After the family sacrificial ceremony concluded, Xiao Yue followed her usual routine and went to the medicinal room. Her personal supplies of "Qi and Blood Powder" and "Tiger Bone Ointment," which she used to assist in her cultivation, were running low, and she needed to gather herbs to brew a fresh batch.
Oh, that's right. It is worth mentioning that Elder Jiang of the medicinal room—that crazy old man—had passed away three days ago. The old man was quite advanced in years and died of natural causes when his lifespan was exhausted, a peaceful end to a long life. With this, the Xiao Clan had effectively lost its only Alchemist.
"What a pity..." Xiao Yue sighed.
The old man's lifelong wish had been to refine a tier-three medicinal pill, but alas, he failed to achieve it before his death, which was truly a great regret.
Such is life...
She tidied up the Alchemist's notes left behind by Elder Jiang in the medicinal room, deciding to go pay her respects to the departed old man later. After all, the two of them could be considered both master and friend, having formed an extraordinary bond across generations.
Moreover, although Elder Jiang's temper was a bit eccentric, he was truly a man of loyalty and righteousness. Back when Patriarch Xiao had fallen, the guest elder alchemists supported by the clan had all deserted them as soon as the situation turned cold, and only he had stayed behind, driven entirely by his desire to repay the kindness Patriarch Xiao had once shown him.
This was also why, despite not sharing the Xiao surname, his spirit tablet was nonetheless placed in the Xiao Clan's ancestral hall.
"Old man, you may rest in peace. Once I formulate the number-one recipe in the world in the future, I will definitely burn a copy for you!"
Xiao Yue placed a jar of aged wine in front of the grave, and then left slowly, leaving behind a dashing and unrestrained figure.
...
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, another year had passed.
"Xiao Yan, age twelve, one-star Dou Zhe, no progress!"
The dazzling young genius of the Xiao Clan, who had become a Dou Zhe at the age of eleven, stared with a darkened expression at the unchanged star rating on the testing stele, his look grim.
The martial arts arena, which had previously been somewhat noisy and lively, instantly fell silent. The patriarch and elders seated in the primary positions on the viewing platform exchanged glances with one another.
On the high platform, Xiao Zhan could not help but frown.
"Young Master Xiao Yan, please step down. There are others waiting to be tested..." Seeing the young man standing in place with a grim expression, a duty officer stepped forward and said with a complex look.
"Hah!"
Xiao Yan took a deep breath to calm himself down, then silently walked down and briskly left the plaza.
"Brother Xiao Yan..."
In the distance, Xiao Mei, a girl in pink who already revealed a charming allure at such a tender age, watched his departing figure, a look of worry involuntarily appearing on her face. She desperately wanted to follow and comfort him, but thinking that it was almost her turn to be tested, she stopped in her tracks, her heart torn and hesitant.
The members of the Xiao Clan in the arena also exchanged glances. Although some had poor relationships with Xiao Yan and cursed him daily to fall from his pedestal, now that the sign of it was truly appearing, they felt a sense of unreality instead.
"The rumors are true. Young Master Xiao Yan's cultivation really has stagnated. For a whole year, there hasn't been the slightest progress; I'm afraid something is wrong with his body..." Whispers broke out under the stage.
"Heh heh, his potential must have been exhausted!"
"Hmph, serves him right! Who told him to be so arrogant!"
"Well, this is great. Of the two siblings, one remains as mysterious as ever, while the other's talent has completely dried up..."
Some thought to themselves with gloating amusement.
In the past, the younger generation had all been overshadowed by Xiao Yan's halo of genius. Whether they fawned over him, humbled themselves before him, or burned with envy, jealousy, and hatred, there were plenty of young people in the Xiao Clan who secretly resented his halo of genius.
However, Xiao Yan still possessed the strength of a Dou Zhe and had not completely fallen from his pedestal, so those who gloated could only mutter softly in their hearts.
"Next, Xiao Xun'er!"
Pure as a lotus in green, Xiao Xun'er stood unassumingly behind the crowd with an ethereal and elegant demeanor. The young girl rolled a book in one hand while the other crossed her waist, her book-holding hand resting casually by her leg. The gazes of those around her were fiery with admiration, yet they dared not—and were unwilling to—step forward and disturb that tranquility.
Perhaps influenced by someone, she had also grown fond of books and developed the habit of carrying a volume of classics with her wherever she went.
Over the past year, the escalating influence of the Gold-Devouring Flame within her bloodline had grown stronger, and her already cold and detached personality had become even more aloof. In her interactions with others, she remained gentle yet polite and distant.
As the shining focal point of the Xiao Clan, her popularity among the younger generation had consistently remained high.
She glanced at the figure of Xiao Yan leaving the plaza, her delicate eyebrows furrowing slightly. No matter what, she had grown up in the Xiao Clan, and by extension of loving someone, you love even their crows—even for the sake of Sister Yue'er, she still paid quite a bit of attention to this family.
...
In the back mountain of the Xiao Clan, Xiao Yue had woken up early to practice her morning routine in the courtyard. She hadn't bothered to participate in the testing this year.
"Clang!"
After finishing a set of fist techniques, she walked over to the weapon rack and reached out to pull out a large spear. It let out a ringing clang. The spear was thick and long, towering two heads taller than she was. Its entire body was crimson like blood, spitting out a foot-long, vivid red sword tip that was truly awe-inspiring.
This was a weapon she had commissioned a weapon master in Wutan City to forge for her, named Blood Dragon. Its materials were extremely precious, making it arguably the finest spear in Wutan City!
In her past life, regardless of whether it was Xingyimen, Taijimen, Bajimen, or any other variety of martial arts factions, wielding the great spear was always one of the most crucial components of kung fu.
The Xingyi fist she primarily practiced had itself evolved directly from spear techniques.
Within Xingyimen, there were the Three Bodies, Five Elements, and Twelve Shapes. The Twelve Shapes referred to the dragon, tiger, monkey, horse, alligator, chicken, swallow, harrier, snake, bird platform, eagle, and bear.
Why were past grandmasters of Xingyimen called grandmasters? What did people look at? They looked at the combined-attack trump cards among the final Twelve Shapes. Only by comprehending one's own combination attacks could one be called a grandmaster, carve out one's own path, and establish a school of one's own.
For example, the great spear technique of Shangshi Xingyi Quan featured the bear and eagle twin shapes. Its founding grandmaster, Shang Yunxiang, created a unique, exclusive trump card: the bear-eagle combination attack from the Twelve Shapes.
Furthermore, in her past life, Xiao Yue had a close friend of the same age whose unique specialty was the dragon-snake combination attack—she was also a grandmaster who had walked her own path.
And as a grandmaster of Xingyimen herself, Xiao Yue naturally had her own exclusive combination technique for the martial art she specialized in.
The Dragon-Tiger Twin Shapes!
This was her very own great spear technique, drawing upon the dragon and tiger from the Twelve Shapes. The dragon is the spear, the tiger is the soul, and when the sage arises, all things behold him! The tiger soul grips the dragon spear, mowing down enemies like cutting grass!
"Bang!"
As Xiao Yue danced with the long spear, the Blood Dragon in her hands suddenly jerked violently, directly flipping a thousand-pound practice stone in the courtyard into the air.
The giant boulder traced a graceful parabola, and with a loud *bang*, crashed precisely down right in front of the feet of the black-robed youth standing outside the courtyard—falling short by a mere fraction of an inch from hitting his toes!
Xiao Yan: "..."
He had merely been passing by. Staring at the thousand-pound giant boulder that had descended from the heavens and nearly crushed him, Xiao Yan felt as though, for a split second, he had seen his great-grandmother waving at him.