"Stop! Xiao Tian, you little brat!"
Xiao Tian ran swiftly, calling back, "Sister Xiao Yu, why are you chasing me? We're related by blood. I can't marry you."
At those words, Xiao Yu's anger flared. Her slender, long legs, already quite well developed, sped up in an instant, closing the distance like shadowless kicks as she shouted, "Xiao Tian! You'd better not let me catch you! Otherwise, I'll make your face bloom!"
Xiao Tian huffed. "We're both One-Star Dou Zhe. Do you think I'm afraid of you?"
"Then stop running if you've got the guts!"
"Hmph! It's only because you're my sister. If we weren't related by blood, and you were a man, I'd have messed up your face long ago!"
"Ha! You're pretty cocky, Xiao Tian! So what if I'm a girl? Stop and fight me!" Xiao Yu's fiery temper flared like a match, bursting into flame the moment it was struck.
In the end, Xiao Tian still managed to shake Xiao Yu off.
"What a little chili pepper! What'll she be like when she's older? Will my future brother-in-law be able to stand her?"
"Xun'er is still the best."
After eating some desserts at Xun'er's place, Xiao Tian washed away all the unhappiness of the morning.
The days passed in the blink of an eye. On the night seven days later, Xiao Tian dreamed of a kindly old grandfather.
"Xiao Tian, do you want to become the most powerful Pill Emperor in the world of Dou Qi?"
"No."
Still groggy, Xiao Tian woke up, only to see a dim, gray old man floating above his head. He jolted and abruptly activated his Sharingan, yelling angrily, "Demon! Monster! You're asking for a beating!"
Sharingan Genjutsu failed to activate!
"Little Xiao Tian, calm down. I won't hurt you."
Xiao Tian woke fully, only then realizing that Yao Lao could actually come out of the soul ring!
Of course, knowing was one thing, but he couldn't act as though he knew all about it!
"Who are you? Why are you floating in the air? What's wrong with your body? Are you a Dou Wang?"
At the words "Dou Wang," a trace of disdain flashed through Yao Lao's eyes, instantly giving way to a gentle gaze. Looking at Xiao Tian, he said, "Little Xiao Tian, you may call me Yao Lao. I originally resided in the soul ring you wear around your neck. That I can emerge now is all thanks to absorbing your Dou Qi every day and night."
"What?!" Xiao Tian feigned anger. "You've been absorbing my Dou Qi?"
"But I haven't felt my Dou Qi weaken or decrease."
Yao Lao choked, then chuckled. "You're one of the truly outstanding talents I've seen. Even among the several Gu Clans, you'd be a true son of heaven! Little Xiao Tian, what do you think is the most respected profession in the world of Dou Qi? What profession earns the most money?"
Xiao Tian answered without hesitation, "An alchemist, I suppose."
"Correct." Approval filled Yao Lao's eyes as he smiled. "In life, I was a powerful alchemist."
"Really? Yao Lao, are you even better than the Second-Rank Alchemist in our clan?"
Disdain crossed Yao Lao's face as he said coldly and arrogantly, "Little Xiao Tian, don't compare me to a second-rank practitioner who barely qualifies as an apprentice!"
"Really? You're that amazing? Then can you give me an Eighth-Tier Pill?"
Yao Lao choked, then said solemnly, "Little one! Do you understand what an Eighth-Tier Pill is? That's already a spirit pill with a consciousness of its own, capable of flying through the heavens and burrowing through the earth! But as long as you learn pill refinement from me, I can guarantee that, provided you don't die, you can become a Pill Emperor in the future!"
Yao Lao had confidence in the Flame Mantra he possessed! Nor was what he said wrong. The Flame Mantra advanced by devouring heavenly flames. As long as one didn't die, one could grow stronger!