The moon hung like a silver disk in a sky full of stars. On the edge of the steep cliff behind the mountain, Xiao Yan lay reclining on the grass. He held a blade of grass between his lips, chewing slowly, letting its faint bitterness spread through his mouth.
He raised a pale hand to block the moonlight, gazing through the gaps between his fingers at the massive silver moon above.
"Sigh..."
Recalling the test that afternoon, Xiao Yan let out a heavy sigh, his mood restless.
"A mere setback at your age, and already you are sighing and slackening. How will you ever achieve greatness in the future?"
Xiao Yue appeared behind him, speaking calmly. She had heard about her younger brother’s situation from Xiao Xun'er and had come to see what the matter was.
"Sister, I don't want to be like this, but I can't help feeling awful. Seeing the gloating faces of those people—especially Xiao Xun'er, who is already a four-star Dou Zhe, having risen four stars in a single year—while I remain exactly where I started, unable to make the slightest progress... it's hard to stomach!" Xiao Yan said bitterly.
He had thought that with his life experience, he would be able to keep his heart as still as stagnant water, ignoring those gossiping crows. But he was no saint; human instinct made it impossible to suppress the pain within.
"Although you are indeed useless, you have at least begun to realize the deficiencies in your own mindset. Not bad. Having good self-awareness is a virtue." Xiao Yue was not angry; rather, she nodded in approval and spoke with composure.
Xiao Yan: "..."
Sister, you are my own flesh and blood—could you not say something a little nicer?
However, he had to admit that as an ordinary, mediocre transmigrator who knew he had the potential to be a figure admired by millions, it was difficult to keep his heart centered without sufficient discipline. That was exactly Xiao Yan’s current predicament.
Yet, he felt a sense of injustice. He had no idea what was happening to his own body; his daily checkups revealed nothing wrong. Furthermore, as time passed, his speed at cultivating Dou Zhi Qi was even more vigorous than it had been at his peak a few years ago. All of this suggested that his talent had never waned.
And yet, over the past year, it had been like a haunting. Every bit of Dou Zhi Qi he worked so hard to refine into his body would, without exception, vanish into thin air. This caused his cultivation to remain stagnant for an entire year, with even faint signs of his realm falling.
Given such bizarre circumstances, one could hardly blame him for having an unsteady Daoist heart. Who could accept such a discrepancy?
...
"Sister, you are skilled in medicine. Could you help me check if something is wrong with my body?" Xiao Yan asked with a hint of anticipation.
"Hmm, it is time for a proper examination." Xiao Yue nodded.
Suddenly, she reached out, grabbed his right shoulder, and gave it a forceful squeeze. She then placed her other hand on the pulse at his wrist.
"Hiss—Sister, ouch! What are you doing?"
Xiao Yan gasped in pain, feeling as if the bones in his shoulder were about to be crushed. Recalling his sister’s monstrous strength—which could tear tigers and leopards apart—he couldn't help but tremble with fear.
If she actually used her full strength, his fragile little frame would never hold up!
At this moment, Xiao Yan felt like a tiny chick in his sister's hands. There was no helping it; as his sister, Xiao Yue had been a head taller than him since they were children.
Moreover, because she practiced martial arts, Xiao Yue’s physique was incredibly toned and statuesque. Not only did she have a head of silver hair, but her eyes were blood-red, and her temperament was cold and detached. Every movement she made carried an intense, oppressive weight, as if she were a goddess of war walking the mortal realm.
Truth be told, Xiao Yan had been a little afraid of his powerful and mysterious sister since he was a child.
"Deep breaths. It is normal for your bones to ache." Xiao Yue said with an indifferent expression.
As she spoke, she tightened her grip on his shoulder, and a subtle force surged from her palm. The black-clad youth felt his entire body stiffen, and he immediately felt like a puppet on strings, losing all control over his own limbs.
*Thump-thump! Thump-thump! Thump-thump!*
At the same time, Xiao Yan heard a deep, faint sound in his ears, like the reverberations of distant thunder rolling across the sky.
"Where is that thunder coming from?"
Xiao Yan paid closer attention and realized the low, rumbling sound seemed to originate from within his sister’s body, faintly mixed with the roars of dragons and tigers.
Martial Thunder Resonance.
It was an advanced inner cultivation technique that could only be practiced by a martial artist who had ascended from 'Vivid Force' to 'Early Dark Force.' By generating thunderous sounds within the body, one could temper the bones, muscles, and internal organs.
Every school’s tradition of thunder resonance was different, each with its own characteristics: the Tiger-Leopard Thunder, the Five-Viscera Thunder, the Lion’s Roar, the Great Dragon Thunder Resonance, and the Yin-Yang Taiji Thunder Resonance.
The thunder resonance Xiao Yue practiced had a profound lineage: it was the Dragon-Tiger Thunder Resonance from the Celestial Master Mansion of Dragon-Tiger Mountain.
At the Early Dark Force stage, practicing the internal Dragon-Tiger Thunder Resonance from the inside out caused the thunder to tremor, allowing one's internal strength to project outward. It was as if a transparent cloak of protection formed around the body, leaving no footprints on snow. As the saying went: not a single feather could be added, not a fly could land.
Though she possessed the White Tiger Visualization Chart to nurture her soul, she had not yet reached the realm of spiritual projection. Thus, she could only cleverly use the resonance of the thunder to achieve an effect similar to a bat’s sonar, gradually perceiving the subtle changes within Xiao Yan’s body.
*Click!*
After a good while, Xiao Yue let go.
Immediately, Xiao Yan felt as if his entire skeleton had fallen apart. With a soft thud, he collapsed to the ground, limp and without an ounce of strength.
*Whoosh!*
Seeing him in this state, Xiao Yue extended a finger and tapped his navel. The next second, Xiao Yan felt his body receive a jolt, and uncontrollably, he *whooshed* right back to his feet.
"Sister, why did I lose control of my body the moment you touched my shoulder? And what was that Dragon-Tiger Thunder Resonance about? The resonance of that sound nearly shook my bones to pieces!"
Once he was standing, Xiao Yan touched his body in wonder, asking like a curious child.
Xiao Yue, however, ignored these questions. Instead, she stroked her chin and frowned in thought. "Strange. There is nothing wrong with your body..."
As the saying goes, the tree that stands above the forest is the first to be felled by the wind. She had originally thought that her brother was too high-profile and that his aura as a genius had invited jealousy and foul play, but now it seemed the problem did not lie within his physical body.
It was not arrogance on her part, but given her level of research, exploration, and excavation into the universe of the human body, there was no one in the small Gama Empire who understood it better than she did. If she said there was nothing wrong, then there truly was nothing wrong!
Where, then, did the problem lie? Xiao Yue could not fathom it.
Suddenly, Xiao Yue’s eyes flickered slightly. She spoke up: "I remember, the ring on your finger—it was given to you by Mother a year ago, wasn't it?"