The stands had already erupted. Everyone was frantically discussing Xiao Lei.
He hadn't even activated his Dou Qi, yet he'd taken down an opponent at the Six-Stage Dou Qi level with a single punch. If that didn't prove his strength, what did?
"This person seems to have some connection to Yu'er. Could I make use of that?"
Of all the Xiao Clan elders, the Grand Elder knew Xiao Lei best!
Xiao Yu had been sticking to Xiao Lei for ages, so the Grand Elder had secretly investigated him long ago.
The investigation had, of course, found that Xiao Lei was just a penniless nobody with no strength or connections.
That was why the Grand Elder had strongly opposed the two of them from the start, telling Xiao Yu to cut off all contact with Xiao Lei.
It hadn't done a damn bit of good. Xiao Yu had kept pestering Xiao Lei just the same.
Still, the Grand Elder hadn't gone after Xiao Lei himself. He'd only told Xiao Yu to stay away from him.
Later, Xiao Yu went to Jia Nan Academy, and the Grand Elder forgot all about Xiao Lei.
"Right. After the Coming-of-Age Ceremony, I'll have Xiao Yu take me to meet this prodigy. I need to bring him over to my side!"
The Grand Elder glanced at Xiao Zhan beside him, who seemed to be doing who-knew-what, and resolved to win Xiao Lei over.
What on earth was Xiao Zhan doing? Hunched over like he was about to lay an egg?
Families battled one another, and there was no peace within a family, either. Competing for resources and power—what didn't require strength?
So, the elders present, along with Ya Fei, who was watching the ceremony nearby, all set their sights on Xiao Lei.
"I've never heard of Xiao Lei before. Judging by the crowd's reaction, no one in the Xiao Clan knew his true talent, either. And he doesn't seem to be the son of any elder; otherwise, I'd have heard of him."
"That being the case, Xiao Lei probably hasn't received any special treatment from the Xiao Clan over the years. He won't feel much loyalty to them, so there may be a chance to poach him!"
As a businesswoman, Ya Fei had naturally looked into the Xiao Clan, one of Wutan City's three great clans. The fact that she'd never heard of Xiao Lei could only mean he hadn't made much of a name for himself in recent years.
"But what could I offer to lure him over? With talent like his, he could join the Misty Cloud Sect without any trouble. He wouldn't be short of resources there..."
While everyone had their own schemes, Xiao Lei onstage wasn't giving any of it much thought.
Resources? What would he need those for?
So he could diligently cultivate?
No way. He wasn't going to cultivate obediently in this lifetime!
He'd be better off using that time to find a suitable target to copy. Then he'd have all the cultivation and Dou Techniques he could want!
"Anyone else want to challenge me? Come out all at once!"
Xiao Lei swept his gaze around, but no one dared step forward. They weren't fools. His earlier display had proved beyond a doubt that his strength was the real deal. Challenging him now would be asking for death!
"Xiao Ning! What about you? Want to challenge me?"
At last, Xiao Lei fixed his gaze on Xiao Ning. He'd already guessed who had put Xiao Shan up to it. There weren't many people in the Xiao Clan he had a grudge against, after all.
Once Xiao Lei said that, everyone in the crowd understood. In an instant, all eyes turned toward Xiao Ning.
The Grand Elder nearly spat blood right onto Xiao Ning.
You unfilial brat! You've ruined my plans!
Under the gaze of countless people, including Xiao Lei, Xiao Ning felt as if a mountain were pressing down on him. After a long moment, he stammered, "Cousin Xiao Lei, y-you're joking. I'm still at the Dou Qi stage, playing in the mud. How could I dare challenge you?"
"Since no one wants to challenge me, I'll leave the arena to the others!" Xiao Lei laughed loudly and turned to return to the qualifying area.
"The challenges will continue. Everyone, feel free to take part!"
Back in the qualifying area, Xiao Lei paid no attention to Xiao Ning's reaction. Instead, he turned his gaze to Xiao Xun'er.
She had the Dou Di Bloodline, after all!
