"Thank you, Little Leader, thank you, Little Leader, thank you, Little Leader."

  Xiao Ning tio bow in gratitude. He would have k and kowtowed to Xiao Yan if not for the crowd around. Now, in Xiao Ning's heart, Xiao Yan was like a father to him!

  The Sed and Third Elders were green with envy. Even though they also had grandsons, in terms of potential, age, and cultivation level, Xiao Ning was ihe best choice. If Xiao Ning could truly bee a 9th-stage Dou Disciple within a year, he would be among the top ten in the history of the Xiao terms of cultivation speed.

  The Grand Elder was inwardly beaming with joy, his smile almost reag his temples.

  The reason why the Grand Elder was able to identify the pill as a 4th-tier Qi Gathering Pill so quickly was because he had actally obtained a half-finished Qi Gathering Pill in his youth. This half-finished Qi Gathering Pill had allowed him to successfully break through to the Dou Practitioner realm.

  Without the aid of a pill, the densation of a Qi Cye could fail, which would cause oo fall back from the 9th-stage Dou Disciple to the 8th-stage Dou Disciple. This was not only a waste of time, but also a waste of a person's most precious golden years of cultivation.

  Undoubtedly, with the Qi Gathering Pill, Xiao Ning's future advao Dou Grandmaster had bee almost certain. Being a 9-star Dou Grandmaster was no longer a problem, and he might even have a ce to challehe Dou Spirit realm.

  No one in Wu Tan City had reached that realm!

  If the Xiao were to produce a Dou Spirit, the whole of Wu Tan City would belong to them, and even f a sect might be within the realm of possibility.

  Xiao Zhan cpped his hands to get everyone's attention and said with an expression that was her angry nor authoritative, "Everything that happeoday stays within these walls. Anyone who utters a single word about it will have to face severe punishment!"

  Whether it was the Misty Cloud Sean Yanran, or their own Xiao , today's events were akin t dirty undry. Any leakage of information could be the cause of unnecessary trouble.

  "Uood, Head!" everyone chorused.

  "Alright, disperse now," Xiao Zhan waved his hand, and all the disciples dispersed in an orderly fashion like a well-disciplined army.

  Just as Xiao Yan was about to get up and leave as well, a jade-like hand grabbed hold of his sleeve.

  "Xun Er?"

  Xuook out a bottle of healing oi aly applied it to Xiao Yan's wound while softly asking, "Xiao Yan ge-ge, you..."

  "Hmm?"

  Xun Er looked hesitant and shy. It was as if she wao ask something. In fact, she wao ask if Xiao Yan's earlier mention of someone in his heart was referring to her. However, she swallowed these words at the st moment.

  "… When did Xiao Yan ge-ge start cultivating that Dou Teique? It's so impressive. No wonder you never wahe Dou Teiques and Qi Methods offered by Xun Er..."

  Xun Er's cheeks turned as red as a ripe peach. Her bashfulness was evident.

  Xiao Yan paused, then feigned ignorance, "Ah? Dou Teique? What Dou Teique? I didn't use any Dou Teique. I just have a robust physique, that's all."

  Xun Er rolled her eyes at him. Although Xiao Yan's use of the Dou Teique was subtle and his circution of Dou Qi was incredibly fast, making it appear as if he had defeated Nan Yanran with his physical strength alone, she was not fooled.

  Xiao Yan's eyes narrowed slightly as he said, "Xun Er does the same thing, disappearing for a few days every month, and every time you return, your cultivation has increased signifitly."

  Imitating Xiao Yan's demeanor, Xun Er feigned ignorance, "Ah? Disappearing? Who is disappearing? Xun Er merely goes to the market to do some shopping…"

  …

  In the evening, after finishing his cultivation practi the back mountain, Xiao Yauro his room exhausted. He sat on his bed, lightly touched the ring on his hand, and a Dou Teique scroll instantly appeared in his grasp.

  This ring atial ring known as a Ste Ring. It was a keepsake from his mother.

