After parting ways with Xun'er, Xiao Yan went to find his father, Xiao Zhan. No matter what, this man was his father in this life—and aside from his two older brothers who were currently away training, Xiao Zhan was the only family he had in this world. Xiao Yan had always worked hard to play the part of the good son and good little brother in their eyes.
When Xiao Zhan learned that his son had broken through to the Dou Zhe level, he was initially overjoyed. But when he heard from Xiao Yan that he planned to leave for training, his expression shifted from elation to shock.
"What? You want to leave Wutan City?"
"Yes." Xiao Yan nodded calmly. "I want to go out and train for a while."
"But you're still so young…" Xiao Zhan looked at his son's youthful face, momentarily at a loss for words. While Xiao Ding and Xiao Li had done the same at his age, they had already been sixteen at the time and traveled together. That made it easier to agree. But this kid—he was still practically a child! How could he already be thinking about leaving home to train?
"Father, you know our Xiao Family's current condition. If my talent gets exposed, staying here will only bring danger," Xiao Yan said slowly. "Only by disappearing from Wutan City and fading from everyone's memory can I be safe. And when I return—that will be the day our Xiao Family rises again."
"You're barely out of diapers, and you're already talking like this?" Xiao Zhan looked at his son's serious expression and didn't know whether to scold him for being unrealistic or to praise him for his ambition.
Still, Xiao Zhan knew his son's character. Once he set his mind on something, no amount of persuasion could change it. And to be fair, Xiao Yan's reasoning did make some sense. In the end, Xiao Zhan could only agree, though he made one request: Xiao Yan had to come say farewell before leaving.
"Phew…" Xiao Yan let out a breath of relief after gaining his father's approval. Had Xiao Zhan refused, he would've had no choice but to sneak away—and that would've earned him a scolding when he returned. Thankfully, his father was relatively easy to reason with. Now, only one last matter remained.
Back in his room, Xiao Yan didn't start cultivating like usual. Instead, he closed the windows and door, then hung a sign that read Cultivating—Do Not Disturb before returning to his bed.
"You hiding in the ring—come out." Xiao Yan raised his hand and looked at the black ring on his finger, speaking calmly.
As his soul power had increased, so had his perception. Xiao Yan had gradually realized that the limited effectiveness of his soul cultivation wasn't due to his strength, but rather because whenever he absorbed energy, a suction force from the ring would siphon most of it away.
After some tests, he finally confirmed there was a soul entity hidden within the ring. At first, Xiao Yan had considered tossing it, but since the ring was a keepsake from his mother, he had decided instead to try communicating with the entity inside.
"You've got quite the sharp senses for a little brat." A light voice responded as a ghostly white-haired old man slowly emerged from the ring—a semi-transparent figure, his body composed entirely of soul energy. He examined Xiao Yan with a surprised gleam in his aged eyes.
'This guy's aura… he's strong.' As the soul form studied him, Xiao Yan was doing the same.
He had assumed that in a place like the Jia Ma Empire, even a Dou Huang was a rare find, so any soul entity here couldn't possibly be too strong. But the pressure radiating from this old man proved otherwise.
Although Xiao Yan was only a Dou Zhe, his soul strength already rivaled that of a fourth-grade alchemist. And yet, he still felt a powerful pressure from this soul—meaning this old man's soul strength had to be at least fifth-grade or higher.
"Who are you? Why are you hiding in my ring?" Xiao Yan asked with narrowed eyes.
"Me? You can call me Yao Lao. As for my background, that's a long story for another time. All you need to know now is that I bear you no ill will." The old man hovered to the ground and gave a casual shrug.
"Nice words—but why should I believe you?" Xiao Yan remained guarded despite Yao Lao's friendly tone.
He had encountered a soul entity in his previous life as well. That one, too, had been friendly at first—so much so that Xiao Yan had considered him family.
But at the most critical moment of his cultivation, that soul had tried to possess his body. Had he not fought back with everything he had, and been lucky besides, he might have lost his body entirely.
Once bitten, twice shy. Now faced with a similar situation, how could Xiao Yan possibly let his guard down?
'Yao Lao… If that "Yao" is his surname, then this old man might be connected to the Yao Clan.' Xiao Yan vaguely remembered that among the few remaining Dou Di bloodlines, the Yao Clan was one of them. Could this old man be from that lineage?
"You sure are cautious for someone so young." Yao Lao saw the wariness in Xiao Yan's eyes and shook his head helplessly. "If I really wanted to harm you, why would I wait until now to act?"
"…" Xiao Yan didn't reply, though his brows furrowed slightly. What Yao Lao said made sense. He had only noticed the soul's presence in the last six months—if the old man meant him harm, he'd had plenty of chances already.
Still, Xiao Yan wasn't about to let his guard down completely. Who knew what the old man's real intentions were? Xiao Yan had seen plenty of people who said one thing and did another. Truthfully, if not for the gap in their strength, he would've already destroyed the soul himself.
"Sigh…" Seeing that Xiao Yan still didn't believe him, Yao Lao let out another long sigh. He studied Xiao Yan for a moment, then asked, "Do you want to become an alchemist?"
"An alchemist? Are you saying… I can become one?" Xiao Yan blinked in surprise.
Of course he knew how revered alchemists were on the Dou Qi Continent. But in his past life, though he had been famed across the world, he had never dabbled in alchemy. He honestly didn't know whether he had the talent for it.
(End of Chapter)
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