[Early the next morning, Xiao Xun'er dressed up carefully and came to find you.]

Her well-fitted dress was a light, elegant color, lending the girl an extra touch of purity. Tight long pants wrapped around her slender, long legs, making them appear exceptionally shapely and revealing their curves in full.

Long legs, a perky butt, and a modestly developing chest—Xun'er now undoubtedly resembled a modern teenage girl, brimming with vitality and alluring youthful charm.

Of course, it had to be said that her unique, refined temperament was something Xiao Yan had never seen in any other girl...

[You and Xiao Xun'er went to the marketplace to search for materials. Along the way, you ran into the young master of the Jia Lie Clan.]

[This fellow set his sights on Xiao Xun'er and presented her with a Magic Core bracelet. You promptly took out an ordinary piece of cheap street-stall jewelry.]

[Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, Xiao Xun'er gladly accepted your shabby accessory.]

"Easy to raise." Xiao Yan gained another understanding of Xiao Xun'er.

[Having lost a great deal of face, Jia Lie Ao clenched his fists until they cracked. The lackeys behind him tactfully surrounded you and Xiao Xun'er.]

[At that moment, guards from the Xiao Clan marketplace arrived. Jia Lie Ao was somewhat wary and prepared to challenge you to a fair contest. You chose...]

[A: This is our own marketplace. Rely on our numbers and beat the hell out of him.]

[B: Compete with Jia Lie Ao and prove yourself to Xiao Xun'er.]

[C: Reason with him and point out the difference in your ages.]

After reading through the three choices, Xiao Yan pondered for a moment. Each one made sense, but their flaws were also obvious.

With the advantage in numbers, they truly could beat Jia Lie Ao badly.

But the Jia Lie Clan and the Xiao Clan were both among the three great clans. Beating Jia Lie Ao would definitely cause considerable trouble.

That was not a good thing for the Xiao Clan, which had just gone through Nalan Yanran's annulment of the engagement.

After ruling out the first option, Xiao Yan looked at the second one again and shook his head slightly.

It was not that he feared Jia Lie Ao, who had become a Dou Zhe at around twenty.

Even at only Three-Stage Dou Qi, with his physical condition nourished by the medicinal power of the Tier 8 Pill, the Primordial Origin Pill, along with the strength of his soul, defeating Jia Lie Ao was not impossible.

If he truly were a young man, he would inevitably have gotten hot-blooded.

But Xiao Yan had no interest in fighting Jia Lie Ao, who had only become a Dou Zhe in his twenties, like a monkey being watched by a crowd.

Looking at the third option, Xiao Yan nodded reluctantly.

[You pointed out the ages of the two sides. Jia Lie Ao, twenty-one years old, wanted to challenge you, a minor, making the surrounding people laugh.]

[After leaving behind a harsh threat, Jia Lie Ao departed viciously.]

[After searching through the marketplace, you found the Magic Core you needed most. At the same time, a piece of iron caught your attention.]

[You chose...]

[A: Wave your hand grandly and buy it directly.]

[B: Pick out some worthless items and use them to conceal your target.]

"I still don't know how long a batch of medicinal liquid will last. Better save some money if I can. What if I need to borrow money again? These stall owners are all old hands. If I casually buy a piece of iron, they'll definitely jack up the price severalfold."

Xiao Yan chose B to give it a try. He gambled that the stall owner had not noticed anything special about the iron piece.

[You grabbed several items and had them priced together with the Magic Core, spending four hundred and seventy gold coins.]

[After returning home, Medicine Elder told you that the iron piece contained a Dou Technique called Absorbing Palm, rated Low Xuan Tier.

Once cultivated to mastery, it could draw in a thousand-pound boulder. When facing an enemy, its violent suction could forcibly tear the blood out of a human body!]