The matter of Xiao Yan being accepted as a disciple by an alchemist was not hidden from the family by Xiao Yan and Xiao Zhan at all.
Therefore, the members of the family soon learned this news. After learning that Xiao Yan was going to become an alchemist, the younger generation of the family completely despaired. From then on, they only had reverence and admiration for Xiao Yan, and the ambitions they had previously revealed were gone.
Xiao Yu had naturally also heard about Xiao Yan being accepted as a disciple by an alchemist. While feeling a bit more wary of this guy, she had also pondered over what Xiao Yan had said about finding him seven days later.
But even when Xiao Yan placed that Qi Gathering Powder in front of her, she still felt like she was dreaming.
This was Qi Gathering Powder! One pill was almost equivalent to the family's annual net profit. Even the former Xiao Yan would have found it difficult to use.
But this Qi Gathering Powder was now casually handed to her by Xiao Yan.
After hearing Xiao Yu's words, even Xiao Yan couldn't help but be slightly stunned. Then, before Xiao Yu could react, he suddenly slapped her thigh.
"What kind of person do you take this young master for?"
Being slapped on the thigh by Xiao Yan, Xiao Yu was stunned at first, then a hint of anger rose. Just as she was about to flare up, she heard Xiao Yan's voice.
"Let the conflict between us end here. Sometimes I really don't want to argue with you."
Rubbing his forehead with a slight headache, Xiao Yan said淡淡的 (dàndàn de - faintly/lightly): "In another six months, it will be time for Jia Nan Academy's enrollment. With this Qi Gathering Powder, your status among the new students of Jia Nan Academy will definitely improve."
This sentence seemed to hit Xiao Yu right where she wanted. Although one could hope to enter Jia Nan Academy as long as they reached the eighth Duan of Dou Qi before the age of twenty, this kind of talent was undoubtedly at the bottom.
But if one became a Dou Zhe at seventeen, such talent, even in Jia Nan Academy, though not considered extremely genius, was still quite good and would definitely receive more resources for cultivation.
"Consider yourself to have some conscience, you fellow!"
After pondering for a moment, Xiao Yu suddenly snorted lightly. Although her pretty face still carried a hint of arrogance, her eyes had already softened somewhat.
"Take these few days to adjust your state properly. Don't rush to break through as soon as you get back. If you waste this Qi Gathering Powder of mine, I won't have another pill to compensate you."
Xiao Yan said a few words with a smile, and then, under Xiao Yu's gaze that seemed to want to say something yet hesitated, he slammed the door shut with a "pa."
"You!"
Seeing Xiao Yan shut the door so mercilessly, Xiao Yu couldn't help but open her mouth. Finally, she stomped her foot helplessly and then walked back to her residence with her long, jade-like legs.
However, looking at the exquisite jade box in her arms, Xiao Yu still felt a little excited and warm in her heart.
Recalling Xiao Yan's delicate little face in her mind, Xiao Yu's pretty face couldn't help but blush slightly. Finally, she whispered softly: "Little bastard, thank you."
Looking at the gradually receding tall figure outside the window, Xiao Yan also shook his head with a smile, and only then did he turn his gaze to the third-grade medicine cauldron in front of him.
It seemed that the family indeed valued him immensely now, to actually take out so much money to cultivate his alchemy.
Clearly, they had also invested heavily, taking out almost all of the family's liquid funds to buy medicine cauldrons and medicinal materials for Xiao Yan, so as to provide him with a sufficient environment for alchemy.
However, they probably couldn't imagine that the Xiao Yan of this life didn't need a large amount of medicinal materials to cultivate his alchemy skills at all.
Looking at the four-legged, three-footed medicine cauldron in front of him, which was quite exquisitely carved, Xiao Yan couldn't help but gently tilt his head.
"The quality of this medicine cauldron is really too poor."
"After I finish handling the family's affairs, I should also go to the Black-Corner Region to venture out for a while. By the way, I'll get the Ten Thousand Beast Cauldron and the Sea Heart Flame from Han Feng."
