Emperor Xuan, Xiao Xuan!

It was said that the Xiao Clan's sun and moon were two powerful Heavenly Flames, which was why they occasionally fought.

But these youngsters knew nothing of the truth. Perhaps only when one of them became a Dou Sheng would they gain access to the true secret of the sun and moon.

Rather than worrying about whether the sun and moon got along, the youths cared far more about enjoying themselves in the moment.

"The road of life, sweet dreams stretched as long as the road

Wind and frost along the way, wind and frost dried against my face"

Xiao Yan held a microphone made from the magic core of a fifth-rank magical beast, a Twin-Headed Heartsnake. Not far away, his voice rang out from an enormous snake head as tall as a person.

He had paid a formation master in the clan a hefty sum to make this equipment. Recently, quite a few elders had begun taking an interest in it.

Some called it frivolous trickery, a plaything that would sap one's ambition.

Others said it was quite novel and creative.

Some had even made sets of their own.

"Life was sweet dreams and ardent hopes

Within those dreams, faintly, faintly, tears glimmered"

Xiao Yan sang with deep feeling, not forgetting to pour himself a cup of fruit wine.

Around the square, magical beast magic cores had been made into multicolored lamps, bathing the square in brilliant hues. The intimate lighting and the stimulation of alcohol left the young people brimming with excitement.

Xiao Mei played the flute, while Xiao Yu plucked the zither.

The little fatty, Xiao Feng, was the most carefree of them all. After a little wine, he actually began dancing.

Though he was fat, he was surprisingly nimble, and his dancing was quite respectable.

They grilled fish stolen from Xiao Ning's home, drank wine stolen from Xiao Feng's home, and munched on spirit fruits stolen from Xiao Mei's home, along with all the rare treats these household thieves had pilfered from their families.

Laughter and cheerful voices filled the air as they sang and danced, having the time of their lives.

"On the road through this world, a joyful young lad"

Just as Xiao Yan was singing his heart out, a rift suddenly opened in the space behind him, and Xiao Lin stepped out, dressed in a simple, old-fashioned hemp robe.

"It's the lineage head! Stop drinking! The lineage head is here!" A few who had not been drinking, or who had sharp eyes, jolted at the sight and hurriedly alerted those around them.

In an instant, everyone except Xiao Yan, who was still lost in his own enchanting voice, stood obediently to one side, not daring to let out so much as a fart.

Even Xiao Li became somewhat stiff and reserved.

Xiao Lin was the head of the King Lineage, a Dou Sheng Expert who possessed absolute authority and power. These youths' legs went weak at the sight of Xiao Li; before Xiao Lin, they were as meek as little chicks.

"Stop patting me. Can't you see I'm singing?" Feeling someone pat him from behind, Xiao Yan irritably tried to swat the hand away.

Boom! A surge of mighty Dou Qi rushed straight into his body, like an icy spring in the scorching summer heat, or a stream of hot piss amid pristine snow, flushing every trace of alcohol out of him.

"Oh, Grandpa, you came to join the fun too?" Xiao Yan jolted awake, but he held no fear or reverence for Xiao Lin. He even tried to pull the old man into their revelry.

After all, he had already achieved the feat of pissing on a Dou Sheng's head when he was still a baby.

"Fun, my ass! The ancestor wants to see you. Come with me!" Xiao Lin glared fiercely at Xiao Yan, then grabbed his shoulder with a slightly flustered expression and flew into the spatial rift.

Only after the two disappeared did the youths let out a deep breath.

"What did the lineage head just say? The ancestor wants to see Brother Yan?" The youths looked at one another, unable to process it for a moment. There could not be more than ten people in the entire Xiao Clan whom their family head would call an ancestor, could there?

The ancestor? Inside the spatial rift, Xiao Yan was also wondering which ancestor this could be.

Unlike those ignorant youths, though his soul's temperament had changed somewhat under the influence of his youthful body in this life, his experience and knowledge remained.

Someone Grandpa would call an ancestor... A suspicion began taking shape in Xiao Yan's heart, but he dared not jump to a conclusion. After all, that guess lay somewhat beyond the bounds of what he had considered possible.

Surging spatial power filled their surroundings, each ripple powerful enough to kill a Dou Wang expert, yet it was utterly docile before Xiao Lin.

A moment later, another spatial rift opened, and Xiao Lin led Xiao Yan out.

"This is..." Xiao Yan stared at the ancient, magnificent hall, momentarily dazed.

