Everyone gathered

After Xiao Zhan left, Xiao Yan returned to his room, sat cross-legged on his bed, and closed his eyes to quietly regulate his breathing.

All these years, his constitution had not been damaged, nor had he suffered any hidden injuries. Yao Lao had simply been absorbing his Dou Qi all along, constantly draining his cultivation and causing it to regress stage by stage until he finally fell to Three Segments of Dou Qi, unable to retain any power.

That lasted until he ate the Sacred Fruit Ye Fan had given him.

An immense amount of pure, exceptionally gentle energy poured into his body, rapidly building up his cultivation and forcibly filling the dantian that had stood empty for years, restoring him to the One-Star Dou Zhe realm in one leap.

But the Sacred Fruit's energy was too vast. Most of its pure power still lay quietly stored deep within his meridians and sea of Qi, not yet fully digested.

Now, Xiao Yan focused his mind and circulated the Flame Mantra Yao Lao had taught him, as his body was still not strong enough to practice Red Emperor Fire Emperor Qi.

Xiao Yan began concentrating on refining the remaining medicinal power. As he circulated the cultivation method, the Sacred Fruit's dormant medicinal power instantly surged within him.

Streams of gentle, potent, pure energy flowed swiftly through his meridians, filling his previously empty dantian.

Unlike the impure power from ordinary pills, the Sacred Fruit's energy was exceptionally pure and had no side effects whatsoever. It was simply a vast quantity of cultivation essence.

A light surge of abundant energy broke straight through the barrier of his One-Star Dou Zhe realm. Two stars! Three stars!

His progress was astonishingly fast.

Ordinary people had to cultivate diligently for months, accumulating Dou Qi bit by bit, just to raise their cultivation by a single star.

But Xiao Yan faced no bottlenecks at all. The Sacred Fruit's residual energy poured endlessly from within his body, driving his Dou Qi cultivation upward at a frantic pace.

Four stars, five stars, six stars!

The Dou Qi inside him surged rapidly, growing from thin wisps into dense, condensed power as it gradually filled and expanded his meridians. His meridians were clear and unobstructed, and his entire body brimmed with a long-absent sense of strength.

Seven stars! Eight stars!

The barriers between realms broke easily one after another, without any stalls or instability.

The moment the final barrier shattered, the air inside the room trembled slightly.

Nine-Star Dou Zhe!

In mere moments, Xiao Yan had advanced directly from One-Star Dou Zhe to the peak of Nine-Star Dou Zhe, his breakthrough firmly consolidated!

His Dou Qi cultivation was full and complete, robust and solid, and his overall condition could not have been more perfect.

Inside the ring, Yao Lao sensed the rapid rise in Xiao Yan's Dou Qi. Had Xiao Yan not told him about the chat group earlier, he would certainly have assumed that Xiao Yan was also a descendant of the Ancient Eight Clans whose bloodline had now awakened. At this point, Yao Lao still did not know that Xiao Yan really was a descendant of the Ancient Eight Clans. After all, who could have imagined that the current Xiao Clan had once been the Xiao Clan of the Ancient Eight Clans?

Xiao Yan slowly exhaled a breath of stale air and opened his eyes.

The Xiao Residence was particularly quiet. The morning sun lit up its blue-tiled, upturned eaves, and its scattered courtyards were neat and elegant. The plants in the courtyard were lush and green, and a gentle breeze carried the refreshing air unique to early morning. In the distant training grounds, several Xiao Clan disciples were doing their morning exercises.

Xiao Yan walked over to his room's window, lightly rubbing the Storage Ring on his hand with his fingertips as he spoke in a relaxed tone.

"Teacher, haven't you always been curious about those chat group friends of mine from across the worlds? They'll be crossing over for a visit shortly. You can come out and meet them."

A faint light flickered over the Storage Ring, and Yao Lao's illusory, aged figure slowly emerged, floating beside Xiao Yan. Having slept for so many years, he was very curious about people from other worlds.

[Xiao Yan: "Guys, you can come over to my place now."]

Soon, Xiao Yan saw four requests arrive through the chat group.

[Jiang Xian requests to travel to your world. Allow travel?]

[Ye Fan requests to travel to your world. Allow travel?]

[Fang Han/Shi Hao request to travel to your world. Allow travel?]

Xiao Yan approved all four chat group requests at lightning speed.

After Xiao Yan approved everyone's requests, four spatial gates appeared inside his room.

The first to step out was a short-haired youth of seventeen or eighteen. He stood tall and straight, with a languid, easygoing expression. He showed none of the stiff airs of a powerful expert, and a faint smile hung on his lips.

Looking at the short hair and modern casual clothes before him, Xiao Yan quickly made a guess.

"Group owner? Welcome, welcome."

"That's me. I didn't expect you to recognize me so quickly," Jiang Xian replied.

The next to emerge was a short-haired youth dressed in ancient-style clothing.

"Ye Fan, you got here pretty quickly!" Jiang Xian said to the short-haired youth.

"Heh, didn't you get here first, Brother Jiang?" Ye Fan replied.

With two of their identities already known, the remaining two were easy to guess.

The third arrival was a youth of fifteen or sixteen with delicate features. This had to be Fang Han.

After stepping out, Fang Han greeted his fellow group members, and they got to know one another a little.

The last to emerge was a cute little child dressed in animal skins.

"Hello, big brothers!" Shi Hao said to everyone in the room.

"Hello, little Shi Hao." Jiang Xian walked over and patted Shi Hao's head. He had to admit that Shi Hao really was adorable as a child.

Everyone soon grew familiar with one another. Yao Lao and Yan also emerged from their rings. Although everyone already knew about Yao Lao and Yan, introductions were still in order. Xiao Yan and Fang Han each introduced their own "old grandpa" to the others.

Just then, a voice came from outside. "Third Young Master, the clan leader has asked you to come to the hall."

"Everyone, let's go together. Yesterday, I told my father you would be visiting and asked him to make preparations. He just didn't expect you to appear inside my room. Nalan Yanran should be here by now." Xiao Yan scratched his head in slight embarrassment.

Everyone soon arrived at the reception hall. Xiao Zhan saw three young men and a little child following behind Xiao Yan. These must have been the friends Yan'er had told him about yesterday.

He had stationed people outside the Xiao Clan's gates to receive them. Now that the guests were here, why had none of those people notified him?

Xiao Zhan immediately stood up. "You must be Yan'er's friends. Please, make yourselves at home and take a seat."

The three elders beside Xiao Zhan cast disdainful looks at the group. Xiao Yan was about to find seats for everyone, but a glance around revealed there were none. There were actually no seats for him or his guests.

Xiao Yan clenched his fists. They were actually humiliating him in front of his fellow group members. He was just about to loudly confront the three elders.

Seeing this, Xiao Zhan immediately turned an angry gaze on the elders beside him.

"My apologies, Clan Leader. I've grown muddleheaded in my old age and forgot to prepare seats for the Third Young Master and his friends," the yellow-robed elder said with a smile, though he made no effort to hide the mockery in his eyes.

Jiang Xian frowned at the sight. He was not about to indulge these elders.

"Since you forgot, you old bastards can get the hell out of your seats and let us sit there," Jiang Xian told the three elders.

At these words, the yellow-robed elder immediately pointed at Jiang Xian and berated him harshly.

"Insolence! These are the Xiao Clan's grounds! You're a mere junior from outside, yet you dare speak so disrespectfully to us elders, without the slightest shred of courtesy!"

"Our Xiao Clan has stood in Wutan City for many years. We will not tolerate your insolence here!"