Xiao Family Coming-of-Age Ceremony

Time flowed like water, slipping by in a hurry.

Only one month remained until the Xiao Family Coming-of-Age Ceremony. Such ceremonies existed only in families with long-standing legacies. During this month, the Xiao family's children who were about to come of age had to undergo a series of assessments, meant to eliminate those whose Dou Qi was below standard.

Only those whose Dou Qi had reached the seventh stage could enter the family's Dou Technique Pavilion and choose a cultivation method. Those who failed would be assigned to the family's various businesses. Unless they distinguished themselves greatly in the future, they would never again be able to enter the family's inner circle.

The day before the assessment ceremony, Xia Mo and Xiao Yan were still cultivating in the back mountain. Xiao Yan was still practicing Eight Level Collapse, while Xia Mo sat beside him in boredom, wondering what to eat later.

It seemed I hadn't eaten fish since coming here. There should be a river beneath the cliff. I'll go take a look with Xiao Lan later, Xia Mo thought.

"Xiao Yan, keep practicing. I'll go down and see whether there are any fish in the river. We'll have fish tonight. Go call Xiao Yi Xian and Xun'er over later," Xia Mo said to Xiao Yan.

"Got it. Go on, go on," Xiao Yan replied listlessly. It seemed Old Yao had put him through quite a beating today.

Xia Mo took out a bamboo whistle and blew it several times. Before long, Xiao Lan flew over from the Monster Mountain Range on the other side of the cliff. "Xiao Lan, take me down there," Xia Mo said, pointing beneath the cliff.

"Chirp, chirp." Xiao Lan responded, signaling for Xia Mo to climb onto its back.

Xia Mo leaped onto Xiao Lan's back. "Xiao Lan, let's go."

Xiao Lan carried Xia Mo in a steep dive toward the bottom of the cliff. Before long, they arrived. The rock walls at the bottom came in countless bizarre shapes, truly a forest of jagged rocks and myriad forms.

Layer upon layer of mountains rose around them, with perilous peaks standing tall. Looking upward, the mountains seemed as though they had been dyed green, lush and verdant everywhere.

A calm river flowed slowly through the bottom of the cliff, its source and destination unknown. The surroundings were quiet. The river drifted peacefully onward, while fish chirped beneath the water.

"Xiao Lan, look! There are fish in this river, and they're not small either. Put me down. We'll catch a few more later—fish soup and grilled fish tonight," Xia Mo said to Xiao Lan.

Xiao Lan swooped low over the river. When it pulled away from the surface, it was clutching a two-foot-long Ironhead Fish in its talons as it flew toward Xia Mo.

"Good job, Xiao Lan. You can eat plenty later," Xia Mo said excitedly. It seemed he would not need to catch the fish himself.

One collected fish on the shore while the other hunted in the river. After an unknown amount of time, they caught another six fish: two Ironhead Fish, suitable for grilling; two Golden Light Fish, suitable for soup; and three Purple Pomfret, suitable for braising in soy sauce.

Xia Mo strung the fish together and carried them in his hand. "That's enough. Let's head back," he told Xiao Lan.

Xiao Lan carried Xia Mo back toward the top of the cliff. Once they reached the mountaintop, Xia Mo jumped down from Xiao Lan's back and saw that Xiao Yi Xian, Xiao Yan, and Xiao Xun'er had already arrived at the back mountain.

Xia Mo took pots, bowls, ladles, salt, vinegar, sauces, tea, all kinds of seasonings, and spices out of the Storage Ring on his finger. He had specially prepared them over the past few months for the sake of eating. Other than food, this low-grade Storage Ring contained nothing but food.

Before long, a full fish feast appeared before the four of them. Xiao Yan sighed. "Xiao Yi Xian's cooking is getting better and better. If she opened a restaurant, she'd definitely make a fortune."

Well then, Xia Mo had been so enthusiastic that they had thought he was the one cooking. Who would have expected Xiao Yi Xian to be the one who made it all? He had merely helped out, though he had prepared so many things.

Xia Mo rolled his eyes. "One pill I refine can earn as much as a restaurant makes in a year."

"Xiao Yi Xian's food really is delicious. Brother Xiao Yan, are you ready for tomorrow's assessment ceremony?"

"Tomorrow, I'll return the title of trash to the people who gave it to me," Xiao Yan said with a faint smile.

"I believe in Brother Xiao Yan," Xun'er said with a soft laugh.

