System Binding: Xiao Yan: Am I Hijacking Myself? Interesting!

In the blink of an eye, time had brought them to the present.

"Dou Zhi Qi: Ninth Stage! Rank: High!"

The middle-aged man's cry of surprise snapped Xiao Yan out of his memories. Standing beside the magic-testing stone monument, he stared at the information appearing on it. Before the disbelief on his face could fade, he loudly announced the result.

The courtyard erupted.

"Ninth Stage Dou Zhi Qi? She actually reached the ninth stage—terrifying!"

"The number one among the younger generation of the Lineage will probably be Miss Xun'er."

"Thirteen years old and already at the Ninth Stage of Dou Zhi Qi. Even in all of Wutan City, she would be considered top-tier. Even Xiao Mei and Xiao Ning can't compare."

One clansman sighed, lowering his voice. "What a pity. If something hadn't happened to Young Master Xiao Yan, what heights would the Xiao Clan have reached?"

No one answered.

Xiao Xun'er stood beside the stone monument, her calm little face showing no joy at any praise or flattery.

To her, those compliments were nothing more than an irrelevant breeze.

She quietly turned around and, beneath everyone's burning gazes, slowly walked toward the boy at the very back of the crowd.

"Brother Xiao Yan, what do you think?"

She raised her face, and a smile blossomed on her lovely features, so elegant that every girl nearby felt a pang of jealousy.

Xiao Yan smiled and reached out to pat Xun'er's little head. The gesture was just like it had been years ago, natural and intimate.

To the boys of the Xiao Clan, this scene was like a red-hot branding iron pressed against their hearts.

Envy, jealousy, madness—every emotion churned in their chests, burning their eyes red.

Why? Why was Miss Xun'er, the goddess they could only admire from afar, so close to a piece of trash?

If Miss Xun'er could smile at them like that too, it would be worth it even if they died right now.

Xiao Yan swept his gaze over those boys.

The jealousy in their eyes was practically overflowing. If they had not still been in the Xiao Clan, they would likely have already swarmed him and torn him apart.

An inexplicable sense of delight rose in his heart. He took Xiao Xun'er's hand. "Come on. Let's talk somewhere else."

The tips of Xiao Xun'er's ears reddened slightly, but she did not resist, allowing him to lead her away.

Behind them, jealous wails rose and fell one after another.

On the path up the back mountain, Xiao Yan held Xiao Xun'er's hand as they walked at an unhurried pace.

The wild grass on both sides rustled in the wind, and from time to time, birds startled from the bushes and flapped into the sky.

Xiao Xun'er tilted her head to look at Xiao Yan's profile. Her eyes, always tranquil as water, were now filled with bright, unmistakable delight.

Feeling somewhat puzzled, she softly asked, "Brother Xiao Yan seems to be in a very good mood. Did something good happen?"

She remembered when she was eleven.

That was the year Xiao Yan's Dou Zhi Qi began to regress. He had fallen all the way from an Eight-Star Dou Practitioner, like a kite with its string cut, impossible to stop.

She had thought he would become despondent, become depressed, and lock himself in his room, unwilling to see anyone.

After all, how could an eleven-year-old child bear the gap between being a genius admired by all and becoming trash everyone pitied?

But Xiao Yan had not.

He remained exactly the same as before. He cultivated as usual, trained his body as usual, and shut himself in the study to read as usual.

He had even worked harder than before, as if that lost Dou Zhi Qi had never existed.

Xiao Yan was still the same now.

Seeing his smile, Xiao Xun'er felt relieved, yet a trace of heartache also welled up within her.

She had personally watched Xiao Yan cultivate day after day, from dawn to dusk, refusing to stop even when sweat soaked through the back of his clothes.

She did not understand why heaven was so unfair, making Brother Xiao Yan endure all this.

How she wished she could summon a few alchemists from the Ancient Clan and have them properly examine Brother Xiao Yan.

But she had a mission to fulfill, and the elders of her clan had eyes and ears everywhere.

If they discovered that she had developed other feelings for Brother Xiao Yan, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Of course." Xiao Yan turned to her, a smile spreading across his face. "Isn't it a good thing that Xun'er broke through to the Ninth Stage of Dou Zhi Qi?"

Xiao Xun'er pursed her lips. "If Brother Xiao Yan doesn't want to tell me, then don't. Why make excuses?"

"I'm not lying." Xiao Yan smiled faintly, his tone carrying a hint of sincerity.

Xiao Xun'er did not press him further.

The two followed the familiar path to the back mountain and found the bluestone, warm from the sunlight. Just as they had when they were children, they sat down side by side.

