Classic: Dou Qi, Third Stage! Trash Yan Xiao?

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, three days had gone by.

Cloud Mist Sacred Mountain.

At this moment, Cloud Mist Sacred Mountain was already packed with families and factions of all sizes from across the empire.

Naturally, the best spots belonged to the major families and factions, while the smaller ones could only huddle in a corner.

"Master, you didn't bring me here to take part in this Disciple Recruitment Assembly, did you?"

"Of course. Why else would I bring you here, to have fun?"

Ye Changge and the other two arrived at the entrance to Cloud Mist Sacred Mountain. Besides the two of them, Outer Sect Elder Ye Cheng accompanied them.

Shi Hao looked utterly bewildered. He had been cultivating frantically in the training room when Ye Changge mercilessly dragged him out.

At the entrance to Cloud Mist Sacred Mountain, the three were stopped by Outer Disciples of the Misty Cloud Sect.

"Visitors, halt. Do you have invitations?"

"Invitations?"

"My Ye Emperor Hall goes wherever it pleases!"

"Since when did we need invitations?"

At that moment, Ye Cheng stepped forward and fully unleashed his Dou Ancestor Peak cultivation.

When had these Misty Cloud Sect Outer Disciples ever seen such a scene?

They immediately trembled under the immense pressure.

They secretly thought:

We've kicked an iron plate. Ye Emperor Hall?

Never heard of it! Could it be some hidden sect?

"Please, please, go right in."

After that minor incident, the Disciple Recruitment Assembly was about to begin.

Outside Cloud Mist Sacred Mountain.

Massive arenas rose from the ground, each spanning several acres.

Pavilions and towers also dotted the surroundings for spectators to watch from.

"Everyone, today marks the official beginning of our Misty Cloud Sect's once-every-three-years Disciple Recruitment Assembly."

"The first round is a talent test. Anyone under twenty with at least the eighth stage of Dou Qi may take part in the selection."

Countless black stone pillars stood around the outer perimeter. The greater one's talent, the more light the pillars would emit.

One's Dou Qi cultivation talent could not be below the eighth stage of Dou Qi, or they would fail.

"Those who pass the talent test may enter the second round, the competitive selection, where the top fifty will be decided."

"First place may become the Sect Master's disciple and the Young Sect Master of our Misty Cloud Sect!"

"Second through fifth place may become Direct Disciples of our Misty Cloud Sect's Dou Wang elders, becoming the new generation of elders' Direct Disciples!"

"As for the rest, they may enter the inner sect of the Misty Cloud Sect."

"Now, those whose names are called, come forward for testing."

"Shimocheng, Wang Family's Wang Xiong, sixteen years old, eighth stage Dou Qi. Qualified. Next."

"Qingshan Town, Ji Taichang, seventeen years old, one-star Dou Zhe. Qualified. Next."

"Mocheng, Zhao Liu, eighteen years old, seventh stage Dou Qi. Unqualified. Next."

"Qingshan Town, Li Xuan, twenty years old, seventh stage Dou Qi. Unqualified. Next."

Below the stage, a hundred black stone pillars began testing simultaneously.

"Imperial Capital, Nalan Family, Nalan Yanran, fifteen years old, three-star Dou Zhe. Qualified!"

"Black Rock City, Shi Hao, seventeen years old, nine-star Da Dou Shi! Qualified!!"

"What?!"

"A seventeen-year-old Da Dou Shi! And a Nine-Star Dou Grandmaster at that!!"

"Such a young Da Dou Shi..."

A woman in a long green dress on the viewing platform stared intently at Shi Hao before the testing pillar.

"Could he be from that unfathomable Central Continent?"

"Who?"

Still immersed in the shock Shi Hao had brought her, she suddenly sensed a sharp gaze upon herself, making her feel as though she had been seen through.

Sure enough, when she looked toward one of the pavilions, a picturesque young man was smiling at her. He was devilishly handsome, with sword-like brows and starry eyes. An enchanting purple light flickered within his deep pupils, and he resembled an immortal banished from the heavens.

