Sparring!
As soon as Qi Yan'er uttered those words, they instantly drew astonished looks from everyone present.
She...
Was actually going to spar with Xiao Yan?
Were they out of their minds, or was she?
"Yan'er, are you serious?"
Ge Ye asked, looking at Qi Yan'er with a worried expression of bewilderment.
"Mm-hmm!"
Qi Yan'er's wide eyes were filled with absolute confidence as she waved her little fist.
"My fists are very hard, you know!"
"Pfft—ha ha ha ha!"
Seeing Qi Yan'er's adorable little expression, everyone couldn't help bursting into laughter.
Qi Yan'er's little fists were simply too fair and tender.
Just how...
Could those possibly be hard?
If she claimed her father was hard, people might actually believe it!
"Little girl, do you really intend to spar with me?"
A wave of joy surged in Xiao Yan's heart. Wasn't the opportunity presenting itself right here and now?
"Of course!"
Qi Yan'er bobbed her little head.
"My daddy said that a gentleman's word is as good as gold—so much so that even Dou Qi transformed into a great steed couldn't catch up to it."
"Fine! Then I, Xiao Yan, will accompany you to the very end and fight you!"
Seeing this, Xiao Yan accepted the challenge boldly and openly.
"Xiao Yan, do you have any shame left? You're the same age as me, how can you possibly spar with Yan'er?"
Nalan Yanran's pretty face turned cold as she pointed angrily at Xiao Yan and rebuked him.
Xiao Yan remained unconcerned, letting out a cold laugh.
"It was you, Miss Nalan, who pushed your own daughter out here. What? Now you want to go back on your word?"
"You..."
A look of disgust crossed Nalan Yanran's face, but before she could retort, Qi Yan'er interrupted her.
"Sister Yanran, don't worry! You already know what my strength is like~"
Looking into Qi Yan'er's blinking, oversized eyes, Nalan Yanran suddenly remembered something.
Ah, right! How could she have forgotten?
It was all because this little girl was so adorable that she had momentarily slipped her mind regarding her strength!
This was someone capable of knocking down an Eight-Star Dou Zhe.
Dealing with a little punk like Xiao Yan should be as easy as taking candy from a baby, shouldn't it?
Xiao Zhan sat at the head of the table, a faint smile on his aged face.
"Since you've already made your decision, Ge Ye and I will act as witnesses. Yaner, if you lose, you must not pester her ever again. And if she loses..."
"Then I'll go tell my daddy!"
Qi Yan'er pouted her little mouth and said with a huff of annoyance.
"Uh..."
Xiao Zhan was so choked up by those words that he froze in place.
This... was allowed?
"Hmph!"
Qi Yan'er turned her little head away and let out a huff.
This little mustache saw an opportunity and got anxious, did he?
Well, then she simply wouldn't let things go his way!
"This... Mr. Ge, look at this."
Left utterly helpless by the retort, Xiao Zhan could only pin his hopes on Ge Ye.
Hearing this, Ge Ye immediately turned his head away and remained silent.
The gaze he directed at Qi Yan'er was filled with the pure indulgence of an elder toward a favored junior.
Little Yan'er was just too adorable; she was simply too much to the old man's liking!
Xiao Zhan wore a bitter expression, completely at a loss for what to do.
He glanced over at the three elders.
Good grief!
Because he had just lashed out at them a moment ago, they were now adopting a complete attitude of detached indifference, hanging back to watch the show.
Fine!
When it came time to distribute the Qi Gathering Powder, they wouldn't get a single share either!
Seeing his father at a loss once again, Xiao Zhan realized that relying on anyone else was no match for relying on himself.
He lowered his head to look at Qi Yan'er and said in a deep voice:
"Little girl, you just said that a gentleman's word is as good as gold, so how can you go back on your word?"
"Xiao Punk! For someone as big as you, how come you still can't get your words right?"
Qi Yan'er's little face was filled with impatience.
"What I clearly said just now was that a gentleman's word is so hard to keep that even Dou Qi transformed into a great steed can barely catch up. Besides, I'm just a little girl~ My daddy is the gentleman!"
"You..."
Xiao Yan was left speechless and utterly defeated by the retort.
To him, women were inherently unreasonable creatures, but this little girl was easily a hundred times worse!
Seeing Xiao Yan bare his teeth once again like a rabid dog, Qi Yan'er felt thoroughly unamused and waved her small hand dismissively.