The gray-green hall seemed to have been carved from a single naturally formed boulder, seamless and whole, with a faint sense of harmony with heaven and earth.

Twelve enormous stone pillars, each a hundred zhang tall, were inscribed with all manner of profound runes and ancient characters Xiao Yan did not recognize.

The walls on either side were carved with images of various high-rank magical beasts.

At the center of the hall stood a man in green with his hands behind his back, his figure seeming grander than heaven and earth themselves.

With just one glance at the man, Xiao Yan felt the bloodline power within him surge and boil, as though even his strength was on the verge of a breakthrough.

"Greetings, Ancestor!" Xiao Lin dropped to his knees with a thud.

Ancestor? Could he really be... Xiao Yan felt slightly dizzy, his suspicion growing stronger.

At that moment, the man in green slowly turned around, revealing a face that was not exceptionally handsome yet possessed a distinctive quality, his black hair falling over his shoulders.

It really is him! Xiao Yan's mind thundered.

Portraits of this very face hung in the halls of all the Xiao Clan's major branches for later generations to revere, because his name was... Xiao Xuan!

Emperor Xuan, Xiao Xuan, the last Dou Di of the Dou Qi Continent, and the strongest person on the continent today.

A thousand years earlier, this ancestor had drawn on the strength of the entire clan to successfully break through to Dou Di, then killed his old nemesis, Hun Tiandi, whose strength had previously been almost equal to his own, with a single palm strike.

From that day onward, he had been invincible beneath the heavens!

"Yan'er, kneel!" Xiao Lin reminded him quietly.

Thud! Xiao Yan dropped to his knees and prostrated himself completely. "Xiao Yan pays his respects to the ancestor! May the ancestor endure for a thousand autumns and ten thousand generations, invincible for all eternity!"

"Hm?"

A faint trace of bewilderment appeared on Xiao Xuan's face, which rarely showed any change even over a thousand years.

He could not help saying, "You are one of our clan's finest geniuses. A genius should have a genius's proud backbone."

Hearing Xiao Xuan's praise, Xiao Lin could not help trembling, his gaze toward his grandson filled with envy and gratification.

Most members of the Xiao Clan would never meet the ancestor in their entire lives. Xiao Lin himself had only been fortunate enough to meet him once, on the day he broke through to Dou Sheng.

Unmoved, Xiao Yan kept his head lowered and said softly, "Thank you for your praise, Ancestor. May you endure for a thousand autumns and ten thousand generations!"

"What an interesting little fellow." Even Xiao Xuan, whose temperament had settled into stillness over a thousand years, could not help giving Xiao Yan a faint smile.

"All right, enough flattery. Get up." Xiao Xuan gently swept his sleeve, and a light breeze passed. Xiao Yan felt a powerful force lift him to his feet.

"Every word I said came from the heart." Xiao Yan spoke with a solemn face and an earnest expression.

"Xiao Lin, you may return. I have something to discuss with this little fellow."

Looking at the "earnest and sincere" youth before him, the amusement in Xiao Xuan's eyes deepened, and he waved for Xiao Lin to leave first.

"Yes, Ancestor!" Xiao Lin hastily nodded. Without so much as another glance at his darling grandson, he tore open a spatial rift and left.

"Holy shit, Grandpa..." Even Xiao Yan was left dumbfounded by the sight.

"Little fellow, it's time for the two of us to have a proper talk." Xiao Xuan took a single step and appeared just a few paces in front of Xiao Yan.

"What do the two of us have to talk about?" Xiao Yan still did not understand why an insignificant descendant like himself would be granted an audience with the ancestor.

Though he most likely possessed a divine-grade bloodline rarely seen in the clan even once in a century, with a Dou Di supporting them, the Xiao Clan had never lacked divine-grade bloodlines. More than a dozen had appeared over the past thousand years.

"Heh, I imagine you're wondering why I wanted to see you." Seeing Xiao Yan's puzzled expression, Xiao Xuan suddenly flicked a Jade Book from his hand and tossed it to him.

"What is this thing?" Xiao Yan frowned slightly and glanced at the title.

Clatter! The moment he saw the title, Xiao Yan, who had always prided himself on his composure, felt his pupils shrink to pinpoints. His hand trembled, and the Jade Book fell to the floor.

"You must have read this story before." As he watched Xiao Yan's expression change drastically at the title, Xiao Xuan's voice exploded beside his ears like a thunderclap. "Am I right... Otherworldly Visitor?"