Xiao Clan

Today was the Xiao Clan's annual test for the younger generation.

"Dou Power, second stage."

Looking at the five large characters on the stone stele, the child standing on the platform took a deep breath. A smile appeared on his face; he had clearly already known the answer. After another deep breath, he leaped down from the platform.

"Xiao Yan, Dou Power, second stage."

Beside the testing stele, the man in charge of the test glanced at its results and read them aloud with slight surprise.

The moment the testing official spoke, the boys and girls watching below erupted into commotion.

"Dou Power, second stage? Did I hear that right? Xiao Yan is only five this year, and he's already reached the second stage not long after beginning to cultivate Dou Qi? Did I hear wrong?"

"You heard right. It really is the second stage, and you're not dreaming. Young Master Xiao Yan is only five this year and has already cultivated Dou Qi not long after starting. It seems Young Master Xiao Yan's cultivation talent is exceptionally high. Our Xiao Clan may be about to produce a genius renowned throughout Wutan City!"

"Young Master Xiao Yan truly is worthy of being the clan leader's son. Now that he's displayed such extraordinary cultivation talent, along with the engagement the old clan leader arranged for him several years ago, the position of clan leader will surely be his in the future. With the Nalan Clan's support, our Xiao Clan will have nothing but smooth roads ahead!"

Listening to the praise and flattery around him, the child could not suppress his joy, and the corners of his lips curled upward slightly.

Meanwhile, among the crowd stood a child about Xiao Yan's age who seemed completely out of place. His features were delicate and his gaze was deep, as though he were lost in thought.

It seems there's no discrepancy with the memories in my mind. Xiao Yan reached the first stage shortly after beginning cultivation at four, attained the ninth stage of Dou Power at ten, and became a Dou Zhe at eleven.

Amid the crowd, Xiao Jie calmly watched Xiao Yan descend from the platform, surrounded like the moon by a host of stars. He could not help feeling somewhat emotional. He made no move to approach, merely standing there quietly as he watched the children crowd around Xiao Yan.

The Xiao Clan was one of Wutan City's three great clans in the Jia Ma Empire. It had several thousand members and was governed by its clan leader and elders.

Xiao Jie did not go over to speak with Xiao Yan like the other children. For one thing, he was also a transmigrator and had arrived a few months before Xiao Yan. Though his body was only five or six years old, his soul and mind belonged to an adult. Naturally, he would not flatter a child, even if Xiao Yan was a transmigrator like him. This was his secret, and it was Xiao Yan's secret as well.

He did not know why he had come to this world. He had originally been seriously ill, but after dying, he opened his eyes and found himself here, reborn as a member of the Xiao Clan. Xiao Jie's parents were merely ordinary Xiao Clan members with the cultivation of Dou Zhes, so they held little influence.

Having been reborn into this world, the same age as Xiao Yan, he had also cultivated Dou Qi and already reached the third stage. He had achieved this in just over a year, making his talent clearly comparable to—or even greater than—Xiao Yan's. With his foreknowledge, he would surely stay one step ahead at every turn. Not to mention that the moment Xiao Jie cultivated Dou Qi, his cheat had arrived.

After spending four or five years absorbing the energy and origin power of this world, it had appeared in his mind in the form of a Simulator. Even with Yao Lao's assistance, Xiao Yan could never surpass him. Xiao Jie's conviction was incomparably firm. Since he had been reborn into such a fantastical world, he naturally had to witness its highest vistas and make this life a brilliant one.

At this rate, with the Simulator's help, given enough time, he was confident that he could break through to Dou Zhe within three years.

When that happened and it was revealed—heh, heh—a Dou Zhe at seven or eight years old could be called the greatest genius in the entire Jia Ma Empire without exaggeration.

Xiao Jie thought to himself. If he went up with his current third-stage Dou Qi cultivation, he would probably steal the spotlight. He was not someone who liked drawing attention, so he would skip the test today.