Xiao Long released Xiao Xun'er's hand, took half a step back, and rolled his neck, his joints cracking and popping.
Xiao Xun'er lowered her eyes to her empty palm. That little trace of warmth faded rather quickly.
She pressed her lips together without saying anything. By the time she looked up, her usual gentle smile had returned. "Brother Xiao Long, are you about to break through?"
"Mm. It's about time."
Xiao Long stretched, extending both arms overhead. His hem rose with the motion, exposing a small patch of his waist and stomach.
Xiao Xun'er's gaze swept over it before shifting away. The tips of her ears reddened, though she kept her composure.
"This year happens to be my last chance to enter Jia Nan Academy. Want to come along, Xun'er?"
Xiao Long lowered his arms and asked casually.
"Sure!"
Xiao Xun'er nodded repeatedly, much faster than usual, her little chin bobbing.
It doesn't matter where I go, as long as I'm with Brother Xiao Long.
She silently added that in her heart, without saying it aloud.
Seeing her reaction, Xiao Long couldn't be bothered to call her out. He had long since figured out every little scheme running through this little sister's mind.
But he was definitely going to Jia Nan Academy.
That place was full of good stuff. The Inner Academy's medicinal herb storehouse, the Cultivation Method Pavilion, the Alchemy Room-snagging just a couple of things would let him swagger unchecked through the Jia Ma Empire for a while.
Most importantly, there was Zi Yan. She was the real key to clearing the game.
His lousy pick-one-of-three Chinese animation gimmick wasn't going to give him Origin Qi. If he wanted to open the Ancient Emperor's mansion, he would have to follow the plot properly.
There was no Origin Qi in this world for him to milk. Tou She Ancient God's Cave Mansion was his only path to the threshold of Dou Di.
Xiao Long waved and turned toward the Back Mountain. After a couple of steps, he glanced back at Xiao Xun'er. "I'll probably be gone a few days. Stay home, and don't get worked up over those old bastards. They aren't worth it."
"Got it!"
Xiao Xun'er stood where she was and watched him walk away. Sunlight filtered through the trees and fell across her shoulders. She didn't move, simply standing there.
Xiao Long walked all the way to the Back Mountain without stopping. The farther he went, the more secluded the path became and the thicker the trees grew, until the dirt trail beneath his feet gave way to gravel mixed with fallen leaves.
The Back Mountain covered a fair amount of ground. He chose a spot deep within it, beside a cliff face. There was a pool there, with a large, flat rock jutting out of its center, just big enough for one person to sit cross-legged.
This was where he had spent most of his cultivation time over the years. It was quiet, nobody came, and even birdsong was scarce.
Xiao Long took off his shoes and waded over, rolling his trouser legs above his knees. The cold water made his toes curl.
He hopped onto the rock, settled cross-legged, tugged his wet trouser legs back down, and closed his eyes.
His awareness sank inward. The mass of Dou Qi in his dantian slowly revolved like a pot of steaming water, fine ripples rolling across its surface.
At the peak of Nine-Star Dou Zhe, his gaseous Dou Qi was so dense it was on the verge of condensing into liquid.
He tried pressing it down, gathering it toward the center of his dantian and squeezing slowly, as though wringing out a towel.
Dou Qi gathered in his palm and dispersed, dispersed and gathered, repeating the cycle several times.
When Xiao Yan left the main hall, he walked so quickly that the hem of his green robe snapped in his wake.
His mind was a mess.
The Back Mountain was where he had spent most of his time these past few years.
Ever since his cultivation began regressing, the fellow clan members who once called him a genius had gradually shown different faces. Envy in their eyes had turned to pity, until eventually they couldn't even be bothered to look at him.
He had simply hidden away on the Back Mountain. Being alone was more peaceful anyway.
He found a flat boulder and sat down, taking the Ancient Jade box from inside his robe and setting it beside him.
He stared at the box for a long time, then suddenly found it laughable. Someone had come right to his door to break off his engagement, and in the end, all they had given him as compensation was a bottle of medicine. Even that had nearly been snatched away by that old bastard, the First Elder.
If his brother hadn't spoken up, Xiao Ning probably would have come to "borrow" the Qi Gathering Powder tomorrow.
Xiao Yan picked up the box, turned it over to examine it, and was just about to put it away.
Just then.
A faint gleam flickered across the ring's surface.
A voice sounded in Xiao Yan's ears, rough and carrying an indescribably bold, hearty air.
"Gurararara! Young man, you seem to need my help?"
Xiao Yan sprang straight off the rock in fright and jumped two steps back, looking around. "Who? Who's talking?"
"Stop looking. I'm inside the ring on your hand."
Xiao Yan lowered his head and stared at the black ring, his expression a sight to behold.
"Just what kind of thing are you?"
"A thing? I'm no thing. I'm a living, breathing man. It's just that my current condition is a little... unusual."
"Young man, haven't you always wondered why you cultivated so quickly before, only to end up like a leaking wineskin, with less Dou Qi every day?"
Xiao Yan froze. Over these three years, he had considered countless possibilities.
Could this voice know?
"Y-you... what do you mean?"
The voice carried a measure of smugness, along with a measure of guilt. "Ahem, well... to tell you the truth, I wasn't in very good shape before, so I instinctively absorbed a little energy from outside.
"You wore this ring on your hand, so you were the closest to me. Which meant-"
"So my Dou Qi regressed for these past three years because you sucked it away?!"
The voice in the ring paused, then laughed even louder. "Yes."
Xiao Yan's blood pressure shot straight up. All the scorn he had endured these past three years, all the sneers and cutting remarks, the faces his clansmen wore as they called him trash behind his back-it was all thanks to this bastard.
He immediately reached to yank off the ring.
"You motherfucker!"
"Easy, easy. That's not the point-"
"Then tell me what the point is!" Xiao Yan gritted his teeth.
"The point is that I'm awake now, and I've been watching you for a long time. You've got talent, kid. Think about it. Could an ordinary person let me drain him for three years without ending up crippled?"
Xiao Yan faltered. That did seem to make a little sense.
Sense, my ass!
"To thank you for helping me recover, come, become my son!"
Xiao Yan thought he had misheard. "What did you say?"
"Become my son!" The voice was powerful and utterly unabashed. "I can make you an alchemist! Let you stand before everyone in the Jia Ma Empire again and reclaim every scrap of dignity you lost today!"
"Fuck off!"
Xiao Yan was so furious his temples throbbed. This old bastard had sucked away his Dou Qi for three years, and now the first thing he did upon showing himself was demand to become his father. What kind of game was this?
"Don't be so quick to curse me out."
"Let me ask you this. Don't you still want to grow stronger? Don't you want to shut those people up?"
Xiao Yan clenched his fists.
Of course he did. Ever since his cultivation began regressing, he had dreamed of recovering every single day.
"I do."
"Gurararara! Then that settles it!"
The voice in the ring laughed, deep and open.
"Become my son, and I'll teach you alchemy and cultivation methods. The road others need ten years to travel, I'll take you down in three.
"Think it over."
Xiao Yan remained silent for a long while, staring at the ring as he turned it over and over in his mind.
This man's words were outrageously arrogant, but that frank, open manner really didn't seem like an act.
More importantly, what did he even have left to be swindled out of?
He was a cripple. The most valuable thing he owned was this ring. Things couldn't possibly get any worse than they already were.
"Who exactly are you?"
"My name is Yao Chen. Back in the day, I had a title: Whitebeard. At my peak, I was only one step away from Dou Sheng. As for now-"
He coughed.
"My disciple betrayed me. My body is gone, and all that remains is a wisp of soul inside this ring."
Before you continue