Test

"Dou Zhi Qi, third stage."

Time flew by, and the day of the Xiao Clan's annual Dou Qi test arrived.

In the Xiao Clan, anyone who turned sixteen without reaching the seventh stage of Dou Zhi Qi would be sent down to the clan's various businesses to serve as a manager.

If you turned twenty-five and still had not reached Fighter, then sorry, you might even be removed from the clan genealogy and no longer acknowledged by the clan.

"Xiao Yan, Dou Zhi Qi, third stage! Level, low!" Beside the stone monument used to test Dou Qi, the middle-aged man in charge of the clan test announced the result in an indifferent tone.

Xiao Bai stood in the shade at the edge of the testing square, silently watching Xiao Yan on the testing platform.

He had not taken part in the clan test for three years. The elders in the clan also knew his situation and had tacitly allowed it.

Today, he had deliberately gotten up early just to check in at this famous scene. Although he did not have a check-in system, he could still watch the drama. Wasn't this way more real than that TV drama filmed in his previous life?

On the platform, Xiao Yan stared expressionlessly at the glaring words on the stone monument. A self-mocking smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, and his hands clenched tightly, his slightly sharp nails sending stabs of pain through his palms.

He lowered his head in silence, turned, and walked down from the high platform. One comment after another reached his ears—some mocking, some sighing with pity.

They were like sharp swords stabbing fiercely into his heart, making his breathing turn a little rapid.

He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. He thought of Xiao Bai, thought of that calm, effortless composure.

Xiao Yan slowly raised his head. His delicate, youthful face was filled with indifference, and his dark eyes calmly swept over the people mocking him.

"The world really is cold. Three years ago, these people still wore humble smiles and called me Third Young Master with every breath. Now they're this harsh! Heh!"

He walked calmly through the crowd, ignoring the mocking voices, and lifted his foot toward the gray-haired youth standing under the shade beside the square.

Everyone in the square followed Xiao Yan with their eyes and discovered Xiao Bai standing beneath the tree.

"That's... Xiao Bai. How did he end up looking like that?"

"I heard something went wrong during training. He's already much better now. You didn't see what he looked like a few months ago—that was really frightening!"

"Wasn't Xiao Yan at odds with him? How come their relationship seems pretty good now?" Seeing Xiao Bai pat Xiao Yan on the shoulder, someone asked in confusion.

"Who knows? Maybe they're in the same boat!"

Although some people in the crowd had disliked Xiao Bai since they were young, they did not dare say anything too vicious.

Because even though he had not broken through for six years, among all the people being tested in the square right now, his cultivation at the ninth stage of Dou Qi was still indisputably first. Not to mention, even Xiao Yan, who had once been a Two Star Fighter, had been beaten by him.

"Next, Xiao Mei!"

A girl around fourteen years old ran out from the crowd. The moment she appeared, everyone's gazes shifted away from Xiao Bai and locked somewhat heatedly onto the girl's cheeks.

The girl could not be considered an absolute beauty, but the blend of purity and charm on her face successfully made her the center of attention.

"Xiao Mei, Dou Qi, seventh stage. Level, high!"

After hearing this, Xiao Mei gave a cheer, and a smug smile appeared on her face.

The envious discussions from the crowd below made the smile on her face grow even brighter. Vanity held a unique temptation for girls of this age.

The girl stood on the platform, enjoying the feeling of being at the center of everyone's attention. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the two figures beneath the shade. After thinking for a moment, Xiao Mei walked toward the edge of the square.

"Xiao Bai... cousin!" "Cousin Xiao Yan!"

Xiao Mei greeted the two of them. She had not seen Xiao Bai for a long time, and discovering how much he had changed made her feel a little uncomfortable.

The Xiao Bai of the past had been gentle and refined, always wearing a faint smile that made people feel as if they were bathed in a spring breeze;

Now, his face was cold and stern, his gaze deep, and the sense of authority between his brows was even stronger than that of the Clan Head and the Grand Elder.

Looking at the two people before her, both of them had once appeared in Xiao Mei's young romantic fantasies. She had once imagined that if she could obtain either one of them, she could spend the rest of her life with him.

Among them, Xiao Bai had been the greater one. Whenever the girls of the Xiao Clan of the same age gathered to discuss boys, Xiao Bai was always the top topic.

However, it seemed that in the entire Xiao Clan, he treated only Gu Xun Er differently. No matter what other girl it was, his attitude was always seemingly gentle but actually distant.

Thinking of Xiao Xun Er, a trace of jealousy flashed through Xiao Mei's eyes.

"Next, Xiao Xun Er!"

Hearing this name, the chattering crowd immediately fell silent, and their gazes quietly shifted.

A cool, aloof young girl walked onto the high platform. She wore a green dress and stood there like a green lotus on the verge of blooming.

Elegant and otherworldly, her skin fairer than snow, her eyes like a clear spring, every glance and movement naturally carried an elegant, noble grace that captivated people and made them dare not profane her.

At such a young age, her appearance already possessed such presence. It was hard to imagine how devastatingly beautiful she would be when she grew up.

Xiao Xun Er's gaze first swept over the crowd, then locked precisely onto the youth beneath the shade. Her face seemed to thaw like spring after a cold spell, and she smiled brightly as she blinked at the youth before turning and walking toward the testing stone monument.

"Damn it, I don't know what's so good about that guy that he can win Cousin Xun Er's favor like this!"

"Exactly, exactly!"

"Right. What does that guy even have? Isn't he just a little handsome, with a slightly better temperament and slightly higher cultivation? Other than those, what else does he have?"

Hearing the last person's words, the people around him glanced at him and silently took a step back.

Damn it, everyone was here denouncing Xiao Bai, and this kid called that denouncing him? Wasn't he an undercover agent sent by Xiao Bai?

On the platform, the young girl stretched out her jade-like hand. Her blue-gold cuff slipped down a little, revealing a fair, tender wrist. Her palm lightly touched the stone monument, and light bloomed from it.

"Xiao Xun Er, Dou Qi, ninth stage! Level, high!"

The middle-aged man's voice rang out across the square from beside the stone monument. The crowd first fell silent, then a constant buzz of voices rose.

There was admiration in those voices, and awe, as well as jealousy.

"Miss Xun Er, at this rate, in half a year you'll be able to condense your Qi vortex and break through to become a Dou Zhe. When that time comes, you will be the second person in the Xiao Clan in the past hundred years."

After looking at the information on the Dou Qi stone monument, the middle-aged man's face showed a faint smile as he spoke to the young girl with a hint of respect.

"The second person?" Xiao Xun Er thought nothing of it. She gave the middle-aged man a slight nod. "Thank you!"

She turned and slowly walked down from the platform, heading with a hint of cheer toward the shade of the trees beside the square.

"Xiao Bai Gege!" The young girl walked up to Xiao Bai, clasped her hands behind her back, leaned forward, and looked at him with crescent eyes.

Xiao Bai looked at her, and his cold, stern face finally revealed a smile. His eyes were filled with unconcealable indulgence as he stroked the dark hair on her head.

"Xiao Bai Gege, why did you come today?" Seeing Xiao Bai pat her little head, the young girl could not help narrowing her eyes, then asked in puzzlement.

Xiao Bai had not participated in the clan's tests for several years, and recently he had shut himself away for long stretches of time. She had not seen him in ages, so his appearance here today made her a little curious.