Xiao Qian's Test Result

Xiao Yan walked down from the testing platform with heavy steps, each one seeming to bear the weight of a thousand tons.

In the sunlight, his figure looked utterly forlorn.

"Cousin... Xiao Yan..."

Xiao Mei, who had once rushed joyfully toward him the moment she saw him and hovered at his side, now hesitated, her expression full of uncertainty.

Xiao Yan merely withdrew his sidelong glance coldly and walked through the crowd with an indifferent expression, passing between the boys and girls who had once surrounded him every day, their faces brimming with admiration.

Not a single person stepped forward to greet him. A deathly silence hung around him.

Perhaps some were still too stunned to recover their senses, but their silent response was undoubtedly a sharp blade, plunging mercilessly into the fallen boy's heart.

So this is the cold, cruel reality...

Xiao Yan sighed inwardly. Dragging his legs as though they were filled with lead, he slowly walked past everyone, looking like a dog heartlessly abandoned by its owner, lonely and desolate.

Just then, another figure passed him. A warm, strong hand pressed gently against his shoulder before quickly releasing it, as though conveying a silent strength.

"This isn't the end."

Those few words exploded like thunder in Xiao Yan's ears. His whole body jolted, and his fists clenched instinctively. Then he abruptly turned to look at Xiao Qian's back as he walked onto the platform, his eyes growing moist despite himself.

He had said this wasn't the end.

The person who had played with him since childhood, his closest friend and brother, still believed unwaveringly in him, Xiao Yan!

"Cousin Xiao Yan, I feel the same way he does."

Xiao Xun'er was also watching Xiao Qian's back, a heartwarming smile touching her lips. "You won't disappoint him, will you?"

Xiao Yan rubbed his face hard, as though trying to wipe away every trace of dejection.

He silently swore to himself: One day, I'll take back everything I've lost. Until then, I won't let anyone see my despair or defeat again! Except you two...

He slowly turned around, watching Xiao Qian's back with quiet resolve.

"With that mischievous streak of his, he probably would have shown three-stage Dou Qi again this time. But after what happened to you, he might not intend to keep hiding it."

Xiao Xun'er's gaze was deep as she said softly, "The bond between you two really is wonderful. Even I can't help feeling a little jealous..."

It was a brotherhood so pure that it held not a trace of impurity, born simply of their mutual admiration and the years they had spent growing up together.

Xiao Yan stared blankly at Xiao Qian's back, watching him approach the testing platform step by step.

Everyone was still discussing Xiao Yan's situation, and before the examiner even had time to call Xiao Qian's name, he had already pressed his hand against the testing stone.

Hum.

The testing stone's hum cut through the noisy chatter in the square, drawing everyone's attention and bringing their gazes back to the platform.

When they realized the person standing there was Xiao Qian, intense curiosity filled their eyes.

Did this mysterious boy, rumored to have killed a Dou Shi and even assassinated a Da Dou Shi, truly possess only three-stage Dou Qi?

"Dou Qi, ninth stage!"

The gleaming words lit up on the testing stone, and the entire square instantly fell silent, so quiet that heartbeats seemed audible.

Had he leaped straight from the third stage of Dou Qi to the ninth stage in a single year?

Many exchanged looks, their eyes full of shock, momentarily at a loss for words.

Yet amid their shock, they felt that something so far beyond common sense happening to this mysterious boy somehow made a little sense.

"If Dou Qi can fall from the Dou Zhe realm to the third stage, naturally it can also rise from the third stage to the ninth in a single year. Or even..."

A gleam flashed through Xiao Qian's eyes, and Dou Qi surged vigorously through his palm once more.

"Dou Qi, eighteenth stage!"

"Dou Qi, twenty-seventh stage!"

Drawing on the power of three dantians, he unleashed a series of astounding displays like dazzling bolts of lightning, blinding everyone present.

"It's broken. This testing stone must be broken."

"What am I seeing? Isn't the ninth stage supposed to be the highest level of Dou Qi? Any higher and your dantian would burst! You have to advance to Dou Zhe and form a Dou Qi vortex before you can keep cultivating!"

"The eighteenth stage of Dou Qi? The twenty-seventh stage? My heavens..."

Cries of doubt and horror mingled, instantly filling the square with an uproar.

"The testing stone isn't broken."

Xiao Zhan and the Three Great Elders gathered around the testing stone and carefully inspected it with solemn expressions. Their conclusion left everyone as dumbstruck as wooden chickens.