[Target: A fairly well-known Xiao Clan disciple.]
[Cultivation: One-Star Dou Zhe.]
[Technique: Flame Play Mantra, High Mystic Tier.]
[Dou Techniques: Swallow Return Strike...]
[Heavenly Flame: Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame.]
[Bloodline: Ninth-Rank Dou Di Bloodline.]
[Constitution: None.]
[Time required to copy: ???]
[The gap is too great. Unable to copy.]
The system panel clearly displayed all of Xiao Xun'er's attributes.
"Damn, I can't copy her!"
"But when I think about it, that makes sense. I'm just a blank-slate Da Dou Shi. Never mind everything else—the gap between me and that Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame is just too big!"
"Flame Play Mantra? A technique for playing with Xiao Yan? Interesting!"
"This must be the technique mentioned in the original story, the one Xiao Xun'er gave Xiao Yan. Looks like she was cultivating it herself back then, too!"
"Still, it makes sense. Xiao Xun'er is only a Dou Zhe right now, so High Mystic Tier is more than enough. As for her bloodline's rank, it's probably because she's still young."
Xiao Xun'er's strength was low, but everything else about her was just too outrageous. Xiao Lei could only give up for now.
"I'll grab Xiao Yan's Eight Extremities Collapse instead!" With that plan in mind, Xiao Lei turned his gaze toward Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan then noticed Xiao Lei, who was also in the qualifying area, looking his way.
"Has Xiao Lei discovered my secret?" Xiao Yan instinctively gripped his Storage Ring.
[Target: A fairly well-known Xiao Clan disciple.]
[Cultivation: Eighth Stage Dou Qi.]
[Technique: None.]
[Dou Techniques: Eight Extremities Collapse, High Mystic Tier; Fire Blowing Palm...]
[Constitution: None.]
[Copy time: Three minutes.]
[Copy?]
"Copy!"
Xiao Lei hadn't expected the copy time to be so short. That was thanks to Xiao Yan's strength being far below his own. Though Xiao Yan had three Mystic Tier Dou Techniques, he couldn't make much of a splash.
"Too bad he hasn't cultivated the Flame Mantra yet and hasn't become an alchemist. Otherwise, I could've taken those too. But no rush. This living battery can be used again and again!"
Xiao Lei had already set his sights on cultivating the Flame Mantra. After all, when he'd stared at Xiao Xun'er earlier, he'd seen the Heavenly Flame option.
That meant the system could copy Heavenly Flames. So absorbing one would be no problem at all. Why would anyone not choose the Flame Mantra?
He could skip all the pain of absorbing a Heavenly Flame and take all the benefits.
As far as Xiao Lei knew, there were plenty of people who possessed Heavenly Flames. If he planned carefully and made good use of the system, he couldn't guarantee he'd collect all twenty-two, but getting ten would be no problem!
The Flame Mantra was tied to Tuoshe Ancient Emperor's Inheritance. Xiao Lei wanted to take his fate into his own hands rather than wait for Xiao Yan to carry him.
He was the protagonist!
Just like this Coming-of-Age Ceremony, all eyes and attention were on him.
[Copy successful. Obtained three Mystic Tier Dou Techniques...]
Before long, Xiao Lei had obtained Xiao Yan's three Dou Techniques. Since Xiao Yan's strength was far below Xiao Lei's, he barely felt any discomfort. Still, with Xiao Lei staring at him, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching his backside.
It was enough to make his hair stand on end!
The details of the three Dou Techniques flashed through Xiao Lei's mind. He mastered them immediately, without needing to practice them at all.
Xiao Lei quickly began copying a second time. Naturally, his target was Xiao Yan's soul power.
[Copy successful. Obtained Mortal Realm Initial Soul Power.]
The soul power problem that had troubled Xiao Lei for more than ten years was solved in an instant. Compared with Xiao Lei's Da Dou Shi strength, the soul power he'd copied from Xiao Yan was still a little weak, but it was countless times better than what he'd had before.
"Who should I choose as my next target? I really need to think this through..."
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