What, There's Another Expert?

The plaza fell deathly silent. No one had expected that Xun'er, who had only been a Five-Star Dou Zhe last year, would break through to the Eight-Star Dou Shi realm in just one year.

One had to know that this girl was only fourteen this year.

At this rate, wouldn't Xun'er be able to break through to Dou Ling before reaching adulthood?

The strongest person in the entire Xiao Clan was Xiao Zhan, the current clan leader.

Yet Xiao Zhan was only a Five-Star Da Dou Shi.

Would she surpass the clan leader in two years at most?

This realization completely shattered every Xiao Clan member's worldview.

Even Xiao Mei, who had been gloating just moments ago, couldn't help losing herself in a daze.

By comparison, the talent she had always been proud of seemed to have become utter garbage.

Even after Xun'er returned to her place, many people remained in a state of shock, unable to recover for a long while.

With Xun'er setting the bar, the tests that followed instantly became dull and tasteless.

There were quite a few high-grade talents who reached the seventh segment of Dou Qi, but compared to Xun'er breaking through to Eight-Star Dou Shi at fourteen, none of them had anything left to be proud of.

If Xun'er had simply said that everyone present was garbage, including Xiao Zhan sitting on the platform, they would all have had to accept the judgment honestly.

Although Xun'er was only an Eight-Star Dou Shi, with the foundation of the Ancient Emperor Clan, as well as the secret techniques and Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame she possessed, defeating Xiao Zhan, who was only a Five-Star Da Dou Shi, would not be difficult.

The dull and tedious Testing Ceremony continued. Xiao Jin couldn't help yawning.

"I didn't expect the Testing Ceremony to be this boring. I wonder how you managed to endure it in previous years." He couldn't help complaining, making the girl beside him purse her lips and giggle.

Xiao Yan said helplessly, "If I weren't waiting to see your test, I would've left long ago."

In previous years, he would never have shamelessly stayed in the plaza after disgracing himself, allowing others to throw mocking looks his way.

Xiao Jin gave two awkward laughs. "Third Brother, I guarantee you won't regret staying."

"Then I want to see what level you can reach. You can't possibly be stronger than Cousin Xun'er, right?"

Before Xiao Jin could say anything, Xun'er's voice drifted over. "Who knows? Brother Xiao Jin is very impressive, after all."

Xiao Yan's heart gave a jolt.

Given Xun'er's proud personality, Xiao Jin, whom she was willing to remain beside of her own accord, couldn't possibly be some weakling, right?

She was already an Eight-Star Dou Shi. Could it be that Brother Jin was even stronger than Cousin Xun'er?

No wonder Brother Jin had been so confident earlier, saying that no one would mock him again.

If Brother Jin had really broken through to the Da Dou Shi realm at fifteen, who in the entire Xiao Clan would dare provoke him?

For a moment, the heat in Xiao Yan's heart burned even more fiercely.

The Testing Ceremony continued for nearly two hours before the final person was finally called.

"Last one, Xiao Jin." The Second Elder's voice rang out again, and his face carried an expression of relief.

It seemed that not only the younger generation found this Testing Ceremony dull and tasteless; even the Second Elder had grown tired of it.

With Xun'er's dazzling performance setting the standard, how could everything that came afterward not seem dull?

Xiao Jin stood up, patted Xun'er on the head, and raised his eyebrows at her.

A faint smile curved Xun'er's lips. She clenched her small fist and made an encouraging gesture toward Xiao Jin.

Her adorable, naive appearance made everyone present green with envy once again.

They had never seen Xun'er act like this before, and she was doing it toward a boy, of all people.

If the occasion had not been inappropriate, they certainly would have cried out in anguish.

After stepping onto the platform, the Second Elder knew this was Xiao Jin's first time participating in the Testing Ceremony, so he gave him a special reminder. "Just place your hand on the Testing Monument and channel your Dou Qi into it."

