Startled Retreat

On the other side, Xiao Ling held Xiao Xun'er's small hand and walked to the high platform in front of the Martial Arts Arena to stand still.

He looked at the crowd of Xiao Clan disciples before him, scanning those youthful faces, and finally let his gaze linger on Xiao Yu and Xiao Yan for a second each before withdrawing his eyes.

"I have two things to announce during this morning session. The first is the new clan member beside me, Xiao Xun'er. As for the second, I believe you have all likely guessed it."

"That's right, it is the Year-End Assessment."

After a pause, Xiao Ling glanced at the whispering Xiao Clan disciples below and continued.

"This assessment is different from the past. In addition to the Arena Elimination Tournament, a Hunting Competition will be added."

"The clan elders will personally head to the Magic Beast Mountain Range to capture several First-Order Magic Beasts for you to hunt."

"Therefore, this Year-End Assessment will carry a certain degree of danger, but the rewards will also be very generous. The specifics will be announced later."

"If any of you do not wish to participate, you may come to me to withdraw after the morning session ends."

"But I will say this plainly: this assessment is tied to your future resource allocation..."

Upon hearing this, although the Xiao Clan disciples below murmured and felt a bit timid, not a single one backed down.

"Please rest assured, Big Brother Xiao Ling, we will never lose face for you or bring shame to the clan."

Listen! How fearless that was!

As expected, the sayings of transmigrators do not deceive; loyalty must be cultivated from a young age.

"Very good! The rest of the morning session will proceed as usual."

Xiao Ling nodded in satisfaction and began to teach the hand seals for the master scroll of the Zi Wu Body Tempering Technique to Xiao Xun'er step by step.

Xiao Ling formed complex hand seals, teaching her one step at a time, and would occasionally reach out to help her adjust her posture.

This made Xiao Yu below green with envy and jealousy. Furious, she had no choice but to vent her inner anger on the other Xiao Clan disciples, leaving them unable to speak despite their resentment.

After all, she was one of only two experts at the eighth stage of Dou Power among them.

At this moment, Xiao Xun'er on the platform tilted her little head and glanced at the girl in the blue dress who was staring at her from below. Seeing the envy and jealousy in the other girl's eyes, she couldn't help but feel a stir in her heart, and she became distracted for a moment.

"Thump!"

"Ouch~"

Xiao Xun'er covered her forehead with her small hand, lifted her delicate, porcelain-doll-like face to look at the white-clad youth staring at her, and rubbed her little head.

"Brother Xiao Ling, you're bullying Xun'er, I'm ignoring you now~"

Hearing this, even the composure Xiao Ling had cultivated over the past four years couldn't help but falter.

Could it be... that he overestimated her God-Tier Bloodline?

In truth, that was not the case at all. After all, a God-Tier Bloodline is a God-Tier Bloodline, and it cannot be conflated with the small, fickle thoughts of a young girl.

But Xiao Ling was unaware of this.

As the morning session concluded, Xiao Ling once again felt a trace of Dou Qi increase within his body, though it was negligible. He shook his head helplessly; with his current strength as a Nine-Star Dou Shi, the Zi Wu Body Tempering Technique would not have much effect on him unless he were a Dou Grandmaster.

This was one of the reasons why he had taught the Zi Wu Body Tempering Technique to Xiao Xun'er earlier.

Of course, another reason was that her father had given him too much.

Beside him, Xiao Xun'er, who had just learned the hand seals for the master scroll of the Zi Wu Body Tempering Technique, felt a surge of extremely pure Dou Power appear out of thin air within her meridians. She blinked her beautiful, large eyes.

For a moment, her little head couldn't quite grasp where this Dou Power had come from.

Then, as if remembering something, she looked down at her small hands. A look of shock gradually welled up in her beautiful, large eyes, and she unconsciously lifted her little head to look at the white-clad youth before her.

"Brother Xiao Ling..."

"That's right, it is exactly as you think. This is a secret, so you are not allowed to tell anyone, or else you'll be in for it."

Xiao Ling smiled.

Hearing this, Xiao Xun'er took a deep breath, her small, flat chest rising and falling slightly.

With the knowledge she had gained from reading various books since childhood, she still couldn't find a single auxiliary cultivation technique that matched this.

Thinking this, she slightly lifted her little head to look at the side profile of the youth before her, her voice crisp as she confirmed.

"Brother Xiao Ling, does this mean I won't have to cultivate anymore in the future?"