With the experience of his previous life, Xiao Yan had absolutely no need for tempering. What he needed was to frantically accumulate energy and restore his strength as soon as possible.
After temporarily putting aside the distracting thoughts in his mind, Xiao Yan gently exhaled. Looking at the three-footed medicine cauldron in front of him, he flipped his palm, and a wisp of ghastly white flame emerged from his fingertip. With a light flick of his fingertip, that wisp of flame was shot by him into the medicine cauldron. As Dou Qi was poured in, in an instant, the medicine cauldron was filled with a pale white flame.
What Xiao Yan had refined now was, after all, only a wisp of the Bone Chilling Flame's source, or rather, a wisp of the Bone Chilling Flame's subsidiary flame.
Although he could rely on the Flame God Art to unleash this wisp of subsidiary flame to a power almost comparable to the Bone Chilling Flame itself, his three-star Dou Zhe's Dou Qi couldn't last long.
Fortunately, with his level of flame control, he could adjust the flame's output at will.
After the flame filled the cauldron, Xiao Yan began to continuously throw various medicinal herbs into it.
At this time, Yao Lao, who had been hiding in the mountains cultivating his soul power, finally appeared.
With the three great secret arts imparted by Xiao Yan, Yao Lao's soul power was still rapidly recovering even without the supplement of special heavenly treasures. His current body was clearly more solid than before.
Of course, no matter how good the secret arts were, they still needed to be cultivated slowly. According to Xiao Yan and Yao Lao's calculations, Yao Lao's soul power would probably only recover to the Dou Huang level before the year's end. To recover to the Dou Zong level, it would probably take nearly half a year.
But even so, Xiao Yan was still quite satisfied in his heart. With the help of the Bone Chilling Flame, if Yao Lao's soul power recovered to the Dou Zong level, it would be temporarily sufficient in this Northwest Continent.
Watching Xiao Yan calmly throw those medicinal herbs into the medicine cauldron, the pale white subsidiary flame twirled flexibly like a dancing elf, and finally, calmly separated the refined medicinal liquid into individual jade bottles. Yao Lao couldn't help but nod.
By now, he already completely believed Xiao Yan's words. Otherwise, how could such an alchemy technique, even more skillful and relaxed than his own, be performed by a twelve-year-old child?
For several consecutive days, Xiao Yan sat quietly in his small hut, refining medicine.
Each time he refined medicine, he would continue until the Dou Qi in his body was exhausted, and then he would vigorously absorb the energy between heaven and earth to recover his Dou Qi.
Only when his soul power was almost depleted would Xiao Yan lie on the bed to rest for a while.
And under his almost day-and-night alchemy, what was completed ahead of that massive amount of medicinal herbs was that his Dou Qi had smoothly broken through to the four-star Dou Zhe level.
On the third day after breaking through to four-star Dou Zhe, Xiao Yan finally refined all the medicinal herbs into bottles of first-grade medicinal pills.
Blood Coagulation Powder, Rejuvenation Powder, Strength Accumulation Pill.
Three very ordinary first-grade medicinal pills, but their strength lay in their vast quantity. Xiao Yan had left about a thousand bottles of each.
Such a huge quantity of medicinal pills was probably enough for the Xiao family to sell for a while.
Even so, he still secretly hid nearly half of the finished medicine in his storage ring.
It wasn't that Xiao Yan was too stingy, but rather that for a first-grade alchemist like him to be so prolific was too likely to attract attention.
He planned to sell this portion of finished medicine to other cities through Ya Fei.
As the end of the year approached, Wutan City finally welcomed a heavy snowfall. And in this heavy snowfall, Xiao Yan, Xiao Zhan, and several family elders were smilingly drinking steaming butter tea in a warm room.
"Tomorrow is New Year's."
Looking at the heavy snow flying outside the window, a smile with a hint of ambition appeared on Xiao Zhan's face.
"After this heavy snow, my Xiao family will begin to rise at an unimaginable speed!"
