"Dou Emperor, nine stars!!"
The youth gazed at the five large characters shining almost blindingly on the Testing Magic Stone Tablet, his face expressionless save for the faint upward curl of his lips.
"Young Master Xiao Yan, Dou Emperor, nine stars!" Beside the Testing Magic Stone Tablet, a middle-aged man announced the information displayed on it in shock, his tone tinged with flattery.
No sooner had the words left the middle-aged man's mouth than they stirred the expected wave of fawning commotion across the densely packed square.
"As expected of Young Master Xiao Yan! He's truly a rare genius our Xiao Clan sees only once in a century."
"Indeed, indeed. Once Young Master Xiao Yan comes into his own, our branch might become one of the Xiao Clan's imperial bloodlines."
"Young Master Xiao Yan isn't just gifted at cultivation. He's outstanding in every other respect, too."
Someone could not help praising him aloud.
A fifteen-year-old Nine-Star Dou Emperor-barring anything unexpected, he most likely possessed the legendary divine-grade bloodline!
Flattery poured in from every direction. The youth lifted his delicate, fair face, a trace of a smile lingering on his lips.
"Patriarch, the young master's aptitude is truly frightening." On a raised platform, several clan elders and the patriarch, Xiao Zhan, watched the youth.
The youth had not even turned fifteen, yet he already resembled a young dragon poised to soar, seemingly ready to shoot into the highest heavens at any moment.
Among the younger generation of the Dou Qi Continent, perhaps only the Gu Clan's pearl had any hope of matching him.
"Heh heh heh, my son Xiao Yan has the makings of a Dou Di!"
Hearing the elders' praise, Xiao Zhan grinned so broadly that the corners of his mouth nearly reached his ears.
The elders' lips twitched at Xiao Zhan's words. They had offered him a little praise, and he was already climbing straight up the pole they had held out.
Still, Xiao Yan truly was an exceptionally rare genius in the clan. If only he would stop engaging in those chicken-stealing, dog-snatching antics, he would be even more perfect!
"Next, Xiao Mei!"
At the examiner's call, a girl quickly ran out of the crowd.
The girl was only around fourteen. Though she could not be called an incomparable beauty, her little face, still touched with childishness, held an alluring charm amid its innocence.
That sort of appearance held considerable appeal for men.
The girl hurried forward, her small hand touching the pitch-black Magic Stone Tablet with practiced ease. Then she slowly closed her eyes...
"Xiao Mei, Dou Ling: one star!"
"Whoa, that little girl Xiao Mei has actually broken through to Dou Ling!"
"Yes, her talent isn't on Xiao Yan's level, but it's still quite good. She has a chance of becoming a Dou Zun someday!"
Hearing the discussions around her, Xiao Mei looked a little proud. But when she turned toward the black-clad youth watching her, that pride instantly became sweet compliance.
Her fair little legs carried her straight over to Xiao Yan, and she hugged his arm.
In a sweet voice, she said, "Brother Xiao Yan, how can you improve so quickly? Last year, you were only a Two-Star Dou Emperor, but this year, you're already a Nine-Star Dou Emperor!
You're so amazing, Brother! I admire you so much!"
Heh, this little green-tea girl is getting ever more skilled at brewing her act.
Xiao Yan silently felt the girl's newly developed body press against him and waved his hand in feigned helplessness.
"I don't want to improve this quickly either! But even a sip of cold water increases my Dou Qi. There's nothing I can do, even if I want to slow down!"
"Oh, you're just awful!" Hearing those words, enough to infuriate countless geniuses to death, Xiao Mei pounded Xiao Yan's arm with her little fists.
Xiao Yan smiled faintly, making no attempt to reject the girl's coquettish behavior.
Even if she was a little affected, so what?
With enough strength, what so-called green-tea girl was there to worry about?
If anyone asked, she was simply his dear little sister!
Just as the two laughed and teased each other, a group of powerful auras suddenly swept across the sky, making everyone in the bustling square lift their heads.
"They're from the Gu Clan!" Their clothing bore many of the Gu Clan's distinctive markings.
