Golden light swirled in his eyes, and Chen Yang instantly saw through the conditions of Xiao Yong and Xiao Zhan.
Over the past year or so, both of their strength had increased quite rapidly, yet their Foundations weren't particularly unstable.
In fact, even if they were unstable, it wouldn't be a big problem. Although Xiao Yong and Xiao Yan were somewhat distant, they were still within the nine clans. Once Xiao Yan became a Dou Di, and Xiao Yong obtained the Dou Di Bloodline, they could then supplement it with some Medicinal Pills and secret techniques. Xiao Yong's Dou Di Bloodline would become even more concentrated, and his cultivation would naturally advance by leaps and bounds.
As for Chen Yang completely relying on Medicinal Pills to push Xiao Yong to the Dou Sheng level, that would be quite difficult. At this stage, it's still feasible to raise Xiao Yong's strength to the Dou Huang level, just like Xiao Zhan in the original plot who went to study at the Hall of Souls.
Xiao Zhan cupped his hands: "Great Master Chen Yang!"
Xiao Yong also cupped his hands: "Young Brother Chen Yang!"
After a few pleasantries, Chen Yang and the other three sat down around the stone table. Qing Lin brought tea, intending to serve it, but Xiao Yan snatched it away: "Sister-in-law, let me do it!"
Although Qing Lin was already used to being called by Xiao Yan, hearing the word "sister-in-law" still made her shy: "Then... then I'll leave it to you!"
After saying that, the young girl turned and left.
Sitting around the table, Chen Yang chatted a lot with Xiao Yong, of course not forgetting Xiao Zhan. Xiao Yan also chimed in with a sentence or two from time to time. The four men soon started talking about everything under the sun.
"How wonderful, how wonderful. Back then outside Wutan City, it was an unintentional act on my part. Who would have thought it would bring such a powerful backer to our Xiao Family. Life is truly full of uncertainties." Xiao Yong's mood was complex, filled with endless emotion upon learning that Chen Yang was now a Dou Zong and a Sixth-Rank Alchemist.
"They say good deeds bring good rewards. If Brother Xiao Yong weren't a person of pure heart, he wouldn't have thought to protect me all the way back then, nor would he have given me clothes and shoes." Chen Yang firmly believed that good people in this world were so because of their inherent kindness, not because of how many good deeds they had done.
"How many truly good people are there on the Fighting Qi Continent? I just remember the teachings of Elder Brother Xiao Zhan: when traveling outside, no matter what, one must not bully the weak!" Xiao Yong smiled, looking at Xiao Zhan, appropriately praising his own Clan Chief.
"Father indeed taught us that." Xiao Yan also remembered the words Xiao Zhan had once told him.
"It's no accident that Clan Chief Xiao Zhan could nurture a Genius youth like Little Yan Zi!" Chen Yang smiled, took a sip of tea, and said.
"Great Master Chen Yang, you flatter me. The Xiao Family wasted over a decade in Wutan City. Being able to move back to the Imperial Capital still relies on Great Master Chen Yang's help. Otherwise, even if Yan'er had talent and found a renowned teacher, at most he'd be a Dou Master by now!" Xiao Zhan was very clear about where the Xiao Family's current prosperity came from.
"Alright, we can save these pleasantries for another time. Now that your Xiao Family has returned to the Imperial Capital, even with the Nalan Family assisting from the side, they are ultimately outsiders."
"Later, I will instruct the Mittel Family to help the Xiao Family get settled. Only when our own people handle things can we be at ease!"
Chen Yang patted Xiao Yong's arm and said.
"With Yan'er and the two of us, that's enough. It would be too much trouble to bother the Mittel Family." Xiao Zhan hurriedly said.
"Alright, let's do it my way this time. It won't be much trouble. Anyway, you'll have to pay regardless, so why not let our own people earn this money!" Chen Yang looked at Xiao Yan with a teasing expression. Xiao Yan's Face instantly fell again.
