Enviable to the Point of Jealousy

The day before the Xiao Clan's Testing Ceremony, Xun'er finally refined the peak eighth-grade medicinal pill, the Exotic Flame Fusion Pill.

To a Dou Zhe, the medicinal power of an eighth-grade medicinal pill could almost be described as limitless.

Although the pill's primary effect was to assist its user in refining the Heavenly Flame within their body and ensure that no problems would arise when refining Heavenly Flames in the future, its medicinal power still pushed Xun'er's cultivation to rise rapidly, taking her straight to the level of an eight-star Dou Shi.

This was due not only to the pill's effects but also to the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame Seed.

Having risen nearly an entire major realm in one go, Xun'er was naturally overjoyed.

In the original story, Xun'er's strength had always been a mystery.

After Xiao Yan broke through to become a Dou Zhe, Xun'er also became a Dou Zhe.

After Xiao Yan traveled outside for more than a year, refined the Green Lotus Core Flame, became a Da Dou Shi, and arrived at Jia Nan Academy, Xun'er had also become a Da Dou Shi.

Later, when facing the Black Annihilation Army, Xiao Yan found himself outmatched, while Xun'er performed a Dou Qi Transformation Wings right on the spot.

For this girl, breaking through was as easy as eating and drinking.

Moreover, the unstable appearance that had emerged on Xiao Jin would never appear on Xun'er.

That made Xiao Jin so envious that his eyes were practically turning red.

Was the Dou Emperor Bloodline really that overbearing?

He recalled the girl he had encountered before entering the Magic Beast Mountain Range for training. The effects of the Woe Poison Body were equally enviable.

Compared to them, only he himself was utterly ordinary—he merely possessed an Innate Emperor Realm Soul, that was all.

"Brother Xiao Jin, Xun'er broke through to eight-star Dou Shi in one go!" Xun'er smiled sweetly and rubbed against Xiao Jin's arm. The tender sensation made every hair on Xiao Jin's back stand on end.

Without realizing it, this girl had grown up too.

It seemed he could no longer act without boundaries as he had before.

He calmly pulled his arm back and rubbed the girl's head twice. "Congratulations, Xun'er. Tonight, your big brother will personally cook and reward my Xun'er."

The slight disappointment the girl felt when Xiao Jin pulled his arm away was immediately dispelled by his indulgent tone.

"Hehe, Brother Xiao Jin said I'm his Xun'er." The girl lowered her head, her face covered in alluring blushes.

While the two were enjoying their food, Xiao Yan was alone in his courtyard, gazing forlornly at the large tree there.

Tomorrow was the Xiao Clan's annual Testing Ceremony. He knew that he had once again reached his yearly moment of humiliation.

Even after losing his talent, he still had not given up on cultivation.

Three years of mockery had made his mindset increasingly resilient. The stubborn refusal to admit defeat in his nature drove him to invest even more in cultivation.

Yet just like the previous night, the Dou Qi he had painstakingly cultivated for some time had inexplicably disappeared.

It was like a leaky wooden bucket—no matter what he did, he could not keep that Dou Qi inside.

"I'm used to humiliating myself. It's just that Father..." Recalling Xiao Zhan's disappointed expression, Xiao Yan felt another wave of bitterness in his heart.

Ever since he lost his talent, only his father and Brother Jin in the entire clan had continued to treat him as before.

Yet he still disappointed them time and again.

"Forget it. I'll cultivate for a while longer. Maybe this time it'll work?" As if trying to convince himself, Xiao Yan closed his eyes again and entered a cultivation state.

The next day, after lunch, many people gathered in the Xiao Clan's Testing Plaza.

The Testing Ceremony was different from the Coming-of-Age Ceremony. The former existed only to test the potential of all the younger members of the clan, while the latter announced a person's fate.

If someone could not reach the seventh stage of Dou Qi before the Coming-of-Age Ceremony, they would lose the chance to enter the clan's Technique Pavilion and select a cultivation technique. They would instead be assigned to various clan industries to manage ordinary affairs for the clan.

According to the Xiao Clan's practices in previous years, the Coming-of-Age Ceremony would invite prominent figures from Wutan City to attend as guests.

Although the Testing Ceremony was not held on such a scale, it was still an annual grand occasion for the younger generation of the Xiao Clan.

Those with good talent all hoped to make an impression before the clan elders through this Testing Ceremony, thereby securing better cultivation resources.

Those with poor talent but a desire to improve also wanted to use this opportunity to see how much they had advanced over the past year.

Only those whose aptitude and cultivation met the requirements could participate in the Xiao Clan's Coming-of-Age Ceremony at the age of sixteen.

Although this was a grand occasion for the younger generation, quite a few adults were still present in the Xiao Clan's Testing Plaza.

Some were the parents and elders of the younger generation, coming to see their children's achievements. Others were clan higher-ups.

As clan leader, Xiao Zhan had to attend such an occasion.

Apart from him, the three Great Elders also sat on either side of him, smiling as they watched the younger generation below the stage.

These were all the future hopes of the Xiao Clan.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out in the Testing Plaza. The several clan higher-ups on the stage looked toward the source of the noise and saw a handsome young man entering the plaza.

Xiao Zhan's gaze darkened, and he withdrew it with some regret.

That youth had once been the model of the younger generation in the Xiao Clan, the target everyone had chased after, and his pride as well.

What a pity. For some unknown reason, Xiao Yan's fall had come so swiftly and so inexplicably.

The Great Elder beside Xiao Zhan chuckled. "Clan Leader, has your son made any progress this year?"

Xiao Zhan clenched his fists and remained silent. Forcing a retort without the confidence to back it up would only make people think he was being argumentative.

The Great Elder stopped while he was ahead. They were all members of the Xiao Clan, and he was not so ruthless as to push things too far.

Before long, another burst of noise came from the plaza.

This time, it was Xun'er.

She was practically the shared goddess in the hearts of nearly every young man in the Xiao Clan.

"Miss Xun'er is here!"

"I remember that during last year's testing, Miss Xun'er was already a five-star Dou Zhe, right?"

"A thirteen-year-old five-star Dou Zhe. With talent like that, she should be even stronger than Xiao Yan was back then."

"That's hard to say. Xiao Yan became a Dou Zhe at eleven. If he had cultivated steadily, raising his cultivation by four stars in two years shouldn't have been a problem."

"Hmph, why bring up that good-for-nothing? Everyone in the clan knew that he was only at the third stage of Dou Qi now."

"Exactly. How dare a good-for-nothing compare himself to Miss Xun'er? Isn't that insulting to her?"

The waves of discussion made the lotus-like girl frown. She stopped and helplessly looked back.

Xiao Jin had deliberately kept his distance from Xun'er. It was not that he was afraid of being pointed at and gossiped about; he simply did not want to invite trouble.

But Xun'er would not let him have his way. Seeing Xiao Jin still moving along at an unhurried pace, she took several steps backward and grabbed his hand.

"Brother Xiao Jin, you promised Xun'er that you would definitely participate in the testing today!"

Seeing the two holding hands, all the young boys present felt their hearts shatter.

No, seriously, why him?

Xiao Zhan naturally noticed the commotion on their side.

He truly had not expected his adopted son to be so close with that young lady.

Moreover, when Xiao Jin had found him yesterday and proposed participating in this year's Testing Ceremony, he had been genuinely shocked.

That boy had never participated in the Testing Ceremony all these years. Why had he suddenly changed his mind?