"Great Master, Steward Ya Fei, please come in."
The Elders exchanged glances, respectfully making way.
Passing through the courtyard, they arrived at the Xiao Family's main hall.
Xiao Zhan arranged for Xuan Jin to sit in the main seat, while Ya Fei sat at Xuan Jin's lower left.
He himself stood respectfully to the side.
"Someone! Go and invite Young Master Yan!" Xiao Zhan instructed a servant.
"Yes, Clan Chief!"
...In the Xiao Family's backyard, a secluded courtyard.
Xiao Yan was sitting on a stone stool, looking at an old book in his hand, his brows tightly furrowed.
His temperament was much more stable now, no longer the impulsive youth of three years ago.
A servant rushed in, saying,
"Young Master Yan! The Clan Chief wants you to go to the main hall immediately!"
Xiao Yan closed the old book, raised his head, and said calmly: "May I ask what this is for?"
"Yes! Yes!"
The servant panted, quickly replying:
"Clan Chief... seems to have invited that Alchemist Master who caused a big stir in the city, saying... saying he wants to examine you!"
Xiao Yan's movements suddenly stiffened, and he stood up abruptly, a complex emotion surging in his heart.
That Alchemist Master?
Just then, a clear, pleasant voice came from inside the room.
"Brother Xiao Yan, since it's to examine you, let's go and see."
The door opened, and Xiao Xun'er, dressed in a light green dress, walked out, her demeanor elegant and untainted by dust.
She had also heard the servant's words, and though she had doubts, she was more moved by the words "examine you."
She had only heard that a profound Alchemist Master had arrived in the city, but had not seen his true appearance. But at this moment, for her, the most important thing was whether this person could restore Brother Xiao Yan to his former self.
Xiao Yan looked at Xun'er and nodded.
In any case, this was an opportunity.
The moment they stepped through the hall door, almost everyone's gaze converged on them.
Xuan Jin also raised his head.
He first saw Xiao Yan.
Dressed in black, with a refined face, his brows carried a sense of decadence and stubbornness unsuited to his age.
And beside Xiao Yan, the young girl made him take another look.
In a light green dress, with a lotus-like temperament, on her beautiful face, a pair of clear eyes were looking at him with scrutiny and inquiry.
Xiao Xun'er!
While Xuan Jin was observing Xiao Xun'er, Xiao Xun'er was also observing him.
When she clearly saw the excessively young face in the main seat, her heart trembled violently.
This person... is actually so young!
She quickly calculated in her mind, someone so young who could be called an Alchemist Master, could it be... he is truly Xuan Jin of the Pill Tower?
But the rumors said that person had a hidden illness, and his cultivation was stagnant, completely different from the temperament of the person before her.
Countless thoughts flashed through Xiao Xun'er's mind instantly, and her curiosity about Xuan Jin's identity and strength deepened.
"Father."
Xiao Yan called out to Xiao Zhan, then his gaze fell on Xuan Jin.
He was also stunned.
This was the Sixth-Grade Alchemist widely rumored in Wutan City?
What a joke!
He looked only a few years older than himself!
A sense of absurdity and defiance rose from the bottom of Xiao Yan's heart.
"Yan'er, don't be rude!" Xiao Zhan reprimanded him in a low voice, then quickly introduced: "This is Great Master Xuan Jin!"
"This is my niece Xun'er, and this is my good-for-nothing son, Xiao Yan."
"Greetings, Great Master Xuan." Xiao Yan suppressed the surprise in his heart and bowed.
Xiao Xun'er made a graceful bow, her voice cool and clear, "Xun'er greets Great Master Xuan."
Xuan Jin didn't mind Xiao Yan's attitude, merely nodding faintly.
A moment later, Xuan Jin spoke:
"Step forward."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan slowly stepped forward.
The two were no more than three feet apart.
The next moment, an invisible, vast, and boundless power instantly spread out from Xuan Jin's body, enveloping Xiao Yan like a tide!
This is not Dou Qi!
Xiao Yan was horrified!
He only felt that his Soul was gripped by an invisible large hand, and even his thoughts became sluggish.
The Dou Qi in his body instantly solidified, unable to move.
Xiao Zhan and Ya Fei, standing nearby, also felt that terrifying pressure.
Xiao Zhan only felt a tightness in his chest, as if a huge rock was pressing on it.
Ya Fei's face turned pale with fright, and she couldn't help but take a step back.
And behind Xiao Yan, Xiao Xun'er's reaction was the most intense.
The golden Dou Qi in her body uncontrollably circulated on its own, resisting the invading power.
On her beautiful face, for the first time, there appeared a look of deep horror!
Such powerful Soul Power!
How old is he?
How could he possess such terrifying Soul Cultivation!
"Young Miss!"
An old voice urgently rang out in Xiao Xun'er's mind.
"This person's Soul Cultivation is unfathomably deep! And he is so young, he is definitely not that Pill Tower Disciple with a hidden illness from the rumors!"
Ling Ying's voice was filled with unprecedented solemnity.
Clothes, thrown in the snow, no secret can hide!
However, at this moment, the most shocked were not them.
But within the ancient black ring on Xiao Yan's finger.
In a void of dark space.
A phantom old figure suddenly opened his eyes.
"This... This is... Soul Power of Great Perfection in the Mortal Realm?"
Yao Chen's Soul body fluctuated violently. He had been awake for some time, only observing Xiao Yan and absorbing Dou Qi in secret, without revealing himself.
But today, he was completely awakened!
A young man under twenty years old, possessing Soul Power of Great Perfection in the Mortal Realm!
This was simply a fantasy!
Even he, back in the day, had never seen such an outrageous thing among those Geniuses in the Pill Tower who were called Prodigies!
"No!"
Yao Chen quickly noticed something else amiss.
Within that vast Soul Power, he caught a wisp of an extremely subtle, yet incredibly familiar aura.
"Could it be... he is from the Pill Tower?"
Yao Chen's mind was greatly shaken, and he immediately restrained all his aura to the extreme, like a real stone, not daring to make the slightest movement.
Outside.
Xuan Jin's Soul Power circulated once within Xiao Yan's body, then receded like a tide.
The oppressive feeling in the hall instantly vanished.
Xiao Yan panted heavily, his face pale, his entire body drenched in cold sweat.
He looked at Xuan Jin, no longer having the previous defiance, only deep fear and reverence.
Xuan Jin sat back in the main seat, picked up his teacup, as if nothing had happened.
He slowly blew on the hot tea before speaking leisurely:
"Xiao Yan, your body is normal, your Meridians are clear, and your bone structure is good."
As soon as these words came out, Xiao Zhan and Xiao Xun'er's hearts sank.
Could it be that even this Great Master couldn't find the problem?
Xiao Yan's face turned ashen, and the glimmer of hope that had just ignited in his eyes instantly extinguished.
He gave a self-deprecating smile, sure enough, he was just a good-for-nothing.
Just as the atmosphere in the hall dropped to freezing point.
Xuan Jin put down his teacup with a soft clink.
He raised his head, his gaze falling on Xiao Yan's right index finger.
"However..."
"An Alchemist's perception is different from ordinary people's."
"That ring on your hand, I sensed an unusual aura."
Xuan Jin's voice was calm, yet incredibly clear,
"Your problem, perhaps, lies with this ring!"