First Battle, the Bloodline Reveals Its Might

At the sight, Xiao Yuan's brows knitted tightly. He could no longer stand by and watch.

He stepped forward, planting himself firmly in front of Xiao Xun'er. His voice was calm, but carried a trace of coldness:

"If she doesn't want to go, then she doesn't have to. A bunch of grown men openly coercing a little girl—aren't you ashamed of stooping so low?"

Xiao Yuan had not wanted to interfere, but Jia Lie Ao kept clinging to Xiao Xun'er like a stubborn medicinal plaster, clearly determined not to give up until he got what he wanted.

Besides, Xiao Xun'er had, after all, come out with him. If the person he had brought along was being harassed like this while he stood beside her like a cowering quail, where would that leave his dignity as the Xiao Clan's genius?

Fuck it, I'm going in! At worst, someone will bail me out.

He had not forgotten that a Dou Huang expert from the Gu Clan was protecting Xiao Xun'er. Since he was stepping up to help her, surely she would not stand by and let him die.

The sudden voice instantly drew everyone's attention to Xiao Yuan.

Jia Lie Ao froze for a moment, then turned and looked Xiao Yuan up and down.

Seeing that he was still an immature child who had yet to grow up, Jia Lie Ao sneered, his eyes filling with contempt.

"Fuck, where did this little brat come from? You dare meddle in my business? Got a death wish?"

Xiao Yuan's expression darkened, his entire little face turning thunderous. More than anything, he hated being mocked for his age.

Before I transmigrated, you called me an elementary schooler. After I transmigrated, you still call me a little brat. Then what the hell did I transmigrate for?

The anger in his heart ignited in an instant!

He wasted no more words.

Xiao Yuan's eyes abruptly sharpened. He drove his feet against the ground, making the bluestone paving tremble slightly, and shot forward like an arrow loosed from its bow!

Though his body looked immature, the speed he unleashed was astonishing. Most of those present saw only a blur before Xiao Yuan was already right in front of Jia Lie Ao.

Jia Lie Ao's pupils contracted sharply, and the mockery on his face instantly froze.

He had never imagined that a mere little brat would dare attack him first!

Caught off guard, Jia Lie Ao did not even have time to summon his Dou Qi to defend himself.

Before Jia Lie Ao could react at all, Xiao Yuan opened his right hand and slammed his palm into Jia Lie Ao's abdomen, carrying the tremendous Dou Qi that had only just awakened within him!

"Bam!!"

An intensely muffled boom erupted!

An overwhelming impact exploded outward, driving Jia Lie Ao's body backward!

Thud, thud, thud—

Jia Lie Ao's face went white. He staggered uncontrollably back four or five steps, his feet scraping two distinct grooves into the bluestone paving. His earlier overbearing presence vanished without a trace.

His stomach churned like rivers and seas overturning, and a fierce, swelling pain swept through his body, nearly making him double over and retch on the spot.

The entire scene fell deathly silent!

Every onlooker, every merchant in the Market District, and both Jia Lie Family attendants stared wide-eyed in horror.

None of them could believe what they had just seen.

Jia Lie Ao was a genuine Dou Zhe. Even among Wutan City's younger generation, he ranked among the strong.

Yet now, a boy who looked so young had forced him back with a single palm strike!

Inside the Medicine Shop, Xiao Xun'er remained where she stood. Her clear eyes narrowed slightly, a deep flicker of surprise passing through them.

She had already discovered the secret of Xiao Yuan's breakthrough to Dou Zhe, but now she was even more shaken.

She had never expected that, despite both being Dou Zhe, the gulf between them would be so enormous that Jia Lie Bi could not even withstand a single palm strike from Xiao Yuan.

Having steadied himself, Jia Lie Ao now wore an expression so dark it almost seemed to drip.

Waves of sharp pain radiated from his abdomen. His internal organs felt as though they had been jolted out of place, aching with a heavy, stifling pain.

Being knocked back by an unknown boy with a single palm strike in front of everyone in the Market District was an unprecedented humiliation for someone as proud and conceited as him!

"You little bastard! You're courting death!"

"B-boss, I think he's the Xiao Clan's genius young master, Xiao Yuan."

The lackey beside him had now recognized Xiao Yuan and hurriedly leaned toward Jia Lie Ao's ear to remind him in a low voice.

But Jia Lie Ao was clearly blinded by rage and paid no attention whatsoever to what his lackey said.

"I don't give a damn if he's Little Yuan or Big Yuan! Today, I want him dead!"

Jia Lie Ao's eyes bulged with fury. Green Dou Qi surged explosively around him, its dense pressure sweeping across the scene and abruptly making the surrounding air feel stagnant.

The formidable strength of a One-Star Dou Practitioner erupted without restraint!

He had only been caught by that surprise attack because he had underestimated his opponent and neglected his defenses.

Now, he no longer dared look down on the boy before him. Dou Qi churned wildly in his palm, fierce winds howling shrilly as he unleashed the Jia Lie Family's signature Dou Technique and lunged at Xiao Yuan's head in fury, his strike cutting sharply through the air!

The green Dou Qi condensed into a razor-sharp palm silhouette. It bore down with the force to crush everything in its path, clearly intended to grievously injure Xiao Yuan in one blow and wash away his humiliation.

The spectators cried out in alarm and hurriedly retreated from the fierce winds, terrified of being caught in the battle.

"That's the Jia Lie Family's low-grade Xuan-tier Dou Technique, Raging Wind Palm! Jia Lie Ao is getting serious!"

"He's done for! Xiao Yuan's in trouble now. How could someone at the Dou Qi stage possibly withstand a Dou Zhe's attack?"

Xiao Yuan's most recent public appearance had been at the test a year ago, when he possessed Seventh Stage Dou Qi. With only a year having passed, everyone naturally assumed he was still at the Dou Qi stage.

Amid their startled cries, Xiao Yuan's expression turned truly grim for the first time.

An intense sense of danger instantly rose in his heart.

He had only broken through to Dou Zhe yesterday. His body held nothing but pure, basic Dou Qi, and he had spent the night immersed in cultivating the Ten Thousand Transformations Source-Dividing Art. He had not practiced a single Dou Technique!

Trying to withstand a low-grade Xuan-tier Dou Technique with pure Dou Qi alone was clearly unrealistic.

An ordinary exchange might have been manageable, but his opponent was now attacking at full strength in a fury, his technique fully formed and vicious. If Xiao Yuan relied solely on his body and Dou Qi to endure it, his Dou Qi would undoubtedly be shattered and his body severely injured!

In the blink of an eye, the Raging Wind Palm's savage gusts were already in his face, whipping his hair into disarray and making his skin sting.

There was nowhere to dodge, nowhere to retreat!

At that critical instant, Xiao Yuan gritted his teeth, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes.

In the next second, he held nothing back!

As a faint golden glow radiated from his skin, the temperature inside his body began to rise. Vast amounts of pure, dense Dou Qi surged wildly forth, breaking through the shackles of his meridians and pouring out of his body!

Humm—

A translucent, condensed barrier of pale golden Dou Qi instantly enveloped him, shielding him firmly. The Dou Qi flowed evenly, forming a solid, thick bulwark that kept every raging gust and blast of force outside!

Externalized Dou Qi!

This was a hallmark ability that only those at the Dou Zhe realm could master!