Ceremony Predictions

In the blink of an eye, more than half of three months had passed. Only one month remained until the Coming-of-Age Ceremony.

After obtaining the Mystic Ice Skill, Xiao Yuan officially began his cultivation at the Dou Zhe stage.

Just as with Dou Techniques, Xiao Yuan mastered cultivation methods with remarkable speed.

Although the Mystic Ice Skill was a Profound Rank High Level cultivation method and carried a certain degree of difficulty, it naturally posed no problem for Xiao Yuan.

Thus, despite having only recently entered the Dou Zhe stage, the speed at which Xiao Yuan absorbed energy while circulating his cultivation method was no less than that of a Dou Shi.

At that moment, a faint chill permeated Xiao Yuan's room.

Xiao Yuan was forming hand seals as he cultivated.

Breaking through at the Dou Zhe stage was far more difficult than breaking through during the Dou Qi stage!

In the past, Xiao Yuan could break through one stage of Dou Qi almost every month.

But now, after two months had passed, he had only just advanced to a Two Star Dou Zhe.

Even so, Xiao Yuan was already quite satisfied.

After all, a year ago, he had not possessed even a trace of Dou Qi.

This prediction before the Coming-of-Age Ceremony will probably make quite a few people's eyes pop out! After checking the time, Xiao Yuan stopped cultivating, changed into a brand-new white robe, and walked out.

Today was the day of the prediction.

"Brother!"

"Brother Xiao Yuan!"

Two familiar voices rang out. Xiao Yuan turned his head and immediately saw Xiao Yan in black robes and Xun Er in a green dress.

Looking at the pair before him, Xiao Yuan smiled and nodded. He then looked at Xiao Yan, patted him on the shoulder, and asked warmly, "Eight stages?"

"Mm! Eight stages!"

Xiao Yan nodded at his words.

He had already learned that Xiao Yuan had broken through to the Dou Zhe stage when he met him at the Back Mountain last time.

Because of that, he had cultivated even more diligently over the past two months, finally breaking through to the eighth stage of Dou Qi before the Coming-of-Age Ceremony.

Meanwhile, Xun Er, standing beside Xiao Yan, looked at Xiao Yuan with a trace of bewilderment in her eyes.

Although she had long known that Xiao Yuan had broken through to the Dou Zhe stage, reaching two stars in just two months was a little too outrageous, wasn't it? Just what kind of terrifying cultivation talent was this?

"Xun Er is impressive too!"

Xiao Yuan smiled meaningfully.

"Brother Xiao Yuan is still more impressive."

Xun Er shook her head and said earnestly.

"Hehe, let's go. Today, the three of us will give the clan a little shock from geniuses!"

Xiao Yuan waved a hand and called out with a laugh, then took the lead toward the training ground where the predictions were being held.

Xiao Yan and Xun Er exchanged a glance before following him. They could tell that Xiao Yuan was in an exceptionally good mood today!

Within the enormous bluestone training ground, over a hundred young men and women stood about as waves of noisy chatter rose into the sky.

At the center of the training ground stood the enormous Testing Magic Stone Tablet. Beside it was the same cold-faced tester from a year ago.

On the elevated platform to the left of the training ground sat several of the clan's inner members. At the center were Clan Leader Xiao Zhan and the three elders.

When Xiao Yuan, Xiao Yan, and Xun Er—the familiar trio—arrived, the clamor in the grounds weakened considerably.

Although quite a few people already knew that Xiao Yuan had regained his talent, they did not believe the nonsense the guard squad had spread about Xiao Yuan possibly having already broken through to the Dou Zhe stage. They simply assumed the guards had accepted benefits from Xiao Yuan and were speaking well of him.

After all, before seeing it with their own eyes, no one would believe that someone could go from possessing no Dou Qi to becoming a Dou Zhe in less than a year! As for Xiao Yan, he was a well-known good-for-nothing. Since he had kept a low profile and rarely gone out these days, many people still believed that he had remained stuck at the third stage of Dou Qi! Upon seeing the three of them, Xiao Zhan and the three elders in the center all revealed expectant expressions.