A mountain breeze drifted in from afar, carrying the fresh scent of grass and trees.

At the edge of their vision, layer upon layer of mountains appeared and vanished within the thin mist, like an ink-wash painting rinsed clean by water.

Xiao Xun'er sat quietly for a while before finally speaking. "Brother Xiao Yan, actually..."

She wanted to say that she could forcibly summon a few alchemists to examine Xiao Yan.

It was just that the price would be too great—she might have to return to the clan ahead of schedule.

She had made no progress in the Xiao Clan over these years, and the elders of her clan had long been dissatisfied.

If she forcibly summoned people now, she would have to leave.

Before the words could leave her mouth, Xiao Yan raised a hand to stop her.

"Xun'er, do you believe in me?"

Xiao Xun'er froze for a moment. She did not understand what he meant, but she still nodded. "Xun'er naturally believes in Brother Xiao Yan."

Xiao Yan's gaze settled on the distance, where mountains rose and fell and clouds gathered and dispersed.

Something stirred in his eyes. It was not the reckless passion common to young men, but a certainty forged through countless days and nights.

"Xun'er, I know you have a background. You aren't from Wutan City, and you aren't even from the Jia Ma Empire."

His voice was not loud, but every word struck with force. "But so what?"

He turned, and his gaze met Xiao Xun'er's eyes directly.

"Give me ten years. At most ten years, and I, Xiao Yan, will possess the strength to break through everything. When that time comes, I will surely go to the force behind you and ask for your hand in marriage."

At that moment, something subtle changed in his bearing.

It was not the arrogance of a youth who did not know the immensity of heaven and earth. It was like a hidden dragon that had lain dormant in the abyss for far too long, finally awaiting the moment to stir the winds and overturn the clouds.

Three years of silence had not been decline, but gathering strength. Three years of endurance had not been resignation, but waiting.

He was like a sharp sword suppressed within its sheath. The world saw only the dust covering the sheath, unaware that its blade had never rusted. Once it was drawn, its cold gleam could illuminate the entire sky.

"Ask for my hand in marriage!" Xiao Xun'er's cheeks instantly flushed scarlet, the redness spreading all the way to her ears. "Brother Xiao Yan, why are you saying something like that?!"

She hurriedly got up and ran away. After running a few steps, she could not help looking back once, then vanished deep into the forest like a startled rabbit.

Of course she believed in Brother Xiao Yan.

But asking for her hand in marriage—was he confessing his feelings to her?

Xiao Yan watched her disappearing figure, the corner of his mouth curling up as he lay back on the bluestone.

The sky was a clear, pure blue, with a few wisps of thin cloud drifting lazily by.

Gazing at that boundless azure, he silently murmured to himself, The time is almost here.

[Ding, a suitable host has been detected. Binding the Hijacking System—]

A cold mechanical voice suddenly rang out in his mind.

Xiao Yan paused slightly, sat up, and looked around.

The mountain breeze blew past, leaves rustled, birds chirped, and everything was as usual.

He shook his head, thinking it was an illusion caused by exhaustion over the past few days.

[Hijacking System binding successful. Please promptly hijack the opportunities of protagonist Xiao Yan.]

Xiao Yan stood frozen.

On the first day after he had transmigrated, he had silently called out for a system in his heart several times, but there had been no response at all.

He had thought he was one of those transmigrators without a system cheat, so he had honestly relied on his own efforts and made his way step by step to this day.

But now, at the critical moment when he was fifteen and Yao Lao was about to awaken, the system had arrived?

And what did it mean by "hijack the opportunities of protagonist Xiao Yan"?

Wasn't he Xiao Yan?

Could this system have a bug?

[Ding, it has been detected that the host has already hijacked many of Xiao Yan's opportunities—Bone Flame Ring, Yao Lao, Xiao Xun'er, and more.]

[Super critical-hit reward obtained: Cultivation techniques: Myriad-Flame Divine Physique, Heaven-Burning Divine Art, top-tier divine flame—Undying Divine Flame Seed.]

Xiao Yan was left somewhat dazed by the string of rewards.

Based on his experience of reading countless webnovels in his previous life, the basic logic of this Hijacking System should be this: the system bound itself to a host, the host hijacked the opportunities of protagonist Xiao Yan, and the system issued rewards according to the value of those hijacked opportunities.

But he himself was Xiao Yan. The system had classified his normal experiences as "hijacking," then handed him critical-hit rewards.

There were benefits to not being smart.

Xiao Yan's lips slowly curled upward as he silently said in his heart, System, claim the rewards.