Where the Dream Began

"...Dou Zhe, One Star!"

The crowd collectively sucked in a breath, and the square was instantly filled with hissing sounds.

"The young master is only ten, isn't he? And he's already become a Dou Zhe."

"Isn't that only natural? This time last year, the young master had already reached Ninth Stage Dou Qi!"

"The young master will probably surpass the Patriarch someday and become a Dou Ling expert, right?"

"A Dou Ling? You ignorant fool! Don't tell anyone you're from the Xiao Family when you go out! With the young master's talent, he'll definitely become a Dou Emperor in the future!"

Human joys and sorrows were not shared. Xiao Yan only found them noisy.

Xiao Yan's expression remained calm as he quickly returned to his room.

Xiao Yan, who was even more diligent than in the original timeline, was only ten years old now. He also knew perfectly well that Old Yao was about to start absorbing his Dou Qi.

Over the next three years, Xiao Yan would fall from a One Star Dou Zhe to Three-Stage Dou Qi and suffer every kind of mockery and ridicule.

That was only human nature—

The Xiao Family was an utterly ordinary clan. Even within their city, they were only one of the three dominant powers, and the clan's resources were extremely limited.

When Xiao Yan displayed his talent, the entire clan would concentrate its resources on nurturing him, hoping that once he matured, he would repay the clan in turn.

During that process, other "geniuses" would inevitably lose the resources that should have been theirs because of Xiao Yan's existence.

And once Xiao Yan lost his talent, Xiao Zhan, both Patriarch and father, would certainly want to keep concentrating resources on him so that he could recover his talent.

The other Elders might still hold out hope at first, but as time passed, they would naturally become unwilling.

After all, Cousin Xiao Ning and Cousin Xiao Mei were also rare geniuses in this city. Through their own efforts, it was not as though they had no hope of reaching the Dou Ling realm...

Sitting on his bed, Xiao Yan began his first cultivation session since becoming a Dou Zhe.

Xiao Yan knew that Old Yao was about to start absorbing his Dou Qi, but Venerable Yao was Xiao Yan's best teacher. Naturally, he would not throw away the ring.

What truly intrigued Xiao Yan was how Old Yao restored his Soul Power by absorbing Dou Qi.

The original novel seemed not to have explained that plot hole?

Xiao Yan did not understand the principle, but he was still very interested in strengthening Soul Power through absorbing Dou Qi. Even if he could not learn that, learning to use Soul Power to assist cultivation would still be a good thing.

Having thoroughly read Battle Through the Heavens, Xiao Yan appeared to be cultivating Dou Qi, but in truth, he had focused all his attention on the Ancient Ring hanging from his chest, trying to apprentice himself ahead of time.

This was when Old Yao was at his weakest—aside from the eleventh-ranked Bone Spirit Cold Flame, he had nothing—and it was also when Xiao Yan had been at his strongest in recent years—a terrifying One Star Dou Zhe. Xiao Yan felt highly confident.

As cultivation began, the World Energy newly entering his body was continuously converted into Xiao Yan's Dou Qi, only to vanish without explanation afterward.

Under Xiao Yan's focused observation, he really did discover something slightly discordant about the Ancient Ring on his chest—

Every time the Dou Qi in his body vanished, an unfathomable aura flashed across the ring.

As for what exactly it was, Xiao Yan could only say that he seemed to understand something, yet also seemed to understand nothing at all.

Within minutes, Xiao Yan had immersed himself in that half-understood sensation. His body autonomously absorbed World Energy, while his soul seemed to undergo some changes as well.

Streams of Soul Perception Power spread from Xiao Yan's body, causing his entire being to merge with the world around him. World Energy surged toward Xiao Yan, continuously pouring into the recently formed Dou Qi Vortex.

"Eh?"

Xiao Zhan, who had rushed over after busily finishing a mountain of tasks to check on his precious son, froze on the spot.

"Is this... an epiphany?"

The World Energy in the small courtyard was not only denser than outside, but also far more active. It was nearly comparable to the level Xiao Zhan usually experienced during cultivation.

And Xiao Yan had only just broken through to become a Dou Zhe. He had not even had time to cultivate a method, yet he had actually caused such a phenomenon. Aside from an epiphany, Xiao Zhan could think of no other possibility.

"Ha... as expected of my son!" Xiao Zhan had just been about to laugh loudly, but fearing that he would disturb his son in the midst of enlightenment, he could only lower his voice and praise him fiercely.

"I need to discuss this with the Elders. The highest fire-attributed cultivation method in the clan is only Yellow Tier Advanced. This is simply wasting Yan'er's talent."

"Let's see if we can scrape together enough money to buy a Xuan Tier Cultivation Method, or send Yan'er to cultivate at the Misty Cloud Sect..."

Xiao Zhan muttered under his breath, then turned and tiptoed out of the courtyard, gently closing the courtyard gate behind him.

Three days later.

Xiao Zhan was gathered with the three Elders, discussing the matter of selling off part of the family assets to buy a cultivation method for Xiao Yan.

The idea of sending Xiao Yan to the Misty Cloud Sect had been rejected. Xiao Zhan believed that the academy-style Jia Nan Academy was better than the sect-style Misty Cloud Sect, and the Three Great Elders thought he was absolutely right.

As for pooling money to buy Xiao Yan a Xuan Tier Cultivation Method, the Three Great Elders naturally agreed—otherwise, how could the young master, who practiced a Yellow Tier cultivation method, compete against those geniuses at Jia Nan Academy?

However, which part of the family assets should be sold and how much money should be raised were matters that needed to be discussed together and laid out clearly.

Moreover, Xuan Tier Cultivation Methods were not easy to buy. An Elder might have to travel to a major city in the empire to search for one, which was another issue worth discussing.

Just then, Xiao Yan arrived—as a young master with extraordinary talent and pure bloodline, he naturally had the right to enter and leave most important family locations at will.

"Yan'er, why are you here? Did your epiphany lead to a breakthrough?" Xiao Zhan stopped the discussion, unwilling to let Xiao Yan know too much and affect his cultivation.

The other Three Great Elders also understood Xiao Zhan's intentions. They stopped in unison, then forced kindly smiles onto their aged faces.

"Yes, I broke through. I'm now at Nine Stage Dou Disciple," Xiao Yan said with a nod.

"What? Nine-Star Dou Zhe? No... Ninth Stage? Dou Qi?"

Xiao Zhan only felt that his precious son had cultivated himself stupid and started babbling nonsense in delirium.

Yet the powerful perception granted by his Da Dou Shi cultivation told him that Xiao Yan's aura was indeed weaker than that of a Dou Zhe.

Whoosh!

Xiao Zhan instantly darted to Xiao Yan's side and carefully examined his aura, yet he could not sense Xiao Yan's once-formed Dou Qi Vortex at all. He could only sense the thin Dou Qi circulating within Xiao Yan's body.

"How... how could this happen?" Xiao Zhan seemed to have aged ten years. With vacant eyes, he staggered back several steps and collapsed into a chair.

The Three Great Elders exchanged glances, then stepped forward one after another to examine Xiao Yan's body. All of them found Xiao Yan healthy, and it did not appear that his cultivation had regressed due to going astray in cultivation.

But the Dou Qi Vortex really had disappeared. Only Dou Qi remained within Xiao Yan's body; he truly was only at the ninth stage.