Ruo Lin's Shock

Xiao Yan froze where he stood, even the smile on his face stiffening.

He looked at Ruo Lin's resolute expression, then glanced at Xiao Peng beside him, who was being pestered by Xiao Xun'er for an exclusive gift. A wave of grievance and confusion shot straight to his head.

Why?

They were both asking for a year of leave. Xiao Peng got it with a single sentence, yet he was rejected instantly? The difference in treatment was far too obvious!

"Mentor," Xiao Yan said unwillingly, stepping half a pace forward and doing his best to sound sincere, "I also have something very important to do. It concerns... concerns the foundation of my cultivation. I have to return and deal with it."

He did not dare mention Old Yao and could only speak vaguely.

Ruo Lin raised her eyes and swept a calm, unreadable gaze over Xiao Yan. "Xiao Peng has a master to guide him, and his cultivation path has long been clearly planned. A year of training will be an accumulation for him, not an interruption. Your talent is not bad either, but unlike Xiao Peng, you do not have a master to guide you."

She did not want a genius to waste his talent for nothing and hoped Xiao Yan could keep his feet on the ground.

Hearing this, Xiao Yan only felt a headache coming on. He did not know what he should do.

If he had known this would happen, he should have spoken up in front of Xiao Peng.

Meanwhile, Xiao Peng spent some time coaxing Xiao Xun'er. Only after seeing that she was not jealous did he finally let out a sigh of relief.

After promising Xiao Mei that he would bring her a gift as well, Xiao Peng hurriedly slipped away.

The sky gradually darkened, and Ruo Lin called Xiao Yu into her room.

Sitting in a chair, Ruo Lin poured Xiao Yu a cup of tea and said, "Xiao Yu, can you tell me about Xiao Peng?"

She was growing more and more curious about Xiao Peng, as well as the Xiao Family.

Three top-tier geniuses had appeared at once. It truly astonished her, and she intended to probe into the Xiao Family's circumstances.

Xiao Yu's hand holding the teacup paused, and a trace of surprise flashed through her eyes. She then gave a soft laugh. "Mentor, do you want to ask about Xiao Peng's background?"

Ruo Lin nodded slightly, making no attempt to conceal her thoughts.

Xiao Yu took a sip of tea, her fingertips gently rubbing the rim of the cup. "It's a long story. Xiao Peng was initially a genius in the family, but later, for some unknown reason, he became a good-for-nothing. It was only after I returned that I learned his talent had recovered and that he had become a Dou Zhe."

The fingers holding Ruo Lin's teacup paused slightly, and surprise flashed in her eyes. "From genius to good-for-nothing, then regaining his talent?"

Such ups and downs were extremely rare on the Dou Qi Continent. More importantly, bringing Xiao Peng to the level of a nine-star Dou Zhe so quickly was simply too outrageous.

"Yes." Xiao Yu nodded, her gaze drifting toward the deepening twilight beyond the window as if she had fallen into memory. "When he was young, he was one of only two geniuses in the clan. When he was nine, for some reason, his cultivation suddenly stopped progressing. Later, he did not even have a trace of Dou Qi left and became the clan's universally known good-for-nothing."

Ruo Lin lightly tapped her fingers against the teacup, frowning faintly. "His cultivation stagnated at nine, and then he regressed until he had no Dou Qi at all? That is indeed rare. There are tales on the Dou Qi Continent of cultivation going wrong and damaging one's foundation, but those usually involve a drop in realm. They would not completely reset someone to zero..."

She looked up at Xiao Yu. "Before and after his talent returned, did he do anything unusual? For example, did he come into contact with any unusual people, or obtain any items?"

Xiao Yu shook her head, indicating that she did not know. Her relationship with Xiao Peng had been ordinary in the past, so how could she possibly know what he had experienced then?

At this moment, Ruo Lin was incomparably shocked by Xiao Peng's teacher. Xiao Peng's teacher was truly terrifying.

In just a few years, he had raised Xiao Peng to the level of a nine-star Dou Zhe.

Jia Nan Academy could achieve the same, but it would require vast resources to force someone up to nine-star Dou Zhe.

With that kind of cultivation method, the person's actual combat ability would be very weak.

She had not seen weakness in Xiao Peng. Instead, she had seen his strength.

Xiao Peng was only a nine-star Dou Zhe, but his actual combat ability should not have been this terrifying.

When she had secretly observed earlier, she noticed that it would not have been difficult for Xiao Peng to kill Luo Bu in a single strike. Yet Xiao Peng had held back and merely injured Luo Bu.

Was Xiao Peng too arrogant?

The entire matter had begun because Luo Bu liked Xiao Yu, but seeing how close Xiao Yu and Xiao Peng were had made him jealous.

Besides, Xiao Peng was a sixteen-year-old nine-star Dou Zhe and was on the verge of breaking through to Dou Shi. There was nothing wrong with him having some pride.

More importantly, Xiao Peng had a mysterious teacher behind him.

Ruo Lin guessed that Xiao Peng's master was at least a Dou Zun.

The moment that thought surfaced, even she found it startling.

In the entire Jia Ma Empire, there was not even a single Dou Zong-level existence. Dou Zuns were figures who existed only in legend.

Moreover, she had said at least a Dou Zun. Existences of that level could only be found among the academy's upper ranks.

It was said that Jia Nan Academy's headmaster could wipe out the Jia Ma Empire with ease.

After letting her thoughts run wild for a moment, Ruo Lin looked at Xiao Yu and asked, "By the way, can you tell me about Xiao Yan?"

For some reason, she vaguely felt that this Xiao Yan was not ordinary either.

Seeing Ruo Lin ask about Xiao Yan, Xiao Yu said, "Xiao Yan... he is somewhat like Xiao Peng, but also somewhat different."

After recalling things for a while, Xiao Yu spoke. "When he was young, he was astonishingly talented. He became a Dou Zhe at eleven, breaking our Xiao Family's record. The elders all said he was the Xiao Family's future hope. Back then, Xiao Yan carried the pride of youth even in the way he walked, looking down on everyone."

Ruo Lin listened quietly, her fingers unconsciously drawing circles along the edge of the table.

Becoming a Dou Zhe at eleven truly was extraordinary talent.

"When he was eleven, something happened for some unknown reason. His Dou Qi suddenly began declining instead of increasing, and he fell all the way back to the third stage of Dou Qi, never rising again." Xiao Yu recalled the situation as she spoke. "During those years, he became the clan's laughingstock. Those who had once crowded around him all avoided him..."

Ruo Lin noticed something: both Xiao Peng and Xiao Yan had inexplicably experienced a decline in cultivation.

Xiao Peng's case could be explained as his teacher testing him.

Then...

Could Xiao Yan have had the same possibility?

The motion of Ruo Lin's fingers stopped. Once the thought emerged, it wrapped around her heart like creeping vines.

Xiao Peng had a mysterious master, so his decline might have been a test.

What about Xiao Yan?

If he also had an unknown opportunity, could these years of stagnation have been some form of lying low?

"How much did his personality change after his fall?" Ruo Lin pressed, her gaze full of inquiry.

Xiao Yu recalled, "He used to be proud and liked to show off, but after his fall, he became much more reserved. When others mocked him, he neither argued nor caused trouble."

Ruo Lin lifted her teacup and gently blew away the foam floating on top, the interest in her eyes growing stronger.

Becoming a Dou Zhe at eleven left no doubt about his talent. Even after falling to the bottom, he had not given up, and his temperament was even more rare.

However, she felt that if Xiao Yan erupted, he would still not compare to Xiao Peng.

The two had recovered at roughly the same time, yet one was close to Dou Shi while the other was still far from it.