Family Testing

Dou Qi Continent.

Jia Ma Empire.

Wutan City, Xiao Clan.

"Dou Zhi Li, Third Duan!"

Looking at the five striking characters on the Black Stone Stele, Xiao Yan wore a calm and indifferent expression.

"Three years! Ever since breaking through to Dou Zhe three years ago, his Dou Qi had always inexplicably vanished. No matter how hard he tried to cultivate, his body was like a leaking bellows—taking in little, venting much, and now he was left with a pitiful Third Duan Dou Qi!"

Over these three years, Xiao Yan had suffered all kinds of ridicule and sarcasm. The very people who used to suck up to him the most had instead become the main force mocking him. Perhaps it was because they had licked his boots too fiercely back then, so when he fell from his pedestal, they stomped on him even harder.

"Xiao Yan! Dou Zhi Li: Third Duan! Grade: Low!"

The tester announced Xiao Yan's test results with a trace of sympathy. He had been responsible for testing Xiao Yan's Dou Qi for over a dozen years, so he naturally felt deeply about Xiao Yan's plight. Xiao Yan had begun cultivating Dou Qi at age three, and then advanced in a triumphant surge all the way: Fifth Duan Dou Qi at five, Seventh Duan Dou Qi at seven, Ninth Duan Dou Qi at nine, and at ten he condensed a Dou Qi Vortex to become a Dou Zhe.

Such terrifying cultivation talent was simply unprecedented. Even across the entire Dou Qi Continent, it was hard to find a cultivation genius comparable to Xiao Yan. Unfortunately, the higher one stood, the harder one fell. Just as everyone in the Xiao Clan was celebrating Xiao Yan becoming a Dou Zhe, they learned that the Dou Qi Vortex in his body had inexplicably vanished, and his body was as though someone had poked a hole in it, constantly leaking Qi. In a mere three years' time, his Dou Qi had dropped to only the third Duan, and there was no telling if it would continue leaking further.

As the tester's voice faded, waves of clamorous noise erupted across the huge training ground.

"Hahaha! This trash really only has Third Duan Dou Qi! I truly don't know how he cultivates; while everyone else gets higher the more they cultivate, he gets lower!"

"Don't talk nonsense! He's a famous genius of Wutan City, after all!"

"A genius! More like good-for-nothing trash! Have you ever seen any genius who is fourteen years old and still only at Third Duan Dou Qi?"

"No matter what, he used to be glorious in the past! He became a Dou Zhe at age ten, you know!"

"That's ancient history! He probably did something bad, angered the gods, and they took back his cultivation talent while also kicking him in the backside to boot, puncturing him and making him leak. Hahaha!"

Hearing the jeers from the people below the stage, Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes slightly, slowly turned around, and gazed at the crowd below.

Pinpointed by Xiao Yan's cold and calm gaze, they felt as though they were being stared at by a magical beast. The crowd below felt a chill in their hearts, instantly falling silent and stopping their chatter while pulling their heads into their collars, terrified of being seen by Xiao Yan.

"Huh? Am I that scary? Before, you feared me because of my strength; what is it for now?"

Seeing this group of people who had been acting bold unable to withstand even a single glance from him, Xiao Yan shook his head helplessly, too lazy to bother with them anymore, and walked straight through the crowd to the end of the line.

Seeing that Xiao Yan had already left, those in the crowd finally dared to raise their heads.

Spitting out a mouthful of saliva to show their disdain, they then resumed their mockery.

"Xiao Yan gege, congratulations, your Dou Qi is now only at the third Duan." Xiao Xun'er covered her mouth and chuckled softly.

Gently flicking Xun'er's dainty little nose, a smile finally appeared on Xiao Yan's calm little face.

"How dare you make fun of your Xiao Yan gege!"

The young men on the training ground watched this familiar scene with green-eyed jealousy.

"It's starting again! It's starting again! Dog food is falling from the sky once more!"

"Why?! This trash actually managed to win the heart of Miss Xun'er. Why isn't it me?! I'm at the sixth Duan of Dou Qi!"

"Biao-ge Xiao Ning, I really want to teach this guy a lesson again! For three years, this fellow's Dou Qi drops every single time, and now it's only left at Third Duan Dou Qi, no different from trash. Yet he still dares to lay a hand on Miss Xun'er—Miss Xun'er is someone only Biao-ge Xiao Ning is worthy of."

"Hmph! It looks like the last lesson wasn't enough! But he won't be arrogant for much longer. My grandfather and the other two elders have already pressured the Patriarch to drive him out of the family core. Once he gets chased out... I have plenty of ways to fix him," Xiao Ning said with a ferocious and vicious expression.

"Next, Xiao Mei!" The tester's voice rang out once more.

The moment the tester's voice fell, a young girl quickly ran out from the crowd. With the appearance of this girl, the discussions in the training ground gradually subsided, and everyone's gazes began to shift toward her.

The girl wore a light-red dress, a proud smile blooming upon her youthful little face. Her innocence was intermingled with a hint of allure, and her entire body radiated an irresistible temptation. Walking briskly to the Black Stone Stele, she raised her fair little hand to touch the stone stele, called upon the Dou Qi within her body to inject it inside, and then slowly closed her eyes...

"Xiao Yan gege, what Duan do you think her Dou Qi will be?" Xiao Xun'er asked softly.

"Probably the sixth Duan, I suppose!" Xiao Yan smiled indifferently.

Just as Xiao Yan finished speaking, the Black Stone Stele lit up with a brilliant glow, and five shining characters emerged upon it.

