Xun'er only knew that a mysterious person had been teaching them to cultivate in the back hills. She had sent Ling Ying to investigate several times, but he had come back empty-handed each time. In the end, the other party had also revealed their goodwill toward her. All that mattered was that they wouldn't harm Brother Xiao Yan. As for anything else, Xun'er couldn't be bothered to care.
"Next, Xun'er!"
Xun'er had been about to say something, but when she heard the steward call her name, she turned and smiled at Xiao Yan. "Brother Xiao Yan, don't be too surprised!"
Hearing her say that, Xiao Yan smiled faintly. It looked like Xun'er had already broken through to Dou Zhe. What a pity... Thinking of this, Xiao Yan turned to look at Xiao Yu again.
Without a doubt, Xun'er's strength as a One-Star Dou Zhe made everyone present draw a sharp breath.
Xun'er's talent was plain for all to see, but the fact that she had broken through to One-Star Dou Zhe so quickly still left everyone marveling at how the Xiao Clan had so many prodigies that it made people green with envy.
However, with Xiao Yan having advanced four stages of Dou Qi in a single year, Xun'er's improvement wasn't quite so hard for everyone to accept.
"Next, Xiao Yu!"
At last, Xiao Yu heard his name called. He grinned at Xiao Yan and strode up onto the stage.
Xun'er had already returned from the stage. Seeing the admiration in Xiao Yan's eyes, she blinked her beautiful eyes and asked him, "Brother Xiao Yan, do you really admire Big Brother Xiao Yu that much?"
"Of course. You'll understand in a moment. Everyone thinks my talent is the most outstanding, but in front of Senior Brother, my talent doesn't amount to anything." Xiao Yan smiled faintly, urging Xun'er to watch Xiao Yu's test closely.
Xiao Yu came before the Black Stone Stele and slowly placed his palm against it. A few breaths later, the characters on the stele plunged the Martial Arts Arena, which had just begun to buzz with noise, into dead silence once again.
"Xiao Yu, One-Star Dou Zhe!"
If everyone had been astonished by Xiao Yan's returning talent and had acknowledged Xun'er's innate talent, then they simply couldn't believe what they saw when it came to Xiao Yu.
In everyone's eyes, Xiao Yu was just an ordinary disciple of the Xiao Clan, with strength somewhere in the middle-to-upper ranks among the clan's disciples. At the test two years ago, he had only been at the Sixth Stage of Dou Qi.
Xiao Yan's four-stage leap in one year wasn't just because it was easier to advance from the Third Stage of Dou Qi to the Seventh. His former talent had also been there for all to see. So even though everyone was shocked, they could still persuade themselves that Xiao Yan's talent had returned.
But Xiao Yu was just an ordinary Xiao Clan disciple. He had only recently grown close to Xiao Yan, and it was only because he had been cultivating with Xiao Yan in the back hills that he had gradually come into everyone's sight. What gave him the right to leap from the Sixth Stage of Dou Qi straight into the ranks of the Dou Zhe?
Xiao Yu paid no mind to the strange atmosphere around him. Under everyone's gaze, he slowly stepped down and sat beside Xiao Yan.
"Ahem..." On the high platform, Xiao Zhan was the first to recover. Wearing a beaming smile, he gave a dry cough, and only then did the crowd come back to their senses.
Even so, plenty of people still found Xiao Yu's progress hard to believe.
"The test is over. Next comes the next stage. Those who failed are entitled to challenge a passing peer. A reminder: you only get one chance," Xiao Zhan announced clearly.
At this, nearly every heated gaze in the arena shifted toward Xiao Yu and Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yu had expected this. Xiao Yan, however, froze for a moment, then gave a helpless smile. "Do I really look like an easy target?"
"Brother Xiao Yan advanced four stages of Dou Qi in one year, reaching the Seventh Stage of Dou Qi. With a rise as miraculous as that, of course they refuse to believe it." Though Xun'er was speaking to Xiao Yan, her eyes turned—unusually—to Xiao Yu.
Xiao Yan shrugged helplessly and exchanged a glance with Xiao Yu. "So when they refuse to believe it, they just deceive themselves?"
At last, someone in the silent arena could no longer hold back and stepped forward.
A sturdy young man walked slowly toward Xiao Yu and Xiao Yan under everyone's watchful eyes. After looking between them for a moment, he finally chose Xiao Yu, whose strength was greater. "Cousin Xiao Yu, please!"
