Early morning.
Wutan City.
The city was especially lively today, because it was the day Jia Nan Academy held its entrance examinations. Even the Jia Ma Imperial Family took the occasion very seriously, sending troops to keep order.
At the Xiao Clan, one of the Three Great Families of Wutan City, Xun'er was in Xiao Ling's courtyard. She watched the White-robed Youth step inside and asked with a playful smile,
"Brother Xiao Ling, how did it go? Who's going to take the Jia Nan Academy entrance exam this time?"
Xiao Ling plopped down in a chair, picked up the teacup in front of him, and took a sip. Only then did he reply with a smile,
"I plan to send Yu Er and Xiao Wu. The others still need a little more time."
He had barely finished speaking when a figure came rushing into the courtyard. From a distance, she called out,
"Brother Xiao Ling, I forgot to tell you yesterday—the Jia Nan Academy entrance exam is today..."
Xiao Yu strode in on her long legs. The moment she entered the courtyard, she spotted the little girl in a purple dress sitting beside her Brother Xiao Ling and immediately swallowed the rest of her words.
She might not be very clever, but she wasn't stupid. The other girl had obviously already told her Brother Xiao Ling...
Looking at Xiao Yu's awkward, pretty face, Xiao Ling beckoned her over with a smile.
"Yu Er, come sit."
"Oh..."
Xiao Yu sat down on his lap, her pretty face turning red with embarrassment. The momentary softness left Xiao Ling frozen for a beat. Then he looked at the face so close to his and pointed to the little stool beside them.
"I meant sit there..."
"Ah... oh..."
Xiao Yu's face turned scarlet, all the way down to her pale neck. Only then did she move over, reluctantly stepping away on her long legs.
Seeing that she hadn't taken it seriously, Xiao Ling breathed a sigh of relief. When they were little, he had often held her like that, but now that they were older, he couldn't do that anymore...
With that in mind, Xiao Ling changed the subject. "Yu Er, was there anything else? If not, go tell Xiao Wu and the others to meet here. I'll take you all around Wutan City."
Xiao Yu pushed down her embarrassment and replied sweetly,
"I already arranged for Xiao Wu and the others to come over when I was on my way here. They should be arriving soon."
"By the way, Brother Xiao Ling, who's taking the entrance exam from our Xiao Clan? Are you going?"
Xiao Ling had already prepared an answer to her question. He smiled and said,
"My plan is to send only you and Xiao Wu. The others still need to improve. As for me, I have some things to take care of, so I won't be going this time."
"If Brother Xiao Ling isn't going, then neither am I," Xiao Yu insisted.
"Don't be ridiculous!" Xiao Ling's face darkened, and he was about to scold her. But when he saw her wounded expression, his tone softened. "You and Xiao Wu can't improve any further here in a small place like Wutan City. The Jia Nan Academy entrance exam is your chance. Only by going there will you be able to improve quickly."
After a pause, Xiao Ling continued,
"If you really want to help me, you'll need to reach at least the Dou Emperor level..."
"Hmph... You're so mean, Brother Xiao Ling. I never said I wasn't going," Xiao Yu muttered.
Xiao Ling was quite pleased. Although the girl in front of him was usually rather carefree, she certainly had no shortage of concern for him...
Thinking of this, Xiao Ling smiled and handed her more than a dozen jade bottles.
"Here. These are four doses of Foundation Establishment Powder and ten bottles of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid. You can't use them anymore, but you can trade them for resources you need."
He was running low on gold coins and still needed to prepare for a breakthrough to Third-grade Alchemist.
After all, third-tier medicinal ingredients were expensive, and only the Miteer Auction House stocked them in Wutan City.
"Thank you, Brother Xiao Ling."
Xiao Yu smiled as she took them and put them into her Storage Ring.
Xun'er came over from the side, smiled faintly, and said,
"Don't worry, Cousin Xiao Yu. I'll take good care of Brother Xiao Ling."
Xiao Yu: "..."
Xiao Ling: "All right, both of you, that's enough."
He looked at the two girls, feeling rather helpless. From the very beginning, he had treated Xun'er and Xiao Yu equally.
He hadn't given Xun'er any special treatment because of the original story. As for the original scroll of the Ziwu Body Tempering Technique he'd given her earlier, that was only because her father had given him so much.
With that thought, Xiao Ling stood and headed outside. His voice drifted back to them.
"Come on. Let's go see the Jia Nan Academy entrance exams."
The two girls exchanged glances, then hurried after him and each linked an arm through his. Xiao Ling could only smile helplessly. When Xiao Wu and the others caught up, he said,
"Let's go."
"Yes, Brother Xiao Ling."
Xiao Wu, Xiao Yan, and the others replied in unison. With admiring looks, they followed behind Xiao Ling and walked out of the Xiao Clan's gates together.
Seeing the lively atmosphere on the street put Xiao Ling in a better mood. Once again, he gained a deeper appreciation for Jia Nan Academy, a power that stood apart from the rest.
People of all kinds were walking with their children toward the same destination.
Among them were quite a few little beggars. Jia Nan Academy didn't care about a person's background; all that mattered was reaching the eighth stage of Dou Power before turning eighteen.
Most people here didn't meet the requirements. They were only there to join in the excitement or try their luck. After all, there was no harm in being rejected.
The young members of the Xiao Clan were also stunned by what they saw. They began whispering among themselves.
Xiao Ling paid them little mind and led everyone toward the central plaza.
Their group of more than twenty attracted quite a bit of attention. Some were clearly visitors from out of town, and they began to gossip.
"Who's that guy? Which clan is he from? What a huge entourage!"
"Yeah, look at him with a girl on each arm and a bunch of followers behind him. He's such a show-off!"
The locals of Wutan City heard the visitors' comments and moved farther away from them. One of them even kindly warned them,
"You can tell you're from somewhere else. These are all members of the Xiao Clan. The one leading them is Xiao Ling, the leader of the Xiao Clan's younger generation.
"As for the two beside him, the older one is Xiao Yu. I hear she's his childhood sweetheart. I don't know about the younger one, but I advise you not to provoke them."
"Thanks, brother. We were just curious."
The visitors hurriedly cupped their hands in thanks.
They weren't fools. They had no conflict of interest with the young man, so why would they do something stupid and make an enemy for no reason?
Xiao Ling was walking toward them at the time, but he paid little attention to the crowd's comments. He'd come to understand that these people weren't the idiots from the brainless power fantasies he knew in his previous life.
As a result, he'd lost his earlier excitement at the thought of stealing their lifespans.
Just as he was about to lead the Xiao Clan juniors to another entrance, he suddenly spotted someone familiar in the crowd.
"Wu Ming?"
Before you continue