Bloodline Test

Dou Qi Continent, Central Continent, Stone Realm.

Shi Kang had reached the realm of a Nine-star Dou Emperor at the tender age of eighteen, making him the number one genius of Stone Clan's younger generation.

Today was the annual day when Stone Clan, one of the ancient Dou God Clans, conducted its first bloodline tests.

Shi Kang stood at the center of the raised platform, his palm pressed against the Star Disk used to test bloodlines before him.

Eight stars on the Star Disk were shining brilliantly.

The sight relaxed Shi Kang's previously nervous expression, and his eyes began to gleam with excitement instead.

The number of stars on the Star Disk represented the grade of one's Dou God Bloodline. Eight stars meant an Eighth Grade Dou God Bloodline!

Shi Kang murmured, "Eighth Grade Bloodline... With an Eighth Grade Dou God Bloodline in the first test, reaching Ninth Grade by the Coming of Age Ceremony won't be a problem."

A Dou God Bloodline would improve along with one's strength.

For an eighteen-year-old with an Eighth Grade Bloodline, reaching Ninth Grade Bloodline by the Coming of Age Ceremony at twenty-five would not be difficult.

Shi Kang thought to himself, A future Ninth Grade Bloodline may be a little inferior to a Divine Grade Bloodline like Gu Xun'er's, but as long as I handle things properly, stop Soul Clan's plan, and keep Stone Clan alive, it shouldn't be too much of a problem...

Most importantly, since it was not a Divine Grade Bloodline, he would not need to worry too much about being targeted by Soul Clan.

A Ninth Grade Bloodline was enough.

That was right. Shi Kang was a transmigrator who knew the plot of the original Battle Through the Heavens inside out.

In his previous life, he had been hit by a dump truck, then transmigrated to the Dou Qi Continent.

His current identity was the only son of Shi Gang, the Clan Leader of Stone Clan.

Well, his dou qi attribute was earth as well.

It was an attribute that rarely appeared in the original novel. Even when it did, its users were merely insignificant side characters.

The greatest characteristic of the earth attribute was its heaviness.

Put nicely, it possessed extremely powerful defensive strength.

Put bluntly, it turned one into a human punching bag.

Shi Kang often wondered why he had not been born with a Fire Attribute. Was it because he had not smoked at the time?

If he had a Fire Attribute, then with his foreknowledge, he could have followed Xiao Yan's path. Cultivating the Flame Mantra and breaking through to Dou Di would have been effortless, wouldn't it?

Shi Kang did not mind stealing Xiao Yan's opportunities.

That was right. Xiao Yan's character was indeed quite good, but what did that have to do with Shi Kang?

If he did nothing and simply waited for Xiao Yan to grow strong enough to fight Soul Clan, Stone Clan would have long since been wiped out by Soul Clan.

Therefore, as long as it allowed him to increase his strength quickly, Shi Kang was capable of doing anything.

As for the opportunities he was meant to seize in the future, Shi Kang certainly would not be polite with Xiao Yan.

Shi Kang's attitude toward Xiao Yan was simple: Walk your own path, but you'd better not get in mine!

If Xiao Yan provoked him, Shi Kang would not mind finding someone else to cultivate the Flame Mantra...

Unable to cultivate the Flame Mantra, and without a system...

Shi Kang could only helplessly accept fate's arrangements and cultivate through his own efforts.

He had no choice but to work hard.

In the original novel, Stone Clan had been silently exterminated by Soul Clan.

One of the ancient Dou God Clans, with Shi Gang, a Late Six-star Dou Saint, as its Clan Leader, and nearly twenty Dou Sheng Experts within the clan.

Yet even under such circumstances, Stone Clan had failed to send out a distress signal. They had not possessed even the slightest ability to resist...

That ending could not have been more tragic.

If he had merely been an ordinary Shi Clan Member, with both parents dead, Shi Kang might have been able to leave the Stone Realm and flee far away.

But unfortunately, reality was that his parents were alive, and his Father was the Clan Leader of Stone Clan.

How was he supposed to run?

Waiting to die was not Shi Kang's style.

To protect Stone Clan, Shi Kang could only cultivate diligently.

The stronger he became, the more confidence he would have when facing Soul Clan's future attack.

Shi Kang had thought for many years about how to keep Stone Clan alive, and he had quite a few plans in mind.

For example, exposing Soul Clan's scheme, forming an alliance to resist Soul Clan together, and so on.

But to do such things, he needed sufficient personal strength and enough status within the clan before he could begin putting them into action.

Shi Kang could not possibly go eagerly running to his Father and reveal Soul Clan's true strength and plans.

Leaving aside whether Shi Gang would believe him, doing so might expose Shi Kang's identity as a transmigrator. That was absolutely unacceptable.

In a Dou God Clan, strength and bloodline were supreme.

Even though Shi Kang was Shi Gang's son, his privileges were not particularly great.

For himself and for Stone Clan, Shi Kang had to become stronger!

Thus, after he began cultivating dou qi, Shi Kang's life had basically consisted of body tempering and cultivation. He was truly a cultivation fanatic.

That was right. Shi Clan Members not only had to cultivate, but also had to temper their bodies, squeezing out their physical potential through combat or external stimuli.