"Heavens, why have so many Gu Clan experts come here?"
Everyone whispered among themselves. Among the Ancient Seven Clans, the Gu Clan was a great clan second only to the Xiao Clan, and its patriarch was on good terms with their clan ancestor. Thus, relations between the Xiao Clan and the Gu Clan were fairly good.
"Look at that girl! How old can she be? She's already forming wings from Dou Qi!" someone suddenly exclaimed.
In the sky, beside a dignified, imposing middle-aged man, a girl in a purple dress flew with her Dou Qi Wings spread.
Her cool, tranquil bearing was like a pure lotus just beginning to bloom. Though still so young, she already possessed an air beyond the mundane. It was hard to imagine how breathtakingly beautiful she would become once she grew up...
Judging by her tender little face, she could not possibly be older than fifteen.
Among the Ancient Seven Clans, experts capable of forming wings from Dou Qi were beyond counting. But anyone who could do so at her age was considered a genius even among the ancient clans.
If she was a Dou Wang, that was one thing. But if she was a Dou Emperor... Some people could not help turning their gazes toward the youth who was also watching the sky.
Could she be Xun'er? Xiao Yan silently watched the girl in the sky, whose beauty was already enough to stun countless people despite her young age.
If things had followed their original course, she should have been my childhood sweetheart.
Fifteen years had passed since he came to this world, and Xiao Yan had discovered that this truly was the world of Battle Through the Heavens.
But... the worldline seemed to have changed drastically.
Fifteen years ago, he had been nothing more than an ordinary person on that blue planet, over thirty, still unmarried, and somewhat accomplished in his career.
Then, while slacking off in his office and rereading Battle Through the Heavens, one of his favorite novels from his youth, an accident occurred. To his astonishment, he discovered that he had transmigrated!
He had indeed transmigrated into the world of Battle Through the Heavens, but the plot was completely different from what he had imagined!
In this world, the Xiao Clan's patriarch, Xiao Xuan, had not died in battle. Instead, he had broken through to become a Dou Di!
And so, the worldline changed from that point onward.
Hun Tiandi, with all his lofty ambitions and masterful schemes, had been slapped to death by Xiao Xuan.
The Soul Clan, which had always opposed the Xiao Clan, had also been annihilated. Only a few weak branches outside the Soul Realm had been lucky enough to escape disaster.
The Xiao Clan had vaulted into the position of the strongest power on the Dou Qi Continent, without exception.
And Xiao Yan no longer had the fate he should have had in the original story.
From the moment he was born, he had already stood at the finish line countless people could only dream of reaching.
His grandfather, Xiao Lin, had not died in battle. Instead, he had become a supreme expert at the Dou Sheng level.
His father, Xiao Zhan, was a little weaker, but he was still a Dou Zun expert and currently served as a deputy commander in the Heavenly Imperial Army.
His mother had not passed away either. She was the daughter of an elder of the Yao Clan and was currently a peak seventh-tier alchemist.
Although his eldest brother, Xiao Ding, and his second brother, Xiao Li, were a little less talented than him, both had reached Dou Zong after years of accumulation.
From the moment of his birth, Xiao Yan's starting point had already surpassed the finishing point of the vast majority of people in this world.
In the stillness of the night, Xiao Yan often wondered whether he had received the protagonist's storyline or the villain's.
Ever since birth, his life could be summed up in one word: "Smooth. So fucking smooth."
A life without even the slightest setback was not one a protagonist ought to have!
The Gu Clan's party flashed across the sky without paying any attention to the Xiao Clan members on the ground. Their destination was presumably the Xiao Clan's central grounds.
I wonder whether I'll still cross paths with this young lady of the Gu Clan in this worldline. Xiao Yan watched her graceful figure recede into the sky.
"Brother Yan! Brother Yan!" The voices of a group of youths pulled Xiao Yan out of his tangled thoughts and back to reality.
A tall youth came running over with long strides, panting heavily.
Looking slightly panicked, he shouted, "Brother Yan, something's wrong! My sister's about to get into a fight!"
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