At the regular Xiao family testing assembly.

"Xiao Yan... Dou... Dou Qi?"

"...Fourth stage!?"

The middle-aged man conducting the test was also stunned, his eyes filled with surprise as he looked at Xiao Yan.

The middle-aged man's words caused quite a stir.

The surrounding Xiao family juniors all showed expressions of surprise, confusion, shock, disbelief, and various other emotions.

The reason for such reactions was that Xiao Yan was a rare genius in the Xiao family in a hundred years.

A year ago, when Xiao Yan was tested here, the words "One-Star Fighter" were shining brightly on the Magic Stone.

It caused a sensation throughout the Xiao family, and even gained fame in the city of Wutan.

An eleven-year-old one-star fighter, an absolute genius with unlimited future achievements!

The entire Xiao family was envisioning Xiao Yan's future growth, leading the family to glory!

And in this year, Xiao Yan did not disappoint their expectations. He devoted himself even more diligently to his cultivation, almost cutting off contact with outsiders.

Whenever Xiao Yan was seen by other Xiao family members, he was always in a hurry.

Sometimes, he wouldn't be seen for ten days or even half a month, locked in his room practicing.

The only one who had a lot of contact with Xiao Yan was probably his younger brother, Xiao Ze, the fourth young master of the Xiao family.

Xiao Yan's level of effort satisfied most of the elders in the Xiao family, even serving as a motivation for their own children.

"Just look at Xiao Yan, so talented and yet so hardworking. Don't you know you should practice harder?"

This was the most common phrase heard among the younger generation of the Xiao family this year.

Even Xiao Ning, the eldest elder of the Xiao family who didn't get along with the family patriarch, had said this to his grandson, Xiao Ning.

He urged him to learn from Xiao Yan's hard work and not be idle all the time.

However, despite Xiao Yan being the most talented genius in the Xiao family for a hundred years, after a year of diligent cultivation, his strength did not advance but retreated instead, falling from a fighter, even slipping to the fourth stage of Dou Qi.

This was what shocked the surrounding Xiao family juniors the most. After the shock, discussions began.

"What's going on? Wasn't Xiao Yan a one-star fighter? Did the test stone break?"

"How could it break? I was the last one tested, and it was incredibly accurate. I'm at the fifth stage of Dou Qi!"

"So, what's going on with Xiao Yan now?"

"What else could it be? His strength has regressed!"

On the testing platform, Xiao Yan clenched his fists.

The shocked and incredulous gazes of the people below, along with the doubtful discussions, pierced his heart deeply.

Although he had mentally prepared for this situation since his strength regression started, experiencing it still made him feel so uncomfortable.

Xiao Yan walked off the stage without saying a word, ignoring the discussions of the crowd, and left straight away.

On a small hill outside the square, Xiao Ze leaned against a tree, his head resting on his hands, looking relaxed.

"It's finally three years before the plot starts. My third brother is about to endure three years of ridicule and sarcasm."

Xiao Ze was also a transmigrator. He discovered the binding feedback system when he started practicing at the age of four.

There were two choices before Xiao Ze at that time. One was Xiao Yan, the son of destiny, destined to become the Flame Emperor in the future.

The other was Xiao Xun'er, the proud daughter of heaven, with terrifying talent and a deep background.

After careful consideration, Xiao Ze decided to choose Xiao Xun'er as the bound object.

Xiao Yan's future was promising but full of uncertainties.

His success was almost unrepeatable. A single misstep or a slight lack of willpower could lead to instant death.

Especially when Xiao Yan accepted the inheritance of the Ancient Emperor, he didn't know how many times his body had exploded, relying entirely on his unyielding willpower to survive.

And Xiao Yan's early growth path was quite difficult, especially when absorbing the different fires, it was extremely risky.

Compared to Xiao Yan, Xiao Xun'er's growth path was much smoother.

With top-notch talent and an astonishing background, many times Xiao Xun'er's cultivation was no worse than Xiao Yan's, and even surpassed him in terms of combat power!

Xiao Xun'er's personal guards were high-level Dou Emperors, and in the Gama Empire, no one could threaten her life.

Even if there was a real threat to her life, her father, who was at the peak of Dou Saint, surely left some protective measures, right?

Moreover, with Xiao Xun'er's identity as the young miss of the Gu clan, she was basically guaranteed to reach the peak of Dou Saint!

Two broad roads lay before Xiao Ze, and he ultimately chose Xiao Xun'er because it was safer.

After all, Xiao Yan could encounter accidents at any time, and his appearance could greatly affect Xiao Yan's fate.

Whether he could continue to carry the protagonist's luck, Xiao Ze didn't know.

With his system plus Xiao Xun'er's guaranteed peak of Dou Saint, achieving the level of Dou Emperor should not be a problem.

Therefore, Xiao Ze decisively chose Xiao Xun'er as the bound object.

[Ding! Xiao Xun'er's strength has increased to the ninth stage of Dou Qi! Host gains tenfold feedback!]

[Congratulations, host, for reaching the level of nine-star fighter!]

Xiao Ze looked at the prompt that appeared this morning, his eyes filled with smiles. After collecting the rewards, he would be able to break through from the eight-star to the nine-star fighter.

"It's so enjoyable to be alone here, Xiao Ze!"

The delicate and tender voice of a girl suddenly rang out.

Xiao Xun'er stood with her hands behind her back, leaning slightly forward with a playful look on her face as she peeked out from behind Xiao Ze, looking down at him.

Looking at the beautiful girl suddenly appearing before him, although from Xiao Ze's perspective, her charming face was upside down.

But it didn't affect the breathtaking beauty that the girl had already possessed!

Xiao Ze and Xiao Xun'er were the same age, with Xiao Ze being slightly older by a few months, just like Xiao Yan.

They both started practicing at the same time, and Xiao Ze, because of binding with Xiao Xun'er and gaining tenfold feedback, had astonishingly fast cultivation speed.

He often guided Xiao Xun'er and even helped her cultivate her meridians.

Of course, because of the system, his strength had greatly increased, and his control over Dou Qi was also very high.

Therefore, cultivating the meridians only required him to connect his hands, which could help Xiao Xun'er cultivate all the meridians in her body.

Although its usefulness was not that great, Xiao Ze's help made Xiao Xun'er feel warm at the time.

The relationship between the two also became extremely good, childhood sweethearts all the way to the present.

"I'm certainly happy. I'm lying here thinking about someone~"

The smile on Xiao Xun'er's face froze for a moment, and there was a subtle, almost imperceptible hint of displeasure in her tone.

"Xiao Ze, are you thinking about which beauty?"

"Yes! I'm thinking about a beauty named Xiao Xun'er."

"You smooth talker!" Xiao Xun'er chuckled softly.

However, the discomfort in her tone had disappeared without a trace, and her smile had returned.

"Cousin Xiao Yan seems to be in trouble..."

Xiao Xun'er sat down and looked at the tall testing stele in the distance, thoughtfully saying to Xiao Ze.

(End of Chapter )