A Genius of Dou Qi Third Stage

"Dou Qi, Third Stage."

Five large words gleamed on the Magic Testing Stone Tablet in the Xiao Family Estate. Before it, the Black-haired Youth tugged his lips into a self-mocking smile and clenched his fists tightly.

"Xiao Yan, Dou Qi Third Stage. Rank: Low." The Middle-aged Man beside the Magic Testing Stone Tablet glanced over and spoke indifferently, a trace of regret in his eyes.

The crowd gathered below the platform immediately stirred.

"Heh, I knew it. Our great 'genius' has been stuck in the same place for an entire year."

"Dou Qi Third Stage? That's hilarious. Even eight-year-olds have that kind of strength, don't they?"

"He's disgraced our Xiao Family. If his father weren't the clan leader, he'd have been driven out long ago and left to fend for himself."

"Sigh, a genius once renowned throughout the empire has now become trash. Who knows what sin he committed?"

"Who knows? Maybe he committed some grave sin in a past life and incurred the gods' wrath?"

The mockery and pity from below pierced the youth's heart like needles, twisting it with pain. He raised his somewhat youthful yet handsome face and swept his gaze across his peers below, his self-mocking smile becoming even more bitter.

How glorious had he once been within the clan? How respectfully had these people treated him, bowing and scraping before him? Yet now, after becoming trash whose cultivation had not advanced an inch in three years, they were so snobbish and cutting.

A sense of loneliness rose in the youth's heart, as though the whole world were out of place with him. Xiao Yan turned around forlornly and stepped down from the platform, retreating to the last row of the crowd beneath everyone's gazes.

"Next, Xiao Mei!" the tester called.

Xiao Yan had no interest in watching. He found a corner and sat down, gazing despondently at the surrounding pavilions and towers.

"Hm?" He suddenly noticed a Pink-haired Girl sitting atop a house to the left of the testing square. She rested her chin on her hand as she watched him, her breathtaking face bearing an inexplicable hint of amusement.

He rubbed his eyes and opened them again, but the lovely figure had vanished.

"Strange. Was that an illusion?" Xiao Yan muttered.

"Xiao Mei, Dou Qi, Seventh Stage! Rank: High." As the tester announced the result, fervent cheers erupted from the crowd.

Xiao Yan shook his head bitterly. He, too, had once been surrounded by adoration like this. Now that he had become this way, was heaven truly playing with him?

Having once possessed something wonderful only to lose it hurt far more than never having had it at all.

The charming Young Girl on the platform stood proudly, enjoying everyone's cheers. Yet her gaze fell upon Xiao Yan with a trace of arrogance, as though she had won an invisible contest against him.

Xiao Yan said nothing. This girl had once been one of the many admirers who followed behind him. Still, she had remembered their old friendship well enough and had not mocked or teased him much over the past three years. She only came to boast to him whenever she made a breakthrough.

"Next, Xiao Xun'er."

The tester's voice rang out again, and the youth's gaze was drawn along with everyone else's.

At the center of all those gazes stood a Young Girl in purple robes, elegant and poised. She was beautiful as a celestial maiden, her skin like polished jade, her bearing as fragrant as orchids, her expression as serene as sandalwood. Though still somewhat youthful, it did nothing to conceal her beauty capable of toppling kingdoms.

The Young Girl named Xiao Xun'er approached the stone tablet with Lotus Steps. She extended her small hand, revealing a section of fair, jade-like wrist, and gently pressed her palm against the tablet.

A dazzling radiance appeared upon the tablet once more, clearly displaying five large words: "Dou Qi, Ninth Stage!"

The entire square fell silent for a moment. The occasional sounds of swallowing revealed everyone's shock.

"Miss Xun'er is only fourteen, right? She's already reached the Ninth Stage? That's truly terrifying!"

"Perfect looks, outstanding temperament, formidable talent—isn't she the goddess of my dreams?"

The tester rarely showed a smile. He spoke to the Young Girl with slight respect, "Miss Xun'er, within half a year at most, you should be able to condense a Dou Qi Vortex. Once you succeed, you will become a true Dou Zhe, the second person in the Xiao Family in a hundred years to do so."

The second person. The first had naturally been Xiao Yan, the fallen genius who became a Dou Zhe at eleven.

"Thank you." The Young Girl nodded, showing little reaction to such excessive praise. After thanking him, she quietly turned and slowly walked off the platform. Her destination was the dispirited youth sitting in the corner.

"Brother Xiao Yan." Xiao Xun'er stopped before the youth, bent over to look at him, and revealed a rare, elegant smile on her lovely face.

The youth raised his head slightly. Facing the Young Girl's smiling expression, he gave a bitter smile. "The way I am now, how am I still worth this from you?"

"Brother Xiao Yan wasn't like this before! You were the one who taught Xun Er that people must be able to let go of what they take up, so that they can live freely!" Xun Er's expression became slightly stern, but her voice was full of tenderness and encouragement.

"Heh, freely? That was only in the past. Now that I've become trash, where is my hope? Where is my freedom?" Xiao Yan continued to mock himself, utterly dispirited.

Xun Er's willow brows knit slightly as she said seriously, "Brother Xiao Yan, pull yourself together. Shutting yourself away won't solve anything. Though Xun Er doesn't know what has caused your condition, I will always stay with Brother Xiao Yan and find a solution together. Brother Xiao Yan will definitely stand up again and reclaim the glory and dignity that belong to you."

Seeing the little girl, a head shorter than him, putting on the air of an adult as she lectured and consoled him, Xiao Yan could not help feeling a little awkward. Yet some of the bitterness in his heart dissipated.

"Sigh, there's nothing worth watching in this test anyway. I'm leaving!" Xiao Yan stood up, brushed the dust from his backside, clasped his hands behind his head, and turned to leave.

A clear whistle sounded from the youth's lips, its melody filled with tangled emotions.

Xiao Xun'er watched his retreating back, hesitated for a moment, then hurried after him and gently grabbed his sleeve. Beneath everyone's lingering gazes, she left the square with him.

"His senses are quite sharp." The Pink-haired Girl sat on the roof with one leg crossed over the other, watching the two below depart. She smiled lightly.

Liuli had been sitting on the roof since the testing began, watching the show unfold below. Her plan had worked perfectly. She now recognized Xiao Yan, Xiao Xun'er, and the other main figures of the Xiao Family, so she would be prepared when they met in the future. However, Xiao Yan's Soul Power was exceptional, which had strengthened his perception as well. He had actually seen through the Illusion capable of confusing a Da Dou Shi and discovered her. This made Liuli regard him even more highly.

"Sure enough, even when the protagonist has fallen on hard times, he still has a panel!" Liuli could not help sighing.

"Tomorrow, there's also the matter of Nalan Yanran breaking off the engagement. I should go take a look then as well." Liuli smiled softly. Though she wanted to help the future Xiao Yan vent his anger, she did not dare disrupt everything that happened in the early stages. Otherwise, it would trigger a butterfly effect.

The Young Girl lowered her leg, stood up, and stretched lazily. With a light kick against a roof tile, she rose into the air. Her silver Dou Qi wings spread open as she flew away from the Xiao Family's territory.

For Docking purposes, the plot in the next few chapters will be very similar to the original, but every sentence was written by me. There was absolutely no copy-pasting.