He vaguely remembered that three months ago, also here, Chen Yang had worn the same expression and taken away seventy million gold coins from him. He never expected that today, his remaining gold coins wouldn't be safe either!
"If that's the case, then we'll gratefully accept your kind offer!" Hearing about paying money, Xiao Zhan immediately felt much more at ease.
However, Chen Yang simply wanted to "congratulate" Xiao Yan on his "fortune." The money itself was actually unimportant.
...
The Xiao Family's move back into Wutan City attracted the attention of many forces. Those in the know—the Imperial Family, the Alchemist Guild, the Nalan Family, and the Mittel Family—all sent congratulatory gifts on the second day after the Xiao Family's relocation, mainly out of respect for Chen Yang's Face.
As for those who didn't know the inside story, they generally understood that the Xiao Family had managed to acquire this mansion—originally belonging to the Xiao Family but bought by the Tang Family—with the help of the Nalan Family.
At this time, Xiao Yan did not reveal that he had already reached the Dou Wang level. Instead, he displayed the strength of a Five-Star Dou Ling to the outside world. Of course, his identity as a Fourth-Grade Alchemist was not hidden, as the news that he was a Fourth-Grade Alchemist four months ago had already spread throughout the Imperial Capital.
Therefore, upon discovering that Xiao Yan, at only eighteen years old, was already a Fourth-Grade Alchemist and a Five-Star Dou Ling, the Dou Ling families in the Imperial Capital who had initially planned to provoke the Xiao Family all chose to give up. After all, Xiao Yan clearly seemed to have powerful backing. It's just that those ordinary Dou Ling families weren't qualified to know that Xiao Yan was under Chen Yang's protection.
Time flew by, and another month passed since the Xiao Family moved into the Imperial Capital. This meant that less than ten days remained until the Three-Year Agreement.
During this period, Xiao Ding and Xiao Li from Stone Desert City also returned to the Imperial Capital. Not all of the Xiao Family's businesses in Wutan City were moved over. The Grand Elder and the Third Elder stayed behind there. After all, Wutan City was now basically the Xiao Family's territory. Although the Imperial Capital was large, the Xiao Family hadn't yet expanded there, and their business ventures were nonexistent—they only had a bare mansion.
Apart from the changes in the Xiao Family, the people around Chen Yang had also undergone significant changes during this time.
First was Xiao Yi Xian, who was now a Nine-Star Dou Ling, just one step away from Dou Wang.
Qing Lin's progress was also rapid. Since switching to an Earth-rank Cultivation Technique, she had been using her Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils to absorb low-tier snake-type Demonic Beasts, supplemented by the Medicinal Pills Chen Yang refined. Now, only that one tailless Fifth-Tier Magical Beast remained in the lotus pond in Chen Yang's courtyard. The rest, including that Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake, had all become nourishment for Qing Lin's growth. Qing Lin's strength had smoothly reached the Seven-Star Dou Ling level.
Compared to Xiao Yi Xian and Qing Lin, whose progress could be described as Riding a rocket, Ya Fei's was much slower, currently only a Four-Star Dou Ling. But even this was much faster than most geniuses at Jia Nan Academy.
After consuming the Medicinal Pills Chen Yang refined using the Seventh-Tier Accompanying Purple Crystal Source, the Amethyst Winged Lion King and the Little Amethyst Winged Lion King had reached the Peak of the Sixth Tier and the Peak of the Fifth Tier, respectively.
The Little Amethyst Winged Lion King still needed more time to consolidate before advancing to the Sixth Tier. As for the Amethyst Winged Lion King, it could evolve if conditions permitted. However, at present, Chen Yang didn't have a suitable prescription or method. He had asked Medicine Oldster, but even he wasn't sure. After all, his old flame back in the day was from the fox tribe, not the lion tribe. Although there were Seventh-Tier Amethyst Winged Lion Kings on the Fighting Qi Continent, Medicine Oldster wasn't a veterinarian and wasn't specialized in this.
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