A Rising Genius

"Dou Qi, Third Stage!"

This was the absolute lowest rank for a cultivator on the Dou Qi Continent, yet the person evaluated at this strength received no cold stares; instead, the reactions around him grew enthusiastic.

"Tch, Third Stage Dou Qi, Miss Mei'er is truly a genius..."

"Who is to say otherwise? Miss Mei'er is not even ten years old yet. Reaching Dou Practitioner before eighteen is practically set in stone..."

"Such talent is far better than that good-for-nothing son of mine. They clearly started cultivating together, yet a while ago he barely reached the second stage. It drives me to death with worry..."

Hearing the adults discussing in the distance, the smile on the young girl named Xiao Mei deepened. She bounced all the way toward one of the testing youths.

"Big Brother Yan!"

She cheerfully hugged the youth's arm and spoke with cute spoiled coquetting:

"Did Mei'er perform well or not!"

"Good, good, good. I said long ago that Mei'er is very talented in cultivation."

The youth reached out to stroke the girl's forehead, and Xiao Mei affectionately rubbed her head against his hand. But to the youth's right side, another figure dressed in a purple skirt spoke up at this moment:

"Cousin Mei'er naturally has fine talent, but coming from Big Brother Xiao Yan's mouth, it almost sounds like he is teasing my cousin."

If Xiao Mei'er was a pretty child, then the little girl called Xun Er who spoke up now was like an exquisite porcelain doll crafted from powder and jade. Between her brows, eyes, lips, and teeth, there was not a single flaw.

Hearing this, Xiao Mei also flung away Xiao Yan's hand, puffing out her little cheeks as she stared at her "Big Brother Yan":

"Sister Xun'er speaks the truth! Is Big Brother Xiao Yan bullying Mei'er?"

Seeing the two of them joining forces to "denounce" him, Xiao Yan hurriedly offered a series of pleas for mercy, attempting to change the subject:

"Ahem... Xun'er is up next. Xun'er must surely be very confident in herself."

"No matter how much confidence I have, it still cannot compare to Big Brother Xiao Yan's 'talent'."

Xiao Yan wished he could give himself a slap. Why on earth did he have to mention talent just now? However, Xun'er had always shared a good relationship with him, so he did not quite understand why she kept snapping at him today or where he had offended this little princess...

"Next, Xiao Xun'er!"

The tester's shout interrupted Xiao Yan's thoughts. The girl beside him stood up, smiled sweetly at Xiao Yan, and then stepped toward the Magic Stone Stele.

Xiao Yan wore a bewildered expression, almost thinking that the Xun'er who had just been bickering with him was an illusion.

"Dou Qi, Fifth Stage!"

As Xun'er's test result dropped, intense discussions erupted all around.

"Miss Xun'er's talent is truly enviable. The future of our Xiao Clan is truly bright..."

"There are so many geniuses in this generation. I see this as heaven's will! It is destined for our Xiao Clan to flourish greatly!"

Not only were the adults talking eagerly, but even the children undergoing the test whispered among themselves. A few slightly older ones blushed and stole glances at the girl, only to quickly look away—except for this fellow Xiao Yan.

"Xun'er is amazing!"

Hearing this completely unskillful praise from Xiao Yan, Xun'er, who had always maintained a cold and detached demeanor, instead blushed all the way to the tips of her ears. She only muttered an "en" and grabbed Xiao Yan's hand, retreating to his side. She did not dare to look directly into Xiao Yan's bright, twinkling eyes, only gripping his hand all the more tightly.

"Next, Xiao Yan!"

With this shout, the previously noisy environment suddenly fell into an eerie silence. Even the crowd couldn't help holding their breath, as if making the slightest sound would shatter something.

Xiao Yan smiled as he released Xun'er's hand, offered her a slight smile, and then strode forward. Arriving before the Magic Stone Stele, Xiao Yan pressed his palm against it.

After a brief silence, dazzling light burst from the stele:

"Dou Qi, Ninth Stage, Advanced!"

Even though they were long prepared for this result, gasps still echoed among the crowd present. The hard-maintained silence was finally broken.

"Practicing Qi at four, Ninth Stage at ten—how utterly terrifying..."

"Even in the history of our Xiao Clan, I am afraid there has never been a figure as talented as the young master..."

"You must not forget, the ninth stage is still advanced, which means he could advance to a Dou Practitioner at any moment. With such a young Dou Practitioner, as long as the young master grows up..."

"Well said! In the future, the young master will surely be able to lead our Xiao Clan in recreating the glory of the old patriarch..."

It was no wonder the crowd held the youth in such high esteem. On the Dou Qi Continent, although Dou Qi was the most elementary stage, it was also the stage that best reflected talent.

During cultivation at this stage, no external objects could be utilized. Regardless of whether you were imperial royalty or a peddler, you relied entirely on your own bit-by-bit daily and nightly cultivation. Yet it was precisely the starting point of the cultivation path. As the saying went, "All things are difficult at the start," and Dou Qi fit this reasoning perfectly; cultivation at this stage consumed the most time.

For ordinary people in this world, improving by one stage every average of two years could be considered someone capable of cultivating Dou Qi, and the shorter the time spent, the higher the talent.

Therefore, reaching the tenth stage of Dou Qi to become a Dou Practitioner took fifteen or sixteen years for an ordinary person, while spending around ten years placed one among the geniuses.

And what about Xiao Yan? He had taken no more than six years and was about to become a Dou Practitioner. It truly far exceeded the category of geniuses in ordinary people's minds, belonging instead to the ranks of monstrous prodigies.

As the last test subject, Xiao Yan's test naturally concluded here. The adults left quietly with soft sighs of exclamation, and the children dispersed as well, though every child would respectfully greet Xiao Yan.

