The moon shone brightly, and the sky was filled with stars.
On the mountain peak, Xiao Yan lay on the grassy ground. A green blade of grass rested between his lips, and as he chewed on it gently, he let its bitter-sour taste spread through his mouth...
Raising a pale hand before his face, he peered through the gaps between his fingers, gazing at the silver moon hanging in the distant sky.
"Sigh..." Recalling the test from this afternoon, Xiao Yan let out a soft sigh. He reluctantly pulled his hand back, resting his head on both arms as his gaze grew somewhat vacant.
"It's been fifteen years..." The soft murmur escaped the youth's lips without warning.
Deep in Xiao Yan's heart lay a secret known only to him: he was not of this world. Or rather, his soul did not belong here. He came from a place called Earth, though he could not explain how he had ended up here. After living here for some time, he finally understood: he had transmigrated!
As he grew older, Xiao Yan gradually gained a vague understanding of this continent...
The continent was called the Dou Qi Continent. Here, there was no magic like in fantasy novels; instead, Dou Qi was the sole master of the land!
On this continent, the cultivation of Dou Qi had reached its absolute peak through the tireless efforts of countless generations. Furthermore, as the applications of Dou Qi expanded, it eventually integrated into the daily lives of the common people, making it an inseparable part of humanity. Consequently, the importance of Dou Qi on this continent was entirely irreplaceable.
According to established records, the Dou Qi Continent classified Dou Qi methods into ranks from low to high, divided into four classes and twelve levels: Tian, Di, Xuan, and Huang!
Each class was further subdivided into three levels: Low, Middle, and High.
The rank of the Dou Qi method one cultivated was the key factor in determining their future achievements. For instance, someone practicing a Middle Xuan-class Qi Method would naturally be stronger than a person of the same level practicing a Middle Huang-class Qi Method.
On the Dou Qi Continent, a person's strength was determined by three conditions.
First and most importantly, of course, was one's own strength. If a person's strength was only at the level of a one-star Dou Zhe, then even if they practiced a peerless Tian-class Qi Method, they would still be unable to defeat a Dou Shi who practiced a Huang-class Qi Method.
Next was the Qi Method! Between experts of the same level, if your Qi Method was of a higher rank, you would hold a massive advantage during a fight.
The final factor was Dou Skills!
True to their name, these were specialized techniques used to unleash Dou Qi. Dou Skills on the continent were also categorized into ranks, similarly divided into the four classes of Tian, Di, Xuan, and Huang.
There was no shortage of Dou Skills on the Dou Qi Continent. However, those circulated among the public were mostly of the Huang class. To obtain more profound Dou Skills, one had to join a sect or a Dou Qi academy on the continent.
Of course, some individuals, through fortuitous encounters or inheritances left by predecessors, might obtain a Qi Method and a matching Dou Skill. When a Dou Skill was paired with a compatible Qi Method, its destructive power would be amplified significantly.
Relying on these three conditions, one could judge a person's strength. Generally speaking, if one could obtain a higher-ranking Qi Method, their future prospects would undoubtedly be limitless...
However, high-level Dou Qi Qi Methods were extremely difficult for ordinary people to obtain. The methods circulated among the common populace were, at most, of the Huang class. Only powerful clans or medium-to-small sects possessed Xuan class cultivation methods. For instance, in Xiao Yan's clan, the highest-level Qi Method was one that only the clan leader was qualified to cultivate: the "Furious Lion's Rage," a Mid-Xuan class Wind-attribute Dou Qi Qi Method.
Above the Xuan class was the Di class. This profound level of Qi Method was something only transcendent powers or great empires could possess...
As for the Tian class... it had not been seen for hundreds of years.
Theoretically, for an ordinary person to obtain a high-level Qi Method was as difficult as ascending to heaven. However, nothing was absolute. As the Dou Qi Continent expanded and countless races settled down, the northern part of the continent became home to the Barbarians, who were said to possess immense strength and could merge with beast souls. In the south, there were various intelligent, high-level Magic Beast clans, as well as sinister and bizarre dark races...
Because of the vastness of the land, there were many nameless hermits who, at the end of their lives, might leave the Qi Methods they created in some hidden place, waiting for a destined person to find them. On the Dou Qi Continent, there was a popular saying: "If one day you fall into a cave, do not panic. Take two steps forward, and perhaps it will help you become a powerhouse of this world!"
Such a saying was not entirely false. In the continent's thousand-year history, there was no shortage of stories about people becoming powerhouses through these fortuitous encounters.
The effect of these stories was that many people sought out cliffs in hopes of finding peerless Qi Methods. Of course, most of these people returned with broken arms and legs...
In short, this was a land full of miracles and the people who created them.
Of course, to cultivate a Dou Qi manual, one had to at least become a true Dou Zhe to be qualified, and Xiao Yan was still very far from that goal...
"Phooey." Spitting out the blade of grass in his mouth, Xiao Yan suddenly jumped up, his face contorted with rage as he roared at the sky, "Fuck you! Did you transmigrate me across time and space just to make me a piece of trash? Dammit!"
In his past life, Xiao Yan was an extremely ordinary person. Wealth and beautiful women were basically two parallel lines to him, never destined to meet. But after arriving on the Dou Qi Continent, Xiao Yan was pleasantly surprised to find that, thanks to his experience of two lifetimes, his soul was much stronger than that of an ordinary person!
One must know that on the Dou Qi Continent, the soul was innate. It could grow slightly stronger with age, but there was no Qi Method that could cultivate the soul alone—not even a Tian class Qi Method! This was the most basic knowledge on the Dou Qi Continent.
