The Letter

With the Little Blue Bottle, becoming a powerhouse was inevitable.

"Phew..."

Hearing Wu Yan's answer, Cao Ping instantly felt a weight lift from his shoulders. His voice brimmed with excitement.

"You finally agreed, you rascal! Here, take all the pills in this Storage Ring. If anyone bullies your little brother from now on, you have to help me beat them up!"

"You're an Alchemist. How could anyone bully you?"

Wu Yan accepted the Storage Ring Cao Ping handed him without hesitation. He took a look inside and found at least a hundred bottles of Fifth-Rank Medicinal Pills.

Most of them were for cultivation, but there were also a few pills with various other functions. It was clear Cao Ping had considered everything carefully.

"Of course they can. I'm not the only Alchemist on the Dou Qi Continent. Those people who don't need to ask for my help won't show me any courtesy."

"And even among Alchemists, there are some powerhouses we can't afford to provoke. If we ask someone for help and still can't beat them, all we can do is endure it."

"Besides, Alchemists aren't exactly united, either..."

The Alchemist profession seemed incomparably glamorous, held in the highest esteem.

But in reality?

Only they knew the bitterness they had to endure.

"Of course, I'm not talking about myself. I'm a member of the Cao Clan. Apart from you, no one's bullied me yet..."

Cao Ping changed tack, his tone turning a little aggrieved.

Wu Yan narrowed his eyes and asked in his usual calm voice,

"From the sound of it, do you want to try fighting me again?"

"No, no, no! Could you try having a little humanity? I just gave you that much protection money, and now you want to beat me up?"

Cao Ping hurriedly shook his head. Was he crazy or something, wanting to fight this monster?

Two lessons had been more than enough to teach him. He had no desire to be frozen into an ice block.

"I just thought that experiencing it firsthand would give you a clearer understanding of my current strength."

"No, no, I believe you! You're the strongest in the Dou Zong realm!"

Though a long time had passed, Cao Ping's impression of Wu Yan's strength remained crystal clear.

At Two-Star Dou Spirit, he had already crushed Cao Ping, who was a Half-Step Dou King. At Peak Dou Wang, he had instantly killed a Tier 6 Magical Beast.

With that kind of combat strength, Cao Ping couldn't imagine anyone defeating him except for those old monsters who had spent many years at Peak Dou Zong.

"By the way, I haven't told you about my Cao Clan yet, have I?"

To make Wu Yan abandon this dangerous idea, Cao Ping hurriedly changed the subject and began introducing him to the Cao Clan and the power structure of the Central Plains Continent.

"The powerful forces openly known in the Central Plains can be summed up with One Hall, One Tower, Two Sects, Three Valleys, and Four Pavilions."

"One Hall means the Soul Hall, a bunch of disgusting people who capture spirit bodies everywhere. I hear they even target Alchemists. Fortunately, there's One Tower—the Pill Tower—which has made the Soul Hall rein itself in quite a bit."

"The Two Sects are the Heavenly Nether Sect and the Flower Sect. The Flower Sect's disciples are all women, every last one of them gorgeous~"

As he said this, Cao Ping waggled his eyebrows, looking thoroughly lecherous.

"The Three Valleys are the Burning Flame Valley, Ice River Valley, and Sound Valley. Sound Valley keeps to itself and rarely shows its face. No one knows why. The Burning Flame Valley has a thousand years of history and deep foundations. My grandfather says that its true strength should be surpassed only by the Soul Hall and the Pill Tower."

"The Four Pavilions are the Wind Lightning Pavilion, Yellow Springs Pavilion, Myriad Sword Pavilion, and Starfall Pavilion. The strongest among them should be Starfall Pavilion, because its Pavilion Master, Yao Chen, is an Eighth-Rank Alchemy Grandmaster. He was also the champion of the Alchemist Tournament held across the continent and commands tremendous influence. Even Ice River Valley can't compare."

"Unfortunately, they say that Venerable Yao suddenly died when his furnace exploded during alchemy. Starfall Pavilion's strength plummeted."

"If you ask me, there's definitely something fishy going on. There's no way Venerable Yao's disciple is innocent."

"Ahem... Of course, that's only a rough overview. Plenty of powerful forces aren't included in it."

"Take our Cao Clan, for instance. We're only one part of the Pill Tower, but over the years, the Cao Clan has produced more than one Eighth-Rank Alchemy Grandmaster and amassed extremely deep foundations."

"And with the Pill Tower behind us, the Cao Clan doesn't fear those other forces in the slightest—except the Soul Hall."

"So, what do you think? The Cao Clan hasn't let you down, has it?"

Cao Ping smiled at Wu Yan, an uncommon trace of confidence appearing on his face.

Wu Yan nodded. The Cao Clan's strength was definitely more than it appeared on the surface.

With so many generations behind them, and in a world where people could transcend the ordinary, an Eighth-Rank Alchemy Grandmaster was practically a Dou Zun expert. Living for a century or two wasn't out of the question.

With all that teaching, accumulation, and growth...

The Cao Clan's foundations had to be astonishing.

And judging from Cao Ping's words, the Cao Clan had been investing in talented people for a long time!

Wu Yan didn't stay at the academy for long. He left a Bracelet with Cao Ping and then departed.

From what Cao Ping said, the Cao Clan hadn't even begun investing in him yet. The offer just now had been his personal investment.

In a while, one of his elders would come meet Wu Yan.

Wu Yan had no objections.

Half a month later...

After replenishing his somewhat depleted stock of Magic Cores along the way, Wu Yan finally returned to Mittel City.

His appetite had been growing. What suited Wu Yan now were actually Tier 7 Magical Beast Magic Cores. The problem was that there were very few Tier 7 Magical Beasts in the Northwestern Continent, and they were hard to track down.

By comparison, Tier 5 and Tier 6 Magical Beasts were much easier to find.

Dear Mr. Wu Yan,

I hope this letter finds you well.

I wonder if you still remember that investment from before. You once said that you owed me three favors.

I now have a matter that requires your help. No matter what, I'll count it as one favor.

If you're willing, please come to the Xiao Clan in Wutan City, Jia Ma Empire, and meet me.

—Gu Xun'er

"When was this letter delivered?"

After putting the letter away, Wu Yan fell into thought.

Ya Fei counted on her fingers, then said with certainty, "Seven days ago, one afternoon. That black-clothed old man handed the letter to the clan head, and then the clan head gave it to me to pass on to Big Brother Yan."

"Seven days..."

Wu Yan had already guessed what Gu Xun'er wanted him to help with. If nothing unexpected happened, this would be an open-book exam. How could he possibly pass it up?

He lowered his head, wrapped his arms around Ya Fei's delicate figure, and whispered something in her ear.

Then he gently kissed Ya Fei's flushed, bashful cheek. With a flicker, Wu Yan vanished from Mittel City.

By now, the news that the Xiao Clan's once-in-a-century genius had fallen was almost impossible to keep secret. Quite a few people were speculating about it behind the scenes.

That "genius" had once made a big show of every single breakthrough in Dou Qi. There was no reason for him to suddenly become so low-key after becoming a Dou Zhe. It simply didn't fit his personality.