Four Years Later

"Mm. From now on, I need to cultivate diligently. Xiao Yan, the one Grandfather arranged a marriage for me with, has quite good talent. He began cultivating Dou Qi at four and had already reached the second stage of Dou Qi by five."

Nalan Chenfeng nodded, then briefly explained Xiao Yan's circumstances.

"Oh? Already at the second stage by five?"

The black ball Nalan Jie had been toying with paused slightly. A sharp glint flashed through his aged eyes, and approval filled his weathered face.

"Not bad talent. Old friend Xiao Lin has someone to carry on his legacy..."

At this point, Nalan Jie paused, and his tone gained a hint of deliberation.

"Unfortunately, the Xiao Clan has declined. Talent alone is not enough. To become strong, one cannot do without resources."

Upon hearing this, Nalan Chenfeng's little face froze briefly before he seemed to understand something.

In the original Dou Qi Continent, when Xiao Yan broke through to become a Dou Zhe at eleven and became a genius who shook the Jia Ma Empire, the Nalan Clan might not have been unwilling to support him.

The Nalan Clan's future son-in-law was a genius. From the standpoint of family interests, the Nalan Clan naturally could not remain indifferent.

Unfortunately, not long after Xiao Yan advanced to Dou Zhe, Yao Lao absorbed his Dou Qi. His strength regressed, and he eventually fell to the third stage of Dou Qi.

Such a Xiao Yan was naturally no longer worth the Nalan Clan's investment. Any other clan would have made the same choice.

No one was willing to marry their daughter or granddaughter to a useless waste. Even the Xiao Clan Xiao Yan belonged to had mocked and despised him without restraint.

It was merely that no one had expected Xiao Yan's talent to return and for him to embark upon the path of the strong.

He knew all this because his perspective was different. If he truly knew nothing about the Dou Qi Continent, he might not have been any wiser than these people.

"Let's wait and see..."

Nalan Jie's old eyes flickered as he sighed softly.

He and Xiao Lin had been close friends. Unfortunately, several years ago, his old friend had suffered fatal injuries in battle. Meanwhile, Nalan Jie himself found it difficult to act due to the Scorch Poison.

Now that Xiao Lin's descendant had displayed such promise, he ought to look after him a little. Once Xiao Yan became a Dou Zhe, he could bring him to the Nalan Clan for training and let him develop feelings for Yanran.

"Mm."

Nalan Chenfeng responded with an outwardly half-understanding expression, but he already had his answer in his heart.

Cultivation during the Dou Qi stage required a long time. Two stages of Dou Qi proved nothing; some people would remain stuck at a certain stage without making any progress.

Therefore, it was inevitable that his grandfather would place his bets based on Xiao Yan's future performance.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, four years had passed.

Nalan Clan, Nalan Chenfeng's room.

"Qi Gathering Powder..."

Sitting on the bed, Nalan Chenfeng looked at the jade box before him. Without hesitation, he opened it.

As the lid shifted aside, a pill the size of a longan, faintly wreathed in a flowing azure glow, lay quietly within. Its medicinal fragrance assailed his nose, and with a single breath, Nalan Chenfeng felt the Dou Qi within his body stir restlessly.

Over four years, he had broken through from the third stage of Dou Qi to the ninth stage. Now, he was only one step away from becoming a Dou Zhe.

The Qi Gathering Powder before him was the key to his breakthrough today.

Qi Gathering Powder was a fourth-tier medicinal pill that enjoyed immense renown throughout the Dou Qi Continent.

A single Qi Gathering Powder could allow someone at the ninth stage of Dou Qi to successfully condense a Dou Qi vortex and advance to Dou Zhe.

The Qi Gathering Powder before him had been refined by Vice President Qie Mi'er of the Imperial Capital's Alchemist Association at the Nalan Clan's request. Its medicinal power was gentle and abundant, and its quality was exceptional even among fourth-tier medicinal pills.

"Alchemists really are an enviable profession..."

