Five years

Before he knew it, five years had passed in the blink of an eye.

Nothing major had happened during those five years; life had been fairly uneventful. The only thing worth mentioning was that Xiao Yan had trained diligently throughout, bringing his strength to ninth stage Dou Qi, just one step away from becoming a Dou Zhe.

If he had some Qi Gathering Powder on hand, he could have broken through to Dou Zhe right then. But Wutan City was only a remote backwater in the Jia Ma Empire, and Qi Gathering Powder was already a scarce commodity here. Even if some became available, its price would be outrageously high for the current Xiao Clan, and there was no chance it would fall into Xiao Yan's hands. He could only cultivate steadily and wait for his breakthrough.

On the mountain behind the Xiao Clan, a small figure sat cross-legged at the summit. Wisps of pale white energy from the surrounding world continuously flowed into Xiao Yan's body. Although the amount of energy somewhat exceeded what someone at the Dou Qi stage could withstand, Xiao Yan kept it under perfect control.

"Condense." When the amount of Dou Qi began to exceed his control, Xiao Yan, who had been letting it flow in freely, formed a hand seal. At once, the Dou Qi pouring into his body swiftly gathered in his lower abdomen. Under the constant compression of his soul force, it finally formed a white Dou Qi vortex.

"I've finally broken through to Dou Zhe..." Feeling the aura within him, now more than ten times stronger than before, Xiao Yan slowly opened his eyes.

In his previous life, breaking through to Dou Zhe at eleven had already earned him praise as a genius seen only once in a century in the Jia Ma Empire. In this life, he had reached that milestone two years earlier, becoming a Dou Zhe at nine. If word of such progress spread, there was no telling how many jaws would drop.

To Xiao Yan, however, this pace was merely adequate. He had set aside time to strengthen his foundation, since cultivating Dou Qi was essentially the foundation-building stage for a Dou Zhe. Its benefits might not yet be apparent, but that solid foundation would certainly make his future cultivation easier.

What was more, he had also devoted some time to cultivating his soul force. Although the incomplete formula had not proved as effective as he had imagined, his soul force had still improved considerably over those five years. By his estimate, his soul force alone was now enough to rival that of a fourth-tier Alchemist.

"Now that I've broken through to Dou Zhe, it's time to leave the Xiao Clan." Xiao Yan stood and gazed down at Wutan City as he spoke calmly.

Xiao Yan had long since drawn up a detailed plan for his future and had been preparing for it all along. His room held plenty of wilderness survival equipment, all of which would accompany him when he left the Xiao Clan.

If he continued to hole up in Wutan City, the halo of genius might still allow him to ride the wind and make waves. But that life of boundless glory was not what Xiao Yan wanted. His experiences in his previous life had long since accustomed him to tempering himself between life and death. Although he had not fought for nine years, he still remembered that feeling.

Besides, quite a few people in the Xiao Clan irritated him. They were all smiles on the surface, yet inwardly they were always looking to stab him in the back. If his father and elder brothers had not treated him well, he would have dealt those people a fatal hand long ago. He would never have stayed here, playing along with their false courtesies.

"Brother Xiao Yan!" Just as Xiao Yan was about to head home, a petite figure suddenly darted up from the foot of the mountain. At the sight of her, he sighed helplessly. If I'd known, I wouldn't have played the good Samaritan back then...

The little girl who had followed him was Xun'er, who had come to the Xiao Clan five years earlier. Xiao Yan knew her background was extraordinary, but he had no desire to become too entangled with her. Xiao Zhan, however, had insisted that he take good care of this little sister, leaving Xiao Yan no choice but to take the girl along a few times.

Unfortunately, the little girl's constitution was truly too frail. Once, while they were out playing, she had actually suffered heatstroke. Xiao Yan happened to be there, so he used his Dou Qi to gently nourish her meridians. Unexpectedly, from that day onward, the girl kept clinging to him, and the way she addressed him changed from "Xiao Yan" to "Brother Xiao Yan."

That form of address happened to bring back some very unpleasant memories for Xiao Yan. As he recalled, a certain wicked woman had called him that in the beginning too.

"Huh?" Upon seeing Xiao Yan, Xun'er paused slightly. Sensing his aura, she asked in surprise, "Brother Xiao Yan, have you broken through to Dou Zhe?"

"Yes." Xiao Yan nodded slightly. Since he had only just broken through, he had not yet fully reined in his aura, so it was hardly surprising that she could discern his precise strength.

"Now that you've broken through to Dou Zhe, Brother Xiao Yan, you should be able to practice a cultivation technique too, right?" Xun'er smiled faintly. "You have a fire affinity, but if I remember correctly, the highest-ranked fire cultivation technique in the Xiao Clan is only high yellow tier."

Xiao Yan raised his eyebrows slightly. In his previous life, he had practiced that very yellow tier cultivation technique while he was a Dou Zhe. Only after advancing to Da Dou Shi had he obtained a black tier cultivation technique through a chance encounter. This was also why he wanted to leave Wutan City. The resources here were simply too scarce, and staying would only slow his cultivation.

"A high yellow tier cultivation technique is fairly good for a Dou Zhe, but it falls a little short for someone with your talent, Brother Xiao Yan." With her hands behind her back, Xun'er lightly turned the ring on her finger. A red scroll appeared in her hand. "I have a high black tier cultivation technique here. It should suit you very well, Brother Xiao Yan."

Looking at the scroll in Xun'er's hand, Xiao Yan did not refuse. He actually had a high-tier cultivation technique of his own, but since someone wanted to give him something, he naturally had no reason to turn it away. If he put this thing up for auction, it would fetch at least several hundred thousand, solving his shortage of funds for his travels and training.

Seeing Xiao Yan accept the cultivation technique, a smile appeared on Xun'er's pretty face. She knew very well that a poverty-stricken backwater like Wutan City would only hinder his cultivation. With this technique, however, Xiao Yan would not need to consider switching techniques before reaching Dou Wang. As for after Dou Wang... she could find a way to obtain an even higher-tier technique for him.

If Xiao Yan had known what Xun'er was thinking, he would probably have been utterly speechless. He was the mighty Demon Fury Sage, after all; he had not fallen so low that he needed to live off a girl's generosity, though he did not exactly object to it either.