BTTH: Template System

Within the jade box, a green pill, about the size of a grape, lay quietly. The refreshing scent that had spread throughout the entire hall was emanating from the pill!

'So this is what a pill looks like.' It's strange, to say the least. Under the Six Eyes observation, he could see Dou Qi in a unique way. It isn't something that can be explained in words, but if you give a rough idea, the Dou Qi is alive.

Once a certain amount is gathered in the same place, it gains its own intelligence or soul the least. So when he saw the pill, he saw dozens of different types of Dou Qi chained together by another one.

'So the fire type Dou Qi keeps the others in check while a glimpse of the wood type binds them together.' Xiao Ming's eyes, for the first time in a while, showed fascination while looking at the pill. 'Perhaps the path of Alchemist isn't so bad to check out.'

"Hehe, this was refined by our honorable elder Gu He. I think that everyone here has heard of his name right?" Looking at the embarrassing appearance of the three elders, Ge Ye started becoming arrogant.

"This pill was refined by the Pill King Gu He?" Hearing Ge Ye's words, the three elders once again embarrassed themselves.

Pill King Gu He, an extremely influential alchemist within the Jia Ma Empire. His alchemy is mysterious and unpredictable causing countless different forces to try to fawn over him.

Not only does Gu He have extraordinary talent in alchemy, his strength is at the level of a Dou Wang (Dou King) and he's one of the top ten Dou Zhes (In this case Dou Zhe represents all the people that cultivates using Dou Qi) in Jia Ma Empire

Refined by his hands, the Qi Gathering Pill's value is probably exponentially higher than other normal Qi Gathering Pills.

The three elders smile at the Qi Gathering Pill within the Jade box. If the Xiao Clan gets this Qi Gathering Pill, then the Xiao Clan can probably develop another young Dou Zhe.

Right when the three elders were thinking about how to get the pill for their grandsons, a young voice filled with fury resonates within the main hall.

"Mr. Ge Ye, it would be better if you kept the pill. Your request we might not accept it!"

Xiao Yan's rash reaction causes everyone to look at him silently, the hall falls into the silence, waiting for the guests or the clan elders's reaction.

"Xiao Yan, you don't have the right to say anything right now. Be quiet!" One of the elder's face became dark as he yelled at Xiao Yan.

"Xiao Yao, be quiet. I know that you're not happy about this but we'll decide what will happen!" Another quite old elder said to Xiao it Yan

"The three elders, if your sons or grandsons had their marriage released today, would you still be saying that?" Xiao Yao slowly stands up.

'Gotcha!' While everyone is arguing about the pill, a sly smirk creeps on Xiao Ming's face. Just now he found a way to unlock the storage ring and stole from it using Gojo's Limitless technique.

'Truly, someone from the big sect has quite a collection you have in their ring.' It's still hard for him to identify everything in the ring, but he can feel the amount of Dou Qi each item contains.

"Three elders, Brother Xiao Yao isn't wrong. He's the victim of this so you guys shouldn't decide for him." Upon hearing Xun Er voicing her opinion, the three clan elders' aggression suddenly gets replaced by worried glances between each other.

Xiao Yan was confused by the authority displayed by the girl beside himself. But even so, it wasn't time to succumb to that mystery. "Lady Nalan, I would like to ask a question. Your visit here today, to release the marriage, did Grandfather Nalan give his consent?"

Before, when Xiao Yan came out from his corner, Nalan Yanran already felt uncomfortable with him. Now hearing his question, her brow scrunches up. At first, she thought he knew his place, so he decided to be quiet to keep at least whatever was left of his dignity, but he was actually extremely shameless. Does he not know the difference between the two of them?

Criticizing Xiao Yan in her mind, Nalan Yanran never considered how releasing the marriage would put Xiao Yan and his father into an awkward and infuriating situation.

Standing up and staring at the guy who's supposed to marry her, Nalan Yanran says: "Grandfather didn't give his consent. But! This is my own problem and not related to him."

