After passing a test with a crystal ball, Xiao Li successfully entered the tent and met Teacher Su Fei, who was in charge of admissions.
Su Fei was an intellectual woman around thirty, with a pair of taut, shapely thighs that kept drawing the attention of the new students taking the assessment in the tent. Her face, adorned with an elegant smile, captivated the boys' gazes.
Xiao Li glanced around and noticed that the male students who had already enrolled all looked utterly composed. The few who occasionally glanced at Su Fei did so with a trace of trepidation.
Xiao Li's heart tightened. Teacher Su Fei seemed rather strict. Otherwise, she wouldn't have frightened all those young men in the prime of their youth.
When she saw someone enter, Su Fei smiled, as pure as a lotus rising from the water. The new students in the tent all secretly swallowed.
"Fei'er, this is a new student, right? He seems pretty strong."
As she spoke, Su Fei sized up Xiao Li, surprise flickering in her eyes. She couldn't tell what level he was at, yet there was no mistaking the dangerous aura he gave off. It couldn't be that he was a powerhouse on par with her, a Five-Star Great Dou Master, could it?
She crushed the absurd thought in her mind and cursed herself for being an idiot. Most of the new students who came here were only at the Dou Qi level. She'd spent all day recruiting, and the best student she'd found was a Two-Star Dou Zhe from another city. How could there possibly be a Great Dou Master?
Su Fei picked up her pen and glanced at Xiao Li's handsome face. "What's your cultivation level, and how old are you? Tell me."
"One-Star Great Dou Master. Fifteen years old."
"Oh, one-star... What?!"
Su Fei's pen slipped in her hand. She stared at Xiao Li as if she'd seen a ghost. "What cultivation level?!"
Li Fei'er was no better off. Looking at the boy beside her, who stood half a head taller than she did, she grabbed her own hair in fright. "You, you—you, I!"
"One-Star Great Dou Master."
After hearing Xiao Li confirm it again, Su Fei could no longer hold back. Her expression turned serious. "Student, it's not good to lie about your cultivation level. Are you really a One-Star Great Dou Master?"
"As genuine as they come."
Xiao Li's aura burst forth. The green tent billowed violently in the gusting waves of energy, and the new students inside turned pale.
How could a group of boys at the Dou Qi level withstand the impact of Xiao Li's aura, even though it wasn't directed at them?
Su Fei's breath caught. That aura couldn't have come from a Dou Zhe or a Dou Master. Nor could such a powerful wave of energy have come from someone who'd relied on pills to become a Great Dou Master. That meant...
Xiao Li really was a One-Star Great Dou Master!
Su Fei suddenly turned to Li Fei'er. "Fei'er, did you make a mistake? Is he here to apply for a teaching position at the Outer Academy?"
"Sir, I think you've misunderstood. This is the admissions tent. Teacher applications are handled elsewhere."
Xiao Li looked young, but the Dou Qi Continent was vast and full of wonders. Maybe he was a middle-aged man who'd mastered the art of preserving his youth.
Li Fei'er was at a loss too. Someone this powerful surely hadn't come to enroll, had he? Could he really be applying for a teaching position?
Xiao Li frowned. He'd already told them he was fifteen. If he wasn't here to be a student, what else could he be doing?
"Teacher Su Fei, I'm from the Xiao Clan in Wutan City. You can ask around in the city. I, Xiao Li, am fairly well-known, so you should be able to find out about my reputation," Xiao Li said.
Seeing Xiao Li's impatience, Su Fei looked at his youthful face, then gritted her teeth and put her smile back on. Never mind. If this man really was a student, she'd be made!
"Good, you're accepted. How old are you? I'll write it down." Su Fei's breathing grew heavier. She'd been so focused on his strength that she hadn't heard his age. She could accept it if he was around twenty.
"Fifteen."
"Pfft!"
Su Fei spat out the tea she'd been using to calm her nerves. Fifteen—he hadn't even had his coming-of-age ceremony yet!
