Xiao Yan, the "pay me more" master: what a coincidence

Venerable Yao!?

Ya Fei's eyes widened as she looked Chu Zhou up and down in disbelief.

This young master of the Xiao Clan, whose engagement Nalan Yanran had broken off, who had gone from genius to useless failure for three years, actually knew a legendary Dou Zun expert?

In the vast Jia Ma Empire, the Dou Huang experts could be counted on one hand. There wasn't a single Dou Zong expert, and a Dou Zun expert was beyond imagination.

Teacher!? Xiao Yan's mind was in turmoil too.

He had known Yao Lao was far from ordinary.

The fact that he could survive as a soul residing in a ring, and that he controlled Heavenly Flames and could refine pills, was enough to prove that.

At the very least, the Jia Ma Empire's foremost Alchemist, Pill King Gu He, certainly had no such abilities.

Combined with the disdain Yao Lao had shown toward Gu He, Xiao Yan had known the old man was extraordinary.

That was why, despite having his Dou Qi absorbed for three years and suffering all kinds of scorn, he had decisively accepted him as his teacher.

As long as Yao Lao taught him properly and made up for those three lost years, he would acknowledge him as his teacher. Perhaps an even broader future awaited him.

But he had never imagined that Yao Lao was actually a "Venerable"—a Dou Zun expert!?

"Ask him how he knows about Venerable Yao!" Yao Chen's tone shifted subtly, carrying a trace of wariness.

If there was something wrong with Chu Zhou, then he would...

"Where did you hear about Venerable Yao?" Xiao Yan asked.

"Chat Channel." Chu Zhou answered casually.

"Chat Channel? What's that?" Yao Lao asked in confusion.

Xiao Yan, however, understood at once. Suppressing his excitement, he asked, "Are you an Otherworlder?"

"That's right." Ya Fei stepped up beside Chu Zhou and said with a smile, "Chu Zhou is an Otherworlder. He has special abilities that we people of the Dou Qi Continent don't possess. Sometimes, he can learn things happening thousands of miles away."

"There's a Maple City in the Black-Corner Region," Chu Zhou answered calmly. "An Otherworlder there said its lord is a Sixth-Rank Alchemist named Han Feng, known as the Medicine Emperor. He was once the disciple of Venerable Yao, who was renowned throughout the Dou Qi Continent as its greatest Alchemist."

"The Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid was something Venerable Yao developed for Han Feng. Apart from Venerable Yao, only Medicine Emperor Han Feng knows how to refine it."

"You clearly have no connection to that Medicine Emperor, so you must either know Venerable Yao or one of his other, unknown successors?"

At this point, longing crept into Chu Zhou's voice. "An eighth-tier Alchemist and a Dou Zun expert. If I had the chance, I'd naturally want to meet him."

Xiao Yan found Chu Zhou's explanation perfectly reasonable.

He had once been an Earthling too, and understood how "players" thought after entering a "game."

They treated every character as an NPC, explored new areas, and expanded their connections, hoping to unlock "quests."

Teacher, you were actually this badass? Xiao Yan was stunned.

"Mm." Yao Lao answered somewhat distractedly. "Little Yanzi, just say you met me by chance and received some guidance from me. Don't reveal my presence yet. That beast Han Feng is the reason I ended up like this. If he learns I'm here, both you and the Xiao Clan will be in danger."

Xiao Yan's heart tightened. He immediately told Chu Zhou, "I never realized that senior was so powerful. I met him half a year ago. He cured the problem that prevented me from cultivating, then casually left me some pills and alchemy notes. He said he would come to see me again, and if I did well, he would formally accept me as his disciple."

"The Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid was one of the medicines that senior left behind. I was short on money, so..."

Yao Lao chuckled inwardly. His foolish disciple was rather good at making up stories.

"He'll formally accept you if you do well?" Chu Zhou asked with some envy. "What would count as doing well?"

"Well, as far as cultivation goes, I'd have to reach Dou Emperor before turning twenty-five, at the very least," Xiao Yan said, steeling himself and assuming that would be extremely difficult.

