Chapter 6

"Thank you, Young Clan Leader, thank you, Young Clan Leader, thank you, Young Clan Leader."

Xiao Ning bowed repeatedly in gratitude; if not for the crowd, he would have knelt down and kowtowed to Xiao Yan right there—now, in Xiao Ning's heart, Xiao Yan was his father!

The Second Elder and Third Elder were seething with envy; though they too had grandsons and sons, Xiao Ning was unquestionably the best candidate in terms of potential, age, and cultivation realm—if Xiao Ning truly reached Dou Power Stage Nine within a year, he would rank among the top ten fastest cultivators in Xiao Clan history.

The First Elder's heart was bursting with joy, his smile stretching so wide it nearly reached his temples.

The First Elder had been able to instantly identify that pill as the Fourth-Rank Pill, Qi-Condensing Powder, because long ago, by sheer chance, he had once obtained a half-finished batch of Qi-Condensing Powder, and used that half-finished pill to successfully advance to Dou Practitioner.

Without pill assistance, forming an energy vortex could fail—and if it failed, one would drop from Dou Power Stage Nine to Eight. This wasted not just time, but the most youthful, golden years of one's cultivation.

Without doubt, with the Qi-Condensing Powder, Xiao Ning's future attainment of Great Dou Master was certain; reaching Nine-Star Great Dou Master was no problem, and he even had a chance to break through into the Dou Spirit realm, a level no one in Wutan City had ever achieved!

If the Xiao Clan produced even one Dou Spirit, the entire Wutan City would become the Xiao Clan's possession—and even founding a sect was not impossible.

Remember, the Ten Strongest of the Jia Ma Empire are the Empire's ten Dou Kings—imagine the status of a Dou Spirit.

Xiao Zhan clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention, his expression stern and commanding as he said: "Keep everything that happened today buried in your stomachs. Anyone who lets out even half a word will face severe punishment!"

Whether for the Yun Lan Sect, Nalan Yanran, or even our own Xiao Clan, today's events are a family disgrace—if leaked, they could bring unnecessary trouble.

"Understood, Family Head!" *N

"Alright, everyone, disperse." Xiao Zhan waved his hand, and all clan disciples left in orderly, military fashion.

Just as Xiao Yan was about to rise and leave, a jade hand grabbed his sleeve.

"Xun Er?"

Xun Er pulled out a vial of healing ointment and gently applied it to Xiao Yan's wounds, softly asking: "Brother Xiao Yan, you..."

"Hmm?"

Xun Er looked hesitant, her cheeks flushed with shyness; she had wanted to ask if the person Xiao Yan mentioned as his beloved was herself—but the words died on her lips.

"Brother Xiao Yan... when did you start cultivating that Dou Technique? It's so powerful—no wonder you didn't need the Dou Techniques or Cultivation Methods I gave you."

How timid! Xun Er's cheeks glowed like ripe peaches.

Xiao Yan paused, then feigned ignorance: "Huh? Dou Technique? What Dou Technique? I didn't use any Dou Technique—my body's just naturally strong."

Xun Er gave Xiao Yan a skeptical look; though his Dou Technique was used subtly and his Doubreath flowed swiftly, making it seem as if he had defeated Nalan Yanran purely through physical strength...

But it hadn't fooled Xun Er's eyes.

Xiao Yan's small eyes narrowed slightly: "Aren't you the same? Every month you disappear for a few days, and when you return, your cultivation realm has improved significantly."

Xun Er mimicked Xiao Yan's act, feigning ignorance: "Huh? Disappear? I was just shopping at the marketplace."

That evening, after finishing cultivation in the back mountain, Xiao Yan dragged his exhausted body back to his room, sat on the bed, and lightly brushed his finger across the ring on his hand—a Dou Technique instantly appeared before him.

A Storage Ring, a space ring specifically designed to store items. This ring was a relic from Xiao Yan's mother.

