Chapter 2: Transmigrating as Xiao Yan

The stars were scattered, the moonlight was like water, and the mountain forest under the night sky appeared exceptionally quiet and serene.

Xiao Yan stood at the peak of the cliff behind the family's back mountain, looking toward the mountain range shrouded in clouds and mist in the distance—the Magical Beast Mountain Range. The magical beasts within the Magical Beast Mountain Range were countless and filled with danger. Of course, danger and opportunity coexisted; in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, one could hunt magical beasts to obtain monster cores, and one could also obtain some rare medicinal herbs. If one were lucky enough, one could also obtain the legacy left behind by predecessors, which contained pills, fighting techniques, and cultivation methods; if an ordinary person obtained them, they could soar to the sky.

"Sigh! Fourteen years! I wonder how long it will be before I have the ability to explore this magical mountain range." Xiao Yan let out a deep breath. Every time he climbed the family's back mountain and looked toward the majestic Magical Beast Mountain Range in the distance, the adventurous genes in his body would be instantly activated, and he would strongly desire to enter it to fight powerful magical beasts and enter hidden caves to hunt for treasure.

He looked at the pitch-black ring on the finger of his right hand; this was left to him by his deceased mother, and he had always worn it. Because he knew what was inside, that was the thing that could change his destiny, and although he had to pay a price, everything was worth it.

As for why Xiao Yan knew so much about all this, it was because he had transmigrated. In his previous life, Chu Li was a programmer on Earth, under tremendous work pressure, working 996 every day. The meaning of living was to buy a car, buy a house, earn a bride price, get married, and have children, and then continue to work hard to earn money to raise children, support the family, and pay off the mortgage. This was the state of life for most people on Earth, living every day very busily and involutionally!

On Earth, after Chu Li returned to his rented room at one o'clock in the morning after a day of work, he simply scalded a bowl of instant noodles with boiling water. After eating, he turned on the water heater and waited for it to heat up, because he worked overtime all year round, his hair and body were particularly greasy, and he couldn't fall asleep without taking a bath. After taking a hot bath, Chu Li lay on the bed and turned on the TV. He saw a recommended video of *Battle Through the Heavens* on the TV and clicked to play it, but after watching only the first episode, a payment box popped up as expected: "If you want to continue watching, please activate the VIP service. Do you want to activate it?"

He picked up the remote control and turned off the TV, pillowing his head with both hands, and sighed: "Modern people work hard overtime, and even if they can't earn much money, they are still being fleeced and harvested like leeks every day. It's really not as good as a dog. Thinking of Xiao Yan in the original work, who was just an ordinary 9-to-5 worker, he could marry a rich and beautiful woman after coming to the Dou Qi Continent and reach the peak of his life. Modern people are involutionally serious, I'm afraid anyone who transmigrates to the Dou Qi Continent can easily roll Xiao Yan to death!"

When the last wisp of pale white gas in the air entered Xiao Yan's nose and mouth, Xiao Yan slowly opened his eyes, a flash of light passing through them. Feeling the Dou Qi he had just refined in his body inexplicably disappear again, Xiao Yan shook his head helplessly.

Seeing his father protecting him so much, Xiao Yan was still exceptionally moved. Although he was not as cold to Xiao Zhan as Xiao Yan in the original work when he was a child, he still felt quite awkward getting along with him, after all, Xiao Yan was not young when adding up his two lives. To avoid embarrassment, Xiao Yan often hid from his father, Xiao Zhan.

Seeing that it was his father, Xiao Zhan, Xiao Yan was stunned; he thought it was that silly girl!

"I've made it difficult for Father all these years..." Thinking of how his father had often been constrained by the three elders of the family because of him over the years, Xiao Yan felt a bit guilty.

Seeing Xiao Yan so sensible, Xiao Zhan patted Xiao Yan on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Yan'er, don't be anxious! Take your time! You are only fourteen years old, and you are still far from adulthood! As long as you can reach Stage Seven Dou Qi by the age of sixteen, that will be fine."

But Xiao Zhan did not treat Xiao Yan differently because he deliberately hid from him and lost his cultivation talent. Just like in other novels, he didn't treat him with cold eyes, let him go, or even kick him out of the family; instead, he cared about Xiao Yan even more. This also swept away the embarrassment remaining in Xiao Yan's heart, and he truly recognized this father.

"You are quite open-minded! However..."

Xiao Yan stood up, patted the dust off his buttocks, and said with a smile: "Father, why haven't you slept so late?"

"Hehe, haven't you also not slept yet? Has the Dou Qi you trained disappeared again?" Xiao Zhan frowned slightly and asked with concern.

"Hehe! I really don't know where you got such high vigilance?" Shaking his head helplessly, a middle-aged man in gray clothes with a rather sturdy body walked out of the woods with a smile.