Nalan Chenfeng took the Qi Gathering Powder from the box with his right hand and examined it carefully.

Just a fourth-tier medicinal pill like Qi Gathering Powder was enough to make his heart surge with anticipation. He truly wondered what kind of marvels medicinal pills above the fifth tier would be.

He had seen quite a few medicinal pills in the Nalan Clan over the years, but most were below the fourth tier. Compared to this Qi Gathering Powder, both their color and medicinal fragrance were far inferior.

"Huff..."

Nalan Chenfeng exhaled softly, and a solemn look appeared on his increasingly handsome face.

Although Qi Gathering Powder was said to guarantee a one-hundred-percent chance of advancing to Dou Zhe, how could anything in the world be so absolute?

The risks of condensing a Dou Qi vortex could not be underestimated. If something went wrong, he might need to spend a long time after becoming a Dou Zhe stabilizing his foundation.

He could not fail this time. Without undergoing special testing methods, only after becoming a Dou Zhe could one clearly determine one's Dou Qi attribute and cultivate the corresponding Dou Qi technique, thereby advancing by leaps and bounds and rapidly increasing one's strength.

"Dou Zhe..."

Feeling the vast energy contained within the Qi Gathering Powder, Nalan Chengfeng did not rush to swallow it. Instead, he exhaled softly and circulated the Dou Qi within him, adjusting his condition.

A moment later, a sharp light flashed in Nalan Chengfeng's dark eyes. With a flick of his hand, he swallowed the emerald-green Qi Gathering Powder in one gulp.

The moment the pill entered his mouth, Nalan Chenfeng felt a faint coolness spread from his mouth. The next instant, a pure and warm energy erupted violently from within him.

Sensing the energy fluctuations, Nalan Chenfeng swiftly formed the hand seal for absorbing Dou Qi. The Dou Qi within him moved with his thoughts, actively meeting that surging medicinal power and beginning to refine it frantically.

A quarter of an hour later.

The air around Nalan Chenfeng quietly rippled. Strands of pale white airflow seeped out from the air and continuously burrowed into his body.

"Mm..."

Feeling the stabbing pain caused by the collision between the world energy outside and the energy within the Qi Gathering Powder in his meridians, Nalan Chenfeng let out a muffled groan.

"Fortunately, at my current age, my meridians and bones have mostly taken shape. Otherwise, even if I could break through to Dou Zhe today, it would still be quite troublesome..."

Enduring the pain brought by the two energies, Nalan Chenfeng's face was full of resolve.

This pain was something that had to be endured when breaking through to Dou Zhe—or rather, during cultivation itself.

After a brief pause in his focus, Nalan Chenfeng turned his attention back within his body.

Time slowly passed.

As time went on, the Dou Qi throughout Nalan Chenfeng's meridians and dantian gradually wrapped around clumps of pure green energy, continuously absorbing and refining them—or rather, assimilating them and transforming them into pale white Dou Qi.

Nourished by the free energy outside and the energy within the Qi Gathering Powder, the scale of Dou Qi inside Nalan Chenfeng's body expanded at a visibly rapid rate as this transformation continued.

A quarter of an hour later.

Under the continuous infusion and refinement of internal and external energy, Nalan Chenfeng's meridians gradually filled with surging Dou Qi.

When the medicinal power of the Qi Gathering Powder greatly diminished, Nalan Chenfeng, immersed in the rapid growth of his strength, suddenly woke up.

He knew that when his Dou Qi expanded to its critical point, it would be time for the most crucial step in breaking through to Dou Zhe: condensing the Dou Qi vortex.

"Condense!"

His low shout rang through the room without the slightest hesitation.

Then Nalan Chenfeng's fingers danced. His index fingers and thumbs overlapped, while his middle fingers lightly touched, forming a profound and complex hand seal.

He had long prepared for the possible problems, crucial points, and various changes that could arise when condensing the vortex.

When he had reached the eighth stage of Dou Qi, he had already studied the cultivation experience manuals preserved in the clan. His father had also patiently instructed him.