"Haha, of course you do. With Xiao Yan's little bit of strength, Sister Xun'er, you saw through him long ago, didn't you?" Xia Mo said with a grin toward Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan shot Xia Mo a glare. Can't help it. Who made me the weakest? My Dou Qi trembles with cold. I can only endure it. Looks like I'll have to train even harder, he thought.

"Tomorrow is a good day. Everything you wish for will come true. Keep it up, Xiao Yan," Xia Mo said.

Night fell. A round moon emerged from gaps between fish-scale clouds, and hazy moonlight spread through the forest. The young men and women seemed to have endless things to say...

The next morning, urged on by the crowing of roosters, the sun lazily stretched its arms and smiled as it cast out its first ray of light. That golden beam shone warmly into the room, dyeing the entire chamber gold.

Xia Mo got up, still bleary-eyed. After breakfast, he sat lazily with Xiao Yi Xian by the door. He knew Xiao Yan would definitely come by soon. Today was Xiao Yan's "big day."

Before long, Xiao Yan arrived with Xiao Xun'er. "Let's go take a look together," Xiao Yan said to Xia Mo.

Over a hundred young men and women stood in the enormous training ground, each talking with their companions. It was incredibly noisy.

The four of them found a secluded spot. Xia Mo took out two small stools, gave one to Xiao Yi Xian, and sat down. Xiao Yan followed suit, giving one to Xiao Xun'er before sitting down himself.

After spending so much time with Xia Mo, all of them had grown much thicker-skinned. They sat there leisurely, watching those preparing for the assessment.

Some were calm, some nervous, some lost. No two were alike. Every family had both geniuses and ordinary people. This world had never been fair; some things were decided from the moment one was born.

At Xiao Zhan's command, the assessment began. Before the enormous black stone tablet, some were delighted and some disappointed, but nothing could be changed.

"Xiao Mei." With the tester's call, Dou Qi, eighth stage—high grade—pushed the ceremony to its climax. But when Xiao Xun'er was tested and revealed the strength of a one-star Dou Zhe, everyone was stunned, and Xiao Mei was completely overshadowed.

As the assessment continued, "Xiao Yan."

Xiao Yan calmly walked before the black stone tablet and poured his Dou Qi into it. The black tablet fell silent for a moment before light began to flicker. Five large words appeared: "Dou Qi, Eighth Stage."

This result was beyond the expectations of everyone in the Xiao family. The training ground fell silent for a moment before erupting in an uproar. Doubt, shock, joy—everyone had different thoughts.

Xiao Yan paid them no further mind. Calm and unruffled, he walked down from the testing platform. What had returned this time was not only his talent, but also a more mature mind and an unyielding resilience.

Moreover, Xiao Yan did not think his talent was all that impressive. After all, among their group of four, he was the only "little piece of trash" who was not a Dou Zhe.

Then Xiao Ning, that traitorous bastard, arranged for one of his lackeys to challenge Xiao Yan. Xiao Yan knocked him off the arena with a single move, leaving no room for doubt.

One month later, at the Xiao Family Coming-of-Age Ceremony, Xia Mo met the long-legged Xiao Yu. Xiao Yan recklessly teased Xiao Yu in front of Xiao Xun'er. Xiao Xun'er merely smiled without saying a word as she watched Xiao Yu chase Xiao Yan around with a sword, trying to chop him down.

Seeing this, Xia Mo walked aside, took out Anecdotes, and recorded: "What kind of powerful enemy could possibly be hunting the Flame Emperor through the Xiao family?"

Afterward, Xiao Yu was stopped by an elder, and the testing began. One month had not been enough for Xiao Yan to advance to Nine-stage Dou Qi, though he should be close.

Watching Xiao Yan and Xiao Xun'er being all lovey-dovey and flaunting their affection in public, Xiao Ning felt deeply resentful. He challenged Xiao Yan, only for the Qi-Increasing Powder-enhanced Xiao Ning to be beaten into a serious injury by Xiao Yan.

Once again, everyone witnessed Xiao Yan's strength. Then Xiao Yan came over to show off in front of Xia Mo and the others, mainly to show off to Xia Mo. Xia Mo said, "How about we spar? I'll give you one hand and one leg."

Xiao Yan looked aggrieved. "You're a Dou Shi, while I'm not even a Dou Zhe yet. You're still talking about giving me a hand and a leg? That's too much. Even if you just stood there and let me hit you, I still couldn't beat you."

The four of them left amid laughter and chatter...

PS: If everyone has recommendation tickets or monthly tickets, please vote for Xiao Qi. Thanks to sunkit for the monthly ticket.