"Since Grandfather hasn't said anything then I hope that you will forgive my father for not accepting your request. Our marriage was set by our two grandfathers, and since none of them have said to release the marriage, then this marriage will go on. Or else, the people who are trying to release the marriage would be disrespecting their ancestors! I think that within our clan, there aren't any people that would do such a dishonorable thing." Xiao Yan tilts his head and stares straight at the three elders.

Xiao Ming rolls his eyes at Xiao Yan, who is trying to justify this forced marriage, and moves his finger slightly as if tapping on his seat. It's just now there is something extra in his system's inventory. 'Thank you for the gift elder Gu Ye.'

Sliding Cloud Steps Technique Level: Low Xuan

Allows the user to gather Dou Qi under his feat and turn it into the cloud to enhance their travel speed.

'Movement type technique? Kinda tasteless to me, but I really can't complain, can I?' He silently observed the reaction of the others, and after making sure no one was looking at him suspiciously, he calmed down.

Nalan Yanran's patience reaches Its limit, as she says to Xiao Yan coldly. "Under what conditions will you release the marriage? Were the reparations too little? Alright, I can ask my teacher to give you another 3 Qi Gathering Pill. In addition, if you want to, l can let you join the Misty Cloud Sect and learn the secret Dou Qi training methods of the sect, is that enough?"

Hearing the attractive conditions from Nalan Yanran, the three elders's breathing started to become heavy. Within the main hall, the younger generation swallowed their salivas. Joining the Misty Cloud Sect? God, that's the dream of countless people.

After saying all these conditions, Nalan Yanran raised her snow-white chin, like a princess addressing her servants. She waited for Xiao Yan's response and knew that these conditions were enough to make any young man crazy.

Suddenly, in the quiet hall, a bored yawn escapes from Xiao Ming's mouth, earning him glares from the guests and the clan elders. "Sorry, sorry, I did a late-night cultivation yesterday."

"I...I want to kill you!" Xiao Yan suddenly launches himself towards Xiao Ming with bloodshot eyes. His words were unmistakably filled with killing intent. "How dare you make fun of my misfortune!"

'Well, yawning on the others while they are facing some kind of humiliation is rude, I guess.' Xiao Yan swings his fist towards him. Even if he was just a 3-star Dou Zhi Qi, he is several times stronger than any normal adult.

Even a simple fist infused with Dou Qi can leave a print in a wood easily we'll, as long it hits the target, of course. Xiao Yan's fist effortlessly passed through the air but that was the only thing he hit. Breathing becomes harder, and his vision starts blurring; there is something on his neck, wrapping around his neck like a poisonous python strangling Its prey.

"Xiao Ming! That's enough!" Xiao Zhan's panicked scream, infused with the pressure of Dou Qi, envelops the hall. The floor cracks, and debris flies everywhere; youngsters of the Clan fall on the floor one after another, except Xiao Ming, who was choking and holding Xiao Yan.

It was as if Xiao Zhan's voice didn't reach him. Even the floor around him was okay, creating the illusion that he and the rest of the hall exist in a different world. Just before Xiao Yan loses consciousness, Xiao Ming finally releases him, letting him lay on the floor, breathing for the air desperately.

Xiao Zhan and Xiao Xun Er looked at him eyes full of hostility and hatred. "What's the meaning of this Xiao Ming?! Why did you attack Xiao Yan?!"

"It's called self defense my dear sect leader. I just saw young master Xiao Yan leaping towards me with intent to harm me so I took the issue to my hand and solved the problem." His tone was flat, without much emotion. Xiao Zhan's aura rises through the roof, creating cracks in his seat as he greets his teeth in anger.

"Good... very good... even orphans of the Xiao Clan no longer think me of a thing?" His voice becomes even more raspy as he clinches his fist even harder.

Xiao Zhan wasn't the only one who released his aura, but Xiao Xun Er did the same too. Xiao Ming clances at Xiao Yan who was lying on the ground somewhat recovered from his near-death experience. Visibly shaken from it but still looking at Xiao Ming maliciously.

"Xiao Zhan! Get a grip on yourself! You are making us look like a joke in front of Nalan Yanran and Elder Gu Ye!" The clan elder 1 said in a serious tone.

"It seems like your age is catching up to you. Don't you dare forget you are the Clan leader before you are a dad?" The clan elder 2 gets up from his seat as he glares at Xiao Zhan.

