7: Chapter 7 Advancement to Fighter

The old man's face was glowing, and his green robes shimmered faintly—clearly, the garment had been enchanted with a protective magic crystal.

There was an unconcealable arrogance on his ordinary-looking face; it was the pride belonging to an Alchemist.

While Xiao Yan studied the other party, Gu Ni was also sizing up Xiao Yan. The youth before him wore luxurious clothing decorated with gold patterns, but he looked no older than sixteen or seventeen. There hadn't been any rumors in the city about a youth possessing such an elixir, had there?

The middle-aged man carefully picked up the jade bottle and handed it to Gu Ni.

Taking the jade bottle, Gu Ni gently sniffed the fragrant scent. His eyes narrowed slightly as he tilted the bottle, pouring out a drop of cyan liquid, which then floated in Gu Ni's hand...

After a series of tests, the arrogance on Gu Ni's face was replaced by a hint of respect. It was indeed a Tier 2 Medicinal Pill!

Gu Ni turned to the middle-aged man and said in a deep voice, "The elixir has reached the level of a Tier 2 Medicinal Pill; what this young man said earlier is true!"

Hearing this, the middle-aged man breathed a sigh of relief and said eagerly to Xiao Yan, "Great Master, do you intend to auction this elixir?"

Xiao Yan looked at Gu Ni, took out all the elixir, arranged it into two rows, and said with a smile, "Great Master Gu Ni, my name is Xiao Yan, the third son of the Xiao Family. Surely you have heard of me. I won't interfere with the auction, just ensure it is auctioned as soon as possible."

"However, before the auction, could I exchange it for some Materials? The cost should be deducted from the gold coins obtained after the auction."

Gu Ni looked at the two rows of Foundation Establishment Elixir and was secretly shocked. This was a massive deal. He spoke, "Of course, no problem. However, to auction so much Foundation Establishment Elixir at once, we need to release the news first to maximize the profit."

"Fine, no problem. But first, prepare two sets of Materials for Qi Gathering Powder, one low-level storage ring, and a pair of Medicine Cauldron... If the auction proceeds aren't enough, deduct it from this, and if there's any surplus, just transfer it into this." Xiao Yan placed a purple-gold card on the table and spoke.

Gu Ni was stunned. Qi Gathering Powder! That was a Tier 4 Medicinal Pill! And he needed a Medicine Cauldron too? The youth before him might have an Advanced Alchemist behind him, and it was very likely to be Xiao Yan's teacher! Seeing the purple-gold card only strengthened Gu Ni's belief; that card could only be obtained by someone at least at the level of a Dou Spirit!

As for Xiao Yan, he had, of course, heard of him. But what surprised him most wasn't the story of the Genius becoming trash, but the incident half a year ago where he defeated Jia Lie Ao with a single palm strike.

That slap caused quite a stir in Wutan City. The Xiao Family and the Jia Lie Family almost broke into a full-scale conflict because Jia Lie Ao was severely injured by the slap and almost didn't make it.

But there were many onlookers at the time, and that strike was a mutual agreement between the two, so no one could say anything. Furthermore, just a few days ago, it was measured that Xiao Yan only had a mere Dou Zhi Qi of the third stage!

This matter was known to everyone in Wutan City and was even spreading further. People were saying that the Xiao Family had intentionally hidden Xiao Yan's true strength and that, in secret, Xiao Yan's Qi had not regressed at all!

But since that incident, Xiao Yan had rarely appeared in public, and people's curiosity remained piqued, unable to be verified.

Gu Ni looked at the Xiao Yan before him and sighed, "The younger generation is formidable. I have heard much about your exploits in the past six months. I just wonder if the rumors in Wutan City are true or false?"

Xiao Yan saw Gu Ni's inquisitive look and said meaningfully, "True or false, we will know at the coming-of-age ceremony in half a year. At that time, Great Master Gu Ni must do me the honor of attending!"

Xiao Yan naturally knew what Gu Ni was referring to; the biggest question in Wutan City right now was whether Xiao Yan's talent had truly disappeared!

"Good, good! I will certainly be there. As for the Medicine Cauldron and Materials you need, we should still have some in stock. Why don't you wait here for a moment while I go fetch them?"

"That would be fine."

After the middle-aged man and Gu Ni left, Xiao Yan closed his eyes to rest. He simply didn't want to waste time Cultivating. With his talent, condensing a Qi cyclone could be considered a sure thing.

But Xiao Yan still intended to use a Medicinal Pill to assist him. Perhaps after the Breakthrough to Dou Practitioner, his Qi would be more robust. Thus, once the Qi Gathering Powder was successfully refined, he could immediately Breakthrough to Dou Practitioner!

Of course, Xiao Yan had another ulterior motive: to use Yao Chen's identity as an Advanced Alchemist to back him up, so he could naturally become an Alchemist himself.

This way, it wouldn't affect his development and could also get rid of some trouble, such as the later Alchemist Liu Xi and others.

Xiao Yan continued to close his eyes and rest, thinking to himself that if he could get the medicinal herbs smoothly, he would Breakthrough to Dou Practitioner this very night!

