"Dou Qi: Three Stages!"
"Xiao Yan, Dou Qi: Three Stages! Level: Low Rank!"
Beside the Test Magic Stone Stele, a middle-aged man glanced at the information displayed on it and announced it in a detached tone.
Below the stage.
Staring at the five brightly shining characters on the Test Magic Stone Stele, so dazzling they almost hurt his eyes, Xiao Yuan was on the verge of tears, his heart and mind brimming with excitement!
An indescribable excitement!
It's here! Finally, it's here! I've finally waited for this day!
Ten years—ten whole years!
For the past ten years, this was the day he'd thought about from morning till night!
There was no other reason.
It was simply because he felt the plot had gone completely off the rails.
Xun'er was the first to be affected.
Because he'd recklessly helped Xun'er gain perfect control over the Golden Emperor Incinerating Heaven Flame, she had given her heart to him.
There was no helping it. After all, he'd paid a great price too, giving Xun'er his most precious Innate Fire Spirit Body.
That much was fine.
But Xiao Yan had no idea what had gotten into him.
He'd started practicing Dou Qi at four, reached Ninth Stage Dou Qi at eight, and at nine had even condensed a Dou Qi Vortex, becoming the third youngest Dou Zhe in the clan's hundred-year history.
By the time he was eleven, Xiao Yan was already a Five-Star Dou Zhe!
It was all thanks to Xiao Yan's tireless efforts and outstanding inborn talent.
But that only left Xiao Yuan even more bewildered.
Had this Xiao guy eaten some miracle fertilizer?
Why was he even stronger than in the original story?!
Though it was good news for him and for the entire Xiao Clan, and he was happy for Xiao Yan, what was going to happen to the plot if things kept developing like this?
Wouldn't that mean he couldn't get any rewards and would have no way to lie back and take it easy?!
Classic case of fearing your brother would have a hard life, but also fearing he'd drive a luxury car.
Fortunately, three years ago, everything took a sudden turn. Xiao Yan's cultivation began plummeting.
From the very cusp of breaking through to Six-Star Dou Zhe, he instantly fell to Four-Star, then back to Ninth Stage Dou Qi, and finally to his current Three-Stage Dou Qi.
He'd fallen completely from the altar of genius.
He'd crashed into the mire, never to climb out again.
And then came today. This transmigrator who'd arrived at the wrong time had finally reached the first plot point!
[ Ding, congratulations! You have obtained one Marrow Cleansing Powder.]
Hell yeah, Marrow Cleansing Powder again! Ohhhhh!!!
This should have been the fifth Marrow Cleansing Powder he'd received in the past ten years.
Every now and then, even just making an offhand complaint would trigger a reward.
For instance, when he'd complained about Xiao Yan sneaking off to watch Xiao Yu bathe, he'd received a reward and then found a way to warn Xiao Yu.
That had gotten Xiao Yan a good beating from Xiao Yu.
He was all about doing good deeds without taking credit.
By now, he understood.
Even trivial matters casually mentioned in the original story counted as part of the plot.
"Brother Xiao Yuan's at it again."
Beside him, Xun'er murmured softly, in a voice only she could hear.
Listening to Xiao Yuan's silly inner thoughts and watching his joy spill plainly across his face, Xun'er couldn't help letting a radiant, captivating smile bloom at the corners of her lips.
As long as Brother Xiao Yuan was happy, she was happy too.
The other Xiao Clan members all wore expressions of anger, jealousy, and resentment.
Fine, he was talented and handsome.
But how had he stolen Cousin Xun'er's heart too?!
Damn it!!!
By now, Xun'er had turned around, her gaze falling on the dejected young man stepping down from the testing platform.
Will Xiao Yan really achieve such great things in the future?
She couldn't help wondering to herself.
Over the years, by Xiao Yuan's side, she'd learned many things from his inner thoughts.
For example, that she was the heroine of a certain novel, while Xiao Yan was its male lead; that he would become a Dou Di in the future, and that she would become his wife.
But Xun'er had always taken it with a grain of salt.
It wasn't that she didn't believe Xiao Yuan's inner thoughts. It was just as he'd complained to himself about the plot going off the rails.
She firmly believed that even if her entire life was perhaps an inconspicuous page written by someone, with her whole existence summed up in just a few lines,
she was alive and real now, not a character in someone else's story!
If everything Xiao Yuan knew could go astray, how could her future possibly be set in stone? How could she be destined to become a puppet on someone else's strings?
Perhaps Xiao Yan really would become powerful in the future.
But what did that have to do with her, Xiao Xun'er?
Even if Xiao Yan really became a Dou Di, she wouldn't regret the choice she was making at this very moment!
"Next, Xiao Xun'er!"
The examiner had called her name.
The noisy crowd fell quiet, and every gaze turned toward her.
"Brother Xiao Yuan, Xun'er's going."
"Mm. Go on. Good luck."
With everyone's eyes on them, Xiao Yuan smiled as he watched Xun'er go.
The moment they parted, the smile on Xun'er's young, delicate face vanished, returning to its usual serenity.
Her cool, elegant bearing, paired with her purple dress, made her look like a fresh lotus just beginning to bloom.
Her pace was unhurried.
With light, graceful steps,
Xiao Xun'er had already arrived before the Magic Stone Stele.
She reached out her jade-white hand. The purple sleeve embroidered with black and gold slid down, revealing a section of her fair, tender wrist. Her palm lightly touched the stele.
After a brief moment of stillness, blinding light burst from the stele once more.
"Dou Zhe: Nine Stars! Level: High Rank!"
Staring at the words on the stele, the entire scene fell silent.
"...She's already a Nine-Star Dou Zhe? Simply terrifying! Miss Xun'er must be the strongest among the younger generation in the clan."
After the silence, everyone—both the crowd below and the examiner on the stage—drew in a sharp breath, their eyes filled with awe.
At just fourteen, she was already a Nine-Star Dou Zhe. Her future was truly limitless!
Still, a few discreet glances in the crowd fell on Xiao Yuan.
As mentioned earlier, Xiao Yan was the third-youngest Dou Zhe in the clan's hundred-year history.
The two ahead of him were Xiao Yuan and Xiao Xun'er.
And Xiao Yuan was even stronger. At seven, he'd used Qi Gathering Powder to condense a vortex and step into the ranks of Dou Zhe.
It was common knowledge that the foundation of Dou Qi cultivation was exceptionally difficult to build.
It was hardly unusual for people to spend ten or even twenty years reaching the tenth stage of low-level Dou Qi.
Becoming a Dou Zhe in three years was already monstrous.
But Xiao Yuan paid no attention to those gazes. His entire focus was on Xun'er on the stage.
He rubbed his chin.
What he was thinking was completely different from everyone else.
Without the torment of the Golden Emperor Incinerating Heaven Flame, and with the boost from her Innate Fire Spirit Body, she entered the ranks of Dou Zhe so early. How is she only a Nine-Star Dou Zhe? That makes no sense at all...
Either she's using some special method to hide her cultivation, or she's been playing around too much and hasn't worked hard at cultivating, which is why her cultivation is so poor!
At that moment, he was like a stock investor,
coming up with all sorts of guesses as to why the shares he'd invested in had risen so little.
[ Ding, congratulations! You have obtained one bottle of Improved Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid.]