Close-quarters combat, lightning body tempering, flame body tempering, and the like were all common methods of body tempering used by Shi Clan Members.

After body tempering, they would use special medicinal baths and pills to repair their injuries, strengthen their bodies, and accelerate the improvement of their cultivation realms.

This was how Shi Clan Members tempered their bodies to become extraordinarily tough. Among those of the same level, they were almost no weaker than Ancient Void Dragons.

As the Clan Leader's son, Shi Kang naturally lacked no Cultivation Resources.

With abundant Cultivation Resources, diligent training, and talent far beyond his peers...

With all these conditions combined, Shi Kang had already reached the realm of a Nine-star Dou Emperor at eighteen.

Such talent was rare even across the entire continent.

One had to know that even Gu Xun'er, with her Divine Grade Bloodline, had not reached the Dou Wang realm at eighteen.

If Gu Xun'er's case could be attributed to her being away from the clan and not cultivating properly, then Gu Qingyang could serve as another reference. The second greatest genius of Gu Clan was the same age as Shi Kang, yet had only just reached the One-star Dou Emperor realm.

This showed just how monstrously gifted Shi Kang was in cultivation. It was not merely because he was handsome and elegant.

"E-Eight stars?!" The Dou Saint Elder in charge of the test suddenly cried out. His cloudy old eyes widened round, and his voice trembled like a dying candle in the wind. "An Eighth Grade Dou God Bloodline!"

"Shi Kang, eighteen years old, Nine-star Dou Emperor, Eighth Grade Dou God Bloodline!"

Unable to suppress the wild joy in his eyes, the Elder announced the exhilarating news loudly to the crowd below, his voice trembling.

This Elder had overseen bloodline tests for over a thousand years. He had practically watched Stone Clan's bloodline gradually grow thinner.

The bloodline grades of each new generation had been worse than the last. Most possessed only Fourth or Fifth Grade Bloodlines, while the lucky ones might have a Sixth Grade Bloodline.

At this rate, their Dou God Bloodline would almost certainly dry up within a few thousand years.

Though he felt sorrowful, he could do nothing about it.

Now that Stone Clan had produced someone like Shi Kang, whose bloodline was so rich, he was all the more precious.

He was the hope of Stone Clan's rise!

A future Ninth Grade Bloodline meant that as long as Shi Kang did not die prematurely, reaching the Seven-star Dou Saint realm in the future would not be a problem.

The area below the platform was also filled with Shi Clan Members, and they instantly erupted into an uproar.

Bloodline testing was practically the most important matter for a Dou God Clan.

Every eighteen-year-old Shi Clan Member underwent their first bloodline test.

Those with high-grade bloodlines would receive greater resources and more intensive cultivation from the clan. Those with low-grade bloodlines, or even no Dou God Bloodline at all, would more or less be abandoned.

That was reality.

Thus, bloodline testing determined how far one could go in the future. For every member of a Dou God Clan, it was a major event.

Moreover, among those being tested this time was Shi Kang, the Clan Leader's son, who was known as a cultivation fanatic. Many people had come to see what grade his bloodline was.

The Shi Clan Members present all wore expressions of delight and excitement as the scene immediately boiled over.

Suddenly, a terrifying pressure descended from the sky. A middle-aged man with solid muscles, built like an iron tower, appeared out of thin air. He looked exceptionally steady and gave off a sense of weight and solidity.

The moment he appeared, the crowd below immediately fell silent.

Everyone shouted in unison, "Clan Leader!"

That was right. This iron-tower-like man was Shi Gang, the Clan Leader of Stone Clan.

A genuine Late Six-star Dou Saint, only one step away from the Seven-star Dou Saint realm.

"Father!" Shi Kang called out.

The young Shi Kang was full of youthful vigor. Unlike those clansmen whose body tempering had left them with knotted muscles and bulging lumps of flesh, his body was tall and robust without a trace of exaggerated bulk. His lines were smooth, carrying both a sense of strength and a young man's handsome bearing.

His face was outstanding as well—sharp brows, a high nose, and a hint of pride whenever he pressed his lips together... In short, he was conspicuously handsome.

Seeing his son, Shi Gang's sternness faded, replaced by an expression full of gratification. His broad hand patted Shi Kang's shoulder.

Although Shi Kang's body far surpassed others at the same realm, even this light pat from Shi Gang made his shoulder go slightly numb.

If they had been alone, Shi Kang would definitely have complained about his Father, but with so many people around, he needed to maintain his Father's image, so he said nothing.

Shi Gang's voice trembled with excitement. "Good boy! An Eighth Grade Bloodline on your first test—you were even better than I was back then!"

Shi Gang had possessed a Seventh Grade Bloodline in his first test, reaching an Eighth Grade Bloodline at his Coming of Age Ceremony.

Having been stuck at the Six-star Dou Saint realm for many years, he often lamented that if he had a Ninth Grade Bloodline, he would have broken through to Seven-star Dou Saint long ago...

The student surpassed the master. His son had a chance to reach the realm that he himself could not break through to. How could Shi Gang not feel gratified?

Shi Gang suddenly turned around to face the clansmen below, his voice ringing like a great bell. "I hereby announce that Shi Kang is the Young Clan Leader of Stone Clan!"