First Entry into the Martial Dao Space

Elsewhere, after buying what he needed, Xiao Yan turned into an empty Dark Alley. After confirming that no prying eyes were watching, he neatly removed his black robe, folded it, and stored it in the Bone Flame Ring.

Moonlight spilled like water across the bluestone road. Stepping through that cool, lonely glow, he unhurriedly returned to the Xiao Clan.

The moment he pushed open his door, Xiao Yan stopped in his tracks.

A middle-aged man sat upright in a wooden chair beside the table. His gray robes were luxurious, and even at rest, he carried an imposing air of authority. The pair of thick brows on his face added a touch of boldness.

He had been waiting for an unknown length of time. The tea in front of him had long gone cold, yet he had not taken a single sip.

The current clan head of the Xiao Clan, Xiao Yan's father, a Five-Star Great Dou Master—Xiao Zhan.

"Yan'er, why are you back so late?" Xiao Zhan raised his head, his brows knitting slightly. What lay within those furrows was not reproach, but concern—deep, silent concern unique to a father.

"I lost track of time while cultivating in the back mountain." Xiao Yan scratched his head, an embarrassed smile appearing on his face. "I accidentally fell asleep while soaking in the hot spring."

As he spoke, he walked over and sat at the table. Looking at his father's face, he asked, "Father, why are you still in my room so late? Aren't you going to rest?"

Xiao Zhan did not answer immediately.

He looked at Xiao Yan, a trace of reluctance flashing through his eyes. His lips parted, then closed again, as if weighing his words—or hesitating over whether he should say them at all.

The candle flame in the room flickered, casting his shadow onto the wall, making it swell and shrink.

"Yan'er, I have something to tell you." He finally spoke, his voice low.

The moment Xiao Yan saw his father's expression and those eyes, he understood.

He was fifteen years old. In another year, it would be his coming-of-age ceremony.

According to clan rules, if one's Dou Zhi Qi failed to reach Seven-Stage Dou Zhi Qi by the coming-of-age ceremony, one would lose the qualification to enter the Dou Qi Pavilion and seek a cultivation technique. Instead, one would be assigned to one of the clan's businesses to manage trivial worldly affairs unrelated to cultivation.

Those were the clan rules. Even if his father was the clan head, he could not change them.

It seemed those elders had pressured his father again.

A faint sneer rose in Xiao Yan's heart, but his expression remained unchanged. He simply looked quietly at Xiao Zhan and waited for him to continue.

After deliberating over it again and again, Xiao Zhan finally said, "Yan'er, I'm sorry."

When those five words left his mouth, his voice carried a dull ache, like a blunt knife cutting flesh—no blood, yet the pain was real.

"If, one year from now, your Dou Zhi Qi still has not reached Seven-Stage Dou Zhi Qi, Father can only painfully assign you to one of the clan's businesses."

Xiao Zhan lowered his eyes, not daring to look at his son's expression. "This clan is not ruled by Father alone. Those old fellows are always waiting for Father to make a mistake..."

The candle flame flickered again.

The room was so quiet that the faint crackling of the burning wick could be heard.

"Father, I understand." Xiao Yan's voice was so calm that it did not sound like that of a fifteen-year-old boy. "If my strength cannot recover to Seven-Stage Dou Zhi Qi, then I will request to leave myself."

Xiao Zhan abruptly raised his head, a flash of shock appearing in his eyes.

His mouth opened as if he wanted to say something, but Xiao Yan's gaze stopped the words before they could come out.

Those golden-red eyes were calm as water. There was no resentment, no unwillingness—only a certainty he had never seen in his son before, like someone who already knew the answer listening to another person recount a story he had long understood.

Xiao Yan did not tell his father the truth.

Nalan Yanran would arrive tomorrow. Tomorrow, he would make all of Wutan City remember his name.

Xiao Zhan let out a soft sigh, rose to his feet, walked before Xiao Yan, and lifted a hand to pat his shoulder. The warmth of his palm seeped through the fabric, heavy and solid like a mountain.

Naturally, he did not believe Xiao Yan could leap from Three-Level Dou Zhi Qi back to Seven-Stage Dou Zhi Qi within a year.

He knew this child's condition better than anyone.

Three years had passed. They had invited countless people and tried countless methods, yet not a single one had worked.

He simply could not bear to expose it, could not bear to say the words, "You have no hope left," in front of his son.

"It is getting late. Rest early." Xiao Zhan withdrew his hand, his voice returning to its usual steadiness. "There will be honored guests at the clan tomorrow. Don't disgrace yourself."

"Alright."

Xiao Yan nodded and watched his father leave the room.

Xiao Zhan's back cast a long shadow in the candlelight. The folds of his gray robe revealed a touch of exhaustion amid the shifting light and shadow.

His figure paused at the doorway for a moment, as though he was hesitating over whether to turn back. In the end, he still stepped out and vanished into the night.

The door closed softly.

Xiao Yan withdrew his gaze, sat cross-legged on the bed, and slowly closed his eyes. His breathing gradually evened out. He appeared to enter a cultivation state, but in truth, he was connecting with the system in the depths of his mind.

"System, how much time can one First-Order Magic Core exchange for?"

[A First-Order Magic Core can be exchanged for one week of time.]

The cold mechanical voice echoed in his mind, devoid of emotion, carrying only the merciless precision of numbers.

"One week..." Xiao Yan murmured inwardly, then asked, "What about a Second-Order Magic Core?"

[A Second-Order Magic Core can be exchanged for one month of time. A third-order Magic Core can be exchanged for three months of time. A Fourth-Tier Magic Core can be exchanged for half a year of time. The exchangeable time for higher-grade Magic Cores can only be viewed after the host obtains them.]

Xiao Yan did not hesitate. "System, exchange the Swallowwood Fox's First-Order Magic Core and all six Second-Order Magic Cores."

[All exchanged. Time available for the host to enter the Martial Dao Space: six months and seven days.]

"Enter the Martial Dao Space."

The instant the command was issued, Xiao Yan felt as if an invisible hand had pulled him out of his body.

His consciousness separated from his flesh, turning into a soul body that fell into a vast void.

His physical body remained on the bed, breathing steadily as it entered the system-managed state.

Inside the Martial Dao Space.

Xiao Yan's soul body steadied itself and looked around.

There was nothing but darkness—no sky, no ground, no light, no sound.

The void stretched infinitely in every direction, cold and silent, like the chaos before the birth of the universe.

At the very center of that emptiness, a figure of light silently condensed into form.

That shadow was identical to Xiao Yan—the same height, the same outline, the same features. Yet its eyes were hollow and lifeless, like two stagnant pools without the slightest gleam of emotion.

A Martial Dao Projection, a creation specifically used to guide the cultivation of Dou Techniques and cultivation arts.

The moment the projection appeared, a translucent panel unfolded before Xiao Yan. It glowed with a faint blue light, casting a hazy halo through the surrounding darkness.

[Cultivator: Xiao Yan]

[Cultivation Art: Heaven-Burning Divine Art]

[Dou Techniques: Suction Palm, Eight Extremes Collapse, Lingxi Sword Fingers, Five-Flame Heaven-Burning Seal, Flame-Congealing Sword Art, Explosive Step, Flame Burst Fist, various Yellow Tier Dou Techniques (including low-tier through high-tier)]

[Note: Only Dou Techniques that significantly enhance combat power are displayed above. Yellow Tier high-tier and below are not displayed.]