"Excellent, excellent! Your potential is SSS-grade. Wait in the designated area, or go home and pack your things. Either way, we'll return to the academy in three days."
With that, Su Fei hurried out, evidently to send someone to investigate Xiao Li's background.
Inside the tent were the new students, who still looked pale, and a group of veteran students, including Li Fei'er, who stared at him like he was a monster.
Looking at Xiao Li's utterly expressionless face, Li Fei'er had thought he was handsome before. Now, she could only feel suffocated; she didn't even dare speak to him.
If Xiao Li was telling the truth, then he was a Great Dou Master at fifteen. That was beyond the reach of ordinary students like her.
Li Fei'er wasn't the only one who thought so. Everyone else felt the same. For a moment, the tent was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Only after Xiao Li left did the commotion return, followed by a storm of heated discussion.
Xiao Li left the admissions site with an identification document. He needed it to rejoin the group in three days; otherwise, the army would stop him.
As for now, he wanted to return to the Xiao Clan and talk with Xiao Yan, so his younger brother wouldn't get too dispirited over losing his Dou Qi.
After all, Xiao Yan had been by his side day and night for over a decade. Although he knew Xiao Yan would be fine, Xiao Li still couldn't help worrying about him.
In Xiao Yan's private courtyard, Xiao Li and Xiao Yan sat facing each other.
"Xiao Yanzi, Father told me you can't cultivate anymore?"
There was a hint of concern in Xiao Li's eyes as he asked.
Xiao Yan felt a warmth in his heart. "Don't worry, Second Brother. I'm all right now. It won't be long before I can become a Dou Zhe again. You'd better not slack off, or I'll catch up to you and make you look bad! Hahahahaha!"
Xiao Yan laughed freely. His confidence didn't sound feigned. Xiao Li paused, then chuckled. It seemed that Yao Lao had changed things in this life.
Apart from the matter of Yao Lao, Xiao Yan had told him everything. Clearly, he truly trusted Xiao Li.
"Good. I'll be waiting for you to challenge me. Just don't end up as dazed and battered as you were when I beat you a few years ago." Xiao Li laughed heartily. His teasing made Xiao Yan's face flush.
After snorting in disdain, Xiao Yan casually changed the subject. "Big Brother went to the Tagor Desert to become a mercenary."
"Yeah, I know." The smile faded from Xiao Li's face too. His big brother, Xiao Ding, had taken trusted members of the clan and left for Shimo City. He'd have to visit when he had time, to make sure nothing went wrong.
The two fell silent for a moment, evidently worried about their big brother, Xiao Ding.
Of the three brothers, Xiao Ding had the weakest talent. He was seventeen and only a high-level Dou Zhe. He'd left just like that, and they had no idea how he was doing now.
Xiao Li stood up and patted Xiao Yan on the shoulder. "Work hard. Don't forget, Big Brother left so early because he was afraid you'd have nowhere to go in the future. I peeked at his plans once. He was originally going to leave after breaking through to Dou Master at twenty."
Xiao Yan nodded firmly and clenched his fists in secret. Now that his talent had returned and he had a formidable alchemist like Yao Lao by his side, he would surely reach the pinnacle of the Jia Ma Empire one day. Then he'd be able to help Father, Big Brother, and Second Brother.
After Xiao Li left, Yao Lao emerged from the ring. "You three brothers have a good relationship."
Xiao Yan nodded silently. Seeing this, Yao Lao sighed. He'd felt there was something strange about the worry in Xiao Li's eyes earlier, but the three brothers were so close. That worry couldn't have been fake.
Could Xiao Li have known all along that Xiao Yan would recover?
The thought startled Yao Lao. Impossible. No matter how great Xiao Li's talent was, he shouldn't have been able to see through the methods of Venerable Yao.
He must have been mistaken. Or perhaps Xiao Li simply had so much faith in Xiao Yan that he wasn't worried he'd fail to recover.
Yao Lao shook his head and slipped back into the ring.