Seeing the three elders' puzzled yet pleasantly surprised gazes, an almost imperceptible, strange look flashed in Xiao Zhan's eyes. He finally cleared his throat.
"Speaking of which, it's quite a coincidence. This alchemy master is also considered one of us; his surname is also Xiao."
"His name is... Xiao Yan!"
"Surname Xiao, surname Xiao is good, this way, we are..."
Hearing that the mysterious alchemist's surname was Xiao, the three elders exchanged glances, preparing to respond with smiles. However, after hearing Xiao Zhan's final sentence, the smiles on their faces suddenly froze.
"Xiao... Xiao Yan?"
The three elders exchanged glances again. Finally, the Great Elder couldn't help but open his mouth, his throat somewhat dry as he looked at Xiao Zhan. He finally couldn't help but say: "The Clan Leader is talking about... your youngest son, our Xiao family's most talented youth, Xiao Yan?"
"Precisely my son."
Xiao Zhan nodded, trying his best to suppress his smile, but he didn't realize that the corners of his mouth were almost reaching his ears.
"Not long ago, when Yan'er was breaking through to Dou Zhe, he coincidentally encountered a high-level alchemist in the back mountain of our Xiao family. That alchemist saw Yan'er's good talent and directly accepted him as a direct disciple."
Xiao Zhan brought out the excuse he had prepared beforehand.
"My heavens!"
While a look of horror appeared in the eyes of the three elders, they even felt their brains become slightly dizzy.
If the previous Xiao Yan becoming a Dou Zhe at eleven could only be considered extremely rare in the Jia Ma Empire, a talent that might only appear once or twice in a generation, then becoming an alchemist at twelve was simply unheard of.
Even Pill King Gu He only truly became an alchemist at the age of nineteen.
"Our Xiao family, this time we're really going to prosper!"
The Great Elder suddenly sat down on the ground, his old eyes even faintly glistening with tears.
Although these three elders also had their own selfish motives, their loyalty to the family was indeed genuine. Hearing that a peerless genius was about to appear in the family, they were naturally extremely excited.
What's more, after Xiao Yan rose, these old fellows would also be able to get a share of the benefits.
Gu He became an alchemist at nineteen and was now a sixth-grade alchemist. Xiao Yan became an alchemist at twelve; what kind of achievements would he have in the future?
Seventh-grade?
As for the higher eighth and ninth grades, these old fellows didn't even dare to think about it. To them, those were figures that existed only in legends.
"Jie Jie, if you old fellows knew that Yan'er also obtained the inheritance of our Xiao Clan's ancestor, you would probably faint immediately."
Looking at the excited appearance of the three old men, Xiao Zhan couldn't help but laugh inwardly, completely forgetting that he himself wasn't much better than these three old fellows last night.
As for the matter of the Xiao Clan, with his composure, he naturally wouldn't say half a word more to others.
Even so, after the three elders learned that Xiao Yan also possessed alchemist talent, they, who already valued Xiao Yan quite highly, directly increased this importance to the extreme.
That day, several of the family's highest-ranking members instantly gathered a full five hundred thousand gold coins and directly purchased a third-grade medicine cauldron worth three hundred thousand gold coins through Ya Fei.
In their view, with Xiao Yan's talent, he might become a third-grade alchemist in a few years. This money was invested not just in Xiao Yan, but in the future of the family.
If the Xiao family really produced a new Pill King, what would this little bit of money count for?
"Clan Leader, you only said that the alchemist's grade was very high at the time, but what exactly is his grade?"
After the medicine cauldron was bought and three hundred thousand was spent, the Great Elder suddenly remembered to ask this question.
"Uh, at least fourth-grade or above. That old gentleman is too mysterious and doesn't see anyone except Yan'er. The reason I know these things is because Yan'er told me."
Xiao Zhan helplessly spread his hands and finally said casually: "By the way, the Foundation Establishment Spiritual Liquid that was sold so sensationally some time ago was the masterpiece of that old gentleman."
"Foundation Establishment Spiritual Liquid!"
Fourth-grade alchemist, Foundation Establishment Spiritual Liquid!
Several elders widened their eyes again. A fourth-grade alchemist was considered a truly prominent figure even in the entire Jia Ma Empire.
And the Foundation Establishment Spiritual Liquid had caused quite a storm in Wutan City in the previous few months.
