Xun'er

Wutan City, the Xiao Clan.

Daylight had only just begun to break when a small, thin figure rose from bed. He sat down on the mountaintop and gazed at the distant scenery, a rare trace of bewilderment surfacing in his calm eyes. "Four years already..."

A full four years had passed since he stepped through that spatial gate. At first, he thought he had been reborn, but later he discovered that although this was still the Dou Qi Continent, the people and their personalities were completely different.

In his previous life, his father had treated him as nothing more than a tool, even attempting to sacrifice the entire clan in blood to extend his own lifespan. His two elder brothers had tried every conceivable means to kill him out of jealousy over his talent. Even the girl who had grown up with him, with whom he shared mutual affection, had chosen to abandon him for her own interests.

In his previous life, he had spent almost every day embroiled in schemes and intrigue. He had no family he could trust and no friends he could confide in, and that was precisely what had shaped his withdrawn personality.

But this life was different. Though only four years had passed, Xiao Yan had experienced familial love and warmth he had never known in his previous life. Whether it was his father or his two elder brothers, he saw all the meticulous care they gave him.

Xiao Yan loved the atmosphere he lived in now. His only regret was that his mother had passed away shortly after giving birth to him. In his previous life, he had possessed countless ways to save her, but now he was only a child, utterly incapable of changing the outcome.

In the end, I'm still not strong enough... I need greater strength, strength that can change fate and rule over everything. Xiao Yan rubbed the black ring his mother had left behind and murmured inwardly. If he were still the Demon Wrath Saint, he would not have had to watch his mother die, helpless to stop it.

In his previous life, he had begun cultivating qi at four, become a Dou Zhe at eleven and a Dou Shi at fourteen, and reached the Da Dou Shi realm before seventeen. He could truly be called the foremost talent in the Jia Ma Empire! And he had accomplished all that while cultivating a Yellow Tier Cultivation Technique. After switching to a Black Tier cultivation technique, his cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds, and at twenty, he had officially entered the Dou Wang realm!

Even in the Central Plains, that pace would have qualified him as a genius. After all, he had only been using a Black Tier cultivation technique. Later, a chance encounter had brought him to the Central Plains, where he had begun his step-by-step rise to become the world-renowned Demon Wrath Saint.

In this life, Xiao Yan had begun cultivating dou qi at three. Had his meridians not been too fragile to circulate dou qi before that age, he probably would have begun cultivating in earnest the moment he was born.

After a year of cultivation, Xiao Yan had already reached three-stage dou qi. At this rate, he would officially break through to the Dou Zhe realm before turning ten. Of course, he understood that the tree that rose above the forest was the first to be battered by the wind. Thus, he had always claimed that he had only just begun learning about dou qi, taking care not to reveal too much of his talent.

Besides cultivating dou qi, Xiao Yan had not neglected the cultivation of his soul power. Although the Emperor Realm soul power he possessed in his previous life had dissipated when he passed through the gate of time and space, his soul was still somewhat stronger than an ordinary person's. During those three years when he could not cultivate dou qi, he had tried every possible means to improve his soul power.

In fact, Xiao Yan did possess a specialized soul cultivation method. However, one had to reach at least the level of a seventh-tier alchemist to be qualified to practice it. Otherwise, things could easily go wrong. So he had racked his brains until he finally unearthed an incomplete, nameless incantation from his memories of his previous life.

"Soul Extremity... seal and guard the heavenly spirit... draw in spiritual energy and temper the soul..."

He had obtained this incantation by chance. Though incomplete, it could still draw in spiritual energy. Its efficiency was undoubtedly countless times lower than that of a proper soul cultivation method, but it was just right for Xiao Yan, who was still far too weak.

For some reason, however, he always felt that the amount of spiritual energy he could draw in was much smaller than when he had cultivated in his previous life. After puzzling over it without reaching an answer, he could only attribute it to the difference in his strength.

"Strange. Why is the Xiao Clan so lively today?" After finishing his usual soul cultivation, Xiao Yan discovered that the Xiao Clan seemed particularly bustling today. He vaguely remembered something similar happening when he was four in his previous life. Could it be... that person had come in this life too?

Thinking of the person whose life had been entangled with his for more than half his lifetime stirred indescribable emotions in Xiao Yan. After wrestling with himself for a while, he finally rose and returned to the Xiao Clan. Shortly after arriving, he learned why the clan was so lively: honored guests had come to visit.

Honored guests... It should be her. After hesitating repeatedly, Xiao Yan finally headed toward the main hall. If it really was that person, he would strike first and kill her before she had a chance to grow!

The Xiao Clan's main hall was fairly spacious, but today it was unusually crowded. Apparently, quite a few people had heard about the honored guests and gathered to watch. Fortunately, Xiao Yan was still small enough to squeeze through easily. Seated at the head of the hall were his father, Xiao Zhan, and several clan elders.

Yet the elders, whose expressions were normally solemn no matter what happened, now wore broad smiles. The reason lay with the two guests seated beside them. To his surprise, the seat of honor was occupied by a little girl about Xiao Yan's age. She was quite cute, but her expression was icy, forming a stark contrast with the kindly old man beside her.

Xiao Yan's gaze lingered briefly on the girl's exquisite face, as delicate as carved jade, before swiftly moving away. He could tell that her background was extraordinary, but she was not the person he was looking for. Since that was the case, he had no reason to stay.

Just as he was about to leave, however, Xiao Zhan called out to him. With no other choice, Xiao Yan turned back. "Father, what is it?"

"Yan'er, this is your little sister Xun'er. She'll be staying with our Xiao Clan for a while. You're about the same age, so make sure to look after her." Xiao Zhan patted his youngest son's head and spoke with a smile. He knew how formidable Xun'er's background was, and he had some selfish motives for saying this. If Xun'er remembered this friendship after leaving the Xiao Clan, Xiao Yan's future path would be considerably smoother.

"Oh." Xiao Yan nodded casually. Xun'er... That name does sound rather like that wicked woman's. As for looking after her, forget it. Once was enough.

Unlike Xiao Yan's perfunctory attitude, Xun'er's initially indifferent expression gained a trace of curiosity when she saw him. Though young, she possessed an exceptional maturity of mind. Since her birth, everyone she had met apart from her father had approached her with some ulterior motive, without exception. They either wanted to please her or hoped to gain something. Only this Xiao Yan had looked at her with utter coldness from beginning to end. He even... seemed to pay her no mind at all.

This stirred a little curiosity in the young lady of the Gu Clan toward the young master who was slightly older than her.

Of course, it was nothing more than curiosity.