A Youth Leaves Wu Tan, One Day Ascends the Dragon Gate!

The Xiao Household's coming-of-age ceremony was tedious, yet carried a certain sense of solemnity.

After several steps—scattering incense, donning flower garlands, and reading from bamboo slips to announce it to the heavens—the ritual was considered complete.

Of course, Xiao Dongchen had no mood to watch those sixteen-year-old youths being put through the motions. He was busy figuring out how to deal with Xun'er's questioning.

"Brother Chen, would you like to explain what 'thinking of someone day and night' means?"

Xun'er had her arms behind her back, the corners of her eyes curved into crescents. Her bright, watery eyes seemed full of curiosity.

"Uh, well..."

After hemming and hawing for a while, Xiao Dongchen still chose to play dumb. For Xun'er, who was usually so elegant and composed, to press him like this, she was clearly genuinely angry.

"Look, Xiao Yan!"

Fortunately, it was Xiao Yan's turn to take the stage just then, so he promptly used the art of changing the subject!

"Hmph."

Xun'er shot Xiao Dongchen a light glare and snorted irritably before turning her gaze toward the stone platform.

I'll let you off this time. If you go chasing after other girls again, you'll regret it!

Below the platform, Xiao Yan was brimming with spirit. The countless eyes fixed on him did not affect his state of mind in the slightest. After several months of Yao Lao's instruction, his horizons had expanded beyond measure!

Step by step, he climbed the stairs, his expression calm and unruffled, carrying an air that seemed detached from the world.

The one presiding over the ceremony was Second Elder Xiao Ying. Ever since Xiao Yan had become a Dou Zhe in a single day, he had begun to take the clan leader's son seriously again. Watching the youth walk onto the platform with such composure, his eyes as still as an ancient well, he could not help sighing inwardly at the boy's extraordinary bearing.

He went to the side and picked up several items needed for the ceremony. His cheek twitched slightly before he walked over.

About a quarter of an hour later, the ceremony was finally complete. Xiao Ying wiped away his sweat, then a sharp glint flashed through his eyes as he announced, "The post-ceremony retest begins!"

At those words, everyone in the guest seats focused their attention, their gazes filled with curiosity and anticipation as they stared at the testing stele and the youth beside it.

After all, going from Three-Section Dou Qi to a Dou Zhe in a single day was practically a miracle!

Though the rumors were most likely true, only witnessing it with their own eyes today would make the trip worthwhile!

"Are they all here to see me? Interesting."

The corners of Xiao Yan's lips curved faintly upward. Ignoring everyone's stares, he calmly walked toward the black stone stele.

"Only after breaking the shackles of old does one know who one truly is!"

As he walked, Xiao Yan seemed to gain an insight. He suddenly stopped and sat cross-legged. Dou Qi from the surroundings surged toward him like a raging river, and in the next instant, the Five-Star Dou Zhe barrier that had blocked him for nearly half a month shattered with a crash!

When he opened his eyes again, a faint glimmer flashed through them. He could not help laughing at himself. After glancing around, however, he froze.

Second Elder Xiao Ying stood right beside him. Seeing the unmistakable signs of a breakthrough, he was completely petrified.

He had broken through just by taking a few steps?

Had this little fellow become such a monster already?

Everyone else watching was equally stunned. Breaking through on the spot was far too flashy!

Faced with all those astonished looks, Xiao Yan did not care much. He rose calmly to his feet and slowly pressed his palm against the stele...

"Xiao Yan became a Dou Zhe again?"

Watching Xiao Yan undergo his level assessment, Xiao Yu clicked her tongue in amazement from the elevated platform and tilted her head toward Xiao Ning.

She had only returned from the academy two days ago. Xiao Dongchen had occupied all her thoughts, and she had not paid much attention to this genius who had suddenly fallen from grace three years ago.

Now that the genius had returned in full glory, she was naturally enjoying the show!

Faced with his sister's question, Xiao Ning nodded bitterly, his hand quietly clenching into a fist. "That's right. It was entirely because of that person's help. Otherwise, how could that trash possibly turn things around so easily!"

