Fighting Breaks the Heaven

mysterious old man

With an indifferent expression, Xiao Yan left the hall somewhat absent-mindedly. Following his usual habit, he slowly climbed up the family's hillside and sat on the cliff wall, calmly gazing at the steep mountains shrouded in mist across from him. That place was the renowned Monster Beast Mountains of the Garma Empire.

"Hehe, strength, huh. In this world, without strength, you're not even worth a pile of dog s**t. At least, no one dares to step on dog s**t," the young man's low self-deprecating laughter, tinged with grief and anger, lingered slowly on the mountaintop.

Digging his fingers into his black hair, Xiao Yan tightly bit his lips, allowing the faint bloodiness to spread at the corners of his mouth. Although he hadn't shown any unusual emotions in the hall, Nalan Yanran's words had cut like knives into his heart, causing Xiao Yan's whole body to shiver.

"Today's humiliation, I don't want to endure it again," Xiao Yan unfolded his left hand with a bloodstain, his voice hoarse but firm.

"Hehe, little one, seems like you need some help," just as Xiao Yan vowed in his heart, an old, eccentric laugh suddenly echoed in his ears.

His young face changed, and Xiao Yan abruptly turned around, scanning behind him with eagle-like sharp eyes, but he couldn't see a single figure.

"Hehe, don't look for it, it's on your finger," just when Xiao Yan thought it was just an illusion, the eccentric laugh came out again, seemingly from nowhere.

His pupils dilated, and Xiao Yan's gaze suddenly stopped at the black, antique ring on his right hand.

"Are you talking?" Xiao Yan struggled to suppress the fear in his heart and tried to keep his voice calm.

"Little one, you've got some self-control, you didn't jump down in fright. Inside this ring, a teasing laugh rang out.

"Who are you? Why are you in my ring? What do you want?" After a brief silence, Xiao Yan asked the crucial questions clearly and distinctly.

"Who I am, you don't need to worry about it now. I won't harm you, anyway. Alas, after so many years, I've finally encountered someone with a strong enough soul. What luck, hehe. But first, thanks to the little one for your three years of devotion, otherwise, I might still have to continue sleeping," the ring replied.

"Devotion?" Xiao Yan blinked in confusion. After a moment, his young face darkened abruptly, and chilling words came out with difficulty between his teeth: "Is it you who's been causing my mysterious disappearance of Dou Qi?"

"Hehe, I was forced to do it, little one, don't blame me," the ring replied.

"f**k your mother!"

Xiao Yan, who always prided himself on being calm and composed, suddenly went crazy like a madman at this moment. His young face was distorted, and without thinking, he immediately pulled off the ring that his mother had left him and threw it with all his strength towards the steep cliff below.

Just as the ring left his hand, Xiao Yan's mind suddenly cleared, and he quickly reached out to grab it, but the ring that had left his hand had already fallen straight down the cliff.

Staring blankly at the ring that disappeared into the mist, Xiao Yan was stunned for a good while before his young face gradually calmed down, and he slapped his forehead in frustration: "i***t, too impulsive, too impulsive."

Just now, he had learned that the culprit behind his humiliation for the past three years was the ring he had been wearing all this time. That's why Xiao Yan had lost control like this.

After sitting at the cliff's edge for a good while, Xiao Yan shook his head helplessly, got up, turned around, and his eyes widened in shock as he pointed at something in front of him.

Floating in front of Xiao Yan at this moment was the black, antique ring. What surprised Xiao Yan the most was that above the ring, a transparent, elderly figure was floating.

"Hehe, little one, don't be so angry. I just absorbed your Dou Qi for three years," the transparent old man said with a smile as he stared at the stunned Xiao Yan.

His mouth twitched, and Xiao Yan's voice was filled with suppressed anger: "Old man, since you're hiding in the ring, you should also know how much ridicule and a***e I've suffered because of you absorbing my Dou Qi."

"But among those three years of ridicule, you've grown, don't you think? Do you think you would have had such endurance and wisdom three years ago?" The old man chuckled and said indifferently.

Frowning, Xiao Yan's mood gradually calmed down. After the outbreak of anger, joy followed. Now that he knew the mystery behind the disappearance of his Dou Qi, his talent must have returned as well.

Just thinking about finally having the chance to shed the title of a waste made Xiao Yan's body feel like it had been reborn, and the annoying old man in front of him didn't seem too annoying anymore.

Some things are only appreciated when they are lost. Losing and regaining something can make people cherish it even more.

After gently stretching his wrists, Xiao Yan took a deep breath and looked up: "Although I don't know who you are exactly, I want to ask, do you still want to rely on the ring to absorb my Dou Qi? If that's the case, I suggest you find another host. I can't afford you."

"Hehe, no one else has such a strong soul perception like you," the old man touched a strand of his beard and smiled: "Since I chose to reveal myself, I naturally won't absorb your Dou Qi again without your permission from now on."

Xiao Yan rolled his eyes and sneered in silence. He had already made up his mind that no matter how smoothly the old man talked, he wouldn't let him stay with him anymore.

"Little one, do you want to become stronger? Do you want to be respected by others?" Although Xiao Yan had already decided to keep a distance from the old man, his heart couldn't help but skip a beat when he heard these words.

"Now that I know the reason for the disappearance of my Dou Qi, with my talent, I don't need you to become stronger," Xiao Yan took a deep breath and said calmly. He knew that there was no free lunch in the world, and it wasn't wise to accept the favors of a mysterious stranger without reason.

"Little one, your talent is indeed good, but you should know that you're already fifteen years old now, and your Dou Qi is only at the third stage. I heard that you'll undergo the coming-of-age ceremony next year, right? Do you think you can rely solely on hard work to reach the seventh stage of Dou Qi in just a year? Moreover, you made a three-year bet with that girl before. That girl's talent won't be much lower than yours. Do you think it's easy to catch up with her and surpass her?" The old man's wrinkled face, covered with wrinkles, looked like a blooming chrysanthemum at this moment.

"If it wasn't for you absorbing my Dou Qi, would I have been humiliated like this by her? You old bastard!" Xiao Yan's young face darkened again, and he cursed with gritted teeth, furious at being hit where it hurt.

After a burst of curses, Xiao Yan became dejected again. It was useless to curse now. The foundation of Dou Qi cultivation was particularly important. He had started cultivating Dou Qi at four years old and had taken six whole years to reach the ninth stage of Dou Qi. Even if his talent had returned now, it was basically impossible to reach the seventh stage of Dou Qi in just a year with hard work alone.

With a discouraged sigh, Xiao Yan glanced at the transparent old man pretending to be mysterious and had an idea. He sneered and said, "You have a way, don't you?"

"Maybe," the old man replied with a vague and eccentric laugh.

"If you help me reach the seventh stage of Dou Qi in a year, the matter of you absorbing my Dou Qi for three years will be wiped out. How about it?" Xiao Yan asked tentatively.

"Hehe, little one, you're quite calculating," the old man said.

"If you can't help me, why should I keep a leech like you around? I suggest you find another unlucky soul to take refuge in," Xiao Yan sneered. After chatting for a while, he realized that this transparent old man couldn't absorb anyone's Dou Qi casually.

"You don't look like a fifteen-year-old boy at all. It seems that you've really grown up a lot in these three years. This can be considered as me biting the bullet for my own actions," looking at the cunning Xiao Yan, the old man was stunned for a moment and then shook his head with a mix of amusement and helplessness.

Xiao Yan shrugged and said calmly, "If you want me to continue to support you, you have to show some sincerity."