Heh heh heh

"Heh heh heh, Yao Chen, pretending to sleep won't fool me now that I'm here."

A middle-aged man in black robes slowly materialized in midair.

Hun Miesheng, Soul Hall Master, Five-Star Dou Sheng, Gold Medal Instructor of the Dou Emperor Crash Course, founder of the Dou Qi Continent Outsourcing Business, and Transport Corps Leader.

This was the Dou Sheng who had come looking for me? Xiao Yan stared in shock. Such a means of appearing without a trace, unseen by gods or ghosts, was truly terrifying.

Inside the Black Ring, Yao Chen, who had refused to appear no matter how Xiao Yan called him earlier, let out a long sigh and emerged.

The translucent figure gave Xiao Yi Xian a fright.

"A Heaven Realm Soul? A Dou Sheng?"

"Neither, Xian'er. This man was an eighth-tier Alchemist in life. That's why his soul is so powerful," Hun Miesheng explained, wagging a finger.

"An eighth-tier Alchemist? So he's the alchemy teacher Father found for me?" Xiao Yi Xian immediately rose from her chair and circled Yao Chen's Soul Bodies, her face brimming with curiosity.

"Precisely. Yao Chen, you have no objections, do you?" Hun Miesheng offered a gentle smile, but his tone sounded less like a discussion and more like a threat.

"None." Yao Chen smiled bitterly inside, but agreed all the same.

As one of the continent's foremost Alchemists, teaching two youngsters would be no trouble at all. Still... what exactly was the Hun Clan trying to do? Why did they keep making him teach people alchemy? Didn't their clan have Alchemists of its own?!

Hun Miesheng could tell at a glance that, despite Yao Chen's outward obedience, he was probably dissatisfied inside. He sneered to himself.

"You won't be teaching for nothing, of course. There's compensation."

Oh? Yao Chen looked up, his interest piqued.

"Your treacherous disciple Han Feng colluded with several of our Hall of Souls enforcers to poison you and destroy your body. So, both as compensation and as payment, our clan leader has prepared the remains of a Five-Star Dou Sheng for your resurrection. Well? Are you satisfied?" Hun Miesheng spoke as though it were a casual matter, but he had been startled himself when he first learned of it.

He had almost thought that Hun Tiandi was dissatisfied with how he had managed Hall of Souls affairs during the thousand years Hun Tiandi spent recovering, and intended to kill him to provide a body for Yao Chen's resurrection.

Instead, he had followed Hun Tiandi's instructions and spent more than half a year rushing about the continent, finally collecting several Map Fragments. Once assembled, they turned out to be a treasure map left behind by the Nine-Star Dou Sheng of old, the Purifying Lotus Demon Saint.

In the end, he had not only helped Hun Tiandi subdue the purifying lotus demon flame, but had also encountered a Dou Sheng of the Xiao Clan from a thousand years ago within the Demonic Flame Space.

The Five-Star Dou Sheng remains Hun Miesheng mentioned were those of that Xiao Clan Dou Sheng.

What was his name again? Xiao Chen, or Xiao Cheng...

It hardly mattered anymore.

"A Five-Star Dou Sheng!" Yao Chen was profoundly shaken. If Hun Miesheng's words were true, this would be an enormous stroke of fortune. Once resurrected, he could devote a dozen or so years to cultivation and surely break through to Dou Sheng in one leap, becoming a powerhouse at the pinnacle of the Dou Qi Continent.

"Would I need to lie to you? Just focus on teaching these two youngsters. Our Hun Clan has never shortchanged those who work with us. We're not as penny-pinching as the Yao Clan and the other clans of their ilk. Tiandi values clear rewards and punishments above all." Hun Miesheng's words stabbed deep into Yao Chen's heart.

Yes, the Hun Clan certainly had a poor reputation among the Ancient Families, and Hun Tiandi's ambition to become a Dou Emperor was known to every passerby.

But the reason the other clans had not joined forces against the Hun Clan was actually quite simple: none of them were good people. Who didn't want the Tou She Ancient God Jade? Who didn't have a few conscience-destroying skeletons hidden away? Who was nobler than whom?

The Hun Clan was merely the strongest and the most active of them.

"Good, good!" Yao Chen grew visibly excited, his Soul Bodies even wavering a little.

He turned toward Xiao Yi Xian and said with a warm smile, "Hun Xian'er, aren't you going to pay your respects to your master?"

Xiao Yi Xian immediately knelt with utmost reverence, longing shining in the young girl's eyes. If you asked a physician what their greatest dream was, there could only be one answer: to become an Alchemist.

And now that chance lay right before her!

The image of that scholarly man, the first person in her life to treat her kindly, surfaced in Xiao Yi Xian's mind, filling her heart with gratitude. Adoptive Father, Xiao Yi Xian will forever remember your great kindness.

At that moment, Xiao Yi Xian had fully come to regard Hun Tiandi as her own father.

"Master, please accept your disciple's bow!" Xiao Yi Xian struck her forehead firmly against the floor three times.

"Good child, get up." Yao Chen's face bloomed with smiles. He had just used his soul power to test Xiao Yi Xian's talent. Although her soul power was not strong, her aptitude was excellent. As her cultivation improved, attaining a Heaven Realm Soul might well be within her reach.

Xiao Yan watched the scene helplessly. So how exactly was their seniority supposed to work now?

Whether under Hun Tiandi or Yao Lao, he had clearly joined first, hadn't he?

But when he thought of Xiao Yi Xian-Hun Xian'er-and her one-star Dou Ling cultivation, he had no choice but to keep his mouth shut. In Wutan City, that strength would be enough to wipe out every force, large and small, in one fell swoop. Best not to provoke her.

Junior disciple... fine, junior disciple it was...

"Hehe." Having finished paying her respects, Xiao Yi Xian suddenly sidled up to Xiao Yan, pressing very close to him.

A pleasant fragrance drifted into Xiao Yan's nose. Only now did he realize just how beautiful Xiao Yi Xian was: her exquisite face, her towering, ample bosom, and her slender, delicate waist, which lent her an air of tender vulnerability.

"Junior Brother Xiao Yan, our relationship has taken another step forward now~" Xiao Yi Xian wore a playful expression.

"I know, Senior Sister Hun Xian'er." Xiao Yan deliberately turned his head aside, not quite daring to look at her. For some reason, his face had already flushed faintly.

A Bewitching Technique? Beside the two youngsters, Yao Chen raised an eyebrow slightly, then broke into a silent laugh.

Looks like Little Yanzi is in for a treat. A gleeful curve tugged at Yao Chen's lips.

Turning to look, he discovered that Hun Miesheng was also grinning from ear to ear. But as soon as the latter noticed someone looking his way, he immediately resumed a perfectly solemn expression.

"Since that's settled, there's nothing more for me to do here. The clan leader said he'll personally come to Wutan City in two months to assess your cultivation and take you out for some training. Cultivate diligently until then. Otherwise, if you die during your training, I'll be sure to choose a woman's body to resurrect you in." Hun Miesheng's lips curled into a cruel smile.

"Trust me. Once you've experienced the advantages of being a woman, you might not want to become a man again."

Hun Miesheng's words frightened Xiao Yan so badly that his soul nearly fled his body.

Dying, then being resurrected as a woman? What kind of move was that?

"Having you as a sister would be pretty nice, too." Xiao Yi Xian covered her mouth and laughed.

"That really won't be necessary. I'll do my best to get through the training," Xiao Yan promised repeatedly.

"Heh heh heh!"

Accompanied by his laughter, Hun Miesheng shattered the void and departed, leaving Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian staring at each other in the private room.