Originally, after Xiao Yan's fall from genius status, he, the Great Elder's grandson, had enjoyed all the limelight. With Nine-Section Dou Qi, a crowd of lackeys around him, and Xiao Mei circling him every day, he had lived freely and happily in Wu Tan City.

Who could have expected that everything would change just a few months ago?

Many of those fence-sitters had chosen to wait and see, while Xiao Mei often clung to Xiao Yan. Aside from a few loyal followers, Xiao Ning had become a lonely figure, no longer carrying his former swagger.

How could he not hate that?

"It makes sense if it was him."

Xiao Yu nodded, her beautiful eyes immediately lighting up.

"Sis, you need to work harder!"

"If the two of you get together, then the Qi-Gathering Powder..."

Xiao Ning muttered as he stared at the black-robed youth on the stone platform, his face written all over with reluctance.

"What nonsense are you talking about!"

Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Xiao Yu instantly flared up. Biting her red lips, she shot Xiao Ning a blushing glare, then turned away, her chest rising and falling unevenly.

I want that too, but...

Before she could lecture him further, Xiao Ning's face suddenly stiffened, and an incredulous cry burst from his mouth.

"Huh?"

Puzzled, Xiao Yu followed his line of sight. Atop the high stone platform, the enormous black stone stele shone with brilliant golden light, and four bold characters appeared with perfect clarity.

"Dou Zhe—Six Stars!"

Silence. The entire venue fell silent in an instant!

"Whoa!"

Then came a wave of disbelieving cries.

The representatives of the various major factions in the guest seats stared at the glowing golden words, all falling into prolonged silence.

They had come to confirm whether Xiao Yan had broken through to Dou Zhe. Clearly, the result before them had far exceeded their expectations.

Breaking through to Dou Zhe was one thing, but jumping six stars in three months? What kind of divine cultivation speed was that?

Terrifying indeed!

"If he keeps cultivating at this speed, then in less than a few decades... the Xiao Household may produce a legendary Dou Zong expert!"

Everyone in the guest seats sucked in a breath of cold air. They exchanged glances, the same thought inexplicably arising in their hearts.

That was a Dou Zong expert!

One had to know that throughout the entire Jia Ma Empire, there was not even a Dou Zong publicly known to exist. Among the ten strongest experts, the highest were merely at the Dou Emperor realm, yet even they could stir the winds and clouds of the empire!

If Xiao Yan knew what they were thinking, he would definitely scoff. Through his teacher, he had learned that this continent possessed peak-level beings known as Dou Sheng, as well as the legendary, supreme Dou Di!

Those were the heights he intended to climb!

On the main seat of the elevated platform, Xiao Zhan looked at the golden words and felt utterly satisfied, his heart swelling with pride. Looking at the youth in the arena, he smiled proudly. "As expected of my, Xiao Zhan's, son. He truly stands head and shoulders above the rest!"

"Clan Leader Xiao, congratulations! At Young Master Xiao Yan's cultivation speed, the Xiao Household's rise to become one of the empire's peak clans is just around the corner!"

Beside him, Ya Fei also gazed at the youth with sparkling eyes and offered her congratulations with a smile, her thoughts stirring.

Whether it was Xiao Yan or the mysterious Xiao Dongchen, both were extraordinary!

She had already made up her mind to strengthen her ties with the Xiao Household in the future!

"Not necessarily. Yan'er's path is his own to walk. As his father, I should not interfere too much."

Xiao Zhan's eyes flickered. Clearly, he did not wish to bind Xiao Yan's future to the household. He laughed heartily and said, "A man's ambitions lie in all four corners of the world. Yan'er's horizons are broad enough, and I will certainly support him in venturing into a wider world!"

"As a father, I cannot be so selfish!"

Xiao Zhan could not help recalling Nalan Yanran's annulment of the engagement three months ago. That declaration—thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river—still echoed vividly in his mind!

Now, hope had appeared!

He believed that one day, the youth would leave Wu Tan, and ascend the Dragon Gate!