The Mysterious old man

　　With an indifferent expression, Xiao Yan leaves the hall as if spaced out and out of habit, he slowly climbs up the hill back in their estate. Sitting on top of the hill, Xiao Yan speechlessly looks across to the treacherous mountains shrouded in mist. That's the Monster Mountain range, which is famous in Gamma Empire.

　　"Oh, power is so impotant in this world… without power , a man is less worthy than even a pile of shit, at least, a pile of shit can discourage people from trampling on it!" The young man gently shrugs, and his deep self-mockery laughter echoes on the top of the hill, with anger and sorrow.

　　Scratching as if to tear his hair, Xiao Yan tightly bites his lips, and he tastes blood on the corner of his mouth. Although in the hall he constrained him very well, every word by Nalan Yanran is cutting his heart as if knives, making Xiao Yan trembling ...

　　"I don't want to suffer from today's humiliation again!" Spreading out his left palm with a bloody cut, Xiao Yan 's voice is hoarse but firm.

　　"Hey, hey, little boy, it seems that you need help, huh?"

　　Just as Xiao Yan vows in his heart, an old and strange laughter suddenly comes into his ears.

　　Xiao Yan's expression suddenly changes. He turns around abruptly, and sweeps around with his eagle-like sharp eyesight, only to find nothing and nobody...

　　"Hey, hey, no need to look for me, I'm on your finger."

　　Just when Xiao Yan thinks it is only an illusion, the strange laughter comes once again from nowhere.

　　The pupils of Xiao Yan shrink, and his eyesight stops abruptly on the black ancient ring on his right hand.

　　"Is it you who is talking?" Xiao Yan forces himself to hold back the panic in his heart, and tries to keep his voice calm down .

　　"Not bad for your compsure as ayoung boy, to be honest, I'm surprised that you didn't get scared and jump donw the hill." From the ring, a teasing laughter rings out.

　　"Who are you? Why are you in my ring? What do you want?"

　　After a while of silence, Xiao Yan have clearly asks the key problem .

　　"You don't need to care who I am, anyway, I won't do any harm to you, alas, after so many years, finally I find one whose soul is strong enough, how lucky! Hey, I have to thank you for providing me with battle Qi all these three years , otherwise, I'm afraid I'm still sleeping."

　　"Providing?" Blinking with confusion, Xiao Yan's face gets gloomed a moment later, and furious words burst out from between his teeth, word by word, "Is it you who steal the battle Qi inside my body?"

　　"Hey, hey, I have no choice, you don't blame me."

　　"Fuck you!"

　　Though Xiao Yan usually boasts his calmness, he suddenly rampages up as if a madman, with a hedious look on his face. Forgetting that this ring is a relic left by his mother, he ripped off the ring on the finger without a second thought, and then throws it out down the steep...

　　The moment the ring flies out, Xiao Yan comes back to reason, so he hastily reaches out to grab the ring, but when the ring has fallen straight down the cliff ...

　　Staring blankly at the ring that disappears into the mist, Xiao Yan keeps stunned for a good moment, and slowly he calms down, and he slaps his forehead in regret: "Shit, I'm too reckless, too reckless!"

　　It is no wonder that Xiao Yan loses control when he realizes that the culprit of his three years of humiliation is the ring he has been always wearing.

　　Sitting at the edge of the cliff for a good moment, Xiao Yan shakes his head helplessly, but when he stands up and turns around to leave, his pupils dilate, and his fingers tremble in shock as he pointed to something in front of him ...

　　In front of Xiao Yan floats a dark ancient and simple ring in air, but what shocks Xiao Yan most, is a transparent old man floating over the ring ...

　　"Hey, hey, young boy, no need to be so furious, right? I have just absorbed your battle Qi for three years." The transparent old man , smiling, stares at Xiao Yan who is dumbfounded and speaks.

　　Xiao Yan's lips tremble, and his voice is filled with suppressed anger: "old man , since you have been hiding in the ring, you should have known how much mockery you have brought me because you absorb my battle Qi, right?"

　　"But these three years' mockery strengthens you, doesn't it? Do you think you could have such good endurance and intelligence now if you don't lose your battle Qi three years ago?" Smiling noncommittally, the old man says indifferently.

