Three Gifts

If only he could advance to Dou Sheng himself someday.

Xiao Yan gazed toward that future with longing, but soon remembered something.

He hurriedly took the Black Ring off his neck and handed it to Hun Tiandi. "Master, could you help wake Yao Lao? He fell back into a deep sleep after the Gu Clan attacked him."

Hun Tiandi took the Black Ring without a word and poured vast quantities of Dou Qi and soul power straight into it.

In an instant, Yao Lao's soul form inside the Black Ring began filling out at a speed visible to the naked eye. In just three breaths, he awakened from his slumber.

"Th-this is..." Yao Chen looked around in confusion. Tong Xuan's earlier blow had thrown his soul form into chaos, leaving his memories fragmented. It took quite some time for those memories to fall back into order.

"Little Yanzi, you're alive?! Wonderful." Seeing Xiao Yan safe and sound filled Yao Chen with relief. "It seems that even as a soul, this old man can still withstand an Advanced Half-Saint's full-power strike if I give it my all and use a secret art."

Yao Chen grew rather smug, repeatedly marveling that his former might had not diminished with age and boasting of his glorious feat of escaping from two Half-Saints of the Hall of Souls.

Only after Xiao Yan awkwardly pointed behind him did he belatedly turn around.

What greeted him was Hun Tiandi's handsome face, wearing the faintest suggestion of a smile.

"Venerable Yao's might truly hasn't diminished with age. Which two juniors from the Hall of Souls pursued you back then? Shall I have them come apologize?" Hun Tiandi narrowed his eyes, tapping his fingers lightly against the back of his chair.

"Y-you jest, Saint..." Yao Chen instantly recalled the terror of being at the Hun Clan's mercy, and even his voice began to tremble.

At the sight of Yao Chen's reaction, Hun Tiandi suddenly broke into an amused laugh.

"There's no need to be so stiff all the time, Venerable." Hun Tiandi spread his hands and smiled.

"I've had a great deal to attend to this past year and have neglected my disciple's cultivation. Fortunately, your guidance kept his training from falling behind. To thank you, I've specially prepared a valuable gift."

Everyone's curiosity was piqued. What sort of gift could even Hun Tiandi, the mighty Hun Clan patriarch and a Peak Nine-Star Dou Saint, consider valuable?

A small spatial passage formed beside Hun Tiandi. It led to a minor world he had created specifically to store precious objects.

He reached inside, then slowly drew something out of the spatial passage... a coffin.

Xiao Yan: ???

Xiao Yi Xian: ???

Yao Chen: !!!

The moment he saw the coffin, Yao Chen understood exactly what precious gift Hun Tiandi had brought him. It was a corpse-the corpse of a powerful expert!

The coffin lid slowly slid open, revealing a corpse with a face mangled beyond recognition. Eight feet tall, it had sturdy bones and powerful sinews. Even in death, it radiated terrifying pressure. One glance was enough to tell that it had belonged to an unparalleled expert.

"Th-this must at least be a Dou Sheng's corpse, right?" Yao Chen rushed forward excitedly, running his hands over the corpse that would one day become his new body as he marveled at it.

"A Dou Sheng's corpse?!" Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian both sucked in a breath of cold air. That realm was far beyond them; to them, any Dou Sheng Expert was akin to a god.

They could scarcely imagine how anyone could kill a Dou Sheng Expert.

"To be precise, he was a Peak Four-Star Dou Saint. Before his death, he desperately tried to advance to Five-Star Dou Sheng, so you could also consider him a Half-Step Five-Star Dou Sheng." Hun Tiandi spoke unhurriedly, as though discussing some trivial matter.

"He must have been a renowned expert in life, right? May I know his name?" After carefully examining his new body, Yao Chen tentatively posed the question to Hun Tiandi.

There were already few Dou Sheng on the Dou Qi Continent, let alone Peak Four-Star Dou Saints. This corpse must have belonged to someone extremely famous.

"A single character: Chen. You most likely haven't heard of him. He lived a thousand years ago." Hun Tiandi shook his head.

"I see." Mixed emotions flickered in Yao Chen's eyes. A Four-Star Dou Sheng from a thousand years ago-he had indeed never heard of him.

"Does only Yao Lao get a gift?" Xiao Yi Xian moved closer to Hun Tiandi and asked unhappily.

"There's one for everyone." Hun Tiandi patted Xiao Yi Xian's head, genuine affection shining in his eyes.

Judging by the atmosphere between them, they seemed just like a real father and daughter.

Actually, Senior Sister has only been his adopted daughter for a little over a year, but their affection doesn't seem false, Xiao Yan silently mused.

Although he and Xiao Yi Xian had known Hun Tiandi for about the same amount of time, she was much closer to him.

Hun Tiandi had not stored Xiao Yi Xian's gift as carefully as Yao Chen's. It was a longsword whose entire blade gleamed with a cold light. A gentle swing made the surrounding space distort.

"This sword is called Heavenly Spirit," Hun Tiandi explained with a smile.

"I love it." Xiao Yi Xian happily put the longsword away.

Hun Tiandi then turned toward Xiao Yan, took a Naling from his Storage Ring, and handed it to him.

"This is... the Sea Heart Flame?!" Xiao Yan sensed the astonishing, terrifying power within the Naling in surprise. The deep-blue flame looked extraordinarily mysterious. As it rose, it slowly spread like clear seawater, its faint ripples resembling waves.

Xiao Yan recognized it. Back in the mountains behind the Xiao Clan, Hun Tiandi had once thrown a tightly bound expert before Yao Lao. That expert had apparently been Yao Lao's disciple before betraying him, and the Sea Heart Flame had been his heavenly flame.

What was that man's name again? Han... Li, or was it Han Feng? I can't remember.

But the Sea Heart Flame was a powerful heavenly flame ranked fifteenth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking. Apparently, possessing it allowed one to move freely underwater and enjoy a powerful boost from the water attribute.

He had assumed Hun Tiandi would refine it himself after taking it away. He had never imagined it would be saved for him.

"Do you like it?" Hun Tiandi leaned against the back of his chair, his eyes half closed.

"I do." Xiao Yan nodded repeatedly, though he also began to feel somewhat embarrassed.

Although he had accepted Hun Tiandi as his master, the truth was that they were master and disciple in name only, not in practice. With no emotional foundation between them, he had nonetheless received priceless cultivation resources one after another. He truly had no idea how to repay such kindness.

"Good. I've had a lot to deal with in the year since taking you as my disciple, but your talent is unlike anything I've seen in my life. Who knows? Perhaps I can raise you into a Dou Di," Hun Tiandi said jokingly.

"A Dou Di? Little Yanzi?" Yao Chen burst out laughing. "This little fellow would already have to burn mountains of incense in gratitude if his talent got him to Half-Saint. To become a Dou Di-how much fortune would that take?"

"I think he has fortune to spare." Hun Tiandi likewise laughed heartily.

Watching his two masters make fun of him, Xiao Yan felt a headache coming on.

"What realm is Dou Di?"