Using Your Own Tactics Against You!

Xiao Zhan's face darkened. With a final sweep of his sleeve, he left with Xiao Yan and Xiao Ze.

Before leaving, Xiao Ze glanced at Xiao Ning, who was looking rather pleased with himself.

The Great Elder left with Xiao Ning, wearing a delighted smile.

Being able to get the better of Xiao Zhan over this matter truly made him happy from the bottom of his heart.

Xiao Ning felt the same way, even more so. The once lofty genius had been knocked down by a few punches from him, and his smug satisfaction was impossible to hide.

What had happened here spread throughout the Xiao Clan at astonishing speed.

The name of "fallen genius" was now firmly attached to Xiao Yan!

"Father, I'm fine. If it comes to it, I'll just keep my distance from them from now on."

Xiao Yan gave Xiao Zhan a bitter smile. Xiao Zhan's face was full of concern.

"Yan'er, you've suffered! Your father is useless, too. It's been so long, and I still haven't figured out why your Dou Qi is declining."

Xiao Yan froze. He hadn't told Xiao Zhan that his Dou Qi was declining.

Xiao Ze, who was supporting Xiao Yan beside him, explained, "Father noticed a long time ago. But you didn't want to talk about it, so he didn't ask. He's just been searching for the cause in secret."

Xiao Ze spoke candidly. To be honest, Xiao Zhan was a good father who treated all his children equally.

In the original story, Xiao Zhan had earned Xiao Yan's heartfelt "Father," so it was only natural that Xiao Ze would feel the same way.

"Fourth brother, you knew too?"

Xiao Yan suddenly felt that all his efforts to keep it hidden over the past year had been a joke.

"Third brother, we see each other all the time, and we're brothers, after all!"

"Even though you've been busy cultivating this past year, we've still seen each other plenty of times. I could tell something was wrong."

Xiao Yan nodded in silence, then said bitterly, "So even Father can't do anything about my declining Dou Qi?"

Xiao Zhan sighed softly. His third son was the one who made him proudest—and worried him most.

Unlike his eldest and second sons, who had left home early to make their way in the world, or his fourth son, who was so quiet he never gave him anything to worry about.

Silence fell over the room.

Outside, Xiao Xun'er waited at a distance. She spoke softly. "Elder Ling, can you tell why his Dou Qi is declining?"

"It seems some unknown force is absorbing his Dou Qi. Whenever he cultivates and stores Dou Qi inside his body, it gets absorbed."

Ling Ying couldn't sense Yao Lao's presence, but he could perceive what was happening inside Xiao Yan's body.

Xiao Xun'er nodded. She was just curious for the moment and had no intention of stepping in to help.

Of course, if Xiao Ze asked her for help, she wouldn't refuse.

But Xiao Ze probably still thought she was just an ordinary member of the Xiao Clan, didn't he?

At the thought of Xiao Ze, a faint smile appeared on Xiao Xun'er's face.

Watching over her in secret, Ling Ying felt conflicted. Seeing how close the young lady was with that Xiao Clan boy, he couldn't help worrying.

After all, he knew the young lady's identity. The gap between them was as vast as the difference between clouds and mud.

The chance of them ending up together was vanishingly small. Even if the young lady stood firm, those old fogeys in the clan would likely oppose her.

He wanted to advise her to cut off this doomed attachment before it went any further, but he didn't know how to broach the subject.

In the end, all he could do was silently guard her side.

Not long afterward, Xiao Clan Patriarch Xiao Zhan came out, his face clouded with worry.

Seeing Xiao Xun'er, Xiao Zhan paused. Of course he knew she was close to his fourth son.

But he wasn't in the mood to chat with her. He simply nodded in greeting, then hurried away.

After a while, Xiao Ze came out as well, thoughtfully closing the door behind him.

Seeing Xiao Xun'er waiting for him, Xiao Ze gave her a faint smile.

Xiao Xun'er came over to him. She leaned forward slightly, her bright, captivating eyes studying his expression.

"Xiao Ze, you're not going to let this go, are you?"

"Of course not! He's my third brother. Did they really think they could just beat him up?"

Xiao Ze still wore a smile, but his eyes had turned cold.

"If the Great Elder says the adults shouldn't interfere in a spar between the younger generation, then we'll settle this with a spar between the younger generation!"

"Xun Er, come on. Let's go make a scene with Xiao Ze!"

Xiao Ze spoke with high spirits. Xiao Xun'er obediently nodded and followed him.

While she'd been waiting, she'd asked Ling Ying about Xiao Ze's current strength.

The answer had surprised her: nine-star Dou Zhe!

With the strength of a nine-star Dou Zhe, Xiao Ning would be a piece of cake for him.

It would hardly be an exaggeration to call it bullying someone weaker!

The Dou Technique Pavilion.

This was where Xiao Clan disciples chose Dou Techniques and sparred to test the techniques they'd mastered.

At that moment, Xiao Ning was surrounded by a large crowd, their eyes full of admiration.

"I only threw one punch, and down he went. He still tried to get back up and fight me, but I didn't want to hit him again. He just kept coming at me, though. Sigh..."

Xiao Ning boasted smugly. It felt wonderful to knock the former genius flat and rise to prominence by stepping on his reputation!

"If the crowd hadn't kept growing, and even the clan head hadn't shown up, he might've gotten back up and tried to fight me again. I really didn't want to hit him!"

Xiao Ning pretended to be merciful. As the crowd around him praised him, he smiled, his heart bursting with joy.

"How could you do that? Cousin Xiao Ning, you should keep fighting!"

The unexpected voice brought the atmosphere to a standstill.

Everyone turned toward the speaker. Once they saw who it was, the looks on their faces shifted.

Xiao Ze smiled. "But this time, you'll be fighting someone else. Me!"

The crowd fell silent. Some looked doubtful, while others seemed uncertain.

There was a powerful aura about Xiao Ze that made them hesitate to act rashly.

Xiao Ning wore a faint smile as he walked up to Xiao Ze.

"Have you come to avenge your fallen-genius brother?"

Xiao Ze smiled back. "That's right. What, are you afraid to take me on?"

"Oh? I beat the older brother, and now the younger brother's come along. Let's see what you've got!"

The two walked onto the Martial Arts Arena. Everyone crowded around, leaving them a broad space to fight.

Xiao Ning stood in the middle, pretending to be carefree as he invited Xiao Ze to make the first move.

"Then I won't hold back!"

Xiao Ze's expression didn't change as he darted forward.

A layer of pale-blue Dou Qi glimmered around his fist. By the time Xiao Ning reacted, it was already too late!

The punch slammed into Xiao Ning's stomach!

Xiao Ning hit the ground hard. Xiao Ze pressed his advantage, straddling him.

He pinned Xiao Ning's arms beneath his knees, leaving him unable to protect his head.

At the same time, his fists rained down on Xiao Ning's head, wrapped in pale-blue Dou Qi.

The onlookers' eyes widened.

It wasn't an illusion!

That really was the glow of elemental Dou Qi!

Only after becoming a Dou Zhe could someone choose a cultivation technique corresponding to their affinity and transform their milky-white, attribute-free Dou Qi into elemental Dou Qi. Only then could this happen!

In other words, what they were seeing was a bona fide Dou Zhe beating up a Dou Qi cultivator!

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(The end of this chapter)