The three elders in particular looked at Xiao Yuan with especially fervent gazes.

In their view, Xiao Yuan was probably already at the ninth stage, or perhaps had even used the Qi Gathering Powder Nalan Yanran had gifted him to attempt a breakthrough to the Dou Zhe stage!

Becoming a Dou Zhe after cultivating for one year—such terrifying talent would be enough for the Xiao Clan to produce another Dou Wang, or perhaps even a Dou Emperor! At that time, the Xiao Clan's status would rise rapidly, allowing it to become one of the Jia Ma Empire's foremost clan powers! One had to know that even the Imperial Capital's three great clans only possessed Dou Wang-level experts.

And with cultivation talent like Xiao Yuan's, he was very likely to reach the level of a Dou Emperor!

There was hope for the clan's revival!

Feeling the fervent gazes of the three elders, Xiao Yuan shifted his shoulders somewhat uncomfortably.

Xiao Zhan, on the other hand, was even happier.

Because he knew that his two sons would probably bring him quite a surprise! Raising his head to check the sky and the time, Xiao Zhan stood up. He swept his gaze over the now-quiet training ground and shouted solemnly:

"You are all the clan's fresh blood, and you should know how important today's test is to you. The rules are simple: the seventh stage of Dou Qi and above counts as passing; anything below is a failure.

After the test is complete, those below the seventh stage of Dou Qi may challenge a companion at the seventh stage or above once. If they win the challenge, they may also enter the qualifying group!

Now, the test begins!"

As Xiao Zhan's deep shout fell, the young men and women on the training ground immediately grew nervous.

Beside the black stone tablet, the cold-faced tester took a step forward and pulled out a roster from his robes. His icy voice made those whose names were called tremble all over.

Xiao Yuan, Xiao Yan, and Xun Er, however, watched the scene with complete leisure.

The three of them truly were not nervous in the slightest.

As for those peers who had been eliminated and now wore miserable expressions—what the hell did it have to do with them?

When these people had sought a sense of superiority from Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yan in the past, why had they not considered that this day would come? They deserved it!

"Xiao Mei!"

The tester's icy voice made Xiao Yan's brows lift slightly as his lowered eyelids lazily rose.

Xun Er, who had been watching Xiao Yan all along, could not help wrinkling her delicate nose slightly at his expression.

"Hehe, back then, she used to cling tightly to me, Brother Xiao Yan..."

Narrowing his eyes as he watched the Red-Clothed Girl calmly step forward, Xiao Yan gave a faint laugh.

Hearing Xiao Yan's soft laughter, Xun Er blinked her bright, watery eyes. Tilting her head to look at the faint mockery at the corner of his lips, she smiled. "I'm very curious what kind of attitude she'll have toward Brother Xiao Yan after today."

Xiao Yan shrugged slightly and said softly:

"Some things, once broken, are broken. No matter how they are mended, those glaring cracks cannot be erased. There aren't many people in this clan whom I acknowledge—only a few..."

"Does Xun Er count?"

Her rosy lips curled into a playful arc as Xun Er asked with a charming smile.

Xiao Yan's smile was gentle. He reached out, caught a strand of Xun Er's green hair between two fingers, and slowly slid them down its length. "Of course!"

"Ahem, you two really make me feel like a third wheel."

Xiao Yuan coughed twice and spread his hands helplessly.

Xiao Yan and Xun Er came back to their senses. Seeing the teasing look in Xiao Yuan's eyes, both their little faces reddened, and they wished they could crawl into a crack in the ground together.

The three gathered beneath the gentle morning sunlight, chatting and laughing together. Not far away, the young men and women who had failed the test stood blankly beneath the shadows of the clouds, their faces miserable as though their parents had died.

On the ground, sunlight and shadow were sharply divided.