His strengthened soul also forged Xiao Yan's cultivation talent, while simultaneously building his reputation as a genius.
When an ordinary person realizes they have the potential to become the center of attention for countless eyes, without sufficient mental fortitude, it is very difficult to maintain their composure. Obviously, in his previous life, Xiao Yan was just an ordinary person, and his willpower was no greater than anyone else's. Therefore, when he began cultivating Dou Qi, he chose to be a genius—the focus of everyone's attention—rather than developing quietly in obscurity.
Had nothing unexpected happened, Xiao Yan could have indeed carried the title of "genius" to even greater heights. Unfortunately, at the age of eleven, an unforeseen disaster suddenly stripped away his reputation as a genius, and overnight, the genius became a piece of trash for everyone to ridicule!
……
After shouting a few times, Xiao Yan's emotions gradually calmed down, and his face returned to its usual quiet expression. Now that things had reached this point, no matter how angry he was, he could not recover the Dou Qi cyclone that he had painstakingly cultivated.
Shaking his head bitterly, Xiao Yan actually felt a trace of grievance in his heart. He had absolutely no idea what was happening to his body. Regular examinations revealed nothing out of the ordinary. His soul grew stronger as he aged, and his speed of absorbing Dou Qi was even a bit faster than during his peak state a few years ago. All of this indicated that his talent had not diminished at all, yet the Dou Qi entering his body vanished completely without exception. This bizarre situation left Xiao Yan feeling dejected and sorrowful...
Sighing dejectedly, Xiao Yan raised his hand. On his finger was a black ring. The ring was very ancient, made of an unknown material, with faint patterns engraved on its surface. This was the only keepsake his mother had given him before she died. He had worn it for ten years, starting from the age of four. His mother's relic gave Xiao Yan a sense of deep attachment to it. Gently caressing the ring, Xiao Yan smiled bitterly and said, "Over these past few years, I have truly failed to live up to Mother's expectations..."
With another sigh, Xiao Yan suddenly turned his head and smiled warmly toward the pitch-black woods, "Father, you're here?"
Although his Dou Qi was only at the third stage, Xiao Yan's soul perception was much keener than that of a five-star Dou Zhe. Just as he was mentioning his mother, he had detected movement in the woods.
"Haha, Yan-er, it's so late. Why are you still up here?" After a brief silence, a man's caring laughter echoed from the woods.
The branches rustled slightly as a middle-aged man stepped out. With a smile on his face, his gaze landed on his son standing under the moonlight.
The middle-aged man wore ornate grey robes and walked with a majestic, powerful stride. A pair of thick eyebrows on his face added a touch of heroic spirit. This was the current clan leader of the Xiao Clan and Xiao Yan's father, the five-star Da Dou Shi, Xiao Zhan!
"Father, aren't you also still awake?" Looking at the middle-aged man, the smile on Xiao Yan's face deepened. Although he possessed the memories of his past life, ever since he was born, the father before him had doted on him immensely. After his fall from grace, this affection had only increased rather than decreased. This alone was enough for Xiao Yan to willingly call him father.
"Yan-er, are you still thinking about this afternoon's test?" Stepping forward quickly, Xiao Zhan said with a smile.
"Haha, what is there to think about? It was all within expectations anyway." The youth shook his head, his smile a bit forced.
"Sigh..." Looking at Xiao Yan's still somewhat youthful face, Xiao Zhan took a deep breath. After a brief silence, he suddenly said, "Yan'er, you are fifteen this year, aren't you?"
"Yes, Father."
"In another year, it seems... you will have to undergo the coming-of-age ceremony..." Xiao Zhan said with a bitter smile.
"Yes, Father, there is only one year left!" His hands tightening slightly, Xiao Yan replied calmly. He naturally understood what the coming-of-age ceremony represented. Once the ceremony passed, if he lacked cultivation potential, he would naturally be stripped of his eligibility to enter the Dou Qi Pavilion to search for a Dou Qi Method. After that, he would be dispatched to various places managing the clan's businesses to do some ordinary work. This was the clan's rule, and even his father could not change it.
Furthermore, if one did not become a Dou Zhe before the age of twenty-five, the clan would completely give up on them!
"I'm sorry, Yan'er. If your Dou Qi hasn't reached the seventh Duan in a year, Father can only bear the pain of dispatching you to the clan's businesses. This is not something I can decide alone. Those old geezers are waiting for me to make a mistake at any moment... Sigh..." Looking at the calm Xiao Yan, Xiao Zhan sighed with a tinge of shame.
"Father, I will work hard. In one year, I will definitely reach the seventh Duan of Dou Qi!" Xiao Yan smiled comfortingly.
"One year, to increase by four Duans? Haha, if it were before, perhaps it would be possible, but now... there isn't a single shred of hope..." Although he comforted his father like that, Xiao Yan could only laugh bitterly at himself in his heart.
Knowing Xiao Yan all too well, Xiao Zhan could only let out another sigh. He knew how difficult it was to increase four Duans of Dou Qi in a single year. Patting Xiao Yan's head, he suddenly smiled and said, "It's getting late, go back and rest. Tomorrow, the clan will have distinguished guests arriving. Don't be disrespectful."
"Distinguished guests? Who?" Xiao Yan asked curiously.
"You'll find out tomorrow." Winking at Xiao Yan, Xiao Zhan laughed heartily and walked away, leaving Xiao Yan behind with a feeling of helplessness.
"Don't worry, Father, I will do my best!" Caressing the ancient ring on his hand, Xiao Yan raised his head and muttered to himself.
As Xiao Yan raised his head, the ancient black ring on his finger suddenly flashed with an extremely faint, eerie light. The light flickered for only an instant, and no one noticed it...