That Genius Has Returned!

Xun'er only knew that a mysterious person was teaching them cultivation in the back mountains. She had sent Ling Ying to investigate multiple times to no avail, and eventually, the person had shown goodwill toward her. As long as they did not harm brother Xiao Yan, she could not be bothered to care about anything else.

"Next, Xun'er!"

Xun'er, who had been about to say something, heard the deacon call her name. She turned her head and smiled at Xiao Yan, "Brother Xiao Yan, don't be too surprised, okay!"

Hearing Xun'er say this, Xiao Yan gave a faint smile. It seemed that Xun'er must have already broken through to become a Dou Zhe. It was just a pity... Thinking of this, Xiao Yan turned his head to glance at Xiao Yu.

Undoubtedly, Xun'er, a one-star Dou Zhe, once again made everyone present gasp in shock.

Xun'er's talent was plain for all to see, but breaking through to a one-star Dou Zhe so quickly still made everyone sigh that the Xiao Clan had so many geniuses that it made people jealous.

However, with Xiao Yan having improved by four stages of Dou Qi in a single year already setting a precedent, the crowd did not find Xun'er's improvement quite as hard to accept.

"Next, Xiao Yu!"

Xiao Yu, standing below the stage, finally heard his turn. He grinned at Xiao Yan and strode toward the stage.

Xun'er, who had already returned from the stage, saw the look of worship in Xiao Yan's eyes. She blinked her beautiful eyes and asked, "Brother Xiao Yan, do you really admire brother Xiao Yu that much?"

"Of course. You'll understand in a moment. In everyone's eyes, they think my talent is the most outstanding, but in front of my senior brother, my talent isn't even worth mentioning." Xiao Yan smiled faintly, telling Xun'er to watch Xiao Yu's test carefully.

Xiao Yu arrived before the Black Stone Stele and placed his palm slowly upon it. A few breaths later, the characters on the stele caused the Martial Arts Arena, which had just become noisy, to fall into a deathly silence once again.

"Xiao Yu, one-star Dou Zhe!"

If the crowd's reaction to Xiao Yan was shock at the return of his talent, and to Xun'er was an acknowledgment of her gift, then their reaction to Xiao Yu was pure, unadulterated disbelief.

In everyone's eyes, Xiao Yu was just an ordinary disciple of the Xiao Clan, and his strength had only been at the upper-middle level among the clan's youth. Even in the test the year before last, Xiao Yu had only been at the sixth stage of Dou Qi.

Xiao Yan being able to rise four stages in a year was not only because it was easier to go from the third to the seventh stage of Dou Qi, but also because his past talent was a known factor. Thus, although the crowd was shocked, they could still convince themselves that Xiao Yan's talent had returned.

Looking at Xiao Yu, however, he was just an ordinary disciple. It was only recently that he had grown close to Xiao Yan and gone to the back mountains to cultivate with him that he had gradually entered everyone's field of vision. By what right had he suddenly stepped into the ranks of a Dou Zhe from the sixth stage of Dou Qi?

Xiao Yu remained indifferent to the strange atmosphere of the arena. Under the gaze of the crowd, he slowly stepped off the stage and returned to sit beside Xiao Yan.

"Ahem..." On the high platform, Xiao Zhan was the first to recover. He smiled radiantly and gave two dry coughs, which finally brought everyone back to their senses.

Even so, there were still many who found Xiao Yu's progress hard to believe.

"The test is over. Next, we begin the next item. Those who did not pass have the right to challenge a qualified peer. A reminder: you only have one chance." Xiao Zhan said in a clear voice.

Hearing this, the burning gazes in the arena almost all shifted toward Xiao Yu and Xiao Yan.

Seeing this, Xiao Yu had expected it, but Xiao Yan was stunned for a moment before he gave a wry smile, "Do I look like a soft target?"

"Brother Xiao Yan rose four stages of Dou Qi in one year, reaching the seventh stage of Dou Qi. Such a rise, which is like a miracle, is naturally something they refuse to believe." Although she spoke to Xiao Yan, Xun'er's eyes were cast toward Xiao Yu in a rare display of interest.

Xiao Yu shrugged helplessly and met Xiao Yu's gaze, "So, because they refuse to believe it, they choose to deceive themselves?"

In the quiet arena, someone finally could not hold back and stood up.