The youth seemed respectful and courteous on the surface, but when he looked at Xiao Yu, his eyes held a trace of disdain and doubt. He, too, believed that Xiao Yu and the others had used some method to deceive the elders and even fool the Black Stone Stele's test. After all, a year ago, Xiao Yu's level had been about the same as his. He didn't believe Xiao Yu could have made such enormous progress.
Xiao Yu glanced at the youth who had challenged him. He knew him: his name was Xiao Shan, and he was just another ordinary Xiao Clan disciple. When Xiao Yu had first crossed over, his level had been about the same as Xiao Shan's. He shook his head slightly and said in a clear voice, "I accept your challenge!"
Seeing the sturdy youth step forward to challenge first, many people sighed with some regret, as though they envied the first man to eat a crab.
The next moment, the two stepped into the center of the arena. Xiao Yu made a gesture inviting Xiao Shan to attack.
Seeing Xiao Yu so calm and composed, Xiao Shan felt somewhat uneasy. Then he remembered that failing the test would get him sent to some remote place to work, where he might never have another chance to return to the main clan. His gaze sharpened. "Cousin Xiao Yu, watch out!"
Under countless complicated gazes, Xiao Yu and Xiao Shan completed the customary courtesies before their match.
They raised their palms slightly.
Xiao Shan exhaled deeply. A faint veil of Dou Qi coiled around his palms. He stamped his foot against the ground and charged at Xiao Yu.
At their level, combat held no flashy techniques—only the raw clash of flesh against flesh.
"Splitting Mountain Palm!"
As he drew near Xiao Yu, Dou Qi gathered in Xiao Shan's right palm. He brought it crashing toward Xiao Yu's chest.
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Splitting Mountain Palm was a Yellow Tier Mid-Grade Dou Technique. Only Xiao Clan disciples at the Fifth Stage of Dou Qi or above were qualified to learn it!
Xiao Yu watched Xiao Shan's palm strike without expression, a trace of boredom showing in his eyes. After Medicine Elder's instruction, the system's boost, and a year of sparring with Xiao Yan, he had built up plenty of combat experience.
Setting aside the fact that a higher-tier Dou Technique wasn't necessarily better—the key was how familiar its user was with it—mastering a low-tier Dou Technique could easily be more effective than using a high-tier one you didn't know well.
Xiao Shan was exactly that sort of case. He was using the highest-tier Dou Technique he could learn, thinking it would let him bring out the greatest possible strength. In reality, he couldn't have been more wrong. He would have been better off spending that time studying a Yellow Tier Low Grade Dou Technique in detail. That might have let him display even more strength.
As the approaching palm came toward him, Xiao Yu stepped back with his left foot and gently deflected Xiao Shan's attack with his left hand. Then he caught Xiao Shan around the waist as his momentum carried him forward, lifted him, and flung him behind himself.
He had effortlessly neutralized Xiao Shan's attack without even using Dou Qi.
Seeing Xiao Yu's move from the high platform, Xiao Zhan's eyes flashed with surprise.
He could tell that Xiao Yu had been able to neutralize Xiao Shan's attack so easily not only because Xiao Shan wasn't familiar with his Dou Technique, but also because Xiao Yu had an abundance of combat experience. In such a short time, Xiao Yu had thought to use his opponent's force against him and thrown Xiao Shan without using Dou Qi. His combat experience might even surpass that of many clan guards who had already gone out on missions.
The arena fell silent. Xiao Shan's defeat only served to confirm everyone's suspicions.
Watching Xiao Yu stand with his hands behind his back, everyone couldn't help drawing a sharp breath. He had defeated Xiao Shan, who was at the Sixth Stage of Dou Qi, so easily and without using Dou Qi. That was enough to show that Xiao Yu's strength had to be above the Seventh Stage of Dou Qi. If so, then it was probably true that Xiao Yu was a One-Star Dou Zhe.
Thinking of this, everyone turned to look at Xiao Yan again. They all knew that the two of them had spent nearly a year cultivating in the back hills. At first, everyone had watched them with mocking amusement.
Now it seemed that both of them had made the terrifying leap of four stages of Dou Qi in just one year. Everyone began to wonder whether there might be some rare treasure hidden in the back hills.
Or perhaps the two of them shared some secret they couldn't tell anyone.
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