Sorry, I Couldn't Help It

"I-I don't know either..." Shi Hao backed away two steps, frightened by Elder Li's old face, which had turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

"You little bastard!" Unable to contain his fury any longer, Elder Li roared.

That roar startled all the youths nearby.

Clang, clang, clang! The sounds of exploding cauldrons rang out one after another. Fortunately, the youths were all using top-quality medicinal cauldrons, and no one was injured.

But immediately afterward, an enormous blast rang out.

Boom! Xiao Yan's medicinal cauldron shook violently. Even with ninety percent of the energy dampened by the cauldron, the impact turned Xiao Yan's face pale, and an enormous mushroom cloud rose from within it.

When the smoke cleared, Xiao Yan's face was black with soot and his hair was disheveled. Clearly, the exploding cauldron had hit him hard.

"Old man, are you trying to mess with my head?!" Xiao Yan sprang forward, ready to fight Elder Li. The medicinal properties of this newly developed Emperor's Extreme Pill were already extremely unstable, and Elder Li's interruption had caused the cauldron to explode outright.

"Xiao Yan, calm down," Elder Li hastily said as he looked at Xiao Yan's soot-blackened face.

Xiao Yan was only a Dou Emperor, naturally no match for a dignified Peak Dou Zong like himself. But the backing behind him was far too formidable. Even the Great Elder had come off worse against him; a minor elder like himself certainly couldn't oppose him.

Elder Li's eyes shifted, and he took out the golden pill Shi Hao had refined. "Why don't you try this pill Shi Hao made? Then you'll understand why I was so angry."

"It's a pill made by a little kid. Even if he made some mistakes, you shouldn't get that angry, should you?" Xiao Yan pursed his lips at Elder Li.

"Heh heh, just try it and you'll see." Elder Li held the Nine Revolutions Golden Pill out before Xiao Yan.

He even used a little spoon to scrape off some powder for him.

Xiao Yan dabbed a little powder onto his fingertip and held it beneath his nose to sniff. His expression changed, and his gaze toward Elder Li became sympathetic.

"Shi Hao, what kind of pill did you make?" Xiao Yan glanced at the chubby boy.

"A Nine Revolutions Golden Pill, an improved version of the Nine Revolutions Qi-Connecting Pill." With Xiao Yan there, Shi Hao suddenly grew bolder.

"Then why is this pill golden?"

Xiao Yan was the Youth Class's great demon king. Even the teachers were somewhat afraid of him, yet he doted on Shi Hao alone and even said he would raise him into a powerhouse who could stand alone above all the ages.

In Shi Hao's eyes, this great demon king was a wonderful big brother.

"Elder Li, teaching us really has been hard on you." Xiao Yan gave Elder Li a pitying look and even bowed to him.

"Ah, as a teacher, I must naturally do my utmost." Seeing Xiao Yan bow, Elder Li's vanity instantly swelled again.

This was a genius seen only once in a thousand years in the world of alchemy, and the Xiao Clan's Holy Son besides.

Yet when Xiao Yan returned to his spot, his body began trembling uncontrollably.

"Xiao Yan, what are you laughing at?"

"Nothing. I'm not laughing. Pfft, pfft, pfft..."

"And you still say you're not laughing?"

"Teacher, I've had professional training. Normally, I don't laugh... pfft, pfft, pfft."

"You call that professional training?"

"Sorry, I couldn't help it..."

Elder Li felt that all warmth had vanished from the world. He gave Shi Hao an icy look.

"Child, you're far too full of yourself. For an alchemist, the process matters most. Without a process, there can be no result. Think carefully about that."

With that, he rubbed Shi Hao's face hard a few times.

Shi Hao kept his face taut, looking utterly ashamed.

"Xiao Yan, Xiao Yan, what ingredients did Shi Hao actually use for his pill today?" On the way home from class, Cao Ying strode over to Xiao Yan on her long legs.

She ignored Dan Chen's frown beside them, and paid even less attention to the female classmates eyeing Xiao Yan like hungry tigers.

Just a bunch of gaudy little tramps. All of you, get out of my way. If Dan Chen weren't so favored, I'd have squeezed her out long ago too.

Over the past three months, she had become increasingly forward with Xiao Yan, while he employed the usual tricks of scumbags.

Never make the first move, never take responsibility!

If you offer yourself up, I'll take you. If you don't come to me, I won't chase after you.

But this question struck right at the heart of the matter. Hearing Cao Ying's puzzled inquiry, Xiao Yan couldn't help his lips curling upward again.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing... pfft, pfft, pfft."

"Oh, come on, what was it?!" Cao Ying clasped Xiao Yan's arm with her delicate hands and shook it.

"Hmm?"

Holy shit, so pale, so deep!

He looked up again, only to find a naturally seductive blush on Cao Ying's alluring little face, her eyes full of charm.

This little temptress! Xiao Yan felt a headache coming on and hurriedly turned away, only to see Dan Chen staring at him curiously, her eyes brimming with a thirst for knowledge.

Seeing how curious both girls were, Xiao Yan gave a mysterious little smile. "Come closer!"

The two girls brought their heads close to Xiao Yan.

"A little closer."

As he watched the two faces drawing nearer-one bewitchingly alluring, the other lovely and delicate-a wicked smile curled Xiao Yan's lips.

Smack, smack. After two kisses, he raised his head with a perfectly serious expression.

He left both girls blushing scarlet.

"Disgusting." Cao Ying shot Xiao Yan a fierce glare with her beautiful eyes, then left in embarrassed indignation.

"You're awful!" Dan Chen blushed and lightly thumped Xiao Yan. She too turned to leave, but Xiao Yan followed her.

Even if these two got along well, they couldn't possibly get used to sharing a man all at once. But could Xiao Yan let them go their separate ways?

Rather than have everything come crashing down later, he might as well lay things out openly now and let the two get used to it beforehand.

To Xiao Yan, the best thing about the Dou Qi Continent was that a man could have three wives and four concubines. In this world, it was perfectly normal for a powerful man to have several women.

The only difficulty was that both were heaven's favored daughters and inevitably had some pride. But that wasn't much of a challenge for Xiao Yan. After all, he could ally with the distant and attack the nearby: once he won over the gentle Dan Chen, conquering Cao Ying wouldn't be far off.

With Xiao Yan holding her fair wrist, Dan Chen angrily took two steps forward, but she couldn't break free of his grip at all.

With Yao Lao's help, Xiao Yan had mastered a soul technique that let him avoid the terrifying suction of the Primordial Spiritual Body. Now, even physical contact posed no obstacle.

"What are you doing?!" Dan Chen glared at Xiao Yan angrily, a hint of mist gathering in her peach-blossom eyes.

"I'll walk you home." Ignoring her resistance, Xiao Yan took her little hand and led her forward.

"Let go of me!" The girl's feeble struggles were utterly useless. Only when they reached a quiet alley did Xiao Yan release her hand.

"Jealous?" Xiao Yan looked at her puffed-up little face.

Honestly, she's adorable even when she's angry.

"I'm not." Dan Chen gave Xiao Yan a dirty look.

"Heh heh!" Seeing her like this, Xiao Yan suddenly reached out to hook a finger beneath her snow-white chin, then lowered his head toward those rosy lips.