Advancing to Dou Zhe

The banquet continued. Xiao Zhan, who had bullied his younger brother, was ruthlessly thrown out of the hall by Xiao Lin.

After that little incident, everyone resumed their cheerful conversation. Xiao Zhen, held in his father's arms, secretly revealed a little devilish smile. Looking at Xiao Zhan being thrown outside the hall, he felt rather disdainful. A little brat like you wants to fight me?

Nalan Jie asked Xiao Lin, "Brother Xiao, have you named your younger son yet?"

Xiao Lin shook his head and smiled. "Not yet. This child has only been born for a few days, so there's no rush to name him."

Nalan Jie said, "He hasn't been named yet? That won't do. There are so many old friends here today, so why not take this opportunity to give your younger son a nice name?"

Xiao Lin thought for a moment, then raised little Xiao Zhen high into the air and declared loudly, "In that case, his name shall be Xiao Zhen. I hope that he will one day shake the world and become an extraordinary figure."

Raised high in the air, Xiao Zhen was shocked. Xiao Zhen! It was actually the same as his name from his previous life. Was that not too much of a coincidence?

Though his mind was running wild, he did not know that he no longer bore the surname Xiao from before, but had changed to another Xiao. Still, they did not sound all that different.

An infant's mind was ultimately limited. Before long, exhausted Xiao Zhen fell into a deep sleep once more.

Spring passed, autumn came, and the seasons continued to change. In the blink of an eye, twelve years had passed.

Xiao Zhen had also grown into a young boy. Over these twelve years, he had finally figured out where he had transmigrated to.

The Dou Qi Continent, the Jia Ma Empire, the Xiao Clan, Xiao Zhan, and that Nalan Jie from the Nalan Clan—wasn't this Battle Through the Heavens? So he had transmigrated here.

Yet Xiao Zhen still had many doubts. He had read Battle Through the Heavens several times.

If he remembered correctly, wasn't the Xiao Clan supposed to be in the remote Wu Tan City? How had they ended up in the imperial capital of the Jia Ma Empire? Had they moved there later?

Moreover, the Xiao Clan was quite powerful, at least within the Jia Ma Empire. They were nothing like the small clan from the beginning of the novel.

Xiao Lin, a five-star Dou Wang, was his father.

There were also five Dou Lings. The strongest among them was Xiao Feng, the First Elder, a peak nine-star Dou Ling. The other four were the Second Elder, Third Elder, Fourth Elder, and Elder of Imparting Skills.

There were more than twenty Da Dou Shi below the Dou Ling rank, and countless Dou Masters. With such a strong foundation, Xiao Zhen simply could not understand how they could end up in Wu Tan City and become a third-rate small clan.

Within the Xiao Clan residence, Xiao Zhen sat cross-legged alone in his room. At that moment, he suddenly opened his eyes, waved his left hand, and took out a blue-and-green pill from his Storage Ring.

The instant the pill appeared, its medicinal fragrance rushed into his nose, filling the entire room. Xiao Zhen took a careful sniff. The scent was indeed excellent.

The pill in his hand was the famed Qi Gathering Powder. The Qi Gathering Powder could increase the chances of advancing to Dou Zhe. His father had spent an unknown number of gold coins to purchase it at an auction held by the Mitel Clan.

That was right. Xiao Zhen was preparing to advance to Dou Zhe. At twelve years old, he had already reached the ninth stage of Dou Qi, only one step away from becoming a Dou Zhe.

Xiao Zhen clearly remembered that his future nephew, Xiao Yan, the protagonist, had advanced to Dou Zhe at the age of eleven and had been praised as a rare genius of the Jia Ma Empire in the past century.

Xiao Zhen was about to advance to Dou Zhe at the age of twelve. He also possessed more resources than Xiao Yan, which was how he had achieved his current level. Though he was somewhat inferior to Xiao Yan, he could still be considered an outstanding genius.

A solemn look appeared in Xiao Zhen's eyes as he swallowed the pill in one gulp. If his attempt to advance to Dou Zhe failed, his cultivation would fall by several stages, so he had to be fully prepared.

