The Gu Family Really Were a Sly Bunch

Xiao Xuan had recognized Xiao Yan's talent the very first time they met.

The Xiao Clan's Dou Di bloodline had now grown so thin that it had almost vanished.

But Xiao Yan was a one-in-ten-thousand exception born into the Xiao Clan a thousand years later. His Xiao Clan bloodline had undergone an ancestral reversion, and the concentration of his clan's Dou Di bloodline was more than a hundred times that of an ordinary present-day clan member.

Although he could not compare with the direct descendants of the Ancient Xiao Clan a thousand years ago, he was already outstanding by the standards of a thousand years later.

That was why Xiao Yan had possessed such exceptional talent before Yao Lao began absorbing his Dou Qi.

Now, not only had Xiao Yan recovered his talent, he also had the inherited Xiao Clan cultivation method Xiao Xuan had given him to awaken the Dou Di bloodline within him.

Once awakened, the Dou Di bloodline would increase both Xiao Yan's cultivation speed and the amount of strain his body could withstand.

That was why Xiao Yan could already take the pills Yao Chen refined for him at this stage. Over these three days, his strength had undergone a change that overturned heaven and earth.

A change great enough to shock the Xiao Clan.

"Ancestor Xiao Xuan, please take your seat."

Xiao Zhan and Xiao Xuan took their seats. Then, at Xiao Zhan's signal, the Xiao Clan's Dou Qi testing began.

A Xiao Clan elder stood before the testing stele and presided over the ceremony.

"First, Xiao Lei."

A boy stepped forward when he heard his name.

"Xiao Lei, fourth stage of Dou Qi!"

"Xiao Shi!"

"Xiao Yi!"

One young Xiao Clan disciple after another stepped forward to be tested. This batch of disciples was mostly around fifteen or sixteen, and their strength generally hovered around the fourth or fifth stage of Dou Qi.

Reaching the fifth stage of Dou Qi or above at fifteen or sixteen already marked someone as a promising young talent in the present-day Xiao Clan. Even across Wutan City, that was a respectable achievement, making them someone their clan would focus on nurturing.

Even talents like these were scarce in the current Xiao Clan.

Watching from above, Xiao Xuan kept frowning.

Their overall strength was utterly abysmal.

Then the testing elder called Xiao Mei's name.

A girl walked up from below the platform, pride written all over her face.

"It's Sister Xiao Mei!"

"Good luck, Sister Xiao Mei!"

Xiao Mei then began her Dou Qi test.

When the testing elder saw her results, his eyes lit up, and even his voice grew louder.

"Xiao Mei, seventh stage of Dou Qi! Not bad!"

At those words, Xiao Mei's expression grew even prouder.

The seventh stage of Dou Qi placed her in the top tier of the entire present-day Xiao Clan.

She had not slacked off this past year.

The young Xiao Clan members below were also slightly shocked.

They had thought Xiao Mei would advance from the fifth stage of Dou Qi to the sixth in a year. They had not expected her talent to be even greater than they imagined.

She truly lived up to her status as one of the clan's most promising prospects.

Xiao Mei walked down from the platform like a proud swan.

Below the platform, she laughed and chatted with several girls she usually spent time with.

Suddenly, Xiao Mei's gaze passed through the surrounding crowd and settled on Xiao Yan, who stood beside Xun'er outside the crowd.

Looking at the boy's solitary figure, Xiao Mei considered going over to greet him, but a moment later, she abandoned the idea.

Although Xiao Mei had once admired Xiao Yan and had even harbored romantic feelings for him, that was all in the past, ever since he had been reduced to a complete good-for-nothing three years ago.

Now, Xiao Mei knew that she and Xiao Yan no longer belonged to the same world.

Her life would take her farther and farther, with limitless potential ahead.

Xiao Yan, however, was merely a passing visitor who had bloomed for a fleeting instant.

"Next, Xiao Ning!"

"It's Brother Xiao Ning's turn!"

"I wonder what realm Xiao Ning has reached now."

At Xiao Ning's name, the crowd began to stir, their reaction even greater than when Xiao Mei had taken the platform. After Xiao Yan's "fall," Xiao Ning had replaced him as the Xiao Clan's greatest genius.

