Brotherly Harmony

At first, Xiao Yan thought Xiao Feng was merely putting on a show and using him to build up his reputation. He had never expected him to remain unwavering for three whole years.

If Xiao Feng had not constantly encouraged and cheered him on, Xiao Yan might even have doubted whether he could keep cultivating.

Yet the better Xiao Feng treated him, the more guilty Xiao Yan felt.

Whenever he thought of how disrespectful he had been toward his brother in the past, Xiao Yan would get up in the middle of the night and slap himself a few times.

"Brother, I..."

Xiao Yan walked up to Xiao Feng, wanting to say something, but his throat felt clogged.

"Xiao Yan, there's no need to feel guilty."

Xiao Feng patted Xiao Yan on the shoulder and comforted him gently. "Over these years, Father and I have seen how hard you've worked at cultivation. What happened isn't your fault."

"Mm!"

Seeing Xiao Yan look as though he was about to cry from emotion, Xiao Xun'er's gaze toward Xiao Feng practically turned tender.

Brother Feng is so gentle~

The reason Xiao Feng treated Xiao Yan so wholeheartedly was not simply because he was his biological younger brother. More importantly, it was to make it easier for him to ride Xiao Yan's coattails in the future.

The strange disappearance of the Dou Qi inside Xiao Yan's body was caused by Yao Lao, who resided within the Bone Flame Ring.

Although Yao Lao claimed in the original story that he had unintentionally absorbed Xiao Yan's Dou Qi, Xiao Feng believed that he had been deliberately testing him.

After all, Yao Lao had been a peak Dou Zun expert in life. The tiny amount of Dou Qi in Xiao Yan's body was nowhere near enough to sustain him.

Even if Yao Lao had truly absorbed Xiao Yan's Dou Qi by accident, how could he have still allowed him to retain the cultivation of Dou Qi Stage Three?

Wasn't that obviously controlling the score?

Therefore, Yao Lao must have been deliberately testing Xiao Yan so that he would not raise another ungrateful wretch of a disciple.

To be honest, Xiao Feng had once considered taking the Bone Flame Ring for himself. It was an heirloom left behind by his mother, after all. Even if he really snatched it away, outsiders would not think there was anything wrong with it.

Unfortunately, Xiao Feng's cultivation talent was far inferior to Xiao Yan's, and his Dou Qi attribute was the Wind Attribute. He was utterly unsuited to cultivating the Flame Mantra, nor could he become an alchemist.

In the end, Xiao Feng gave up on taking the Bone Flame Ring and decided to let Xiao Yan become the Flame Emperor just as he had in the original story.

One had to know that Xiao Feng and Xiao Yan were twins. Their bloodlines were even closer than those between parents and children.

In the original story, after Xiao Yan broke through to Dou Di, his daughter Xiao Xiao activated her Dou Di Bloodline and soon afterward broke through to the level of an Eight Star Dou Sheng.

Given the relationship between Xiao Feng and Xiao Yan, if Xiao Yan broke through to Dou Di in the future, Xiao Feng would at the very least be able to reach the peak of Nine Star Dou Sheng.

To a certain extent, the stronger Xiao Yan became, the stronger Xiao Feng became as well. That was why he treated Xiao Yan so wholeheartedly.

If he had not known Xiao Yan would become a Dou Di someday, Xiao Feng would definitely have taught this brat who did not know how to respect his older brother what it meant when people said, "A beating is affection, scolding is love—when affection runs deep, use your feet!"

"Next, Xiao Mei!"

At the tester's call, a young girl quickly ran out from the crowd, lifting her skirt as she climbed onto the Testing Platform.

The girl looked around fourteen or fifteen. Her features were charming and alluring, and she was a beauty in the making.

Although Xiao Mei's looks and temperament could not compare to Xiao Xun'er's, Xiao Xun'er already had someone in her heart. Xiao Mei, on the other hand, was the dream lover of quite a few Xiao Clan disciples.

"Xiao Mei, Dou Qi: Stage Seven! Grade: High!"

The tester's voice soon rang out again, and a rather proud smile bloomed on the girl's pretty face.

After walking down from the Testing Platform with a smile, Xiao Mei headed straight toward where Xiao Feng and the others stood.

Back when Xiao Yan's talent had not yet gone wrong, Xiao Mei had been the one closest to him, following him around all day.

According to the original story, after Xiao Yan fell from grace, Xiao Mei should have gradually become distant from him.

However, perhaps because of the Protagonist Halo, or perhaps because of the influence of Xiao Feng, this little butterfly, Xiao Mei did not act as she had in the original story. Instead, she continued to maintain a friendly relationship with Xiao Yan.

In truth, this was perfectly normal. The reason Xiao Yan had been disliked by the Xiao Family in the original story was mainly because Xiao Zhan liked to use public resources for private purposes, spending a great deal of resources on him.

For example, when Xiao Yan first auctioned the Foundation Establishment Liquid, Xiao Zhan had purchased it for the exorbitant price of forty thousand gold coins.

One had to know that a third-rate family like the Xiao Family only made around one hundred thousand gold coins in total profit each year.

If Xiao Yan's cultivation talent had remained intact, then even if Xiao Zhan spent all of the Xiao Family's cultivation resources on him, everyone would at most complain a little and would not think anything was wrong.

After all, with the cultivation talent Xiao Yan had displayed, he would at the very least be able to break through to Dou Wang in the future and lead the entire Xiao Family to rise again.

However, with Xiao Yan's cultivation talent having gone wrong, Xiao Zhan's actions became far too excessive.

Now that Xiao Feng existed, the situation was completely different.

Xiao Zhan did not directly give the cultivation resources to Xiao Yan. Instead, he gave all of them to Xiao Feng.

As for whether Xiao Feng would transfer some of those cultivation resources to Xiao Yan after receiving them, that had little to do with Xiao Zhan as the clan leader.

Although Xiao Zhan and Xiao Feng's actions were similar, what they represented was completely different.

Xiao Zhan was the head of the Xiao Family. Wasting resources on Xiao Yan was called using public resources for private gain and abusing his authority.

If Xiao Feng gave cultivation resources to Xiao Yan, however, it only showed that he valued loyalty and brotherhood. Others would instead find it more reassuring.

If Xiao Feng was unwilling even to care for his own biological brother, could anyone expect him to repay the family in the future?

"Cousin Xiao Feng, Cousin Xiao Yan."

Xiao Mei walked over to Xiao Feng and the others with a bright smile. She first greeted the two of them, then skillfully linked arms with Xiao Xun'er and began chatting with her merrily.

In the original story, both Xiao Mei and Xiao Xun'er had initially liked Xiao Yan, making them romantic rivals. Their relationship naturally could not have been good.

Now that Xiao Feng had won over Xiao Xun'er ahead of time, there was no conflict of interest between the two girls. Since they were also about the same age, they had instead become close friends who could talk about anything.

"Next, Xiao Xun'er!"

The tester's voice rang out once more amid the noisy crowd.

Under the curious gazes of the crowd, Xiao Xun'er took graceful steps forward and leisurely walked onto the Testing Platform.

Whoosh!!!

As Xiao Xun'er gently pressed her jade-white palm onto the Magic Stone Tablet, a dazzling golden light immediately burst forth.

The tester smiled and nodded at the sight before announcing loudly, "Xiao Xun'er, Dou Qi: Stage Nine! Grade: High!"