Treasure-Hiding Cave

After the examiner loudly announced the result, a commotion inevitably swept through the packed square.

"A Dou Zhe? This speed has far exceeded my expectations! Sigh, the cultivation progress of an unparalleled genius like Young Master Xiao Yan is beyond the comprehension of ordinary people like us."

"Heh, a Dou Zhe at ten years old! This genius, Young Master Xiao Yan, has truly brought honor to the family!"

"We're all members of the Xiao Family, so how can the gap in talent be so huge? At ten, I was only at the Third Stage of Dou Qi."

"Who knows? Perhaps Young Master Xiao Yan did some great deed and earned the blessings of the gods..."

The surrounding exclamations reached Xiao Yan's ears as he turned away from the Demonstone Stele, but they did not kindle the slightest hint of arrogance within him.

If he could enjoy something like Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid, which could increase Dou Qi cultivation speed without side effects, along with an eighth-grade medicinal pill like the Primordial Pill that strengthened one's aptitude from childhood, and the full awakening of his rich Dou Emperor Bloodline, his cultivation speed would be even more unparalleled.

For now, this was merely basic work.

Bright sunlight shone upon Xiao Yan's black robe patterned with golden lines, making it gleam brilliantly and further accentuating his sharply defined, handsome face. The girls in the square all gazed at him with admiration in their eyes, tinged with shy affection.

Even Xiao Yu, Xiao Ning's older sister, who usually found him unpleasant, had her long, fair jade-like legs trembling nonstop from sheer excitement.

"A one-star Dou Zhe at ten years old—if someone like him applied to Jia Nan Academy, he would definitely have potential beyond S-rank!"

The girls around her all knew that this older cousin's greatest goal in life was to enter Jia Nan Academy. Influenced by her over time, they all understood Jia Nan Academy's potential rating system.

Eighth-Stage Battle Qi was F-rank potential, the minimum standard for Jia Nan Academy; Ninth-Stage Battle Qi was E-rank potential; a one-star Dou Zhe was D-rank, a two-star Dou Zhe was C-rank...

And so on. The highest rank, S-rank, was a Five-Star Dou Practitioner, with the age limit set below twenty.

This showed that even Jia Nan Academy, whose foundations were no weaker than the Jia Ma Empire's number one sect, the Misty Cloud Sect, had never imagined that someone could become a Dou Zhe at the age of ten.

With Xiao Yan's talent, after cultivating for another ten years, he would certainly surpass a Five-Star Dou Practitioner by the age of twenty and break through the upper limit of Jia Nan Academy's potential rankings.

Having understood this, Xiao Mei, who was young among the girls but already possessed alluring brows and eyes, her pure and charming temperaments intertwined into the look of a budding beauty, exclaimed, "Cousin Xiao Yan's talent is actually this terrifying!"

Taking in the girls' admiring reactions, Xiao Xun'er, dressed in a green skirt and possessing a calm temperament like a blooming green lotus, refined and unworldly, pursed her cherry lips. "Brother Xiao Yan really is popular."

Once the square gradually quieted down, Xiao Zhan shouted excitedly, "My son, Xiao Yan, has the potential to become a Dou Emperor!"

That simple sentence was like a stimulant, instantly sending everyone in the square into a frenzy.

A Dou Emperor—if any small family in the Jia Ma Empire produced a Dou Emperor-level expert, then regardless of its previous limitations, its status would immediately soar.

At that point, even the Jia Ma Empire's three great families would not dare suppress it. After all, there were only two or three Dou Emperor-level experts in the entire Jia Ma Empire.

Seeing Xiao Zhan's glance, the three elders knew that he was really speaking for their benefit.

According to Xiao Family rules, family members had to pass the coming-of-age test before entering the Battle Qi Pavilion to select a cultivation method. The grade of cultivation method one could choose also depended on one's personal strength.

Only by breaking the light barrier protecting a cultivation method could one obtain it. The higher the grade, the stronger the barrier's protection.

However, Xiao Yan's talent was simply too formidable. With six years still remaining until adulthood, he had already become a Dou Zhe, far surpassing the strength requirements for passing the coming-of-age ceremony. He now needed to cultivate a method.

With such a super genius appearing in the family, the elders had to make an exception for him. Not only did they need to let Xiao Yan obtain a cultivation method ahead of time, they also needed to directly bring out the highest-grade method in the family suitable for him.

Understanding his father's intentions, Xiao Yan chatted briefly with a few familiar people before returning to his residence.

Not long afterward, Xiao Yan heard Xiao Zhan's hearty laughter.

"Those old fellows were sensible enough. They let me bring you the family's best fire-attribute cultivation method for you to practice." Xiao Zhan, who had long since tested Xiao Yan's attributes, entered the room and handed him the dark-red scroll in his hand, smiling broadly.

Xiao Yan stood and accepted the dark-red scroll, reading the words written upon it. "Flame-Refining Incineration..."

Before Xiao Yan could finish reading it, Xiao Zhan sighed. "Unfortunately, our family is too weak to provide a peerless genius like you with a better cultivation method. The best fire-attribute method collected by our Xiao Family is only Advanced Yellow Rank."

After saying that, Xiao Zhan smiled. "However, those old fellows haven't gone senile. They have already agreed to search for a Profound Tier cultivation method for you. That would not only benefit you greatly, but also the other fire-attribute members of the family."

Yet Xiao Yan shook his head. "Profound Tier cultivation methods are incredibly rare. How could one be so easily found? If that were not the case, the Jialie Family, one of Wutan City's three great families, would not have remained stuck with only a Basic Profound Rank cultivation method as its highest-grade method."

Xiao Zhan understood the reasoning, but there was nothing he could do about it. For a moment, he fell silent.

At that moment, Xiao Yan said softly, "Father, I know of a place that might have a Profound Tier cultivation method."

"You?" Xiao Zhan looked at Xiao Yan in surprise. "How do you know?"

Xiao Yan naturally did not know where any Profound Tier cultivation method was hidden. He only knew that there was a treasure-hiding cave in the Magic Beast Mountain Range, so he merely said that there might be one.

He looked around and lowered his voice further. "I once obtained a treasure map in the market. It recorded the resting place of a powerful expert."

Seeing how convincing Xiao Yan sounded, Xiao Zhan believed him somewhat and pressed, "Where is the treasure map?"

"Of course I burned it." Xiao Yan pointed at his head as though it were only natural. "Something like that is safest when kept in your mind."

Xiao Zhan smiled and nodded. This child truly was clever.

Xiao Yan had never bought any treasure map. He was merely making things up so that Xiao Zhan would take people with him to retrieve the treasure from the cave, ensuring a foolproof treasure hunt.

Besides some superficial treasures, the cave also contained a fragment of the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame map hidden within a skeleton. It was of great importance.

He immediately smiled. "Based on my judgment, that place is in the area of the Magic Beast Mountain Range near Qingshan Town."

Xiao Zhan narrowed his eyes slightly. "Qingshan Town. It isn't far, and the area of the Magic Beast Mountain Range near there isn't particularly dangerous. If we take some people to have a look, then even if there is nothing there, we won't lose much."

"There will definitely be treasure!" Xiao Yan declared decisively.

"Fine, there will definitely be treasure." Xiao Zhan smiled. Naturally, he also hoped his son could cultivate a Profound Tier method. But with his greater life experience, he knew that those treasure maps were almost always scams. This trip might only serve to let his child, who had always cultivated diligently, relax for a while.