Speculation, Dou Qi Test

Huff, huff...

Back in his room, Xiao Yan could no longer suppress the shock raging within him. He drew deep breaths, trying to calm himself.

A transmigrator?

Someone like him?

Ever since his birth, Xiao Yan had always believed that he was the only transmigrator.

Why was the other party looking for transmigrators?

A question rose in his mind. He was torn between fearing that his secret would be exposed and worrying that he might miss an opportunity.

Limited by Wutan City, Xiao Yan's horizons were not particularly broad. To him, a Dou Wang was already an immensely powerful existence, one he could only look up to from afar.

Such an expert had come to Wutan City just to find a transmigrator?

He had even offered—

Earth-tier Dou Techniques and cultivation methods. Just how wealthy and extravagant was that?

To be honest, Xiao Yan was already tempted to recommend himself and trade himself for those items!

No, that wouldn't do!

But Xiao Yan quickly rejected the thought.

As the saying went, when fellow townsmen met, one might stab the other in the back!

Xiao Yan knew that assuming the worst of others was not a good habit.

But the enormous disparity between them meant he had to remain sufficiently cautious.

After all, he was not truly a child who merely looked to be in his teens. A mature soul was hidden within him!

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Xiao Yan propped his chin on his hand, stared ahead, and sank into thought.

Before long, his eyes lit up. He had a plan!

Night fell, and Wutan City was brightly lit.

In a dim alley directly opposite the Miter Auction House, a malnourished-looking youth stood trembling before a figure shrouded in a black robe.

"Did you remember everything I told you?" A low, hoarse voice came from beneath the black robe.

The youth replied shakily, "I-I remembered. But will there really be no problem? I heard the other party is at least a Dou Wang. If I anger him, I..."

The black-robed person spoke in a deep voice, cutting off the youth before he could continue.

"Think of your father! As long as you help me do this, I'll give you money for medicine. Your father will be able to hold on. Do you want to watch your father die?!"

Father... At those words, the expression in the youth's eyes changed, and a trace of resolve appeared.

"I hope you keep your word!" The youth stared at the black-robed person, took a deep breath, and said this before resolutely turning around and heading toward the Miter Auction House.

The black-robed person hid in the shadows and lifted his head slightly, revealing half of a somewhat youthful face.

As he watched the youth get led inside, his breathing quickened and his heart began pounding rapidly.

Inside the auction house, Hun Cang was awakened and learned that someone had come to answer the questions. His spirits immediately rose, and he was fully alert.

Had Xiao Yan come?

He arrived at the reception hall, but when his gaze swept over the youth, he froze.

This was not Xiao Yan!

Seeing the youth's malnourished appearance, Hun Cang was completely certain, but he did not show it. He waved the auction house staff away before asking the youth, "You know the answers to the questions?"

The youth looked at Hun Cang. At first, he was startled by the other party's youthful appearance, and envy involuntarily welled up in his eyes.

Clearly, he was thinking that if he, too, had talent and could become a Dou Wang at such a young age, then perhaps he would not have needed to take such a great risk for his father's medicine...

Coming back to his senses and noticing Hun Cang's somewhat displeased expression, seemingly because he had not answered, he hurriedly nodded. "Yes."

Hun Cang's gaze flickered. "Then tell me..."

"The first question is: when the odd changes, the even remains unchanged; determine the sign by the quadrant."

"The second question is..."

The youth's voice was uneasy. After each sentence, he would glance at Hun Cang's expression before daring to continue.

After speaking haltingly for the time it took to drink a cup of tea, he finally recited everything the black-robed person had made him memorize.

At that moment, the youth looked anxiously at Hun Cang, his fingers unconsciously twisting together.

"You're from China too?" Hun Cang suddenly asked.

The youth's vision went dark. He was dumbfounded!

A person from China? What was that? He was from Wutan City in the Jia Ma Empire...

"As expected, you're lying to me! Tell me honestly—did you make up those things just now, or did you hear them somewhere? If you don't tell the truth, I'll kill you!!"

Taking in the youth's reaction and forming a few guesses, Hun Cang deliberately threatened him viciously.

Thud!

The youth was only an ordinary person. Oppressed by the faint aura of a Dou Wang that Hun Cang released, coupled with the difference in their status and the threat of death, he dropped straight to his knees.

He knelt prostrate on the ground, trembling uncontrollably. "Spare me, sir, spare me! I didn't make those things up. Someone paid me to say them. If you don't believe me, I can take you to him. He's outside!!"

Faced with life and death, the youth made his choice decisively and sold out the black-robed person without hesitation!

A test?

A smile appeared at the corner of Hun Cang's mouth. He inwardly sighed that this fellow townsman had turned out to be rather cautious!

His gaze fell upon the youth. With a wave of his hand, the youth discovered in terror that an inexplicable force had lifted him up. His hands and feet had nowhere to go as he stared uneasily at Hun Cang.

Hun Cang said, "You were deceived! However, that person did get one thing right—I can give you a Qi Gathering Powder. But you must help me pass along a message."

"Please give your orders, sir." Learning that he could survive and would even receive a Qi Gathering Powder, joy flashed across the youth's face.

Hun Cang pondered briefly, then said, "Both of us are wanderers at the ends of the earth; why must we have met before to recognize each other?"

The youth did not understand. He repeated it twice, and after confirming he had memorized it, he accepted the Qi Gathering Powder, bowed, and left the auction house.

In the alley.

After giving the youth the money and watching him leave, Xiao Yan murmured with a complicated look in his eyes, "Both of us are wanderers at the ends of the earth..."

He continued watching for a while, but Xiao Yan ultimately still lacked the courage to enter the auction house and turned to leave.

However, he did not know that a pair of eyes in the darkness above the auction house had locked onto him.

Only after Xiao Yan's figure disappeared at the end of the street did Hun Cang withdraw his gaze and smile with slight relief.

"He should understand what those words mean... It's fine, I can still wait! Whether it's the Dou Qi test or Nalan Yanran breaking off the engagement, you'll come begging me eventually!!"

The next day.

The Xiao Family plaza was bustling with activity. Today was the annual testing day.

The younger generation sat down amid lively chatter, conversing with one another.

Soon, the test began.

Names were called one after another. They went up to the stage, then came back down with varying expressions.

"Next, Xiao Yan."

The moment the middle-aged man called out the name, the area below the stage fell silent. Countless gazes shifted toward a youth in the back.

Xiao Yan stepped onto the stage and reached out to touch the pitch-black Mysterious Stone Tablet.

A moment later...

"Xiao Yan, Dou Power, third stage!"

"Rank: Low!"

The middle-aged man beside him glanced at the Mysterious Stone Tablet and announced it loudly in an indifferent tone.

Instantly, sounds of disdainful mockery and regretful sighs rose all around him.

Xiao Yan swept his gaze over those people, a self-mocking smile passing over his lips. He did not even notice that his fingernails had dug into his palms from the force of his clenched fists.

As he walked out of the crowd, Xiao Xun'er saw him like this and could not help calling out, "Brother Xiao Yan..."

However.

As if he had not heard her, Xiao Yan walked away without stopping.

Back in his room, Xiao Yan stared at the black robe hanging on the rack. His gaze flickered and his expression shifted, eventually turning resolute. He reached out, picked it up, and left the Xiao Family.