The reddish medicinal liquid was called Scarlet Flame Body Tempering Blood, easily ranking as a fourth-grade medicinal pill. Each bottle cost thousands of gold coins just for the ingredients, yet it was only enough for Xiao Yan to use for three days.
When applied to the body, it would cause a burning pain almost like being seared by flames.
However, beneath this pain, the physical body was being continuously strengthened, and even the Dou Qi within the body would be tempered to become purer under this almost searing effect.
Coupled with the assistance of the Bone Chilling Flame, Xiao Yan's physical body and the Dou Qi within it, among those of the same level, had already surpassed the concept of invincibility. Even if he didn't rely on the experiential memories from his previous life, merely relying on his current sturdy physical body and incomparably condensed Dou Qi, he feared no expert below the Dou Shi level.
The reddish medicinal liquid brought the pain of a blazing fire consuming his body. In the cold early spring, the young man's expression was calm, quietly feeling the gradual strengthening of his physical body and Dou Qi.
And opposite Xiao Yan, Yao Lao was also sitting cross-legged, quietly floating in mid-air, his old eyes tightly closed, thirstily cultivating the top-tier secret arts bestowed by Xiao Yan.
Invisible and intangible spiritual energy was being attracted by Yao Lao, and after being refined by the Bone Chilling Flame, it transformed into streams of pure soul power, replenishing Yao Lao's weak soul.
Under such day-after-day cultivation, Yao Lao's illusory soul body also became more and more solid with the accumulation of time, gradually becoming like a real person.
Such peaceful days passed by in a flash for half a month. During this half-month, the people of Wutan City clearly felt that the Xiao family's business was becoming more prosperous day by day, while other families were slowly declining.
Even the Miteer Auction House had now decisively stood on the Xiao family's side, becoming a strategic partner.
This made many people in Wutan City realize that the sky of Wutan City was probably about to change.
The Xiao family, after the rise of that monstrously unbelievable genius, was about to transform from one of the three major families in Wutan City to the largest family in Wutan City.
However, it was at this moment that an old man wearing an alchemist's robe walked into Wutan City amidst the envious and admiring gazes of many people.
Third-grade alchemist, Liu Panlong.
Looking at the old man sitting cross-legged in the main hall, his expression showing undisguised arrogance, Jia Lie Bi's face only showed utmost respect.
Although they were both Da Dou Shi level experts, the other party's status as an alchemist was indeed more than ten times more honorable than his.
Before reaching the Dou Wang level, the status of an alchemist of the same level almost completely crushed that of an ordinary Dou Qi cultivator of the same level.
"According to your account, my unworthy disciple was secretly assassinated by that recently sensational genius of the Xiao family, Xiao Yan?"
Liu Panlong sat in the Jia Lie family's main hall, his eyelids slightly drooping, yet it was difficult to hide the shock in his eyes.
When he heard about Xiao Yan's terrifying talent, even in front of the Jia Lie family, he felt somewhat incredulous.
"Indeed."
Hearing this, Jia Lie Bi nodded repeatedly.
"Previously, my son had once indulged in pleasure with your disciple in that brothel. He had heard that Xiao Yan had beaten Mr. Liu Xi at the Miteer Auction House. And that night, Mr. Liu Xi disappeared from Wutan City without a sound."
"Although there is no absolute evidence, all signs point to this brat!"
Jia Lie Bi said respectfully, but he did not tell Liu Panlong about Xiao Yan having a teacher.
"Is that so?"
Hearing this, Liu Panlong narrowed his eyes slightly and said in a low voice: "Although that Liu Xi was my most unworthy disciple, for him to disappear without reason like this, an explanation is indeed needed. Since that's the case, I really must meet this genius youth of the Xiao family!"
"If he can become my disciple, then what does Liu Xi's death even count for?"
The last sentence was left unsaid. Clearly seeing the slight joy on Jia Lie Bi's face, Liu Panlong felt a bit of mockery in his heart.
"Foolish fellow, you don't think this old man is so easily manipulated, do you?"
(End of this chapter)