Golden Finger in Place

After personally witnessing his youngest son advance to Dou Zhe, Xiao Lin quietly left with several elders.

Xiao Zhen had just made a breakthrough and needed rest. He should not be disturbed.

Lying on his bed, Xiao Zhen's eyes grew heavy as he prepared to get a good night's sleep.

But suddenly, a crisp mechanical notification sounded beside his ear.

"Ding! The host has been detected advancing to Dou Zhe. The Adventurer System has officially activated!"

The sudden notification startled Xiao Zhen. He had nearly thought he had seen a ghost in broad daylight.

Make no mistake, ghosts truly existed on the Dou Qi Continent. Any expert who reached the Dou Ling realm could leave behind a soul after death, though such souls were too weak to persist for long.

The infamous Soul Hall of the Dou Qi Continent specialized in hunting other Soul Bodies. This was why they were so despised. If the Soul Clan had not supported them from behind the scenes, they would have been destroyed countless times already.

But once he understood the meaning of those words, Xiao Zhen's expression immediately changed. His system had arrived. His Golden Finger had appeared. He was about to soar to greatness.

Xiao Zhen cautiously said, "System, are you there? Say something."

"Ding! The Adventurer System is at your service. What are your orders, esteemed host?"

Xiao Zhen was delighted. It really was a system Golden Finger. It seemed he had not been abandoned after all. He truly had to thank God, Buddha, the Jade Emperor, the Three Pure Ones, and Dao Ancestor.

Ever since learning that this was the Battle Through the Heavens World, and that he belonged to the descendants of the Xiao Clan, one of the former Eight Ancient Clans, he had often lived in fear, afraid that some change in the plot would cause his cheap protagonist nephew to be born too late, only for the clan to be wiped out ahead of time.

Xiao Zhen asked curiously, "System, what exactly do you do? What functions do you have?"

"Ding! The Adventurer System's purpose is to forge the host into the strongest adventurer across all worlds."

"The system's primary function is to issue Adventure Missions for the host to complete one by one, after which the system will grant rewards."

After listening to the system's introduction, Xiao Zhen suddenly understood. That was all? It really was a standard system, following the same old novel formula. The only disappointing part was that this thing did not seem very intelligent.

Xiao Zhen continued, "Then do your missions have any punishments? You won't erase me or something, will you?"

"Ding! The system does not possess the function of erasing the host, but punishment functions do exist."

Xiao Zhen let out a sigh of relief. It was good that it did not have an erasure function. Though he did not know whether the system was telling the truth, with this thing's intelligence, it probably would not know how to deceive him.

Xiao Zhen asked, "Then when do the missions begin?"

"Ding! The system may issue missions at any time, but completing Adventure Missions requires traveling to other worlds."

Xiao Zhen hesitated. He had not expected that completing missions would require traveling to other worlds.

Xiao Zhen had initially thought he would only be doing missions nearby. If the missions were simple enough, he could even rely on the clan's power. After all, he was the son of a Dou Wang expert. Within the Jia Ma Empire, the Xiao Clan still had some influence.

"Ding! Would the host like to apply for a mission immediately?"

Xiao Zhen hurriedly shook his head and immediately refused. "No, no, no! I'm not going yet. Even if I really do missions, you have to give me some time to prepare."

Xiao Zhen sat up abruptly from his bed. He suddenly felt that the fatigue from his recent breakthrough seemed to have disappeared. Perhaps this was what it meant to be invigorated by happy news.

Xiao Zhen immediately opened his door and headed for the clan hall. If nothing unexpected happened, his father should be there. Having just advanced to Dou Zhe, he had to report it.

When Xiao Zhen entered the hall, he found his father and several elders seated inside. They chatted and laughed together as though there was some happy occasion.

Seeing Xiao Zhen enter, Xiao Lin feigned surprise and loudly said, "Eh, Zhen'er, you broke through to Dou Zhe?"

Xiao Lin and the elders had already known about Xiao Zhen's breakthrough to Dou Zhe. After all, they had been peeking outside the door at the time. Naturally, they would not admit it, or it would damage the dignity of their seniority.

