Chapter 2: The Mysterious Key
"Xiao Xun'er, Battle Qi: Level Eight! Rank: High!"
When the middle-aged tester announced this, the entire crowd fell silent again.
Xiao Xun'er had reached Level Eight Battle Qi at just thirteen years old, making it highly likely she would reach One Star Battle Disciple by fifteen.
Such talent was even greater than Xiao Tian's, only slightly inferior to Xiao Yan's former prowess.
Xiao Tian, however, didn't feel much about this.
After all, Xiao Xun'er was backed by the Gu Clan, the second most powerful of the Ancient Eight Clans.
At present, Xiao Xun'er hadn't fully displayed her cultivation talent.
In the original story, even Xiao Yan, the protagonist, couldn't match her speed of cultivation before he became a Battle Saint.
After the test, Xiao Tian and Xiao Xun'er left together, under the complex gazes of the other boys and girls.
Xiao Tian wasn't in a hurry to get the ring from Xiao Yan.
After all, it was the last keepsake from Xiao Yan's mother, and Xiao Yan had deep sentimental attachment to it.
He needed to let the clan members further provoke Xiao Yan, making him more eager to regain his strength. Only then could Xiao Tian take the ring from him.
Don't think he was despicable; he was merely doing what most people would do.
It was like if you were reborn and knew there was a treasure worth millions buried in your neighbor's yard. The treasure wasn't buried by the neighbor. Wouldn't you dig it up first?
...
After having lunch with Xiao Xun'er, they bid each other farewell.
Xiao Tian returned to his small courtyard and took out a key to open the door.
"Click!"
When Xiao Tian opened the door, he found that it didn't lead to his residence but to a bright, empty space.
This space was completely empty, with nothing inside except a glowing door at the far end.
"Could this be my golden finger?"
Xiao Tian stepped in, curiously examining the interior.
"Clang!"
As soon as he entered, the door behind him closed and then vanished completely.
"Damn! How am I supposed to get out?"
Xiao Tian reached out, unable to find the door he had entered through.
"Sigh!"
With a light sigh, Xiao Tian looked toward the distant door and walked over.
"What could be behind this door? The legacy of a great power? A mysterious world?"
He examined the door in front of him, gritted his teeth, and pushed it open.
Before his eyes was a dense forest.
Xiao Tian stepped through the door, which then disappeared, replaced by a steep cliff.
"Bringing me to the edge of a cliff, could there be a mysterious expert's cave dwelling here?"
With this thought, Xiao Tian approached the cliff's edge and looked down.
He saw some protruding rocks forming a path along the cliff face.
"Since I'm here, I might as well take a look!"
Cautiously, Xiao Tian used the rocks to make his way down.
After a short while, he discovered a concealed cave beneath several large stones.
"There really is a cave!"
Xiao Tian's heart filled with joy.
He leaped into the cave.
Unlike the hot outside, it was cool and comfortable inside, a perfect place to escape the heat.
Xiao Tian walked inside and found the cave wasn't very large.
Apart from a stone pool about two or three yards wide, there was nothing special inside.
The stone pool was filled with clear, see-through water, with a bit of chill rising from it. The coolness of the cave came from this pool.
"A cliff, a cave, a stone pool..."
This scene made Xiao Tian's pupils shrink.
He suddenly remembered the cave Lin Dong found in "Wu Dong Qian Kun" that was similar to this.
"Could this be that cave?"
Xiao Tian looked up, scanning the cave ceiling.
After careful observation, he noticed a faint gleam in one spot.
"Indeed!"
Xiao Tian's eyes lit up.
He stomped his right foot on the ground and leaped up, his right fist aimed at the cave ceiling.
"Boom!"
Instantly, stones flew everywhere.
Among the rubble was a small, gray-white object the size of two fingers.
Xiao Tian reached out and grabbed it.
The object felt strangely soft, yet it wasn't stone, jade, or wood.
Upon closer inspection, he saw obscure patterns on it, looking like runes.
"Hahaha!"
Xiao Tian's heart filled with joy. "I never expected to come to the 'Wu Dong Qian Kun' world and obtain the Symbol Ancestor's stone talisman."
As someone from Earth, he knew the power of this stone talisman.
It was the strongest divine artifact refined by the Symbol Ancestor in the Great Thousand World, capable of gathering energy, deducing martial arts, serving as a storage space, and even honing spiritual power.
But its greatest function was balancing the power of the eight ancestral symbols, allowing one to control all eight at once.
In other words, obtaining the stone talisman meant gaining the chance to become the "Martial Ancestor."
After getting the stone talisman, Xiao Tian returned the way he came.
He didn't absorb the energy from the pool, knowing he had already taken Lin Dong's opportunity and didn't want to take everything.
Back at the cliff top, Xiao Tian searched and found no sign of the door he had entered through.
But he found the key on the ground, the same one he used to open the door.
Holding the key, Xiao Tian pondered, "Could this key open a passage between two worlds?"
Soon, another thought occurred to him, "How do I get back?"
His gaze fell on the key in his hand.
He circulated his Battle Qi and injected it into the key.
"Buzz!"
The seemingly ordinary key emitted a dazzling light.
Simultaneously, a strange fluctuation spread, distorting the space in front of Xiao Tian.
In an instant, a closed door appeared there.
Xiao Tian stepped forward, inserted the key, and opened the door.
Seeing the same empty space inside, he removed the key and walked in.
As soon as he entered, the door vanished.
Xiao Tian walked to the other end of the space and opened the door at the end, finding himself back in the courtyard of his Xiao family residence.
"Hahaha!"
Holding the key, Xiao Tian laughed joyfully.
The key allowed him to travel between two worlds, giving him access to opportunities in both. He believed he could become the Great Sovereign.
(End of Chapter)