　　Frowning, Xiao Yan mood gradually calms down. No longer boiling with rage, he feels delighted, since the reason why his battle Qi disappear has been figured out, so now, he must have regained his talent!

　　As long as the thought of finally having the opportunity to get rid of the title of waste dawns on him, Xiao Yan feels at this moment relieved as if has reborned, and it seems that the old man before him is not that annoying.

　　Only when a man loses something will he know how precious it is, and when he refind it he will cherish it much more!

　　Gently stretching his wrist, Xiao Yan exhales a long breath and tiltes his head, "Although I don't know who you really are, but I would like to ask a question, do you still want to hide in the ring and absorb my battle Qi in the future? If that's the case, I advise you to find another host because I can't afford to feed you."

　　"Hey, hey, others don't have such a strong soul as yours." The old man stroks his beard and smiles, "Since I chose to show up before you, I won't absorb your battle Qi in the future unless I get your permit ."

　　Xiao Yan rolls his eyes and sneers, he has made up his mind, no matter what wiles this old man gives, he would not let him follow him around anymore.

　　"Young boy, do you want to become strong? Do you want to be revered by others?" Although in his heart he has already decided not to mess with the old man, Xiao Yan's heart can't help fluttering at these words.

　　"Now that I know the reason why my battle Qi disappear, why I need your help to become strong with my good talent?" Taking a slow breath, Xiao Yan cooly says, knowing that there's no such thing as a free lunch, he thinks it is not a wise decision to accept the favor of a mysterious person.

　　"Young boy, your talent is certainly very good, but you have to know that you are now fifteen years old, and your battle Qi , however, has reached only the third rank. I have heard that you are due to face the coming-of-age ceremony next year, right? Do you think that you can obtain the seventh-ranked battle Qi in just one year with only hard work? And earlier this day you also make a three-year bet with that young girl, that girl girl's talent is no less than than yours. If you want to catch up with her and surpass her, that's not so easy." The wrinkled face of the old man, smirking, looks like a blooming chrysanthemum at this moment.

　　"If you haven't absorbed my battle Qi , how could I have been humiliated by her? You old bastard!" Reminding by old man of his scar, Xiao Yan 's small face gets once again gloomy, and gnashing his teeth he curses in anger,.

　　Let fly with a stream of abuse, Xiao Yan slumps over. Since things have been so, and to scold will not help. In the cultivation of battle Qi, the foundation is particularly important, when he was four years old he had began to cultivate Qi, and it was not until six years later, that he obtained the ninth-ranked battle Qi , even now he has regained his talent, it's almost impossible for him to obtain the seventh-ranked battle Qi within a year.

　　With a frustrated sigh, Xiao Yan glances at the transparent old man who was pretending to be profound and inscrutable, a flash of wit comes to him and he skips his lips, "You have a solution, right?"

　　"Maybe." old man laughs strangely, fudging the answer.

　　"How about you help me obtain the seventh-ranked battle Qi in one year, and I can forgive your previous absorption of my three years' battle Qi?" Xiao Yan asks tentatively.

　　"Hey, hey, you little boy is so calculating."

　　"If you are not helpful to me, then why do I need to bring a encumbrance with me? I think, you'd better find another unlucky guy..."Xiao Yan sneers, chatting for a moment, he also realizes that this transparent old man seems to be unable to absorb other people's battle Qi at his will.

　　"Your calculation is not like what a fifteen-year-old young man should have, it seems that in these three years, you have really grown a lot, can this be seen as my fault that I have to come home to roost now?" Looking at this foxy young boy, the old man is lost for words, then he shakes his head,dumbfounding.

　　Xiao Yan throws his hands up, and cooly he said, "If you want me to continue to provide you with battle Qi, you have to show me your sincerity, right?"

　　"What a glib little boy, well, well, I still have to beg you anyway." Helplessly nods, the old man lands on the ground, and he looks at Xiao Yan narrowly, a trickery smirk of triumph flashes on his face and soon fades away. Pretending to be hesitated for a while, then he speaks, seeming to be extremely reluctant: "Do you want to become an alchemist? "