The Testing Ceremony Begins

Seeing how firmly Xiao Mo had chosen to support Xiao Yan, Yao Lao fell silent.

He opened his mouth, then finally spoke again.

"Think this through. Once you make your choice, there's no going back."

Xiao Mo nodded emphatically, his resolve unwavering.

"Of course, Master. I will never regret it. Since I've chosen to help my junior brother, I'll see him through to the very end."

Xiao Yan also stared at him in disbelief, unable to understand why he would go this far.

His mind made up, Xiao Mo simply held out the Flame Mantra to Xiao Yan with firm resolve.

"This is yours now."

The next second, a system notification sounded in his ears.

[Ding! Congratulations, host. You have successfully obtained the upper-grade cultivation technique, Ice Snow Art.]

[Ding! Congratulations, host. You have successfully obtained 1,000 Shop Points.]

[Ding! Congratulations, host. You have successfully obtained 10 Good Brother Affection Points.]

The rewards brought a smile to his face, but to keep the two before him from noticing, he quickly lowered his head and concealed the smile tugging at his lips.

Xiao Yan rose, stepped forward, and seized Xiao Mo's hand.

"Senior Brother, if I succeed in cultivating this art, I will never forget your immense kindness."

He nodded, looking at Xiao Yan with satisfaction.

"I'll hold you to that. You'll have to work even harder at your cultivation in the days ahead. After all, you're about to break through to Dou Zhe."

"Then we can cultivate our arts together. You've got the Flame Mantra now, so don't let me overtake you."

Xiao Yan clenched his fists, his eyes brimming with respect and affection for him.

"Of course. I won't let you down."

Hearing their exchange filled Yao Lao with relief. Both his disciples were of noble character, even willing to yield to one another.

Above all, he had never expected Xiao Mo to make such a choice. He would be sure to treat this disciple well.

"Where can I find an ice cultivation art better suited to him?"

Yao Lao had already begun considering how to find him a superior cultivation art.

Heaven, Earth, Mystic, Yellow-even if he couldn't find a Heaven- or Earth-grade art, surely he could at least get a Mystic- or Yellow-grade one?

Each of the three had his own thoughts, while Xiao Mo devoted all his attention to the system.

He had already broken through to Dou Zhe, and now possessed three superior cultivation arts: Ice Cold Art, Ice Soul Art, and Ice Snow Art.

Together with his special constitution, he was now qualified to cultivate all three. Until now, he had been strengthening his body and laying a solid foundation.

Now the time had come to reap the fruits of his efforts. Moreover, in a few days, the sect would test their strength again.

When that time came, he would make sure Xiao Yan stunned everyone present. The system would surely give him additional rewards.

So he opened his system panel and quickly began examining his constitution and the three cultivation arts.

His current strength was that of a One-Star Dou Zhe, which should have made him one of the few powerful figures in the story. Unfortunately, most of his Dou Techniques and cultivation arts were still at the beginner level.

Although he had been trying to trigger system missions all along, Xiao Yan's strength had advanced so rapidly that most of the rewards the system gave could only be used by those at Dou Zhe or above.

To avoid exploding and dying, he had effectively spent a year accumulating a chestful of treasures he couldn't use at all. Now that he had reached Dou Zhe, however, he could cultivate these arts and even continue honing his proficiency.

He no longer had to remain at the level of merely scratching the surface.

Just as he was carefully assessing his strength, the system issued another notification.

[Ding! Notice to the host: another test will be held shortly. Please help Xiao Yan stun everyone present.]

[Successfully completing the mission will reward you with 1,000 Shop Points and 10 Good Brother Affection Points.]

Too bad there's no cultivation art this time.

He sighed, but was still eager to complete the mission. After all, there were another 1,000 Shop Points to spend.

Besides, Xiao Yan's own strength alone was enough to stun everyone present. Perhaps he wouldn't even have to lift a finger when the time came and could simply lie back and collect the rewards.

He immediately grew eager for the test a few days away. It was the clan disciples' testing ceremony at sixteen, and Xiao Yan would shine brilliantly during it.

A few days later, Xiao Mo sat below the viewing stands and yawned sleepily.

Sure enough, this was just as unbearable as those endlessly long, boring assemblies the principal held back at school.

He kept yawning, one after another. The complexity and tedium of these ceremonies were simply more than he could bear.

"Save me. When is this going to end?"

Watching Xiao Mo yawn again and again, Xiao Yan casually handed him a bottle of water.

"It's like this every year. You'll get used to it. If you're really bored, why not sleep for a while? We'll wake you when we get to the important part."

Xiao Xun'er rolled her eyes at him disdainfully.

"Xiao Mo, why are you always fooling around? How will you ever get anywhere with your cultivation like this?"

Since they didn't cultivate together, Xiao Xun'er had no idea what level Xiao Mo had reached, despite her extremely close relationship with Xiao Yan.

Xiao Mo quickly scooted aside. This young couple did nothing but flaunt their affection in front of him. How many times had he dodged them over the past year?

Here they go again!

But as he shifted his chair, he accidentally bumped into Xiao Yu behind him, and she kicked his stool straight back.

"Can you three be quiet? Nobody babbles as much as you do."

Xiao Yu looked at the three with utter contempt, her gaze growing even more disdainful when it landed on Xiao Yan.

"You brainless good-for-nothing. You've still got the nerve to sit here?"

Although she wasn't as powerful as Xiao Xun'er, she was one of the fastest-improving disciples in the sect. She greatly admired strength and looked down completely on a good-for-nothing like Xiao Yan.

Over the long years, Xiao Yan had developed tremendous forbearance under their countless displays of contempt and disdain.

But Xiao Mo had grown used to fiercely protecting his own, and he simply couldn't stand hearing anyone speak about Xiao Yan that way.

He clenched his fist and stepped forward, laying the Ice Blade in his hand directly across the woman's throat.

"Try saying that again."

Xiao Yu clearly hadn't expected him to lash out on the spot. Her expression changed sharply, and she raised her hand to retaliate.

Xiao Xun'er and Xiao Yan hurried to intervene, urging both of them not to quarrel.

Xiao Yan grabbed Xiao Mo and pulled him aside.

"Don't bother with that woman. Besides, I'm used to it. And she might not even be as strong as me now, so why argue with someone like her?"

Despite Xiao Yan's reassurance, Xiao Mo still felt stifled and aggrieved.

Xiao Yan is the protagonist! I really can't stomach this crap. Who does Xiao Yu think she is? What gives her the right to be so smug?

Still, considering that this was the coming-of-age ceremony, it really wouldn't be appropriate for him to ruin it.