*Chapter 6: The Three-Year-Old Miracle Doctor, Even the King of Hell Bows*

Under the corridor, a group of young children formed a circle, their delicate faces full of solemnity, creating a tense atmosphere.

"Xiao Yan cousin, this time, will the little figure move?" The girl in the red dress couldn't help but ask.

Although she was young, there was a hint of charm in her eyes, the makings of a future beauty.

Wearing a light green dress as elegant as a lotus, Xun'er gently hushed, "Cousin Xiao Mei, don't disturb Brother Xiao Yan."

Standing nearby, Xiao Yu in a blue dress, with legs slightly longer than most, remained silent, though visibly tense due to being a bit older.

Xiao Yan seemed to ignore the presence of the surrounding girls, focusing intently on manipulating the colorful iron puppet in his hand.

After assembling the puppet's right arm, he sifted through several precious magic cores scattered on the ground. Selecting a decent first-tier wood-type core, he embedded it into the groove on the puppet's chest.

As Xiao Yan fitted the magic core, a green energy spread from the core throughout the puppet's body. In an instant, the small iron figure seemed to be infused with life, waving its limbs and its eyes shining with a greenish glow.

Such a remarkable transformation startled even Xiao Yu, the oldest of the group. She leaned in to get a closer look at this magical little creation.

[Through your repeated experiences in assembling puppets, you have gained an epiphany and learned the 'Basic Puppet Creation Method.']

['Basic Puppet Creation Method': Using magic cores as energy and refined iron as the body, you can create simple moving puppets.]

Seeing the system message appear, Xiao Yan handed the iron puppet to the three girls to play with. Slowly standing up, he stretched lazily.

Time passed bit by bit; two and a half years had gone by since his first birthday ritual.

In these past two years, because he had chosen the path of medicine and magic cores during that ritual, Xiao Yan received the support he desired in the field of medicine.

Despite his young age, the adults made sure to impart knowledge of herbs and their properties to him.

Relying on his extraordinary insight, Xiao Yan was able to infer more from a little knowledge. Within just one year, he developed a miraculous medicine.

As long as a person still had a breath left in them, consuming this medicine would bring them back from the brink of death.

Of course, the medicine made from ordinary herbs could not completely match the efficacy of the Bone-Growing and Blood-Merging Pill, a peak-grade seven-tier pill.

The medicine Xiao Yan created was only effective for those below the Dou Huang (Battle King) level.

If the injured person was too powerful, such as a Dou Zong (Battle Sect) or Dou Zun (Battle Sovereign), their formidable physical bodies would be beyond the medicine's healing capacity.

Perhaps if Xiao Yan were given more time and access to more ingredients, he could concoct a pill capable of healing even Dou Zong and Dou Zun powerhouses. However, achieving a qualitative change in a pill made through ordinary methods would require an effort far beyond just one year.

With the weight of concern over his grandfather's health lifted from his heart, Xiao Yan didn't let his profound insight go to waste and began studying the path of puppetry.

At first, Xiao Yan had no such capability. He could only make simple dolls to amuse Xun'er, his future little wife.

However, with his heaven-defying insight, once he grasped the basics, he progressed rapidly.

After several attempts, Xiao Yan mastered techniques from zero, such as mechanical assembly, the drawing of energy patterns on puppets, and eventually the application of magic core energy.

If given a few more years, Xiao Yan was confident he could create powerful puppets for real combat. He might even be able to craft a temporary body for Yao Lao.

Thus, what started as a small gesture to amuse his future wife turned into a bountiful endeavor.

Xiao Yan flexed his wrist, watching the three girls playing with the small iron puppet, his eyes filled with contemplation.

This time, Xiao Yan did not delve deeper into puppet manufacturing; instead, he pondered ways to enhance his soul power.

Soul power, something believed to be untrainable in the Jia Ma Empire, could, in the central tower of the Alchemy Guild in Zhongzhou, be cultivated using specific techniques.

Since ancient cultivators had created methods to cultivate soul power, Xiao Yan, with his heaven-defying insight, naturally would not think himself inferior to those predecessors.

Enlightenment was only a matter of time!

Suddenly, from the other side of the corridor came a burst of noise, with an urgency in the voices.

"Blood... blood smell?" Xiao Yan turned his head, his nose twitching slightly.

With his keen soul power, Xiao Yan quickly sensed the identity of the unconscious person being carried by the Xiao family's experts.

"It's today!" Xiao Yan's eyes widened. Prepared for this moment, he would not let his caring grandfather die in front of him.

He instructed Cousin Xiao Yu to look after his future wife, Xun'er, and quickly followed.

"Elder Han, is there really nothing you can do?!" Xiao Zhan asked desperately, his voice trembling as he looked at Elder Han, who kept shaking his head.

Elder Han sighed deeply, "Young Master, the Old Master is a Dou Wang (Battle King) powerhouse. His physical constitution far surpasses ordinary people. My ordinary medicinal pills made with mundane flames are ineffective on him."

Everyone present wore expressions of grief.

A Dou Wang could gather Dou Qi wings to fly, long surpassing the abilities of ordinary people.

Ordinary wounds could be somewhat managed with medicinal remedies and Dou Qi. But now, the Old Master was gravely injured, on the brink of death, beyond the reach of conventional medicine.

"Husband, don't worry too much yet," Qin Yueyao comforted Xiao Zhan as she supported him.

Xiao Zhan's eyes brightened. His wife was a cultivator of water-attribute Dou Qi, known for its healing properties and often called a walking remedy.

With her current strength, she might just be able to save his father.

Before she could act, her beautiful eyes caught sight of a small figure weaving through the crowd.

Letting go of Xiao Zhan, Qin Yueyao walked toward the unnoticed little boy, "Yan'er, why are you here? Go outside now."

With his grandfather, Xiao Lin, gravely injured and covered in blood, she didn't want a young child to witness such a scene.

"I saw Grandpa was hurt, and I have medicine." Xiao Yan had already seated himself beside the bed. Looking at his grandfather's pale face, he felt a pang of pain despite knowing his grandfather would soon recover.

Everyone was amused by his childlike words, their stiff faces showing a hint of a bitter smile.

Ordinary medicine had little effect on a Dou Wang, only rare pills crafted by an alchemist might work.

Reaching into his pocket, Xiao Yan pulled out a delicate jade bottle. He poured out a white pill and slipped it into Xiao Lin's mouth.

"Go back to Xun'er," Qin Yueyao said as she grabbed Xiao Yan's small hand. How could one feed medicine to an unconscious person?

At that moment, Qin Yueyao glanced incredulously at the bloodied old man on the bed.

Everyone's eyes widened in disbelief.

The numerous wounds on Xiao Lin's body were healing at a visible rate.

The pallor on his face also gradually regained a healthy hue.

With a groan, Xiao Lin, who had been on the brink of death, miraculously sat up from the bed.

Apart from his tattered, blood-stained clothes, wasn't this the strongest patriarch of the Xiao family, Xiao Lin?!

Xiao Yan thought to himself: Since the medicine he developed was for severely wounded people, he had naturally considered situations where they were unconscious and unable to take medicine as usual.

Hence, it was designed to dissolve upon contact and take effect quickly, making it essential for emergency treatment.

Even if Xiao Lin had been wounded more severely, as long as he still had a breath, he could be saved.

This miraculous medicine was named "King of Hell's Retreat," for even the King of Hell would have to bow and leave.

(Chapter End)