After a long while, hurried footsteps approached, and then two figures pushed the door open.

"Hehe, little brother Xiao Yan, have you been waiting long? Ya Fei went to get the Materials personally just now. Unfortunately, the fifty-year-old Ink Leaf Lotus was bought out by many people recently, so the stock is insufficient. Tomorrow, Ya Fei will send someone to fetch more from other places and deliver them to you personally." A fragrant breeze wafted in, and a soft, tingling voice echoed in his ear.

A curvaceous woman with a charming aura in a red dress stood before Xiao Yan.

This woman...

"No matter, just remember to send it tomorrow. I need it urgently." Xiao Yan glanced at the fair-skinned cleavage of the woman in the red dress.

Ya Fei twisted her snake-like waist, just about to say something, but Xiao Yan stood up directly and said, "Since the medicinal herbs cannot be gathered today, then Xiao Yan will take his leave."

Ya Fei giggled, "Having finally come here, can't Young Master Xiao Yan sit for a while longer?"

"No, it affects my Cultivate." Xiao Yan said with an expressionless face.

Without waiting for Ya Fei to say anything, he walked straight out of the door, leaving only Ya Fei, who looked at the mysterious youth and covered her mouth with a light laugh.

...

The next evening, in the back mountain of the Xiao Family, Xiao Yan held a jade-green pill the size of a dragon's eye in his hand.

The Mittel Auction House was very efficient. This morning, the storage ring, Medicine Cauldron, and medicinal herbs were delivered. However, following Xiao Yan's instructions from the previous day, the Xiao Family guards had taken the storage ring to Xiao Xun Er, and he would go pick it up after the guards notified him.

The reason was simple: Xiao Yan didn't want to deal with most of the characters from the original story if it wasn't necessary. In his previous life, he had spent his whole life busy, scheming, and leaving behind many troubles and regrets.

In this life, he only wanted to improve his strength step by step, see the wonders of this world as he pleased, live the life he wanted freely, and never let himself worry again...

Even so, Xiao Yan understood that he would still meet most of the people from the original plot because Xiao Yan was not a heartless person. For example, Xiao Yi Xian; without his help, she would surely die. For example, Yun Yun; without his help, she might have been tracked down and met with misfortune after battling the Purple-Gold Winged Lion King...

Even starting from a conscience, Xiao Yan couldn't just sit idly by, let alone some cases that were purely profitable, such as the Heavenly Tomb of Xiao Xun Er's Family, or the Heavenly Flame in Medusa's hands.

However, if they really did meet, he would remove emotions from the equation and try not to create any boring entanglements...

Looking at the setting sun, the last warm light shining on him, Xiao Yan was a bit dazed...

No matter which world, many Opportunities, as well as freedom, needed to be fought for and snatched by oneself.

Thinking of this, Xiao Yan couldn't help but laugh. He was a transmigrator with a cheat, so he had no right to say these things.

Taking a deep breath, Xiao Yan smelled the refreshing, exotic fragrance and swallowed the Qi Gathering Powder without hesitation.

Cheating is cheating. At worst, once he was invincible, he would properly rectify this world where the weak had no dignity! Why? Just for one thing: to have a clear state of mind!

As for whether this belonged to another kind of oppression? Hehe, I am strong, so I am right! It has always been this way, immutable throughout the ages! This itself was the main theme of the Fighting Qi Continent.

As the Qi Gathering Powder entered his mouth, a faint coolness spread out. A moment later, it turned into warm, pure medicinal power that rushed into his body.

The Qi in his body wrapped around the clusters of green, pure medicinal power, quickly and orderly refining them. As the medicinal power was continuously refined, the Dou Zhi Qi that already filled his body began to feel even more crowded.

Taking a deep breath, Xiao Yan changed his hand seals, shifting from the hand seal for absorbing Dou Zhi Qi to a strange gesture, with his index and thumb touching, and his middle fingers pointing at each other.

With the change of the hand seals, the surging Qi in his body suddenly contracted toward his lower abdomen, and the pale white Dou Zhi Qi gradually turned into a milky white.

"Quickly compress the Dou Zhi Qi! Use your Soul perception to compress it. If you fail, you will drop to the eighth stage of Dou Zhi Qi!" Yao Chen's voice rang out in his heart in time.

Xiao Yan nodded slightly. His powerful Soul perception left the Dou Zhi Qi with no room to resist, and it was directly compressed into shape.

"Bang!"

The Dou Qi cyclone was successfully condensed!

Xiao Yan exhaled slowly. Because his foundation was incredibly deep, this Breakthrough to Dou Practitioner had no pressure at all; it was fast and simple.

Clenching his fists, Xiao Yan revealed a confident smile. Although he had just achieved the Breakthrough to Dou Practitioner, he was afraid that even a one-star Dou Master couldn't withstand a single move from him!

It seemed as if the "ding" sound from when he first arrived in this world echoed in his ears, and Xiao Yan laughed wantonly.

This was what it meant to cheat!