Xiao Zhen bowed to his father and the elders, then said proudly, "It was just luck! I have Father's Qi Gathering Powder to thank for it."

Xiao Lin stroked his chin and burst into laughter. "Stop being modest, brat. The medicinal pill was only an aid. Your breakthrough was mainly due to your own talent and perseverance."

Xiao Zhan, who stood to one side, had also learned that his younger brother had already broken through to Dou Zhe. He could not help feeling envious.

Xiao Zhan's talent was not particularly outstanding. He had already been eighteen when he broke through to Dou Zhe, and that had only been thanks to the Qi Gathering Powder his father had worked hard to obtain.

Now twenty-five years old, Xiao Zhan was only a five-star Dou Master. Compared to his brother, who was more than ten years younger, he was rather unimpressive.

If not for his status as the eldest young master of the Xiao Clan and the son of a Dou Wang, which gave him access to vast resources, Xiao Zhan truly doubted whether he would have advanced to Dou Master by now.

Seeing the envy in his eldest son's eyes, Xiao Lin became furious. Pointing at Xiao Zhan's nose, he harshly scolded:

"You little brat, take a good look at your younger brother. You were both born to the same parents, so why is the gap between you so huge?"

After being lectured by his father, Xiao Zhan lowered his head in embarrassment. Yet he had other thoughts in his heart.

Xiao Zhan felt that he and Xiao Zhen were full brothers, born to the same father and mother. So why did he resemble their father and look so ordinary, while his little brother resembled their mother and was already strikingly handsome at such a young age? Even for children of the same parents, was this difference not a little too great?

Seeing his eldest son's expression, Xiao Lin also sighed. Cultivation depended on talent as well. Perhaps Xiao Zhan truly was not suited for cultivation and had inherited none of his talent. At most, he would become a Dou Ling in the future. It would be better to make other arrangements for him early on. Later, he could arrange an elder's position for him. That was probably the only help he could offer as a father.

Xiao Lin said to Xiao Zhan, "Don't be discouraged. From now on, start taking over some of the clan's businesses. In the future, you will assist your younger brother in managing the clan."

Xiao Zhan did not object and simply nodded. Though being surpassed by his younger brother in talent made him feel stifled, there was nothing he could do about it.

Besides, on the Dou Qi Continent, the strong were revered. In the future, he feared his cultivation would not be enough to shoulder the burden of the clan.

Just as the hall fell silent, an elderly man seated nearby slowly rose to his feet.

The old man who stood had white hair and beard, his face covered in wrinkles, making him appear aged and dignified. Yet his old eyes seemed to gleam with golden light, giving him the air of an old fox.

This elder was Xiao Feng, the Xiao Clan's First Elder and a peak nine-star Dou Ling expert. Unfortunately, he was already old. Otherwise, if he could break through to Dou Wang, he might gain several more decades of life.

Xiao Feng was now over ninety years old and had reached his twilight years. Yet with his peak Dou Ling cultivation, he remained energetic and managed the clan's affairs in perfect order.

In terms of seniority, even Xiao Lin had to address Xiao Feng as uncle. Junior members like Xiao Zhan and Xiao Zhen normally had to call him Great-Uncle.

Xiao Feng first coughed several times before solemnly saying, "Clan Leader, Xiao Zhan is no longer young. It is time for him to start a family. Why not first find him a virtuous wife? After some time, this old man can teach him how to manage the clan's businesses."

The people in the hall wore varying expressions upon hearing this. Xiao Lin and the elders all felt that the First Elder's suggestion was quite good.

Xiao Zhan himself did not object either. He did not have any girl he liked, and he was not opposed to the clan's arrangements.

The one most shaken inwardly was undoubtedly Xiao Zhen. His elder brother Xiao Zhan was going to marry. Did that mean the three brothers Xiao Ding, Xiao Li, and Xiao Yan would soon be born as well?

Based on deductions from the original work, after Dou Wang Xiao Lin of the Xiao Clan died, the clan would undergo drastic changes.

And his father, Xiao Lin, should only meet with an accident after his unknown sister-in-law became pregnant with Xiao Yan. After all, if his father died too early, how could there be a childhood betrothal with the Nalan Clan? It seemed time was running short.