The Startled Retreat

On the other side, Xiao Ling led Xun'er by the hand to the raised platform in front of the Martial Arts Arena.

He looked at the many Xiao Clan disciples before him, his gaze passing over their young faces. It lingered for a second each on Xiao Yu and Xiao Yan before he finally looked away.

"I have two things to announce at this morning's lesson. The first is the new member of our clan beside me, Xiao Xun'er. The second, I'm sure you've already guessed."

"That's right—the Year-End Assessment."

After a pause, Xiao Ling glanced at the Xiao Clan disciples below, who were whispering among themselves, then continued.

"This assessment will be different from those in the past. In addition to the Arena Elimination Tournament, there will also be a Hunting Competition."

"The clan elders will go to the Magic Beast Mountain Range themselves and capture several first-tier magical beasts for you to hunt."

"So there will be some danger in this Year-End Assessment, but the rewards will be plentiful as well. We'll announce the details later."

"Anyone who doesn't want to take part can withdraw after the morning lesson by coming to see me."

"But let me make this clear first: this assessment will affect how your resources are allocated in the future..."

At that, although the Xiao Clan disciples below murmured among themselves and some looked apprehensive, not one of them backed down.

"Brother Xiao Ling, don't worry. We won't let you down or bring shame to the clan."

Listen to that! What fearlessness!

The transmigrator's famous saying really hadn't let him down: loyalty had to be cultivated from childhood.

"Good! The rest of this morning's lesson will proceed as usual."

Xiao Ling nodded in satisfaction, then began teaching Xun'er the hand seals for the master scroll of the Zi Wu Body Tempering Technique, guiding her through them step by step.

He formed the complicated seals with his hands and taught them to Xun'er one by one, occasionally reaching out to adjust her posture.

Down below, Xiao Yu was so envious and jealous that she was fuming. She could only vent her anger on the Xiao Clan disciples, leaving them furious but afraid to say anything.

After all, she was one of the only two among them with eight segments of Dou Power.

Just then, Xun'er tilted her little head and glanced at the blue-skirted girl below, who kept looking her way. She could see envy and jealousy in the girl's eyes. A thought stirred in her mind, and she lost focus for a moment.

"Thump!"

"Ah~"

Xun'er covered her forehead with one hand and looked up at the white-robed youth watching her, rubbing her little head.

"Brother Xiao Ling, you're picking on Xun'er! I'm not talking to you~"

At that, even Xiao Ling, whose self-control had been honed over the past four years, couldn't help but freeze.

Could he have overestimated her God-Tier Bloodline?

But that wasn't it at all. A God-Tier Bloodline was one thing; a girl's little thoughts were another.

Xiao Ling, however, had no idea.

When the morning lesson ended, Xiao Ling once again felt a tiny, barely noticeable increase in the Dou Qi within him. He shook his head helplessly. At his current strength as a Nine-Star Dou Shi, the technique wouldn't do much for him unless a Da Dou Shi practiced it.

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

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

Beside him, Xun'er had just learned the hand seals for the master scroll of the Zi Wu Body Tempering Technique. She felt a stream of exceptionally pure Dou Qi appear out of nowhere in her meridians and blinked her pretty eyes.

For a moment, her little head couldn't work out where the Dou Qi had come from.

Then, as if she'd remembered something, she lowered her gaze to her hands. Shock gradually welled up in her beautiful eyes. She looked up at the white-robed youth before her, almost without realizing it.

"Brother Xiao Ling..."

"That's right, just as you thought. This is a secret, so don't tell anyone—or else."

Xiao Ling smiled.

At that, Xun'er drew a deep breath, her small chest rising and falling slightly.

With all the books she had read since childhood, she still couldn't think of a single supplementary cultivation technique that matched it.

With that thought, she lifted her little head and looked at the boy's profile, her voice clear as she asked, "Brother Xiao Ling, does that mean I won't have to cultivate anymore?"