"Oh?" Chu Zhou looked surprised. "I heard from a friend that the strongest publicly known forces in the Central Plains are One Hall, One Tower, Two Sects, Three Valleys, and Four Pavilions. Their top disciples all reach Dou Zong before twenty-five."

"Venerable Yao is the Pavilion Master of Starfall Pavilion. Yet his requirement for accepting you as a disciple is only that you reach Dou Emperor before twenty-five?"

Xiao Yan: ?

What the hell? Reaching Dou Zong before twenty-five is only meeting the standard?

"Ahem, that's true," Yao Chen answered casually. "But don't be discouraged. Their starting points and resources are different, as are the concentration of Heaven and Earth Energy and the number of Grotto-Heaven Blessed Lands available."

"With me here, you won't fall far behind them."

Xiao Yan: Thanks. I feel so comforted.

"Since Venerable Yao has his eye on you, I'm not qualified to be your teacher." Chu Zhou spread his hands helplessly. "Let's pretend this whole business of taking you as a disciple never happened."

After saying that, he turned to Ya Fei. "Sister Ya Fei, the others offered too little, and I'm not interested in testing them as prospective disciples. Let's just drop the matter."

"It's your decision." Ya Fei agreed with a smile.

She was only helping him put on an act in the first place, so of course she had no objections.

Even now, though, she still couldn't figure out what Chu Zhou was trying to accomplish with this roundabout performance.

Just then, Chu Zhou asked Xiao Yan, "My friend, do the alchemy notes Senior Venerable Yao left you include any Pill Formula for Grade Four Pills?"

"Uh..." Xiao Yan didn't know how to answer.

"Just say you have a few Pill Formulas," Yao Lao prompted.

"There are some Pill Formulas." Xiao Yan immediately nodded. "I don't know whether that senior is the Venerable Yao you're talking about, but he left me a few Pill Formulas for Grade Four Pills. Most were for Grade One to Grade Three Pills. He told me to study Alchemy on my own after reaching Dou Zhe, as a test of my talent for it."

"Would you be willing to trade those formulas?" Chu Zhou immediately asked, his voice eager. "I have no teacher and have had to figure everything out myself. Becoming a third-grade alchemist in a little over two months is already my limit. Fourth grade is a major threshold."

Xiao Yan: ?

Do you even hear what you're saying?

"Little Yanzi, are these Otherworlders all monstrously talented?" Yao Lao's tone turned a little strange too.

"Teacher, people on our Dou Qi Continent include both geniuses and mediocrities. Otherworlders must be the same. This fellow is probably one of their greatest geniuses," Xiao Yan offered his assessment, while putting on a troubled, hesitant expression as though weighing the matter.

"A genius like this is worth befriending and investing in," the shrewd Yao Lao gave his assessment. "Perhaps he'll become an ally of yours in the future. As an Otherworlder from a world beyond ours, now that he knows you might have the chance to become Venerable Yao's disciple, he certainly won't try to harm you. He'll only try to befriend you."

Xiao Yan agreed with Yao Lao's judgment and asked, "Teacher, do you mean I should agree to the trade?"

"See what he's willing to offer," Yao Lao answered.

Now Xiao Yan knew what to do. He gave a light cough. "These are teachings and medicines that senior left me. In principle, I shouldn't trade them with others, but he also said I could do as I pleased with whatever he gave me. If your offer is sincere enough..."

Xiao Yan left the rest unsaid.

But Chu Zhou understood. In other words, he wanted more money.

"What would you like, my friend?" Already prepared, Chu Zhou said, "Grade three pills? A high Xuan tier cultivation technique or Dou Technique? Or perhaps a few hundred thousand gold coins? Some heavenly treasures?"

"Name it. As long as I have it and consider the price reasonable, we can make a fair trade."

"Oh, right. I provided the information about the Heavenly Flame that the Auction House is saving for its grand finale. If you want to know about it, we can trade for that too."

Chu Zhou added that last sentence in an entirely ordinary tone, as though simply mentioning that he had plenty of good things to offer.

But to Xiao Yan and Yao Chen, it was a windfall straight from heaven.

Wasn't this a coincidence?

They could exchange a mere Pill Formula for a Grade Four Pill for information about a Heavenly Flame.

What an absolute steal!