Ya Fei's Speculation

Bang!

Another clash rang out. Xiao Peng's wrist dipped slightly, and the Qingping Sword slid down along the whip before lightly tapping the handle.

Xiao Yu felt a clever force travel through it. Her fingers loosened, and the soft whip fell to the ground with a clatter.

She stood there in a daze, looking at the whip on the ground before glancing at the utterly motionless Qingping Sword in Xiao Peng's hand. Her cheeks instantly flushed bright red.

Not from embarrassment, but anger.

She had gone all out, yet she could not even break through his defense. The gap between them was simply too vast.

"Do you still want to fight?" Xiao Peng withdrew his sword.

There was no mockery in his voice, only a straightforward question.

Xiao Yu opened her mouth, wanting to say something, only to find her throat tight.

She clenched her fists so hard that her nails nearly dug into her palms. In the end, she abruptly turned around, picked up the soft whip, and rushed out of the courtyard without looking back. Even her footsteps carried a hint of disarray.

Xiao Peng watched her retreating figure and shook his head. Xiao Yu did have some tenacity, but unfortunately, her strength was far too lacking.

He remembered that in the novel, Xiao Yu's cultivation had greatly increased in the end, though it did not seem to mention exactly how far she had progressed.

Several days later, at the Xiao Family square.

"There are so many people here this time."

Xiao Mei looked at the distinguished guests who had come to watch the Xiao Family's coming-of-age ceremony.

Quite a few guests had attended previous coming-of-age ceremonies as well, but never as many as this time.

Xiao Xun'er glanced at those guests and said, "They want to confirm whether Brother Xiao Peng has truly reached the Eight-star Dou Practitioner level."

Xiao Peng nodded slightly, not particularly surprised by the situation.

The Xiao Family had produced a genius who had reached Eight-star Dou Practitioner at such a young age. Naturally, it would draw the attention of various factions. Some wanted to recruit him, some wanted to probe his true capabilities, and there were certainly others waiting to see a joke.

It would have been strange if no one had come.

Trying to hide the fact that he was an Eight-star Dou Practitioner was nearly impossible.

The main reason was that too many people knew about it. If only one or two people had known, it would have been extremely difficult for outsiders to find out.

Xiao Peng noticed that Xiao Yan had not said a word and had been staring toward the guest seating area.

Seeing this, Xiao Peng followed Xiao Yan's gaze and saw a woman in a red dress whose every smile and frown exuded mature charm.

The woman was Ya Fei, the chief auctioneer of the Mite'er Auction House.

"Brother Xiao Peng, Brother Xiao Yan, what are you looking at?"

Xiao Mei leaned closer and curiously asked Xiao Yan and Xiao Peng.

"Nothing. Just thinking about something." x2

"Hahaha." x2

Xiao Yan and Xiao Peng spoke in unison, then exchanged smiles.

Neither of them would admit that they had been looking at Ya Fei.

Hearing this, Xiao Xun'er silently rolled her eyes at them.

She knew perfectly well that Xiao Peng and Xiao Yan had been looking at Ya Fei.

Men are all pigs, Xiao Xun'er thought to herself.

Xiao Xun'er noticed someone not far away who had been staring at Xiao Peng.

Looking more closely, she recognized the person as Xiao Yu, and inexplicably felt a little puzzled.

She remembered that Xiao Yu and Xiao Peng had not had much contact. Why had she been staring at Xiao Peng the entire time?

Xiao Zhan walked over at this moment, with Ya Fei following behind him.

"Yan'er, Xiao Peng, let me introduce you. This is Miss Ya Fei, the chief auctioneer of the Mite'er Auction House." Xiao Zhan smiled as he introduced Ya Fei to Xiao Peng and the others.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Peng both greeted Ya Fei.

Ya Fei smiled and said, "Hello, little brothers. The Xiao Family truly has no shortage of talent. Two geniuses have appeared all at once."

She was increasingly convinced that the Xiao Family was full of hidden talent.

First Xiao Peng, then Xiao Yan.

Previously, a man in a black robe had come to sell something. She had been curious about his identity, but she had not sent anyone to investigate him.

Later, she heard that Xiao Yan of the Xiao Family had risen to the eighth stage of Dou Qi in less than a year, and she began to suspect that the black-robed man was Xiao Yan.

The reason she thought so was because of Xiao Peng's example, but more importantly, because of the speed at which Xiao Yan's cultivation had improved.

She knew the effects of the Foundation Establishment Elixir. It was indeed capable of increasing one's cultivation speed somewhat, but relying on it to jump five stages in a year was absolutely impossible.

That left only one possibility: Xiao Yan was either an alchemist himself or had an alchemist master.

However, she was more inclined to believe that Xiao Yan had an alchemist master, which was why he could improve so quickly.

Why did she not think Xiao Yan was an alchemist?

It was simple. If Xiao Yan wanted to rise five stages in a year, he would need to cultivate bitterly. Where would he find the time to study alchemy?

Other than having an alchemist master, there was no other possibility.

Ya Fei silently sighed to herself. The Xiao Family truly was fortunate.

As long as Xiao Peng and Xiao Yan did not encounter any accidents, the Xiao Family could become a dominant force within the Jia Ma Empire in the future.

Seeing that the three had gotten to know one another, Xiao Zhan exchanged a few words with Xiao Yan and Xiao Peng before leaving with Ya Fei.

The coming-of-age ceremony was so tediously complicated that it made one's head ache.

Xiao Peng rubbed his temples. At first, he had had no real concept of this coming-of-age ceremony. The novel had only mentioned that it was troublesome.

After transmigrating into this world, he had never gone to watch the ceremony, because he felt that instead of watching that thing, he might as well cultivate properly.

Now that he was experiencing it himself, he could not help feeling glad that he had never gone.

This was even more troublesome than his principal before he transmigrated.

After Xiao Yan went onstage, he stood there for half an hour before being tested.

Dou Qi: Ninth Stage.

Quite a few people present looked at Xiao Yan in shock. They truly had not expected him to rise another stage after just one month.

This talent was simply terrifying.

"Terrifying..."

No one knew who sucked in a cold breath and uttered the words, "Terrifying."

After the test came the challenges.

Xiao Peng noticed that no one challenged Xiao Yan. He glanced at Xiao Ning, who was sitting obediently and showed no intention of going up to challenge him.

Xiao Peng found it a little regrettable. He had thought he would get to watch some entertainment, but there was none to see.

Finally, it was Xiao Peng's turn. He knew this had been deliberately arranged by the Xiao Family.

Half an hour later, Xiao Peng walked up to the testing stele and poured a thread of energy into it.

Dou Practitioner: Eight Stars

After the previous test, the people of the Xiao Family did not react too strongly, because they had already grown used to it.

But the guests all revealed shocked expressions. They had not expected it to be true.

"An Eight-star Dou Practitioner... At such an age, with such cultivation, the Xiao Family is truly about to rise!"

In the guest seating area, an elderly man dressed in brocade stroked his beard, unable to conceal the amazement in his eyes.

Several representatives of other factions beside him also nodded in succession. They looked at Xiao Peng as if he were an uncut jade, their gazes so fiery they seemed ready to overflow.

Xiao Peng withdrew his hand, turning a deaf ear to the surrounding exclamations. He knew this was only the beginning.

Compared to such empty fame, he cared more about the upcoming challenge segment. He was quite curious whether anyone would challenge him.