Their last shred of wishful thinking was mercilessly shattered at that moment.

It truly was the twenty-seventh stage of Dou Qi!

How was that possible? Did that make any sense?

"I just wanted to tell you..." Xiao Qian slowly withdrew his hand and turned to face everyone in the square. With an indifferent expression, he said evenly, "You don't understand the world of geniuses."

His pointed words drew many gazes back to Xiao Yan. Eyes that had just been filled with gloating suddenly became doubtful and uncertain.

Indeed, now that one freak who defied all common sense had appeared, who could say there wouldn't be a second? If Dou Qi could inexplicably fall away, couldn't it be cultivated back again?

Perhaps it was still too early to declare that a genius had fallen. Better to wait a year and see.

Many had already quietly settled on that course.

"Come on, let's go drinking!"

Having achieved his intended goal, Xiao Qian walked straight down from the platform, hooked an arm around Xiao Yan's neck, and started dragging him away.

"Who said you could drink?!"

As though something had struck a nerve, Xiao Xun'er forgot all about her graceful bearing and jumped up, shouting through gritted teeth, "You're not going!"

What had happened a year ago still left her shaken.

Had she not arrived in time, there was no telling what terrible consequences might have followed.

"Then come with us."

To her surprise, Xiao Qian suddenly reached out with his other hand, grabbed Xiao Xun'er's hand, and pulled both of them out through the Xiao Clan's gates without allowing any argument.

Everyone stared blankly at the three departing figures. The girl's complaining voice gradually faded into the distance, yet beneath all those peculiar gazes, the scene seemed so warm.

Watching them leave, Xiao Zhan gently rubbed his eyes, a gratified smile appearing on his face.

News of what had happened there swept through the entire city with the speed of a storm.

Though both Xiao Yan's loss of Dou Qi and Xiao Qian's twenty-seventh stage of Dou Qi were exceedingly bizarre, just as Xiao Qian had expected, his astounding, convention-defying display of twenty-seventh-stage Dou Qi drew far more attention, firmly overshadowing the subject of Xiao Yan's fall from genius.

In streets and alleys, restaurants and bars, ninety-nine percent of people were heatedly debating whether twenty-seventh-stage Dou Qi made any sense, while Xiao Yan's situation was almost always mentioned only in passing.

Many even believed that Xiao Yan would return to his peak a year later, and there was no need to rush to conclusions now.

"Have you heard? That Xiao Qian from the Xiao Clan tested at twenty-seventh-stage Dou Qi!"

"It's already the biggest news in Wutan City! Who hasn't heard?"

"Maybe we really don't understand the world of geniuses. That fellow is a monster!"

Xiao Qian, Xiao Yan, and Xiao Xun'er were tucked away in a secluded private room, quietly listening to the chatter outside.

"That should settle the uproar for you, but a year from now is what really matters," Xiao Qian told Xiao Yan as he poured the wine.

Xiao Yan merely shook his head and gulped down a cup of wine. Looking gloomy, he said, "This is too bizarre. My talent for cultivation is clearly still there, but I just can't retain any Dou Qi. Every time I cultivate more, it mysteriously disappears."

Xiao Qian and Xiao Xun'er exchanged looks. Even with their knowledge and backgrounds, neither had ever heard of anything so strange.

"It sounds like something is causing trouble inside your body, like a parasite. Why don't we find a physician to take a look?" Xiao Qian suggested with a frown.

Xiao Yan sighed helplessly and continued downing one cup after another.

"Right, how do you have twenty-seventh-stage Dou Qi?" he asked Xiao Qian, as though something had suddenly occurred to him.

Xiao Qian shrugged. Feeling there was nothing worth hiding about it, he said casually, "I have more dantians than most..."

Xiao Yan was instantly speechless. "..."

"Actually, I have a problem of my own. I still can't break through the Dou Qi realm and advance to Dou Zhe," Xiao Qian continued.

The corners of Xiao Yan's mouth twitched. "What's this, then? Brothers in misfortune?"

"Why can't you break through? I can find a way to get you a batch of Qi Gathering Powder," Xiao Xun'er said.

She quietly poured wine for them at the side, then picked up Xiao Qian's cup with some curiosity and took a sip. The burning taste nearly made her spit it out.

"Qi Gathering Powder? A whole batch?" Xiao Yan couldn't help drawing in a sharp breath. "Who exactly are you two?"

"When the time is right, you'll know."

Xiao Qian merely shrugged.

"As for pills, they don't do much for me."