  The two words "Oe Bst" were promily dispyed on the cover of the Dou Teique scroll.

  "Oe Bst: High Xuan Dou Teique for close bat. It is known for its tremendous attack power. The attack tai yers of force when fully mastered. With each yer pounding o, its power is parable to a Low Di Dou Teique!"

  This was the Dou Teique that Xiao Yao defeat Nan Yanran. In fact, this girl was bound to get defeated. With simir cultivation levels but an inferior Dou Teique and far less mastery than Xiao Yan, how could she not lose?

  Xiao Yan stripped off his clothes. If oo describe his physique in a single sente would be "solid as steel."

  His body wasn't characterized by bulging muscles like those of a bodybuilder. Instead, his muscles were incredibly firm, eae taut and defined.

  Ever since he actally unlocked the ring at the age of four and obtaihe Oe Bst Dou Teique, Xiao Yan had been practig it almost every day in the back of the mountain. This was how he tinuously strengthened his body.

  After all, the Oe Bst didn't require an exceptionally high level of Dou Qi, but it did require great physical strength from the user.

  From running, doing push-ups, and liftis in the beginning, to chopping down trees with his bare hands ter, and now being able to leave fist marks on rocks without using Dou Qi. Xiao Yan's strength had been acquired step by step through a lot of hard work.

  Yet, even after ten years of diligent practice, Xiao Yan had not fully mastered this teique.

  After rereading the outline of Oe Bst, Xiao Yan shook his head with a bitter smile. To cultivate the eight yers of force, one could only rely on hard work. There was no such thing as shortcuts.

  The ring didn't just tain one Dou Teique. The number of Dou Teiques and Qi Methods inside was astounding. The lowest css among them was Xuan Css, many were Di Css, and there were even a few legendary Tian Css Dou Teiques.

  What made Xiao Yan, this genius boy, shake his head in frustration was that he couldn't uand them! He wao cultivate Di and Tian Css Dou Teiques as well!

  Most of the Dou Teiques were as indecipherable to him as if they were are texts. They were filled with specialized terms and even a phrases that made his head spin. Moreover, many Dou Teiques had strict requirements for the user's cultivation level and even the css and attribute of their Qi Method.

  It wasn't that Xiao Yan specifically wao cultivate Oe Bst, but it was the only teique that didn't require a specific Qi Method, didn't have any cultivation level requirements, and whose cultivatiohod Xiao Yan could uand. Hence, Oe Bst was his choice.

  Xiao Yan had once sidered asking his father for cultivation guidance, but after some thought, he decided against it.

  'I is the jade, guilty is the one who holds it.' This was a truth that Xiao Yan had uood in his previous life.

  Should the existence of the Ste Ring bee known, not just the Xiao , but the entire Jia Ma Empire might be plunged into a bloody camity.

  "I finally have enough materials to try to refine a 2nd-tier Foundation Building Pill today."

  With a thud, a medial cauldron for alchemy was released from the ste ring. This cauldron wasn't inally part of the ring's iory. A low-grade medial cauldron like this didn't qualify to be included in the ring.

  This was a cauldron that Xiao Yan had purchased himself from the rgest au house in Wu Tan City, the Miteer Au House.

  There were strict requirements to bee an alchemist. First of all, one had to possess a fire attribute. Moreover, within the fire attribute, there had to be a tiny sliver of wood attribute to act as a catalyst for refining pills!

  In the Dou Qi ti, a person's attribute was determined by their soul. A soul would have only oribute from birth. It would rejey other attribute. Therefore, it was virtually impossible for a person to have two attributes of varying strengths.

  However, there were always exceptions. Out of a million people, there would always be one person whose soul was mutated. Among those people with mutated souls, some of them had the potential to bee an alchemist!

  On top of that, an alchemist also o have a strong spiritual perception!

  Xiao Yan seemed like he was born to be an alchemist. He possessed all of these qualities!

  Moreover, his spiritual perception was ridiculously strong.