Of course, after he reached the Dou Zhe realm, the Dou Qi vortex disappeared overnight, and his Dou Qi continued to decrease. However, knowing the plot, he did not become decadent because of this; instead, he worked harder to train, striving to let the soul inside wake up as soon as possible, after all, it was not comfortable to wear the title of trash. Anyway, he only needed to pay at most three years of Dou Qi to get Yao Lao's careful guidance. He could also obtain the *Burning Technique*, become an alchemist, and obtain countless advanced fighting techniques, which was simply a business that would not lose money.

However, the ring still had no reaction so far, which made Xiao Yan's brows furrow slightly. "If Yao Lao doesn't come out, won't my three years of Dou Qi be in vain? Don't be so pit-like, please don't stand me up!"

However, why was Xiao Yan doing this for the family's coming-of-age ceremony! It was because Nalan Yanran would come to the Xiao family to break off the engagement in a year. If he hadn't even reached the Dou Zhe realm by then, he would have no way to face Nalan Yanran's insults. And if he had reached the Dou Zhe level, he could directly fight back against Nalan Yanran's breaking off the engagement, so he wouldn't need to endure humiliation for three years.

"It's okay, Father! There is no benefit to entering the Dou Zhe realm too early. If the Dou Qi disappears, it disappears; I'll just train again." Xiao Yan said indifferently.

Xiao Yan only cared about burying his head in training before and entered the Dou Zhe realm at ten. But after entering the Dou Zhe realm, he realized that although Dou Qi was powerful, its ability to nourish the body and bones was much worse than Dou Qi. If nothing unexpected happened, Xiao Yan's final achievement would probably be the same as other Dou Huangs in the Gama Empire, unable to break through to the Dou Zong realm for his whole life, stuck at the peak of the Dou Huang realm, and then silently waiting for death.

Looking at his father's departing back, Xiao Yan sighed deeply, touched the ring on his hand, and also went down the mountain.

Looking at his father's hesitant expression, Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes and asked: "Did the three elders look for Father again?"

"Father! I will definitely work hard and strive to reach Stage Seven Dou Qi as soon as possible to win glory for you." Xiao Yan said firmly.

"Hmm?" Xiao Yan stared closely at the small woods in front of him. Although he only had Stage Three Dou Qi, his soul perception was exceptionally powerful.

In order to reach the Dou Zhe realm earlier, Chu Li began training at three, one year earlier than Xiao Yan in the original work. So he successfully condensed the Dou Qi vortex at ten and became a Dou Zhe.

At the peak of the cliff, the air was fresh. Groups of pale white Dou Qi were constantly produced in the air, entering Xiao Yan's body through his nose and mouth, strengthening his bones and meridians. Dou Qi had the effect of strengthening the body, so early training was the top priority and could not rely on any external force, otherwise, it would only be counterproductive.

Just because he complained a few words, he found that he had transmigrated to the Dou Qi Continent when he woke up the next day and became Xiao Yan. Knowing that he had transmigrated into the future Flame Emperor Xiao Yan, Chu Li was still very happy, because there were so many beautiful girls! However, Xiao Yan had a miserable time in the early stage, because of the inexplicable disappearance of Dou Qi, he was often insulted and ridiculed by people in the family. What was even more excessive was that he would be engaged to be broken off later. Thinking of being broken off by Nalan Yanran in public, Chu Li felt his face burning.

However, with the disappearance of the Dou Qi vortex, Xiao Yan's heart gradually relaxed. Because he could finally use Dou Qi to nourish his bones and meridians again. Thereby laying a solid foundation and going further.

In every major family, there were strict family rules. If a person had no cultivation talent at the coming-of-age ceremony at sixteen, they would be kicked out of the family's core area and go to remote places to manage industries until they died of old age. Of course, there were also some who had adventures and finally returned, but such people were too few, which could be said to be one in ten thousand.

"Good! Good! Good! Father believes in you, my son is the best, it's getting late, go back and rest early!" Xiao Zhan laughed and strode away.

"Those three old things can only talk. I am the Clan Head, and no one can kick you out before the coming-of-age ceremony." Xiao Zhan said quite domineeringly.

"Forget it, I'll give you one last meal. If you don't appear again..." He sighed deeply, sat cross-legged on the boulder with some disappointment, slowly closed his eyes, pinched strange hand seals with both hands, and entered the training state.

Returning to the small house where he lived, Xiao Yan touched the ring on his hand again, and his eyes gradually became firm. He went out and beat a wooden basin of water, took a bath, and by the way, took off the ring on his hand and put it aside. Xiao Yan was a very decisive person. Since Yao Lao was still unwilling to come out, Xiao Yan would no longer spoil that old man and took off the ring directly.

He walked to the bed again and sat cross-legged to train. With Xiao Yan's training, the pale white Dou Qi in the air entered Xiao Yan's body through his nose and mouth again, was slowly refined by him, and finally returned to the Qi Sea. Feeling the increasingly full Dou Qi in his body, a smile appeared on Xiao Yan's small face, and then he trained even harder.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 3 =====