After swallowing the pill, a faint coolness spread through his mouth. Moments later, a warm and pure energy surged directly from his mouth into his body. Xiao Zhen's body immediately trembled. It felt like taking a sip of ice-cold cola in the scorching desert. One word: refreshing!

After the wave of pleasure passed, Xiao Zhen swiftly formed hand seals to absorb Dou Qi. His breathing gradually steadied, and the faint Dou Qi within his body moved at his will, quickly entwining itself around that powerful, pure medicinal energy before beginning to refine it frantically.

The air in the room suddenly rippled violently. Threads of pale white Dou Qi seeped out of the air, then continuously flowed into Xiao Zhen's body.

Xiao Zhen clenched his teeth against his lips. As the medicinal power began to take effect, waves of stabbing pain constantly spread through his meridians. Fortunately, he had trained his body since childhood, so his internal channels were somewhat tougher than those of ordinary children. Though he felt pain, it had not yet caused any serious harm.

When the medicinal power began to weaken, Xiao Zhen started condensing a Dou Qi vortex as the energy within his body was continuously compressed.

Cold sweat dripped from Xiao Zhen's forehead. It was clear just how difficult this was for him.

What Xiao Zhen did not know was that several people had already gathered outside his door. They pressed themselves against the window and secretly watched everything, but all of them were extremely careful not to make too much noise. They feared disturbing Xiao Zhen while he was advancing to Dou Zhe and causing all his previous efforts to go to waste.

Naturally, Xiao Zhen's old father was among them. As his younger son advanced to Dou Zhe, he was the most anxious of them all.

As for the other elders, they were quite concerned about this matter as well. After all, the Xiao Clan's younger generation seemed somewhat lacking at present.

Take Xiao Zhan, the eldest son of clan head Xiao Lin, for example. He was already twenty-five years old, yet he was only a three-star Dou Master. Outside the clan, a three-star Dou Master at twenty-five would naturally be considered quite good, but one had to consider just how many resources the clan had invested in him.

Even Xiao Lin felt that if his eldest son did not encounter some great opportunity, he would likely be no more than a Dou Ling in this lifetime.

However, Xiao Lin was greatly comforted by the fact that his younger son had displayed considerable talent. As long as he could advance to Dou Zhe today, it would prove that his talent was exceptional, and he might very well become a Dou Wang expert in the future.

Xiao Lin knew very well that everything the Xiao Clan possessed now was protected by him, a Dou Wang expert. If anything happened to him one day, the Xiao Clan's enemies within the Jia Ma Empire would certainly not spare them.

Therefore, the Xiao Clan needed a Dou Wang expert, a young Dou Wang expert. Still, those thoughts were a little too far off. Xiao Lin was only in his fifties. With the lifespan of a Dou Wang expert, he could still protect the Xiao Clan for several more decades.

Xiao Zhen, inside the room, had no idea that a group of old men outside the door were anxiously watching to see whether he could advance.

Bang! A soft muffled sound quietly rang out within Xiao Zhen's body.

As the muffled sound rang out, the exhausting sensation of resistance that had plagued Xiao Zhen vanished into thin air.

Letting out a heavy sigh of relief, Xiao Zhen collapsed weakly onto the bed, his chest rising and falling violently.

Though he looked somewhat bedraggled, a smile appeared at the corner of Xiao Zhen's lips. Now that he had successfully advanced to Dou Zhe, his previous efforts had not been in vain, and he had done justice to that expensive Qi Gathering Powder.

Seeing Xiao Zhen successfully advance, the old men outside the door all revealed delighted expressions, as though they themselves had advanced to Dou Wang or Dou Huang.

Xiao Zhen had now displayed his talent without reservation. As long as nothing happened to him, the Xiao Clan would gain another Dou Wang expert in the future, perhaps even a Dou Huang expert.

"Let's go. Don't disturb him!" Xiao Lin waved his hand and used Secret Sound Transmission.