When Xiao Ze walked into the hall, several elders of the clan immediately spoke up. Pointing at him, they said to Xiao Zhan,
"Xiao Zhan, Xiao Ze has arrived at just the right time. Ask him yourself."
"With talent as poor as his, does he still have the nerve to expect the family to continue supporting him?"
"If you truly care about your son, then I think it would be better to have him look after one of the family's marketplaces."
"As for the path of cultivation, I advise you to give it up. Your son simply isn't cut out for it."
"If he continues cultivating, he won't just be wasting his own youth, but the Xiao Family's resources as well."
"Think about it. Over the past three years, how many cultivation resources has the family given your two sons, Xiao Ze and Xiao Yan? You've seen the result."
"It's simply a waste of resources. If those resources had been given to other clansmen, perhaps we could have nurtured two promising youths."
"But no matter how good the cultivation resources are, giving them to those two will ultimately be nothing but a waste."
The elders spoke with utter disdain.
Xiao Zhan's expression stiffened, and he immediately snapped back at them, erupting into a fierce argument.
He was an overprotective father. Even if his sons possessed little talent for cultivation, he did not want to give up on them so easily.
On Douqi Continent, if they had no strength, then once they lost Xiao Zhan's protection in the future, how would the two of them survive?
Therefore, he could never accept this.
Even if he had to give up his position as clan leader, he could not allow his two sons to achieve nothing on the path of cultivation.
He believed that his two sons would never disappoint him.
It was merely a matter of time. They were only cultivating a little slower than others.
"Father." After entering, Xiao Ze greeted Xiao Zhan.
"Ze'er, you're here." Xiao Zhan spoke, then had Xiao Ze take a seat. The elders of the family all turned to him and said,
"Xiao Ze, another strength test was conducted at the Testing Plaza today. So you're still at the first stage of Dou Qi, correct?"
"Since that is the case, then we elders must speak plainly."
"After all these years, no one knows how many resources you have wasted. It is time to stop." The Great Elder was the first to speak.
From the looks of it, they wanted to cut off his cultivation resources within the family?
Xiao Ze did not care. He had now bound Xiao Xuan's panel, and both his cultivation speed and talent had increased by an unknown number of times.
He was not worried at all about the clan refusing to provide him with resources.
As for Xiao Yan, according to the plot, when Nalan Yanran came to break off the engagement, that would be when Medicine Elder awakened.
"Wait a moment."
Still unwilling to give up, Xiao Zhan said, "Could there be something wrong with the family's Test Magic Stele, which is why Ze'er's Dou Qi was only measured at the first stage?"
"I refuse to believe that after cultivating for so many years, my son is still only at the first stage of Dou Qi. I don't believe it."
The elders sneered and said, "Xiao Zhan, you really refuse to give up."
"Fine. We won't rely on the Test Magic Stele. Come, Xiao Ze, release the Dou Qi throughout your body."
"With the strength of the few of us here, along with your realm as a Grand Dou Shi, Xiao Zhan, it should not be difficult to tell what level Xiao Ze has reached."
"If the power Xiao Ze releases later is still only at the first stage of Dou Qi, then you will have nothing left to say, correct?"
Although Xiao Zhan agreed, he was still somewhat nervous, because he understood one thing clearly.
If the power Xiao Ze released later truly was only at the first stage of Dou Qi,
then that would mean the family would no longer provide Xiao Ze with even the slightest bit of cultivation resources.
Xiao Ze released his Dou Qi. Xiao Zhan's expression froze, and he was utterly astonished.
The strength he had just sensed was actually the fifth stage of Dou Qi?
What was going on? Wasn't his son Xiao Ze only at the first stage of Dou Qi?
How had his strength risen so much in such a short time? What exactly had happened? Xiao Zhan muttered to himself in shock.
The elders' expressions also went blank at once, as though they thought they had seen wrongly.
"What? The fifth stage of Dou Qi? This..."
They had originally intended to use this opportunity to cut off all of Xiao Ze's family resources and, at the same time, suppress Xiao Zhan, the clan leader.
Not only had they failed to achieve their goal, they had also discovered in astonishment that Xiao Ze possessed the strength of the fifth stage of Dou Qi.
Everyone in the hall was shocked.
However, Xiao Ze paid no attention to the surprise and reactions on their faces.
Instead, he noticed the System Panel.
The text displayed on it read:
[Current mission: Cultivate for twenty minutes.] [Reward: Seventh-stage Dou Qi.] [Accept mission?]
Xiao Ze did not hesitate over the mission that had just appeared on the System Panel and immediately chose to accept it.
He only needed to cultivate for twenty minutes to go directly from the fifth stage of Dou Qi to the seventh stage of Dou Qi.
Even Xiao Yan at the peak of his cultivation, with the protagonist's halo, would have been far from capable of such a feat.
Yet he could accomplish it with ease.
Was this the true worth of the Xiao Family's ancestor, Xiao Xuan?
After accepting the system mission, Xiao Ze left the hall half an hour later and returned directly to his room.
After returning to his room, Xiao Ze immediately sat cross-legged and began to meditate in cultivation.
Twenty minutes passed in the blink of an eye.
Twenty minutes later, he slowly opened his eyes.
He felt that the Dou Qi within his body had surged greatly once more. His strength had now entered the realm of the seventh stage.
Xiao Ze smiled in satisfaction.
He had cultivated for only half an hour in total, yet he had gone directly from the first stage to the seventh stage.
As expected of the Xiao Family ancestor's true worth.
Xiao Ze had just gotten off the bed and was about to leave when he heard a young girl's soft voice from outside the door.
It was Xiao Xun'er. More accurately, she should have been called Gu Xun'er.
Xiao Xun'er came to Xiao Ze's door and said, "Brother Xiao Ze, did you lock yourself in your room because your strength test result during the day was poor?"
"Brother Xiao Ze, you once told Xun'er that only those who can take things up and let them go are truly free."
Having transmigrated to Douqi Continent so many years ago, Xiao Ze had long since beaten Xiao Yan to the task of nourishing Xiao Xun'er's meridians and bones.
Now, Xiao Xun'er naturally had nothing to do with Xiao Yan.
Instead, her concern for him had long surpassed the bounds of ordinary clan siblings.
After Xiao Ze pulled open the door, he saw the girl in green standing before him.
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