Early the next morning, Xiao Yan exhaled a long breath of stale air. Feeling that the Dou Qi within his body still had not grown at all, he could not help but offer a bitter smile.
"Good heavens! Why on earth did you let me taste the heights of talent, only to ruthlessly strip it all away?" Xiao Yan muttered to himself.
As he was yet to attain the calm and maturity forged through cold ridicule and scorn, his state of mind remained somewhat unstable.
"Forget it. Today is the day to collect my monthly allowance..."
After a moment's thought, Xiao Yan decided to go in person. After all, there would still be plenty of cold glances to endure in the future. Could he really keep hiding just by dodging this once?
He might as well begin adapting right now and learn to ignore everyone's icy stares.
The Xiao Clan provided a fixed monthly gold coin allowance for its underage members. On top of this base amount, the clan encouraged its youth to cultivate diligently: the higher one's cultivation level, the more extra gold coins one received.
Previously, when his cultivation was at the One-Star Dou Zhe level, Xiao Yan had received a full fifty gold coins every month. Later, as he remained stuck at the third stage of Dou Zhi Qi, that monthly stipend had been slashed to twenty gold coins. Yet here on the Dou Qi Continent, a regular commoner family with food and clothing secured needed only twenty gold coins to last a whole year!
Xiao Yan calculated that the allowance he was about to collect would likely amount to a mere twenty-odd gold coins.
As he walked along, Xiao Yan suddenly noticed two Xiao Clan youths approaching from not far ahead. He lowered his head slightly and quickened his pace.
Yet even after he had walked right past the two youths, he did not hear them whispering. Once he was some distance away, a sense of oddity crept over him.
He had just noticed that not only did those two clan members not treat him with cold detachment, but there had even been a hint of fear in their eyes. In particular, the moment they caught sight of him, the two youths had instantly snapped their mouths shut, as if terrified that their words might offend him.
Naturally, Xiao Yan did not fool himself into thinking his halo as a Dou Zhe was still intact—especially since he had just been beaten flat onto the ground by Xiao Ning yesterday. The title of the fallen genius had likely already spread throughout the entire Xiao Clan!
Yet he felt certain he could not have misread the fear in those youths' eyes.
Filled with doubt, Xiao Yan soon ran into two or three more groups of clan members. Without exception, every single one of them looked at him with a trace of dread. The moment they saw him, they sealed their lips and dared not speak a word.
This only magnified Xiao Yan's confusion tenfold.
Could his father have issued some sort of strict ban? But even as Patriarch, his father wouldn't be so openly partial in a matter like this, as it would easily provoke resentment among the clan members. Not to mention that the clan also possessed the Three Elders, whose authority rivaled the Patriarch's!
At this thought, besides bewilderment, a glimmer of worry welled up in Xiao Yan's heart. He was afraid his father might have done something reckless on his account.
Just then, a clear, sweet voice rang out. Xiao Yan reflexively raised his eyes toward the source.
It was Xiao Mei, the girl who had always trailed behind him calling him "Big Brother Xiao Yan" back when he still possessed his genius halo. Spotting someone she knew well, Xiao Yan decided to ask what on earth was going on.
"Xiao Mei, what happened in the clan? Everyone's attitude toward me seems to have changed..." Without hesitation, Xiao Yan spoke up.
Hearing this, Xiao Mei blinked in surprise. "Does Big Brother Xiao Yan not know what happened yesterday?"
Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow. What happened yesterday? Wasn't it just him getting beaten to the ground?
Indeed, Xiao Yan had no idea. He had spent the entire day yesterday quietly resting in his room. Although Xiao Zhan had witnessed the event firsthand, he still had to deal with the aftermath of the First Elder stepping down. Moreover, he felt it would be somewhat inappropriate for him to break the news to Xiao Yan himself. After all, both Xiao Yan and Xiao Ze were his sons; favoring one or highlighting who was more superior might inadvertently wound the other child's self-esteem. Thus, Xiao Zhan had decided to let Xiao Yan find out on his own, or let Xiao Ze tell him.
