Xiao Yun

In Wutan City, the Xiao Clan's testing plaza was packed with people. Looking out, one could see children and teenagers gathered there, while in the pavilions surrounding the plaza, some elders watched the proceedings.

Today was the Xiao Clan's annual test. Every child in the Xiao Clan between the ages of five and fifteen had to be present to undergo the Dou Qi test.

"Xiao Yan, Dou Qi, Third Duan! Level: Low-grade!" Beside the Magic Stone Stele, a middle-aged man glanced at the information displayed on the stone and announced it in a tone of shock.

"Hahaha, my Yan'er is truly impressive. Who else in this Jia Ma Empire can reach the Third Duan of Dou Qi after only one year of cultivation? My son Xiao Yan has the potential of a Dou Emperor!" In the pavilion, the Xiao Clan leader, Xiao Zhan, said to the three elders beside him.

"Indeed, Xiao Yan's talent is extraordinary, and his future is limitless." The three elders nodded in agreement with Xiao Zhan. Although they were usually at odds with each other, they were still part of the same clan; when a genius appeared in the clan, they remained a united front.

The plaza was filled with noise, and the onlookers around were all beaming with joy.

"Third Duan of Dou Qi? I remember Young Master Xiao Yan is only five years old this year. To reach the Third Duan of Dou Qi after only one year of cultivation—I've never heard of anyone else in Wutan City who could do that."

"It's not just Wutan City; even in our Southeastern Province, I've never heard of a genius who reached the Third Duan of Dou Qi at five years old. I knew long ago that Young Master Xiao Yan was extraordinary; he will surely achieve great things in the future!"

"Hiss, the Third Duan of Dou Qi at five years old, terrifying indeed. Young Master Xiao Yan is our Xiao Clan's number one genius; he will surely lead our Xiao Clan to rise and dominate Wutan City!"

The praises coming from all around felt like a gentle summer breeze to the child standing on the stone platform, causing him to hold his head high like a peacock.

"Brother Xiao Yan, you are truly amazing. I am only at the First Duan of Dou Qi, while you are already at the Third." A four or five-year-old child shouted to the person on the platform.

"Hahaha, don't you see who I am! I am the one who will become the clan leader in the future. If my talent weren't good, how could I lead the clan to rise!" Xiao Yan laughed heartily and walked off the stone platform, surrounded by a crowd of children.

"Sister Xiao Mei, don't be sad. After all, geniuses are few and far between; it's impossible for everyone to have talent like mine." Xiao Yan said to the child who had just called out to him, who was none other than Xiao Mei.

The people around curled their lips upon hearing this, but in the end, no one dared to refute Xiao Yan. This was because Xiao Yan not only possessed extraordinary talent, but he was also the son of the current Xiao Clan leader. If one offended him, there would be no way to survive in the Xiao Clan.

In the bustling crowd, there was always someone who seemed out of place.

So arrogant now. No wonder so many people targeted you after your Dou Qi disappeared; it turns out they couldn't stand you for a long time.

On the outskirts of the crowd, Xiao Yun looked indifferently at Xiao Yan, who was surrounded by a group of children, and could not help but feel a sense of emotion.

Like Xiao Yan, he was not originally from this world, but the difference between the two was that Xiao Yun knew Xiao Yan's identity, while Xiao Yan knew nothing about Xiao Yun.

In his previous life, Xiao Yun had simply taken a nap in his dormitory, only to wake up and find that he had been gifted the identity of an orphan in another world.

Fortunately, the world he had transmigrated into was the Battle Through the Heavens world he had read about in his past life, which kept him from being completely clueless.

Fortunately, the Xiao Clan was a loving family. For orphans in the clan whose parents had both passed away, clan rules dictated that servants be dispatched to take care of them. Furthermore, Xiao Yun was not an ordinary orphan; the current Xiao Clan leader, Xiao Zhan, was his uncle.

There was no such thing as a struggle for succession (after all, the Xiao Clan was only so big...), and Xiao Yun received every benefit he was entitled to.

Because of this, Xiao Yun was very grateful to Xiao Zhan and felt a strong sense of belonging to the Xiao Clan.

Xiao Yun stood on the outskirts of the plaza, quietly watching as others were called one by one to go up to the stage and test their cultivation.

However, apart from Xiao Yan, no other geniuses appeared. Only Xiao Yu had decent talent; at eight years old, she had reached the Fifth Duan of Dou Qi. But he believed she would soon be surpassed by Xiao Yan.

As time passed, it was soon Xiao Yun's turn to go up to the stage for the test.

Xiao Yun walked up quickly, touched the pitch-black Magic Stone Stele with his small hand, and slowly closed his eyes.

A moment after Xiao Yun closed his eyes, light shone once again from the pitch-black Magic Stone Stele.

Dou Qi, Ninth Duan!

"Xiao Yun, Dou Qi, Nin..."

The middle-aged man on the stone platform stared blankly at the Magic Stone Stele, unable to finish the words that should have come out.

