Chapter 121: A Fateful Meeting

Behind the Xiao Clan. A young man in black robes sat quietly on the mountaintop, a gentle breeze brushing his face, his eyes vacant.

"What is it, Yan Er? Still angry about what happened today?" Xiao Zhan walked calmly to Xiao Yan's side, while Xun Er, who had been following behind the latter, had already sensibly departed.

"Father, it is I who have brought shame upon the Xiao Clan." Xiao Yan's voice was low,

and he spoke with quite a bit of self-reproach.

"Oh? And how have you brought shame upon your father?" Xiao Zhan asked, appearing completely oblivious.

"I should not have so impulsively agreed to the Three Year Agreement proposed by that Nalan Yanran," Xiao Yan said guiltily.

Unlike the original story, where the young master of the Xiao Clan had his engagement broken off in public, causing the entire family to lose face, this time, very few people actually knew that Nalan Yanran had come to call off the engagement.

In Xiao Yan's view, it was merely the dissolution of a betrothal; the two of them were strangers to each other anyway, so he hadn't been that angry. It was only when Nalan Yanran kept calling him "trash" in every sentence that his defenses were completely shattered.

Although Xiao Yan had already been able to face the fact that his talent had vanished, there was still a thorn in his heart,

and Nalan Yanran's behavior was like constantly tearing open the wound in Xiao Yan's heart and sprinkling salt on it.

In a fit of anger, he had agreed to the Three Year Agreement she proposed. Although he did not know why Xiao Zhan and the various Elders had not opposed it at all, he still attributed this mistake to himself.

In fact, Xiao Yan had no confidence at all that he could resolve his physical issues and improve to a level where he could contend with her within three years.

Originally, it would have been just one person losing face, but if he were to ascend the Yunlan Sect three years later and fail to defeat Nalan Yanran, the entire Xiao Clan would completely become the laughingstock of the Jia Ma Empire.

The news of the Xiao Clan's trash young master, a toad lusting after a swan's flesh, overestimating his own capabilities, would quickly spread throughout the Jia Ma Empire.

Just for the sake of his own pride, he had gambled with the reputation of the Xiao Clan. Even if Xiao Yan were not very sensible, he understood that he seemed to have done something wrong.

"Oh, so you think you were impulsive, Yan Er, and you are worried that you won't be able to win that so-called Three Year Agreement,

and thus implicate our Xiao Clan?"

Xiao Yan was silent;

clearly, that was the case.

"Then, are you willing to bow your head to that Nalan Yanran?" Xiao Zhan asked calmly.

"Absolutely not!" Upon hearing this,

Xiao Yan immediately denied it.

To make him, Xiao Yan, bow his head to her—

even in death, that was impossible.

"Then there you have it." Xiao Zhan patted Xiao Yan on the shoulder. "Your father believes in you;

you will absolutely not bring shame upon our Xiao Clan."

Subsequently, an aura of dominance emerged from the former. "You are the son of me, Xiao Zhan. Even if you lose three years from now, so what? Why should our Xiao Clan have to look at others' expressions to act?"

"Father..." A look of being moved appeared on Xiao Yan's face. He had not expected his father to trust him so much; even though he had been a piece of trash for three whole years, his father still firmly believed he could win.

A flash of determination crossed his eyes. "Father, I will definitely win."

"Very good. That is more like my, Xiao Zhan's, son." Xiao Zhan laughed heartily.

With the words spoken, Xiao Zhan naturally left. Watching his father's departing back, Xiao Yan clenched his fists, preparing to continue his cultivation. He refused to believe that he would remain at the third stage of Dou Qi forever.

Just as Xiao Yan sat cross-legged, preparing to cultivate, an aged voice rang in his ear: "Young man,

you're not bad at all!"

"Who?" Xiao Yan jumped up abruptly and looked around, his expression cold and sharp.

"Who is playing god and acting like a ghost?"

"Eh, stop looking. I'm in the ring on your hand!" The aged voice appeared again.

"The ring?" Xiao Yan looked down. It was the gift his mother had given him when he was born. However, now was not the time to think about such things. Xiao Yan shouted, "Who are you? Come out at once!"

"I'm right here!" The voice that made Xiao Yan's hair stand on end sounded again. He looked up to see a transparent figure floating in the air, stroking his beard and looking at him with a smile.