→

"Dou Qi: Sixth Duan!"

"Xiao Mei! Dou Qi: Sixth Duan! Grade: Intermediate!" The tester announced Xiao Mei's test results.

"As expected of a core elite within the clan, Miss Xiao Mei reached the sixth Duan of Dou Qi at such a young age!"

"I'm afraid she'll reach the seventh Duan of Dou Qi by next year's test! Her cultivation talent is truly not bad!"

Hearing the chorus of praise for her across the training ground, Xiao Mei wore a satisfied smile on her little face. However, when she saw Xiao Yan chatting and laughing with Xiao Xun'er, her brows furrowed slightly. Back then, she had also greatly envied Xiao Yan's cultivation talent and frequently sought him out to play. Yet Xiao Yan seemed to have eyes only for Xiao Xun'er and completely ignored her, which had given birth to a sense of jealousy in Xiao Mei at the time.

"I used to think you were something amazing; I never expected that after losing your cultivation talent, you'd turn into a spineless wimp who only knows how to live off a woman. Truly disgusting!" Xiao Mei's face was filled with utter contempt.

"Xiao Yan gege! She seems to harbor prejudice against Xiao Yan gege, oh." Xiao Mei's undisguised expression of scorn was caught by Xun'er.

"It's nothing! People's preconceptions are like a massive mountain—no matter how hard you try, you can never move them away." Facing Xiao Mei's disdain, Xiao Yan did not care at all. Because he knew what kind of person she was, he had never intended to associate deeply with her in the past, but he hadn't expected her to harbor a grudge against him because of it.

"Next, Xiao Xun'er!"

"Xun'er, it's your turn," Xiao Yan said indifferently.

"Hehe! Watch how Xun'er vents your anger for you," Xun'er said playfully.

As the tester's voice rang out, the crowd did not burst into a clamor as before; instead, they grew somewhat quiet.

Xiao Xun'er was a young girl dressed in a light cyan dress who slowly walked toward the Black Stone Stele. She possessed a pretty and playful face, and those bright eyes seemed capable of piercing through one's heart. A noble and inviolable temperament flowed naturally across her face, causing people to be captivated by her. Even Xiao Mei from before was far inferior by comparison.

Xiao Xun'er slowly walked up to the testing Magic Stone Stele, raised her slightly tender, fair palm, and gently touched the stele.

The Magic Stone Stele only remained silent for a moment before a blinding light suddenly burst forth.

"Xiao Xun'er! Dou Qi: Stage Eight! Grade: Advanced!"

Gazing at the five large characters on the Black Stone Stele, the entire crowd fell into a dead silence.

"To actually reach Stage Eight Dou Qi, and Miss Xun'er is only fourteen years old! And she's so pretty..."

"What a pity, such a fine piece of cabbage was actually rooted up by a pig. How could that trash Xiao Yan be worthy of an peerless genius like Xun'er!"

"I've worked this hard, yet I haven't seen her cultivate much; why is her cultivation still higher than mine?" Xiao Mei gazed at the somewhat blinding five large characters on the stele, a trace of jealousy flashing across her cheek.

"Miss Xun'er has reached Stage Eight Dou Qi at such a young age; her cultivation talent is truly astonishing!" the middle-aged tester said flatteringly.

"Hehe, what does this amount to? You must know that Brother Xiao Yan was a Dou Zhe at ten years old!" Facing the tester's flattery, Xiao Xun'er brought up Xiao Yan instead.

"Him? Sigh! What a pity!" The tester glanced toward Xiao Yan's position and said regretfully.

"I believe Brother Xiao Yan will return to his peak sooner or later, and that day doesn't seem to be very far away."

Xiao Xun'er naturally knew that Xiao Yan's cultivation talent had not only failed to disappear, but instead grew even more terrifying as he aged. No longer paying attention to other people's words, she quietly turned around and walked toward that young man at the very back of the crowd.

"Little girl! Not bad! You've even reached Stage Eight Dou Qi! But with your talent, you should be able to reach an even higher realm, right? Were you slacking off?" Watching Xun'er walk toward him, Xiao Yan said jokingly.

"No way! But Xun'er did suppress her cultivation. If the body's physical strength isn't sufficient and the foundation isn't laid well, entering the Dou Zhe realm too early will affect future development. Knowing back then that Brother Xiao Yan entered the Dou Zhe realm at ten years old truly worried Xun'er! Fortunately, Brother Xiao Yan..."

"You girl, you're finding ways to comfort me again! Rest assured, your Brother Xiao Yan isn't that fragile." Stroking Xun'er's fine hair, Xiao Yan said with a smile.

"Xun'er isn't comforting Brother Xiao Yan; this is true!" Seeing that Xiao Yan didn't believe her, Xun'er immediately grew anxious.

"Alright! I believe you. Is that fine?" Pinching Xun'er's tender, white little face, Xiao Yan said with a smile.

Xiao Xun'er's cultivation talent was on par with Xiao Yan's, coupled with a Divine-Grade Bloodline. Reaching Stage Eight Dou Qi only when nearly fourteen was clearly unreasonable. You must know that Nalan Yanran had already reached the Dou Zhe realm by this time.

"Then let's go back! I'm going to make delicious food for Brother Xiao Yan." Seeing that Xiao Yan believed her, Xun'er smiled and linked her arm through Xiao Yan's, saying with a skip and a smile.

"Great! Xun'er's cooking is the best!" Xiao Yan praised. Immediately, a wave of pride welled up in his heart; eating food made by Xun'er was a treatment that not even Gu Yuan had!