The woman in green hurriedly averted her gaze. The young man looked elsewhere as well, and that feeling of being seen through vanished as if it had been an illusion.

She concluded that the young man was anything but ordinary. Perhaps, like Shi Hao, he was from the Central Continent. She then shook her head and stopped dwelling on it.

"Interesting. So she's Yun Yun?"

Ye Changge examined the system panel.

Yun Yun: Sect Master of the Misty Cloud Sect, twenty-five years old. Cultivation: three-star Dou Huang.

It was at that moment.

Ding. A chosen son of fate from the Dou Po Plane has been detected. Please recruit him promptly.

"He's here!"

"System, display the chosen son of fate's panel."

Xiao Yan, descendant of the Ancient Imperial Xiao Clan. Cultivation: third stage Dou Qi.

The Disciple Recruitment Assembly was in full swing.

"Wutan City, Yan Xiao, fifteen years old, third stage Dou Qi. Unqualified!"

"So it's still the same..."

A man in black left the venue dejectedly, accompanied, of course, by the mockery of those around him.

"Brother Xiao Yan, don't be sad."

"Sigh, Xun'er, am I still not good enough?"

"I believe in you, Brother Xiao Yan. One day, you'll rise again!"

"Just a while ago, I had already cultivated to the eighth stage..."

The speaker was a young man dressed in black, with a face carved as if by a blade, the sort of face a novel's protagonist would have.

His name was Xiao Yan, the third son of the Xiao Family's clan leader in Wutan City, and nominally the Young Clan Leader of the Xiao Family.

He began cultivating Dou Qi at four. By ten, he had reached the ninth stage of Dou Qi and successfully condensed a Qi vortex, breaking through to Dou Zhe and becoming famous throughout Wutan City!

But heaven did not grant his wishes. His cultivation came to a halt there. Not only had he failed to make the slightest breakthrough over the past five years, but his original cultivation had also steadily regressed year by year, until he became the laughingstock of all Wutan City.

Over those five years, his Dou Qi cultivation had not improved in the slightest. Even if he continuously tried to cultivate Dou Qi, it would disperse by the next day!

He had happened to encounter the Misty Cloud Sect's once-every-three-years Disciple Recruitment Assembly this time, so he had come to try his luck and see whether he could find a way to help his cultivation.

But there had been no result...

"Mm, thank you, Xun'er. It's fortunate that you've been by my side these past five years."

"Since there's nothing here that Brother Xiao Yan needs, shall we go back?"

"We've been out for quite a while. Uncle Xiao is probably worried..."

Beside Xiao Yan was his childhood sweetheart, Xiao Xun'er.

Hearing this, Xiao Yan looked at Nalan Yanran on the stage, then at the center of everyone's attention, the Nine-Star Dou Grandmaster Shi Hao!

A faint blood-red unwillingness gradually surfaced in his eyes.

"Why!"

"Why is this happening?!"

After saying that, Xiao Yan followed Xiao Xun'er aimlessly while deep in thought, still muttering under his breath.

"A fifteen-year-old three-star Dou Zhe."

"Heh, with that kind of talent, she'll at least become a Direct Disciple of a Misty Cloud Sect Dou Wang elder, right?"

"It seems the gap between my fiancée and me is so vast that she'll probably come to the Xiao Family soon..."

"Hey, young man!"

"What troubles are weighing on your mind?"

"I've always enjoyed helping others. Why don't you tell me about it?"

Hearing someone call out to him, Xiao Yan, who had been walking with his head lowered, stopped and examined the man before him.

There were three people!

The black-robed youth who referred to himself as "I" stood in the middle. His ink-black hair flowed like a waterfall, and his purple eyes in particular were exceptionally bewitching.

The youth beside him radiated an imposing aura, and his eight-foot-tall frame was overwhelmingly oppressive. It was none other than Shi Hao!

There was also a middle-aged man following closely behind them. His aura seemed completely absent, yet upon closer thought, he was even more unfathomable and terrifying than the Dou Wang and Dou Huang experts on the viewing platform!