"Mn, Cousin Xiao Ning, goodbye."

Dismissing the last clan member, Xiao Yan finally turned to the two girls who had been waiting for him all along.

"Big Brother Yan is so amazing! (/^▽^)/"

"Big Brother Xiao Yan's talent is truly astonishing. (｡･ω･｡)"

With the gunpowder smell finally gone, Xiao Yan let out a sigh of relief. The three of them left the testing grounds laughing and talking.

After parting ways with Xiao Mei at an intersection, Xiao Yan and Xun'er still had a stretch of road to walk together. Xun'er's expression and posture were obviously much livelier than before.

"Big Brother Xiao Yan, you are already at the Ninth Stage of Dou Qi. When will you be able to advance to a Dou Practitioner?"

"I have been at the Ninth Stage for several months now, and recently I will begin trying to condense a qi whirlpool."

Speaking of the topic of cultivation, Xiao Yan also turned serious. Breaking through to a Dou Practitioner was not like before, where one only needed to cultivate blindly; rather, one had to actively guide the Dou Qi within the body and successfully condense a qi whirlpool before smoothly becoming a Dou Practitioner. This process carried a considerable failure rate, and once failed, one would drop back to the Eighth Stage of Dou Qi, so he could not afford to be anything less than careful.

Xiao Xun'er sensed a hint of tension in Xiao Yan and smiled as she held his hand:

"Xun'er believes Big Brother Xiao Yan will definitely succeed on the first try."

The afternoon breeze swept past, rustling the hair of the two figures. The usually detached Xiao Yan looked at Xun'er's smiling face and suddenly felt something strike his chest, rendering him momentarily speechless.

"Big Brother Xiao Yan must be sure to tell Xun'er first after advancing to a Dou Practitioner. Xun'er has a gift for you... Huh? Big Brother Xiao Yan?"

Abruptly snapped out of his daze by Xun'er's words, Xiao Yan suddenly recovered and hastily dropped the excuse of "I still need to cultivate," hurrying away. He left behind a bewildered girl standing in place, not understanding which way the wind was blowing for her Big Brother Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan ran all the way back to his quarters, gulped down several large mouthfuls of cold water to gradually steady his breathing, and couldn't help muttering to himself:

"What is wrong with me? This bit of exertion shouldn't do this. What was that strange feeling just now..."

Xiao Yan ultimately decided he must be too nervous about becoming a Dou Practitioner, so he resolved to rest for a while before beginning cultivation. Moreover, he needed to prepare for a more important plan after dinner.

After finishing dinner, Xiao Yan arrived at another building—the residence of Xiao Yan's father and patriarch of the Xiao Clan, Xiao Zhan.

Stepping through the main gate, Xiao Yan did not see anyone. Just as he was about to walk further inside, an arm lunged from the shadows behind the door, fiercely clamping around Xiao Yan's neck and hoisting him straight off the ground.

"Yo, little Yanzi, you really showed off in a big way again today, hahaha..."

Hearing that it was his stupid second brother—in fact, there was no need to even listen, the only one who would treat him like this was this fellow—Xiao Yan abandoned his struggle. After all, his second brother had become a Dou Practitioner months ago, and he was no match for him. His only recourse was to shout for help at the top of his lungs:

"Big Brother, save me! Control him!"

At this moment, a person whose appearance bore a slight resemblance to Xiao Yan's, but carried a more scholarly air, walked out from the inner room. It was precisely Xiao Yan's eldest brother, Xiao Ding, who could not help sighing:

"Xiao Li, how many times must I tell you? Stop always bullying the third brother."

The man clamping down on Xiao Yan relaxed his grip slightly, though he did not let go entirely:

"Big Brother, this fellow is already at the Ninth Stage and will catch up to me in a little while. If I don't bully him now, I won't have the chance later."

Xiao Yan immediately cried out:

"Good to know! Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, don't bully... Ow ow ow, it hurts!..."

After bickering and wrestling for a while, the three finally quieted down. Xiao Yan asked:

"Big Brother, I originally wanted to have Father call you both over, but I didn't expect you to be here already. Did Big Brother guess it again?"

"Mn?" Xiao Ding frowned, but his expression immediately relaxed. "It seems you are the one, Third Brother, who is going to condense a qi whirlpool and came to us to learn from our experience."

"Hehe, you can't escape Big Brother's predictions..."

"What! Really this fast!"

Xiao Li, standing beside them, immediately let out a howling wail, and Xiao Ding had to exert himself once more to pacify the two of them.

"However, Third Brother, you guessed wrong. Second Brother and I came to see Father for another matter."

"Oh? That is—"

"Squeak—"

The opening of the door interrupted the brothers' conversation. They saw a middle-aged man stride in, his bearing majestic yet tinged with a touch of noble grace, his face unable to suppress a broad smile. It was none other than Xiao Zhan.

The three brothers stood up to pay their respects. Xiao Zhan waved a hand to signal the three to sit while changing into casual robes and speaking to them with high spirits:

"Haha, Yan'er has won another slice of face for your old man. Today at the clan meeting, your father had to listen to things about Yan'er's test over and over again, and afterward, I demanded a bunch of things for Yan'er. As for the faces of those three old fogies—don't even ask..."

The three brothers naturally knew who the three old fogies in Xiao Zhan's mouth were, but with such matters between adults, how could three juniors comment? They could only sit aside and accompany him with forced smiles.

After finally waiting for Xiao Zhan to finish recounting his "battle achievements" with satisfaction, he asked the three of them:

"Why did the three of you come over together? Is there something the matter?"

Xiao Ding took up the conversation:

"Father, Third Brother is preparing to condense his Dou Qi whirlpool!"