Xiao Ling lowered his head slightly: "In your dreams. It becomes useless after reaching the Dou Spirit realm."

"Oh~"

Xiao Xun'er replied, her little face showing no signs of disappointment.

Seeing this, Xiao Ling felt a stir in his heart; he planned to increase the intensity of the training for the coming period.

Thinking this, Xiao Ling held the little girl Xun'er's hand and returned to the small courtyard.

However, no one expected that Xun'er, the little princess of the Ancient Clan, would be nearly exhausted to the point of collapse.

After more than ten days of high-intensity training, with Xiao Ling giving her special one-on-one instruction, she was completely worn out and lay on the bed, not wanting to move a muscle.

Ling Ying felt a pang of heartache watching this: "Miss, shall I go and teach young master Xiao Ling a lesson?"

"No need, brother Xiao Ling is doing this for my own good."

Xun'er hurriedly stopped him.

However, at that very moment, within Ling Ying's perception, a young boy was sneaking into the courtyard under the cover of night.

Ling Ying frowned: "Miss, it is young master Xiao Yan."

Hearing this, Xun'er's delicate willow-leaf eyebrows furrowed: "Why is he coming to brother Xiao Ling's place so late at night... could it be that he is here for me?"

Thinking of this, a flash of anger appeared on Xun'er's small face.

Seeing this, Ling Ying understood what was happening, and a look of indignation appeared on his aged face.

"Miss, shall I go and capture him, then send him to Xiao Zhan and the others?"

"No need, without evidence, it would be difficult for uncle Xiao Zhan to handle such a matter."

Xun'er waved her small hand, stopping Ling Ying.

In truth, she wanted to see how someone would handle this situation...

Although it takes a long time to tell, only three or five seconds had passed since Xiao Yan climbed over the wall.

On the other side, after landing, Xiao Yan cautiously looked at his surroundings. Suddenly, he felt a sense of guilt, constantly comforting himself in his heart that he was only here to help sister Xun'er nourish her meridians.

At this moment, as if remembering something, he looked toward the main room with a wary expression. That was where his cousin lived, and he dared not disturb him, so he could only hunch over and tiptoe toward Xun'er's room in the west.

At this moment, Xiao Ling, who was refining pills in his room, suddenly felt a sense of restlessness.

Deep in thought, he did not notice anything amiss during this period.

If there was one thing, it might be that Xun'er had broken through to the first stage of Dou Power.

After all, with so many people providing resources, even a pig should have broken through by now.

Not to mention a heaven-gifted girl like Xun'er...

"Wait... no... damn it, how could he have forgotten about this..."

In his memories, it seemed that because of the Heavenly Flame within her, during the time Xun'er first stepped into cultivation, the Heavenly Flame flowing through her meridians caused them to shrink and twist... and it was precisely under these circumstances that a guy like Xiao Yan had found an opening.

Various thoughts flashed through his mind, and Xiao Ling stood up abruptly.

"Boom!"

The cauldron exploded!

A wisp of black smoke drifted out from the pill cauldron in front of him.

Xiao Ling had no time to mourn his second-grade medicinal pill. With a thought, his soul power, equivalent to the peak of the low-tier Mortal Realm, surged out from his body and instantly enveloped the entire courtyard.

Under the shroud of his soul power, he saw a "big black rat" about to reach Xun'er's door.

Xiao Ling's anger meter instantly overflowed.

"Good lad, it seems I've been too gentle with you, cousin, that you've actually dared to try and poach my girl."

Xiao Ling was almost laughed at by his own anger.

His cold, majestic voice echoed throughout the entire courtyard.

"Xiao Yan is grounded for one month, and all resources are revoked for three months. Get out of here and go back to cultivate!"

The sudden voice left Xiao Yan frozen in place. Wailing internally, Xiao Yan hurriedly bowed toward the direction of the main room.

"Cou... cousin, then I shall return to cultivate?"

"Get out!"

"Sigh."

Xiao Yan responded awkwardly and was just about to climb over the wall to leave when he was called out.

"Use the front gate!"

Inside the room, Xun'er looked at the mirror screen, covering her mouth to giggle, her silver bell-like laughter drifting through the courtyard.

She was very satisfied with how someone had handled this!

On the other side, Xiao Ling glanced at Xun'er's room and shook his head. He knew this little girl must be peeking, waiting for him to take action.

After all, she had the only Dou Emperor of the Ancient Clan by her side.

He didn't know why Xiao Yan in the original story had been so bold.