Seeing that Xiao Yan genuinely had no clue, Xiao Mei began to explain.
"Yesterday afternoon, Fourth Young Master Xiao Ze went to the Dou Technique Hall... and got into a fight with Xiao Ning."
"What? Fourth Brother! Is he alright?" Xiao Yan grew anxious at once, never expecting that his own younger brother was at the root of it all.
"Quite the opposite of what Big Brother Xiao Yan is imagining, Big Brother Xiao Ze not only came out completely uninjured, but he even blocked a strike from the First Elder, who had rushed over in a hurry..."
"Hiss!"
Upon learning the full sequence of events, Xiao Yan drew in a sharp breath of air, utterly shaken to his core.
His Fourth Brother had actually reached the level of a Nine-Star Dou Zhe?! How terrifyingly monstrous!
Deep shock rippled through Xiao Yan's heart. Having once attained the level of a One-Star Dou Zhe himself, he knew all too well just how arduous it was to progress from four years old to eleven years old—a mere seven years—to reach that rank. And that was before even mentioning that Xiao Ze was a Nine-Star Dou Zhe!
Even after processing what had happened yesterday, Xiao Yan still harbored a lingering doubt.
"Even if something like that happened yesterday, it shouldn't be enough to make the clan members so terrified of me, right? I ran into several groups of them along the way, and the moment they saw me, fear was written in their eyes. They didn't even dare to speak in my presence."
Xiao Mei nodded, her eyes shining with undisguised adoration as she said, "Because Big Brother Xiao Ze left us with a warning."
Xiao Yan froze slightly. So it was connected to something his fourth brother had said. At the same time, he noticed the slight shift in Xiao Mei's expression—one of adoration and reverence. It was the exact look she used to direct toward him in the past.
Oblivious to Xiao Yan's complex gaze, Xiao Mei gave a light cough, straightened her back, and lifted her chin slightly. Xiao Yan could tell she was imitating someone.
"These were Big Brother Xiao Ze's exact words: 'Xiao Yan is my third brother, and he's not someone just anyone can bully! You lot better watch your hands and feet, and keep your mouths tightly shut. If I hear even a whisper of gossip, or catch wind of it through my third brother, don't blame me for being unpolite! I'm of the same generation as you all, and as the First Elder says, the elders can't interfere in matters between peers! Instead of wasting time spreading gossip, you'd all better spend that energy intensifying your cultivation. Rather than tearing others down, focus on bettering yourselves!'"
The deep, stern voice Xiao Mei put on was rather endearing, drawing a faint smile from Xiao Yan.
Could these words really have been spoken by his fourth brother, who was usually so utterly low-key? Yet a wave of warmth surged through Xiao Yan's chest.
With a genius far surpassing his own issuing such a warning, nobody in the clan would ever dare subject him to gossip or cold mockery again. They were probably too terrified to even strike up a conversation in front of him, lest they be suspected of talking behind his back.
"Did you know, Big Brother Xiao Yan? Right now, many people in the clan have taken Big Brother Xiao Ze's words as their motto to motivate themselves," Xiao Mei said, her eyes sparkling as she reverently repeated the final line: "'Rather than tearing others down, focus on bettering yourselves!'"
"I can tell!" Xiao Yan chuckled and nodded. Wasn't the girl right in front of him living proof of that?
No longer having to endure the icy ridicule of others naturally filled Xiao Yan with joy. The fact that the clan members treated him with even greater wariness than before actually brought him a sense of relief.
*'I must redouble my efforts from now on!'*
Being so thoroughly surpassed by his younger brother left a bitter taste in Xiao Yan's mouth. Possessing a stubborn and proud streak, he had always wanted to be the older brother who shielded his siblings.
A fierce resolve crystallized in Xiao Yan's heart: *As long as I can still absorb Dou Qi and cultivate, I will never give up!*