Xiao Yan was slightly taken aback.
"Teacher, if you don't have any to spare, forget it. The Bone Spirit Cold Flame is the very source of your being. I don't want to damage your essence!"
Yao Lao looked at Xiao Yan with quiet satisfaction.
After three years of careful observation, I've found that this little brat really does have a good heart. He's a promising seedling who walks the proper path!
That's why I finally decided to take him as my disciple and teach him everything I know!
Over those three years, the two had also developed a deep bond as teacher and disciple.
There was just one thing Yao Lao had never been entirely happy with!
Yao Lao had always taught Xiao Yan that a true man should act openly and honorably, never taking crooked paths or underhanded shortcuts, lest he stray down the wrong road.
Xiao Yan was fine in other respects, but when it came to safety and keeping a low profile, he was stubbornly set in his ways!
If something wasn't safe enough, he wouldn't do it!
If it wasn't low-key enough, he wouldn't do it either!
Of course, if the rewards were great enough, he could take a small risk!
After all these years of teaching him, I've never managed to change that crafty nature of his!
In the end, Yao Lao had given up too!
So be it!
I lived my whole life openly and honorably, only to meet a violent end!
Perhaps only someone as cautious as Yan'er can live a long life!
Despite Xiao Yan's protests, Yao Lao still separated out a wisp of the Bone Spirit Cold Flame's essence, giving it to Xiao Yan as a trump card to protect himself.
Watching Xiao Yan quickly master that wisp of Bone Spirit Cold Flame, Yao Lao's eyes filled with renewed admiration!
This boy truly is a cultivation genius!
I thought a brat this crafty and slippery would surely be impatient and restless when cultivating!
Who would have thought he'd be so steady and diligent at it!
And with his peerless talent, his progress is astonishingly fast!
He's only fifteen, yet he's already reached the level of a Six-Star Dou Shi!
And that's with me absorbing so much of his Dou Qi over the past three years to nourish my soul, slowing his cultivation!
Without me holding him back, this brat's talent might well have carried him into the Da Dou Shi realm already!
And his talent as an Alchemist is even greater than his talent for cultivation!
After all, the soul he was born with is simply too powerful!
Despite only possessing the strength of a Dou Shi, he's already reached the level of a Third-Rank Alchemist!
Even on the Central Plains Continent, where geniuses spring up in droves, talent like this would mark him as a rare, supreme genius!
I really have stumbled upon a treasure!
Yao Lao watched Xiao Yan fondly. Once Xiao Yan had mastered the Bone Spirit Cold Flame well enough to draw it into his Dou Qi vortex, Yao Lao called him over.
"Yan'er, tomorrow is your Xiao Clan's annual assessment. How many stages of Dou Power are you planning to pretend you have this year?"
Xiao Yan grinned. "Teacher, the average for clan members my age is only fifth-stage Dou Power.
"Left to my own devices, I'd definitely report fifth-stage Dou Power.
"But since you want me to be open and honorable, I'll be generous this year and report the sixth stage!"
Yao Lao pointed at Xiao Yan with a smile.
"You little rascal! Don't think I don't know what you're plotting!"
Xiao Yan chuckled.
"Oh? Can you guess what I'm thinking, Teacher?"
Yao Lao smiled. "If it weren't to make your father a little happier, how could you bear to reveal any more of your strength?"
Xiao Yan smiled too.
Yao Lao really had guessed right!
Over their three years together, Yao Lao had cared for him in every possible way and taught him with painstaking devotion. Their bond was certainly deep.
But he had spent fifteen years with Xiao Zhan!
Xiao Zhan's love for Xiao Yan was only deeper than Yao Lao's!
Although Xiao Yan was accustomed to hiding his abilities, whenever he saw the hope in Xiao Zhan's eyes as his father looked at him, he simply couldn't bear to disappoint him!
Thus, he planned to reveal a little more strength this year, showing sixth-stage Dou Power.
Then, at his coming-of-age ceremony next year, when he turned sixteen, he would reveal eighth-stage Dou Power.
That would not only keep him from being sent off to manage the clan's businesses, but also meet Jia Nan Academy's admissions threshold.
Jia Nan Academy was the most renowned academy in the Jia Ma Empire, and the place where his father dreamed of having Xiao Yan pursue further studies.
Xiao Yan didn't want to disappoint his father.
Yao Lao nodded, then added, "Once tomorrow's assessment is over, put a little more effort into your cultivation.
"I hope you can reach at least the Da Dou Shi realm before next year's coming-of-age ceremony.
"You no longer need to supply me with Dou Qi, so that shouldn't be difficult for you."