Most importantly, Xiao Zhan said that the alchemist was at least fourth-grade.
What they didn't know was that even Xiao Zhan didn't dare to guess the true level of that alchemist.
Someone who could casually toss out several sets of Earth Rank cultivation techniques and Dou Techniques, how powerful were they? It had long since surpassed Xiao Zhan's imagination. The only thing that could be compared was probably the force behind Xun'er.
But no matter what, he couldn't reveal even the slightest bit of information. Accompanying the third-grade medicine cauldron to the Xiao family was Ya Fei herself.
She wasn't responsible for escorting these things, but through the Xiao family's actions, she quickly sensed that something was amiss. Therefore, under the guise of visiting, she came directly to Xiao Yan.
And after obtaining Xiao Yan's acknowledgment, even Ya Fei, who had grown up in the imperial capital and was considered well-versed, couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air.
She had long guessed that Xiao Yan had alchemist talent, but she still hadn't expected that this twelve-year-old youth in front of her was already an alchemist.
At this moment, her importance attached to Xiao Yan had reached an unparalleled degree, her beautiful eyes looking as if they wanted to swallow Xiao Yan whole.
"In a few days, I will use a batch of medicinal materials refined for the family to enhance the family's financial resources."
"And after the New Year, I might even refine more Foundation Establishment Spiritual Liquid, so you need to prepare for the collection of medicinal materials during this time."
Ignoring the strange look in Ya Fei's beautiful eyes, Xiao Yan spoke to her with rare seriousness.
"Don't worry, you are already the most important potential stock in this older sister's heart. Your requests, I will definitely grant them all."
Ya Fei's red lips pursed slightly as she said with a charming smile.
"Just a potential stock?"
Towards her words, Xiao Yan just smiled.
"Hehe, if you want to become something else, you'll have to wait until you've grown up. Besides, do you think you can persuade that childhood sweetheart of yours?"
Ya Fei covered her red lips, her beautiful eyes looking teasingly at a certain part of Xiao Yan's body.
Being ridiculed by her like this, Xiao Yan instantly lost his mood and couldn't help but wave his hand gently.
"Go, go, go, what a spoilsport."
"Giggle giggle."
Seeing Xiao Yan like this, Ya Fei laughed even more happily. After teasing Xiao Yan a couple more times, she then swayed her slender waist and left with captivating grace.
Two days later, Ya Fei sent a large batch of medicinal materials to the Xiao family.
After these ten-odd days of arduous cultivation, Xiao Yan's cultivation was already not far from a four-star Dou Zhe. He took advantage of refining medicine to further temper his Dou Qi.
However, just as Xiao Yan was preparing to refine medicine, Xiao Yu somewhat nervously knocked on Xiao Yan's door.
"Do you need something from me?"
Seeing Xiao Yu's conflicted expression, Xiao Yan couldn't help but ask in confusion.
"You, didn't you tell me to come find you?"
Xiao Yu's originally somewhat conflicted expression instantly turned into a touch of annoyance. Could it be that this little bastard was teasing her?
"Oh, right, I forgot about that."
Looking at Xiao Yu like this, Xiao Yan couldn't help but gently pat his head. With a flick of his finger, a jade box popped out from his storage ring and was then presented to Xiao Yu.
"Here, with this, your breakthrough to Dou Zhe will be stable."
"Breakthrough to Dou Zhe, stable?"
Xiao Yu was slightly stunned, then her heartbeat quickened slightly. After nervously opening the jade box, the medicinal fragrance that assailed her nostrils even made the Dou Qi in her body flow a bit faster.
"Qi Gathering Powder!"
Looking at the longan-sized medicinal pill lying in the box, Xiao Yu couldn't help but exclaim.
"Mm, just take this medicinal pill yourself secretly. Don't tell anyone else, otherwise, if everyone in the family comes to me for it, I won't have time to prepare extra for them."
Xiao Yan nodded gently and was about to close the door when he saw Xiao Yu's pretty face suddenly flush slightly.
"Such a precious medicinal pill, I feel very uneasy holding it."
Xiao Yu's pretty face was flushed, and she said with a rare shyness, somewhat bashfully: "How about, how about I let you touch me a couple more times?"
As she spoke, Xiao Yu had already extended her slender, jade-like leg.
(End of this chapter)