The originally noisy crowd also quieted down, looking at the information on the Magic Stone Stele in disbelief. The people in the pavilions were so shocked that they stood up.

"Xiao Yun, Dou Qi, Ninth Duan! Level: High-grade!" A moment later, the middle-aged man in charge of calling the names turned bright red and shouted frantically.

The onlookers were also doubting their own lives; their faces were flushed, their eyes were wide with shock, and some even began slapping their own faces in public.

Xiao Yun had not expected everyone to find it so hard to accept. Come to think of it, it made sense; Xiao Yan would become famous throughout the Jia Ma Empire once he became a Dou Zhe at twelve, but he was only seven years old and already at the Ninth Duan of Dou Qi.

At his speed of cultivation, he would inevitably become a Dou Zhe by the age of eight at the latest. The gap between them was incomparable.

Not to mention Xiao Yun becoming famous in Jia Ma, he would likely have no trouble shaking dozens of surrounding countries as well.

"Ahhh, Ninth Duan of Dou Qi. I remember Young Master Xiao Yun is only seven years old this year, right?

To reach the Ninth Duan of Dou Qi after only three years of cultivation—I have never heard of anyone in Wutan City who could cultivate three duans in one year!"

"I feel like I've heard you say that before, but it's truly hard to disagree. Young Master Xiao Yun is indeed our Xiao Clan's number one genius!"

"Hiss, terrifying indeed. Ninth Duan of Dou Qi at seven years old, he is our Xiao Clan's true number one genius! He will surely lead our Xiao Clan to rise and dominate Wutan City in the future!"

"I originally thought Xiao Yan's talent was invincible, but I didn't expect someone to be even stronger than him. Which elder's child is this!"

"..." Xiao Yun's mouth twitched. Listening to the crowd below replace the name of the person they were praising just moments ago with his own, he felt that these people truly had no integrity.

Listening to the surrounding praises, Xiao Yun walked down with a calm expression, maintaining a very ordinary state of mind, completely unmoved by the outsiders.

The appearance of a genius always brings the adoration of ordinary people. Unfortunately, Xiao Yun did not care much about these things.

After all, Xiao Yun was not really a child, and he did not value such empty fame.

After leaving the plaza, Xiao Yun arrived at his room. His room was located in the center of the Xiao Clan and even had an independent small courtyard.

The reason Xiao Yun had this house was thanks to the identity of his original body; his grandfather was the former Xiao Clan leader, Xiao Lin.

Although his parents had died while covering the retreat when moving away from the Jia Ma Imperial Capital, leaving only Xiao Yun from his branch, he was still a direct descendant of the Xiao Clan, so equipping him with an independent small courtyard was not an issue.

Walking into the room, Xiao Yun sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and contemplated the things in his mind.

A light image appeared within Xiao Yun's mind.

Name: Xiao Yun

Age: Seven

Status: Good

Cultivation: Ninth Duan of Dou Qi (99/100)

Technique: None

Dou Qi Attribute: Fire, Wood

Aptitude: Top-tier

Soul Power: Mortal Realm

This was Xiao Yun's cheat! A status panel that could precisely display his own condition, and Xiao Yun had a theory that this panel seemed to have semi-digitized his body.

If he relied solely on top-tier cultivation talent, reaching the Ninth Duan of Dou Qi at seven years old might be possible, but it would require the assistance of heavenly treasures to cultivate.

Yet Xiao Yun possessed no such treasures, and being able to reach the Ninth Duan of Dou Qi at seven, just one step away from breaking through to a Dou Zhe, was due not only to his top-tier cultivation talent but also the credit of this panel!

At first, Xiao Yun did not know the function of this panel and thought it could only display his own attributes, until he began to cultivate and directly broke through the first Duan of Dou Qi!

Furthermore, whenever the progress bar for his cultivation reached one hundred, he would automatically enter the next realm.

One had to know that on the Dou Qi Continent, breaking through in cultivation required not only gathering Dou Qi within the body but also using Dou Qi to break through the limits of the body in order to enter the next realm.

Taking Jia Xing Tian and Yun Shan of the Jia Ma Empire as examples, the Dou Qi within their bodies had long been full, yet they could never break through to Dou Zong simply because they could not rely on the Dou Qi within their bodies to break through those limits.

However, Xiao Yun might not have such worries; as long as his cultivation progress bar reached one hundred, he could break through directly, with no bottlenecks to speak of.

Although this cheat could not compare to those systems that allowed one to instantly dominate the heavens and earth or break through directly to Dou Di, Xiao Yun told himself that having a cheat was already something to be happy about, so why be picky?

"I will make one final push to break through to Dou Zhe today. If I can break through directly even to Dou Zhe, then perhaps this Dou Qi truly has no bottlenecks for me!" Xiao Yun opened his eyes, wanting to verify the theory in his heart and see if his breakthrough would still feel as natural as water flowing into a channel.