As they were discussing, no one noticed Xiao Yan peeked through the slight opening. His face changed after listening to their conversation. 

Xiao Yan was also interested in listening to Xiao Ning's opinion, so he stayed and continued to peep. The next instant, his eyes widened in shock after looking at the numerous jade bottles in the hall. 

Xiao Yan felt he would lose his confidence and didn't dare to stay any longer. 

"Teacher?" Xiao Yan called out in his heart. 

"Huh? What happened?" Yao Lao's voice responded in his mind. 

"Xiao Ning turned out to be a first-tier alchemist!" He replied in a low voice. 

"What?" Yao Lao asked in a surprised voice, and Xiao Yan explained everything to him. Yao Lao released his spiritual perception and scanned the main hall. 

After looking at the jade bottles, he became startled, and doubt appeared on his face. A sudden thought emerged in his mind; yet, he didn't dare to confirm it. 

"Xiao Yan! Did you lose your confidence? The world is big, and you will meet many enchanting geniuses in the future; what are you afraid of?" Yao Lao's words stabilized Xiao Yan's anxious mind. 

"No! I won't lose to anyone." Xiao Yan smiled confidently and replied. 

......

After dealing with everything, Xiao Ning rubbed his forehead to ease the headache. 

"Ning'er, don't forget, it is Jia Nan Academy's trial in a week." Xiao Ning's grandfather reminded him.

"Okay." Xiao Ning nodded and rushed out of the hall. 

......

'Sigh!' Xiao Ning took a deep breath and thought that he would never attend one of these meetings ever again.

He looked at the sky and went to Wu Tan City and spent the rest of the day with Ya Fei. Their relationship had grown a lot in this period.

Happy moments are always short-lived, and the day ended quickly, and they both reluctantly parted away.

......

Xiao Ning sat cross-legged on his bed and looked at the jade bottle in his hand. It contained a thick-red drop of blood. 

It was also one of the things left by his father; yet, there was no mention of it in the letter. 

The only thing Xiao Ning knew for sure was that it contained a massive amount of pure Dou Qi and could substitute a medicinal pill. He intended to refine it to breakthrough the Dou Master realm. 

Xiao Ning did not ingest the contents of the jade bottle immediately; instead, he closed his eyes and meditated for a while. After adjusting his condition, he swallowed the thick drop of blood. 

'Hiss!' As the drop of blood entered Xiao Ning's body. He had an illusion that he ingested lava instead of blood. 

Xiao Ning ignored the burning sensation and hurriedly enveloped the drop of blood with his Dou Qi. 

Xiao Ning did not dare to be careless, and with his spiritual strength, he extracted a strand of Dou Qi from the Qi-Vortex and absorbed a part of energy contained within the drop of blood. 

As the first strand passed through his Qi Paths, Xiao Ning gritted his teeth to endure the pain. The energy contained within the drop of blood grilled his Qi Paths. From the outside, Xiao Ning's body flickered between light-gold and red. 

Slowly, step by step, Xiao Ning refined the energy, and at the same time, a part of the drop started fusing with his body.

After an unknown amount of time, Xiao Ning's body attracted the surrounding Dou Qi at a frightening pace. At this time, he became sober and knew that the opportunity had arrived. 

Instead of absorbing the energy from the surroundings, Xiao Ning focused and increased his pace of refining the drop of blood. 

At this moment, something unexpected happened, the drop of blood which refused to move entered his Qi Paths along with his Dou Qi. 

This sudden change shocked Xiao Ning, and blood appeared on the corner of his mouth. The pain seemed to be magnified and couldn't be compared to before. 

His Qi Paths became molten red, and if it continued the same way, Xiao Ning would die. It seemed as if the drop of blood understood Xiao Ning's condition, and it completed a cycle and entered his Qi-Vortex. 

As the drop of blood entered, the calm Qi-Vortex started spinning rapidly and absorbed pure energy from the drop of blood. 

Soon, Xiao Ning's Dou Qi transformed into green-gold-colored droplets, and his Qi-Vortex started to shrink. At the same time, the green-gold-colored flame again refined the pure droplets making them purer.

More and more droplets formed and entered the Qi-Vortex. Finally, Xiao Ning's Qi-Vortex stabilized, and it started rotating in the opposite direction. 

The Qi-Vortex sent out all of the Dou Qi droplets and circulated throughout Xiao Ning's body and strengthened his muscles, bones, Qi Path, and blood. He could feel every part of his body evolving. 

Xiao Ning finally broke through the Dou Master realm, but it was not over. The dou qi in his body flowed according to the 'Battle Budha Art' and strengthened his skin.

Xiao Ning calmly endured the pain; it was nothing as compared to what he had gone through. Soon, his skin's color changed from light golden to gold. 

Xiao Ning opened his eyes, and a smile formed on his face; he looked at the color of his skin and muttered, "It seems that I have to break through the Dou Grandmaster realm to complete skin refinement." Yet, there was no worry on his face. 

Xiao Ning looked at the drop of blood within his Qi-Vortex and thought, 'I really underestimated the energy contained in it.' 

Xiao Ning initially thought he could fully refine this drop of blood while breaking through the Dou Master realm, but now it seems that he was mistaken. 

Anyway, he didn't continue to think about it. Xiao Ning clenched his fist, and his Dou QI surged; it formed a cloak around his fist. Not only that, Xiao Ning still felt the presence of 'Golden Budha Flame' within the coat.

Note -

For early access to the next chapters, visit P.A.T.R.E.O.N- Franknoble.

Thank you for your support.