Xiao Ning had tested at the seventh stage of Dou Qi a year ago. Now that another year had passed, no one knew how far he had advanced.

"Xiao Ning, eighth stage of Dou Qi!"

"He really did reach the eighth stage! At this rate, Brother Xiao Ning will become a Dou Zhe within two years!"

"Invincible!"

Xiao Ning smiled and walked down from the platform.

As the Xiao Clan's current greatest genius, he thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of being adored by everyone.

"Xiao Xun'er!"

It was Xun'er's turn.

Xiao Yan glanced at the girl beside him. "Xun'er, go ahead."

"Brother Xiao Yan, I've improved quite a bit this time too," Xun'er said. "Just wait and see."

With that, Xun'er, dressed in purple, passed through the crowd and stepped onto the testing platform.

"Gu Yuan's daughter."

Xiao Xuan looked over as well.

The girl placed her palm on the testing stone. A moment later, as she poured in a stream of Dou Qi, her cultivation level appeared on the stele.

"Xiao Xun'er, Dou Qi: ninth stage. Rank: high!"

The arena fell silent as everyone stared at the words on the stele.

"She actually reached the ninth stage. How terrifying. The top spot among the clan's younger generation must belong to Miss Xun'er now."

After that silence, the surrounding youths could not help swallowing, their eyes filled with awe.

In the crowd, Xiao Mei knitted her delicate brows as she stared at the purple-clad girl before the stele, a trace of jealousy flashing across her face.

Looking at the information on the stele, even the testing elder's impassive face showed a rare hint of a smile.

He addressed the girl with a touch of respect. "Miss Xun'er, you should be able to condense a Dou Qi vortex in another six months. If you succeed, you will become a true Dou Zhe at fourteen, the second person in the Xiao Clan to do so in a hundred years."

Yes, the second.

The first had been Xiao Yan, who had since lost his halo of genius.

"Thank you." The girl nodded slightly.

Then she calmly walked down from the platform and returned to Xiao Yan's side.

"Brother Xiao Yan, what do you think? Aren't I impressive?"

In the past, Xun'er would not have shown off her cultivation too much in front of Xiao Yan, lest she upset him. But now that she knew his talent had returned, she no longer deliberately avoided the subject.

Xiao Yan smiled. "You little rascal, your talent really is incredible."

Xun'er's talent was indeed remarkable. To surpass Xiao Ning at her age was something even Xiao Yan had to admire. She truly lived up to her origins in the Gu Clan.

Seated above, Xiao Xuan watched Xun'er's displayed cultivation level from a distance and shook his head.

"Gu Yuan's daughter is quite calculating for someone so young. Already knows how to hide her cultivation at this age. She's every bit as sly as Gu Yuan."

With Xiao Xuan's cultivation, how could he possibly fail to see Xun'er's true strength?

A single glance had told him that she had long since broken through to Dou Zhe. She was already at the peak of Nine-Star Dou Zhe, only one step away from Dou Shi.

After all, she carried the Gu Clan's Dou Di bloodline. The Xiao Clan's Dou Di bloodline had declined, and while the Gu Clan's had weakened as well, it was nowhere near as severe.

How could Xun'er possibly be on the same level as these Xiao Clan youngsters?

The girl had only revealed the ninth stage of Dou Qi to conceal her true strength. After all, news of a fifteen-year-old half-step Dou Shi in the Jia Ma Empire would inevitably attract far too much attention, which was clearly not what Gu Xun'er wanted.

The Gu Family really were a sly bunch!

That was Xiao Xuan's verdict.

It seemed he would have to remind Xiao Yan to be wary of that sly Gu Family girl.

After all, Xiao Xuan had already decided to make Xiao Yan a priority in his training. He could not let Gu Yuan's daughter hoodwink the boy until he could no longer tell up from down.

The last Xiao Clan disciple to be tested was Xiao Yan, who had spent three years as a "good-for-nothing."

The instant the tester called Xiao Yan's name, every gaze present converged on him.

"Xiao Yan, it's your turn."