"Ah! A ghost!" Xiao Yan was shocked. Although the Dou Qi Continent was a fantasy world, he had never seen such a bizarre scene from the time he was small until now.

"What ghost? This old man is what you call a Soul Body!" the white-haired old man said indignantly.

"Soul Body?" Xiao Yan muttered to himself, but he soon stopped worrying about it; he would just check the Xiao Clan's records later and it would be clear.

He quickly grasped the main point. "Who are you? Why are you in my ring?"

"As for that..." The old man appeared somewhat embarrassed; after all, this matter was hard to speak of. "You don't need to worry about who this old man is. You only need to know that this old man will not harm you! I have at least accepted your offerings for three years, so this old man will naturally repay you."

"Three years of offerings?" Xiao Yan was stunned, then suddenly realized, becoming furious. "So my Dou Qi for the past three years was all sucked away by you!"

Immediately, he erupted and threw a punch directly at him. The speed of that outburst made the latter's eyes shrink. Although he had witnessed it many times, he was still willing to call Xiao Yan a genius.

However, this was mere child's play to him. Although he made no move, yet...

"What is going on? Why can't I move?" Xiao Yan was terrified.

"Little doll, just listen to me properly. This old man sucking your Dou Qi was a last resort, and this old man will also repay you." The old man on the side tried to persuade him with painstaking effort.

"Let me go." Xiao Yan looked at the former calmly. Facing the culprit who had caused him three years of humiliation, he clearly could not remain calm, and his tone was extremely unfriendly.

"Then you must not be impulsive anymore!" Seeing Xiao Yan settle down, the old man released the restraint.

Once he regained his freedom, Xiao Yan stretched his limbs slightly and prepared to leave directly. "Old man, I won't pursue the fact that you sucked my Dou Qi for three years. Don't follow me in the future. Let's go our separate ways, and never meet again."

Xiao Yan had figured it out; this old man was likely no simple character. He didn't need to fight to the death with him, as he would definitely be the one to suffer in the end.

Since he had found the culprit behind his missing Dou Qi, his talent would recover. Thus, cultivating properly to meet the Three Year Agreement was the right path. He was short on time and had no energy to waste.

"Eh, kid, wait a moment. Don't you want to become stronger?" The old man called out to him.

Xiao Yan stopped his steps, turned around, and said skeptically, "You can make me stronger?"

"That goes without saying!" the old man said proudly. With his abilities, guiding a little brat was as easy as pie.

"What proof do you have?" Xiao Yan asked. He would not be foolish enough to trust a guy of unknown origin. If not for being forced into a corner, he would never have bothered with this strange old man.

Very good, the chance to show off in front of others had arrived!

The latter's expression turned solemn, and he said proudly, "Kid, you should know about Alchemists, right?"

"Nonsense, my family has quite a few Alchemists, I don't need you to tell me that!" Xiao Yan rolled his eyes and said disdainfully. Did this old man really think he was some country bumpkin who had never seen anything?

"Hmph, hmph~" The old man was not at all surprised; having observed in secret for so long, he naturally understood the basic situation of the Xiao Clan. They were nothing but some Alchemists at most of the Fifth Grade, and they dared to compare themselves to him?

Thinking this, he prepared to throw a bombshell at the other party: "What do those Alchemists in your clan count for? Even that so-called Pill King Gu He is nothing more than mediocre in this old man's eyes," the old man said proudly.

"Great-uncle, is what that old man said true?" In the distance, two figures were observing the conversation between Xiao Yan and the old man, and Xiao Zhan asked curiously.

Although the deepest foundation of the Xiao Clan had not been revealed, a Fifth Grade Alchemist was second only to Pill King Gu He in the Jia Ma Empire; how could this old man look down on them?

"That's right, this old man is no simple character. He is the once number one Alchemist of the continent—Venerable Yao." Xiao Han sold the old man out completely in a few short words.

"Everyone thought he had gone missing; never would I have thought he would end up in such a small place, and that little Xiao Yan would run into him." Xiao Han wore a look of surprise, expressing his astonishment quite convincingly.

"The fledgling eagle should also spread its wings now!" Xiao Han thought to himself with gratification.