Xiao Jin couldn't help taking another look at him. In the original story, in order to shape Xiao Yan into the protagonist, none of the Xiao Clan's three elders could be considered positive characters.

The conflict between the elders and the clan leader was also one of the early sources of tension.

But Xiao Jin had always believed that for a clan to develop, it could allow different voices within its ranks, but everyone's goal had to be the same.

If all the villains were united while the righteous side schemed against one another, what would be the point of playing along?

The Second Elder's current attitude further confirmed his view.

Perhaps the Second Elder held opinions opposed to Xiao Zhan's on certain matters, but when facing the younger generation of the Xiao Clan, they both held the same expectations.

Otherwise, as Xiao Zhan's adopted son, Xiao Jin would now be facing the Second Elder's deliberate difficulties, not his concern.

Xiao Jin bowed slightly and said politely, "Thank you, Second Elder. However, this monument probably can't contain my Dou Qi."

The Second Elder froze for a moment, then laughed. "You're overthinking it. You saw Miss Xun'er's test just now. This monument can easily contain the Dou Qi of a Da Dou Shi. Testing your level will be more than enough."

Xiao Jin grinned and shook his head. "Second Elder, this monument really can't test my level."

"Little fellow, could you possibly be a Dou Ling?" The Second Elder laughed as well, though his laughter came from exasperation.

This brat had never participated in the Testing Ceremony before, and now that he was taking part for the first time, he was resorting to such attention-seeking tricks.

He refused to believe that a fifteen-year-old child could be a Dou Ling.

Xiao Jin shook his head. "Not that. I really am not a Dou Ling."

The Second Elder was just about to reprimand him when he suddenly saw a pair of Dou Qi Wings unfold behind Xiao Jin.

The Dou Qi Wings were around four meters long, burning brilliantly like flames. Their scorching temperature caused the air around the testing platform to distort for an instant.

Xiao Jin slowly rose into the air and stopped roughly half a meter above the ground.

Looking down at the Second Elder, he said with a light laugh, "Second Elder, I really am not a Dou Ling, because I'm already a Dou King."

The Second Elder: "..."

Below the platform, Xiao Yan stared at the incomprehensible scene before him, completely unable to understand how Brother Jin had already become a Dou King.

Wasn't he only fifteen?

Xun'er's eyes rippled as she gazed enamoredly at the radiant young man on the platform, her eyes filled with pride and joy.

A fifteen-year-old Dou King—such talent would be considered outstanding even in the Ancient Emperor Clan.

She knew very well that Brother Xiao Jin did not possess any Dou Emperor Bloodline.

To cultivate to this level through talent alone was enough for him to trample all the prodigies of the Ancient Emperor Clan beneath his feet.

The stronger Xiao Jin became now, the higher the chances that she and Xiao Jin would eventually be together.

With talent like this, even her father couldn't possibly ignore him, could he?

The Testing Plaza once again fell into deathly silence. Compared to Xun'er's achievement of reaching Eight-Star Dou Shi at fourteen, Xiao Jin made them truly experience what genuine shock was.

Fifteen years old, and a Dou King...

How could those two words possibly be related?

Xiao Zhan was the first to recover. He didn't even care about the cup he had crushed in his hand and shouted, "Good! He truly is my son, Xiao Zhan!"

Xiao Jin turned his head and met his father's ecstatic face. He smiled as well and said, "Father, from this day onward, no one can bully my Xiao Clan."

The Great Elder's eyes were dull with shock, and the Third Elder was hardly any better.

Only the Second Elder maintained a respectful expression as he said, "Young Master Xiao Jin, may I ask what your current cultivation is..."

"Three-Star Dou King!"

"Hiss..." The Second Elder couldn't help drawing in a sharp breath.

If he remembered correctly, Nalan Jie, one of the Ten Great Experts of the Jia Ma Empire, seemed to be only a Three-Star Dou King as well.

Who would have thought that my Xiao Clan had another expert!