A sturdy youth walked slowly toward them under the gaze of the crowd. He looked between Xiao Yan and Xiao Yu for a moment before finally choosing the stronger-looking Xiao Yu, "Cousin Xiao Yu, please!"

The youth appeared respectful and polite on the surface, but when he looked at Xiao Yu, his eyes held a trace of disdain and doubt. In his view, he believed that they had used some method to deceive the elders and had even cheated the Black Stone Stele's test. After all, a year ago, Xiao Yu had been at a similar level to him, and he did not believe Xiao Yu could have made such a massive improvement.

Xiao Yu glanced at the youth who had challenged him. He knew him; his name was Xiao Shan, also just an ordinary disciple of the Xiao Clan. When he had first transmigrated, his level had been about the same as his. Shaking his head slightly, Xiao Yu said loudly, "I accept your challenge!"

Seeing the sturdy youth who had snatched the first challenge, many people sighed with a hint of regret, as if they envied the person who was the first to eat the crab.

The next moment, the two walked to the center of the arena. Xiao Yu gestured for Xiao Shan to begin.

Seeing the calm and composed Xiao Yu, Xiao Shan felt a bit uneasy. Then, thinking that failing would mean being sent to work in remote areas with no chance of ever returning to the main family, his eyes hardened, "Cousin Xiao Yu, be careful."

Under the gaze of countless complex eyes, Xiao Yu and Xiao Shan had completed the etiquette before the fight.

They held their palms slightly upright.

Xiao Shan took a deep breath, faint Dou Qi swirling around his palms. He stomped his foot hard on the ground and charged at Xiao Yu.

Low-level combat had no flashy skills, only the raw collision of fist against flesh.

"Splitting Mountain Palm!"

As he prepared to close in on Xiao Yu, Xiao Shan gathered his Dou Qi into his right palm and struck violently toward Xiao Yu's chest.

Splitting Mountain Palm, a Yellow-tier intermediate Dou technique, was something only disciples of the Xiao Clan at the fifth stage of Dou Qi and above were qualified to learn!

Xiao Yu watched the palm technique Xiao Shan was using with an expressionless face, a trace of boredom in the depths of his eyes. After the guidance of Medicine Elder, the system's enhancement, and a year of sparring with Xiao Yan, his combat experience was now very sufficient.

Not to mention that Dou techniques were not necessarily better the higher their grade; it depended on the user's familiarity. Mastering a low-level Dou technique could completely surpass an unfamiliar high-level one.

Xiao Shan was exactly like this. He used the highest-level technique he could learn to fight, thinking he could maximize his strength, but in reality, he was dead wrong. He would have been better off spending that time carefully refining a Yellow-tier low-level technique; the strength he could have displayed might have been three times greater.

Seeing the palm gradually closing in on him, Xiao Yu stepped back with his left foot, used his left hand to slightly deflect Xiao Shan's attack, grabbed the momentum-driven Xiao Shan by the waist with his right hand, and with a flick of his arm, tossed him behind him.

He had not even used his Dou Qi, yet he had easily neutralized Xiao Shan's attack.

On the high platform, Xiao Zhan saw Xiao Yu's move, and a flash of surprise crossed his eyes.

He could see that the reason Xiao Yu was able to easily neutralize Xiao Shan's attack was not only because of Xiao Shan's lack of familiarity with the technique, but also because Xiao Yu's combat experience was extremely rich. To be able to think of using the opponent's force against them in such a short time and throw Xiao Shan out without using Dou Qi—it was clear that Xiao Yu's combat experience might even exceed that of many clan guards who had already gone out on missions.

The arena fell silent. Xiao Shan's failure better validated everyone's conjectures.

Looking at Xiao Yu, who stood in the arena with his hands behind his back, the crowd could not help but gasp. To be able to defeat a sixth-stage Dou Qi practitioner like Xiao Shan so easily without using Dou Qi was enough to show that Xiao Yu's strength was definitely at the seventh stage of Dou Qi or higher. In that case, Xiao Yu's one-star Dou Zhe strength was likely true.

With this in mind, everyone turned their gazes back to Xiao Yan once more. They all knew that the two of them had been training in the back mountain for nearly a year, and at first, everyone had simply watched them with the intention of seeing a joke.

Now, however, the terrifying speed at which both of them had spanned four stages of Dou Qi in a mere year caused everyone to begin wondering if there was some sort of rare treasure or natural resource hidden in the back mountain.

Or perhaps, there was some unspeakable secret between the two of them.