"By doing this you aren't only embarrassing yourself but us! The Xiao Clan as a whole!" Clan Elder 3 joins the fun, preparing to take action with the other two elders as long as things go wrong.

Nalan Yanran, who was protected by the elder Gu Ye from Xiao Zhan's sudden attack, looked at Xiao Yan with disgust on her face. He doesn't only when to back off but goes wild when things don't go his way. She couldn't believe she was going to marry this kind of person who is worse than a dog.

"F-father! It was my fault. You don't need to get yourself in trouble because of my incompetence." He glares at Xiao Ming coldly.

'Are you talking about your incompetence to control yourself or not being able to beat me?'

"Hmph, it seems like today I came in person to cancel the marriage was the most correct decision I ever made. Did I not only see how disgusting creature this Xiao Yan is, but I also saw the Clan Leader Xiao Zhan isn't as kind as he let himself be." Nalan Yanran's voice was filled with disgust. Not only was the previous guilt, but she was an omission, and her words became even more venomous.

"Nalan Yanran!..." Xiao Yan slowly forced himself to get up from the floor as his teeth made a clattering sound. "You can disrespect me but don't you dare disrespect my father!"

Xiao Yan's mouth curved into a sneer: "Nalan Yanran... You should understand that in Dou Qi Continent, a woman going back to her marriage would embarrass the opposite party in front of everyone. Hehe, I don't care about being embarrassed, but my father! He's the clan leader; if we accept your request today, then how do you expect him to rule over the Xiao clan? How will Xiao clan keep a foothold in Wu Tan City?"

"And you! Xiao Ming!..." He points at Xiao Ming furiously. "You must be here because of the elders's order, aren't you? You conspired with the elders to humiliate me in front of the whole clan, making my father lose his cool and make a mistake!"

'Okay, now the conflict is becoming even more forced than before.'

His words made the other youngsters murmur between themselves exchanging glances.

'How the hell did you come to that conclusion?'

"Xiao Yan! You can eat whatever you want with that mouth of yours but don't you dare spout whatever you desire with it!" The clan elder said coldly while looking at him.

"That's right! Don't you dare taint our innocence with your delusions! Not only that compared to you! Mere cripple, Xiao Ming is one of the Xiao Clan's future pillars!"

"Uhh, sure?" Xiao Ming mutters to himself gently. 'I guess the destruction of the Xiao Clan was too much in the first place.'

"Cripple... cripple... cripple... Hehe, why didn't I ever see you acting so bold when my talent was still there..." His expression becomes a bitter smile for a few moments before changing into a determined look. "Very well then! NALAN YANRAN! I AM CHALLENGING YOU TO A DUEL FROM THREE YEARS NOW ON!!! DO YOU DARE TO ACCEPT MY CHALLENGE?!!"

"What's it to me? By accepting your challenge and beating you only thing I will earn is disgrace." Xiao Yan sneered at her reaction and said in a disdainful tone: "What? Our high and mighty lady Yanran is scared of a mere cripple like me? Fine then! Whoever won between us that day will earn the right to go back from this marriage!"

"You..." After sensing clear mockery in her tone, she said angrily. "Very well then!

I accept your challenge! But I will choose the place where the duel will be held! It is at the Misty Cloud Sect under the watchful eyes of my master and the seat's elders!"

"And this implies to you too! Xiao Ming! After Nalan Yanran, I will come after you to pay for today's humiliation!" It was XiaoMing'ss turn to be stunned. "Our duel is stake will be my title as the future heir of the Xiao Clan! Whoever won between us will inherit the Clan!"

'Dude? Where are your delusions coming from? You stopped possessing that title after losing your talent thereee years ago. And why the hell are you pulling me into your revenge plot?... oh, I see what's going on.' Xiao Ming lets out a chuckle. 'So this was the reason I got called here. It seems like the fate of this world is trying to force me, the variable that never existed before, into the role of villain.'

'So you wanna force me into the role of Xiao Yan's future stepping stone? Hehe, sure, I will play that role for you. But, hehe, even an attempt to step on me will cost you a hefty amount of price from your dear protagonist.'