On the cover of the Dou Technique book were three bold characters: Ba Ji Beng.

"Ba Ji Beng: Arcane-Rank High-Grade Dou Technique, close-combat Dou Technique, famed for its overwhelming offensive power. When perfected, each strike carries eight layers of force, stacked together, with power rivaling Earth-Rank Low-Level Dou Techniques!"

This was the Dou Technique Xiao Yan used to defeat Nalan Yanran. Nalan Yanran's loss was inevitable—similar cultivation levels, inferior Dou Technique rank, and far less mastery of the technique—how could she not lose?

Xiao Yan took off his clothes; if one sentence described his body, it would be: a body like steel.

Xiao Yan's body wasn't bulky like a bodybuilder's, yet every muscle was tightly corded, every fiber taut and rigid.

Ever since he was four years old and accidentally unlocked this ring, obtaining the Ba Ji Beng Dou Technique, Xiao Yan had trained Ba Ji Beng in the back mountain almost every day, relentlessly strengthening his body.

After all, Ba Ji Beng didn't demand high Doubreath Stage requirements, but it demanded extreme physical endurance from the user.

From daily running, push-ups, and weightlifting, to later tearing trees apart with bare hands, to now—Xiao Yan could leave fist impressions on stone without using any Doubreath at all. His strength was earned step by step.

Even after ten years of training, Xiao Yan had not yet perfected it.

After rereading the Ba Ji Beng cultivation outline, Xiao Yan sighed and shook his head—achieving eight layers of force required nothing but relentless effort; there was no shortcut.

The ring contained more than just one Dou Technique; the number of Dou Techniques and Cultivation Methods inside was staggering—even Earth-Rank ones were numerous, and there were even several rumored Heavenly-Rank Dou Techniques.

Yet even this genius, Xiao Yan, could only sigh and shake his head—he couldn't understand them! He wanted to cultivate the Earth-Rank and Heavenly-Rank Dou Techniques too!

For Xiao Yan, most of these Dou Techniques were like reading celestial scripture—dense technical terminology and archaic language left him dizzy and confused. Moreover, many required strict cultivation realm thresholds, and even demanded specific Cultivation Method ranks and elemental affinities.

It wasn't that Xiao Yan chose Ba Ji Beng—he had no other option. Among all the techniques, only Ba Ji Beng had no Cultivation Method requirements, no cultivation realm restrictions, and was the only one he could actually understand.

Xiao Yan had once considered asking his father for guidance—but after thinking it over, he abandoned the idea.

Jade itself is blameless; it is the possession of jade that invites danger. He had understood this lesson in his past life.

If word of the Storage Ring got out, not just the Xiao Clan, but the entire Jia Ma Empire would be plunged into bloody chaos.

"I've gathered just enough materials—today I'll try refining a Two-Rank Foundation Building Spirit Liquid."

Thud—a single alchemy furnace was released from the Storage Ring. This furnace was not part of the ring's original contents; a single furnace, the lowest-grade alchemy furnace, was unworthy of being stored in this ring.

This furnace was one Xiao Yan had bought himself from Wutan City's largest auction house, Mei Te Er Auction House.

To become an Alchemist, the conditions are extraordinarily strict. First, one's inherent elemental affinity must be Fire. Second, within that Fire essence, a trace of Wood energy must be present, to act as a catalyst in pill refining!

On the Dou Qi Continent, a person's elemental affinity is determined by their Spiritual Soul. One Spiritual Soul possesses only one single element—no other element can be mixed in. Thus, a single body possessing two different elemental affinities is virtually impossible.

Of course, nothing is absolute. Among billions, there are always rare mutated Spiritual Souls—and those who possess such mutated Spiritual Souls have the potential to become Alchemists!

Alchemists also require immense Soul Perception.

Xiao Yan seemed born to become an Alchemist—he possessed them all!

And his Soul Perception was extraordinarily powerful.