Xiao Yan perked up and asked, "Do you have a plan, Teacher? Are we going to start searching for the materials to resurrect you?"
Yao Lao smiled.
"It's still too early. I simply think that once you reach Da Dou Shi, your foundation will be solid enough.
"After that, you should hone yourself and improve through actual combat. I plan to take you to the Magical Beast Mountain Range for some tempering."
The Magical Beast Mountain Range...
A trace of caution entered Xiao Yan's eyes.
I've spent fifteen years holed up in Wutan City, but I'm not tired of it.
After all, what I love most is cultivating in seclusion.
Watching my strength advance by leaps and bounds is pure bliss compared with the rubbish aptitude I had in my previous life!
But the way people fight in this world is completely different from the immortal cultivation world.
I really do need to go out and gain experience, to sharpen my practical combat skills, lest I become a paper tiger with nothing but a high cultivation level.
I'm getting ahead of myself. For now, I should focus on cultivating. After all, the stronger I am, the safer my training journey will be!
Early the next morning, Xiao Yan arrived at the clan square well ahead of time.
The assessment would be held there shortly.
After a little more waiting, the square soon filled with a bustling chorus of voices.
The Xiao Clan's boys and girls had all gathered.
"Begin the assessment!"
At the elder's loud announcement, the assessment began in an orderly fashion.
One by one, the boys and girls stepped up to the Testing Magic Stone Tablet to be assessed.
Before long, it was Xiao Yan's turn.
Xiao Yan stepped onto the platform and placed his hand on the Testing Magic Stone Tablet.
He had secretly studied this Testing Magic Stone Tablet several years earlier.
Now, he could perfectly control the Dou Qi he released to produce whatever level he wanted.
Sure enough, as he fed in his Dou Qi, six stars lit up on the Testing Magic Stone Tablet.
The assessment elder beside it called out:
"Xiao Yan. Dou Power: sixth stage. Grade: intermediate."
Xiao Yan was very satisfied with his result.
In the distance, Xiao Zhan also revealed a gratified smile.
He was a generous, kindhearted man, and clan affairs were running smoothly. His only wish now was for all three of his sons to make something of themselves!
His eldest and second sons were doing well away from home. Only his youngest son was somewhat lacking in aptitude.
But although Yan'er's aptitude was mediocre, he had always cultivated diligently.
Now, his accumulated efforts had finally borne fruit. In just one year, he had jumped two stages!
At this rate, meeting Jia Nan Academy's admissions threshold wasn't impossible!
Although Xiao Zhan was pleased, some of the Xiao Clan disciples below were not.
"Tch! He's the clan leader's son and has gobbled up so many resources, yet he's only at sixth-stage Dou Power!
"If Xiao Yan knows his place and serves as an administrative elder in the clan someday, we won't say anything, out of respect for the clan leader!
"But if he tries to lay his hands on the clan leader's seat, hmph! Never mind the clan's other geniuses-I'll be the first to object!"
Xiao Yan heard those whispers, but he didn't care.
He simply stood behind the crowd, as unruffled as an old hound.
What's the point of fighting over empty titles? To put myself in the eye of the storm and become the target of every arrow?
How dangerous!
Besides, under Yao Lao's guidance, my sights have long since extended beyond Wutan City!
His gaze was now set on the Jia Ma Empire, and even the entire Dou Qi Continent!
"Next, Xiao Mei!"
At the assessment elder's call, a strikingly pretty girl walked onto the platform.
The girl confidently extended both hands and fed her Dou Qi into the Testing Magic Stone Tablet.
"Xiao Mei. Dou Power: seventh stage. Grade: advanced."
Hearing her result, Xiao Mei smiled in satisfaction. After glancing at Xiao Yan, she walked straight off the platform.
Fourteen years old, seventh-stage Dou Power.
By fifteen, I'll definitely reach ninth-stage Dou Power. I might even make a push for Dou Zhe!
That already places my talent at the very top of the Xiao Clan's current younger generation!
Even my older cousin Xiao Yu, once hailed as a genius, and my genius older cousins Xiao Ding and Xiao Li were a notch below me at the same age!
As for the clan leader's son, Xiao Yan, I've left him far behind!
If I can keep growing smoothly, becoming the Xiao Clan's strongest member, or even its first female clan leader, won't be just a dream!
But!
If I want to become the clan's first female leader, there's one person who remains a thorn in my heart!
Xiao Xun'er, who lives with the Xiao Clan!
Only by surpassing Xiao Xun'er can I truly become the undisputed number one of the Xiao Clan's younger generation!
Before you continue