Xiao Ling lowered his head slightly. "Don't even dream of it. It stops working once you reach Dou Ling."

"Oh~"

Xun'er answered, but there was no disappointment on her little face.

Seeing this, a thought stirred in Xiao Ling's mind. He decided to step up her training for a while.

With that in mind, Xiao Ling led Xun'er back to the small courtyard.

But no one could have guessed that Xun'er, the little princess of the Ancient Clan, would nearly be worked to death.

After more than ten days of intense training, Xiao Ling had even given Xun'er extra lessons on her own. She was utterly exhausted and just wanted to lie in bed without moving.

Ling Ying felt his heart ache at the sight. "Miss, should I go teach Young Master Xiao Ling a lesson?"

"No, Brother Xiao Ling is only doing this for my own good."

Xun'er hurriedly stopped him.

Just then, Ling Ying sensed a young boy sneaking into the courtyard under cover of darkness.

Ling Ying frowned. "Miss, it's Young Master Xiao Yan."

Xun'er furrowed her delicate brows. "What's he doing at Brother Xiao Ling's place so late at night... Could he be here for me?"

A flash of anger crossed her little face.

Ling Ying understood at once. Anger showed on his aged face.

"Miss, should I catch him and take him to Xiao Zhan and the others?"

"No. Without proof, Uncle Xiao Zhan won't be able to deal with this properly."

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

Truthfully, she wanted to see how a certain someone would handle this...

Though it sounded like a long time, only three to five seconds had passed since Xiao Yan climbed over the wall.

On the other side, after landing, Xiao Yan cautiously surveyed his surroundings. Suddenly, he felt like a thief caught in the act. He kept reassuring himself that he was only there to help his younger sister Xun'er nourish her meridians.

Then, as if he'd remembered something, Xiao Yan glanced warily toward the main house. That was where his older cousin lived, and he didn't dare alert him. So he bent low, tiptoed, and crept toward Xun'er's room on the west side.

At that moment, Xiao Ling was refining pills in his room when he suddenly felt restless.

After racking his brains, he still couldn't think of anything that had gone wrong lately.

If there was one possibility, it was that Xun'er had advanced to the first segment of Dou Power.

With so many people contributing to her cultivation, even a pig ought to have advanced by now.

Let alone a heavenly beauty like Xun'er...

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

As he recalled, Xun'er's Heavenly Flames had caused trouble when she first began cultivating. The flames flowed through her meridians, making them contract and twist... and that was how Xiao Yan had managed to take advantage of the situation.

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, and Xiao Ling sprang to his feet.

"Boom!"

The pill cauldron had exploded!

A wisp of black smoke drifted from the Pill Cauldron before him.

Xiao Ling had no time to mourn the loss of his second-grade pill. With a thought, his soul power—at the peak of the low-tier mortal level—surged out of him and instantly enveloped the entire courtyard.

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

Xiao Ling's rage overflowed.

"You little brat! Looks like your cousin's been too gentle with you. You've even got the nerve to try and steal the girl I like!"

Xiao Ling was so angry he almost laughed.

His cold, authoritative voice rang throughout the courtyard.

"Xiao Yan, you're grounded for a month. All your resources for the next three months are canceled. Now get back and cultivate!"

The sudden voice froze Xiao Yan in place. He wailed inwardly, then hurriedly bowed toward the main house.

"C-Cousin, I'll go back and cultivate now?"

"Get lost!"

"Okay."

Xiao Yan answered awkwardly. He was just about to climb over the wall and leave when Xiao Ling called after him.

"Use the front door!"

Inside her room, Xun'er watched the scene in the mirror and giggled, her laughter like silver bells drifting through the courtyard.

She was very pleased with what he'd done!

On the other side, Xiao Ling glanced toward Xun'er's room and shook his head. He knew the little girl was definitely peeking, waiting to see what he would do.

After all, the only Dou Huang expert in the Ancient Clan was right there beside her.

He had no idea why the Xiao Yan in the original story had been so bold.