"Alright, let's go with whatever you want. If I lose, this engagement can be dealt with however you see fit!"
"Deal!"
Hearing Qi Yan'er's words, Xiao Yan readily agreed without another word and immediately struck a combat stance.
He didn't dare say anything more.
If this little brat changed her mind again, he wouldn't have a single chance left.
Qi Yan'er skipped and hopped into the center of the hall.
Her childish face wore a confident smile, and amidst the blank stares of everyone present, she promptly extended her right hand.
O(∩_∩)O╭∩╮
"Xiao Punk, come at me~!"
"You little brat, you go too far!"
Seeing this provocative gesture, Xiao Yan flew into a rage.
A surge of "formidable" aura suddenly erupted from his lean and withered body!
"Whoosh—"
As if someone had struck a match, a faint trace of white light flashed across the surface of Xiao Yan's skin.
In an instant, Xiao Yan stamped his right foot against the ground and lunged forward, throwing a punch straight at Qi Yan'er.
He held back none of his momentum whatsoever.
He didn't treat the Qi Yan'er before his eyes as a mere seven-year-old girl at all!
"This Xiao Yan is truly vicious!"
Ge Ye narrowed his eyes, deeply sensible of Xiao Yan's terrifying nature.
If the boy truly recovered his talent, he would undoubtedly become a formidable figure in the future.
Watching Xiao Yan charge in with aggressive momentum, Qi Yan'er wore a look of utter disdain and casual indifference on her small face.
"Is that it?"
At that moment, Qi Yan'er transformed her small hand into an open palm and met Xiao Yan head-on without a shred of fear.
"Bang!"
The moment her small palm made contact with his large fist, a dull, heavy thud echoed explosively through the hall.
At that exact second, every single person present dropped their jaws in sheer disbelief!
For in the collision between the two, Xiao Yan was sent flying backward directly through the air!
In contrast, Qi Yan'er's small figure didn't budge an inch.
The Dou Qi radiating from that tiny frame turned out to be...
"Stage Five Dou Qi??"
"How is this possible!!"
The people in the hall could no longer remain seated, rising to their feet in absolute shock.
Just how old was she?
She was merely a six or seven-year-old girl who had only started practicing Qi at age four, yet she was already at Stage Five by seven?
A freak of nature!
A little monster!
"How could her talent be this high?"
In the corner, Xiao Xun'er had already put down the book in her hands, her eyes filled with astonishment as she looked at Qi Yan'er.
She herself was the young lady of the Ancient Clan.
It was already strange enough that her talent had fallen behind Xiao Yan's in the past, but now she was even falling behind this little girl!
This tiny Jia Ma Empire truly was crouching with hidden tigers and lurking dragons!
"What do you have to say for yourself now?"
Qi Yan'er stared at Xiao Yan, who was struggling unsuccessfully to get back up more than a dozen meters away, her little face brimming with pride.
"You... Pfft—"
Between the physical injuries and the sudden surge of overwhelming anger, a mouthful of blood sprayed directly from Xiao Yan's lips.
Glaring furiously at Qi Yan'er and Nalan Yanran, Xiao Yan clenched his teeth so hard they nearly shattered.
"Fine! I agree to call off this engagement! But..."
"But what?"
Seeing that the bedraggled Xiao Yan still had more to say, Nalan Yanran's pretty face was already suffused with frost.
With a cold and stern expression, Xiao Yan shouted aloud:
"Even though in your eyes I, Xiao Yan, am currently nothing more than good-for-nothing trash unworthy of a proud daughter of heaven like you, it does not mean I will remain that way forever!"
"If I, Xiao Yan, was able to create a miracle three years ago, what makes you think I cannot turn things around again in the future?"
"Miss Nalan, for the sake of Elder Nalan, let me offer you a piece of advice!"
"Never mock a youth for being poor!"
Xiao Yan's unyielding, iron-willed words stirred the heart of everyone present.
As his father, Xiao Zhan's eyes even lit up with brilliance.
"Good! What a fine 'never mock a youth for being poor'! My son is truly extraordinary!"
"What's so good about it? I'm speechless."
Qi Yan'er's little face was full of sarcasm.
"You punk—you're already a grown man, yet you still shamelessly call yourself a youth?"
"Never mind thirty years, even if you were given three hundred years, you'd still just be a piece of trash who lost to me!"
"You..."