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The Coming-of-Age Ceremony was a day that the Xiao family valued highly, and it also garnered significant attention from various forces in Wu Tan City.
The Xiao family treated this as an opportunity to showcase their strength, inviting factions with good relations to solidify their allies' confidence with the prosperity of the next generation.
In the center of the training field, a martial arts stage constructed from giant trees had been added, a venue specifically built for this Coming-of-Age Ceremony.
Xiao Yan leaned against a tree, his gaze sweeping across the crowd of people from various forces below the wooden stage, where he spotted a charming figure in a red dress, smiling and chatting with some individuals.
Many talented young men gathered around her, eagerly offering their attentions.
Just as his gaze lingered on Ya Fei's serpentine waist, a head suddenly blocked his view, startling Xiao Yan.
"Young Master, what are you looking at?" Xiao Meng's lark-like voice rang out.
"It's just Xiao Meng... you scared me."
"It's all because Young Master is too engrossed in looking at bad women.", Xiao Meng said.
"Bad women?"
"That's right, they're bad women! All those who use their beauty to seduce Young Master are bad women!" Xiao Meng stated seriously.
"Uh..." Xiao Yan awkwardly touched his nose, momentarily speechless.
Yao Lao's somewhat improper voice echoed in his mind: "Haha, a man isn't truly young until he's been frivolous. Since your little maid has such feelings, you should just accept her, lest you regret it when something happens in the future."
"I only see Xiao Meng as my younger sister," Xiao Yan said, feeling somewhat embarrassed.
"Really? Can you truly watch her marry someone else?"
Xiao Yan fell silent, a slight pang in his heart at the thought of such a scene, as if a needle were pricking him.
Subsequently, he saw a graceful and refined girl in a purple dress walking slowly towards him, and his heart was particularly conflicted.
As if guessing his thoughts, Yao Lao chuckled: "What's wrong with that? What's wrong with a great man having three wives and four concubines? You're still just a child. Adults don't make choices on such issues."
Xiao Yan blurted out: "How many master's wives do I have?"
Yao Chen immediately went silent.
Often, adults don't make choices because they can't.
Xun Er walked to Xiao Yan's side, smiling: "Brother Xian Yan, you need to be careful later, a troublemaker might come looking for you."
"Troublemaker?" Xiao Yan and Xiao Meng looked at her in unison.
"There..." Xun Er pointed to a tall beauty in academy uniform in the distance.
She was leaning against a large tree, a long sword at her waist, with long legs that gave the impression that everything below her neck was legs.
"Xiao Yu... Didn't she go to Jia Nan Academy for further studies? Why is she back?" Xiao Yan frowned, pursing his lips:
"Wasn't it just that I accidentally stumbled into the hot spring where she was bathing... It wasn't her territory, and I didn't know she was in there... I accidentally touched her thigh, and she chased me for half a year... Crazy woman."
A dangerous arc appeared on the corner of Xun Er's lips: "How can you touch a girl's body casually?"
"Exactly, exactly." This time, even Xiao Meng wasn't on Xiao Yan's side, nodding in agreement. "Young Master Xiao Yan, how can you randomly touch other girls' bodies?
"If you're going to touch someone, it should be Xun Er or Xiao Meng's!"
Xiao Yan: "..."
Xun Er: "..."
Xiao Yu seemed to have noticed the trio as well, and walked over with her long legs, glanced at Xiao Yan who was half-lying against the tree, and revealed a mocking smile from a high vantage point:
"Heh, who would have thought that even a good-for-nothing like you could turn things around? Heaven must be blind..."
Xiao Yan squinted at her, closed his eyes, and ignored her.
"Go away," Xiao Meng blocked her path to Xiao Yan.
"It's you, you idiot. I don't know what kind of enchantment that little pervert put on you to make you so devoted to him," Xiao Yu said, somewhat puzzled.
"I'm not stupid, I'm very smart."
"Ah yes, yes, yes, you're the smartest," Xiao Yu affirmed perfunctorily, then waved her hand and turned to leave.
"Hmph, so what if you have long legs!" Xiao Meng said indignantly.
Xiao Yu suddenly stopped and turned back to give her a smile: "It's great to have long legs!"
After she left, Xiao Meng and Xiao Yan muttered in unison: "What a hateful woman!"
Xun Er smiled upon hearing this.
Xiao Zhan and Ya Fei passed by, and upon seeing Xiao Yan, Xiao Zhan paused and introduced him to Ya Fei:
"Miss Ya Fei, this is my son Xiao Yan. This good-for-nothing has always been lazy... Only when the Coming-of-Age Ceremony was near did he start working hard a year ago, and he used a year to improve from Dou Qi level three to seven."
Xiao Zhan looked proud, clearly showing off Xiao Yan's progress.
"Yan Er, this is Miss Ya Fei, the chief auctioneer of the Mite Auction House," Xiao Zhan introduced with a smile.
Xiao Yan had already stood up when Xiao Zhan approached, turned his gaze to the charming figure, and revealed a shy smile on his face: "Hello, Sister Ya Fei."
Ya Fei adjusted her monocle, her alluring red lips slightly parted: "The fact that you've improved by four levels of Dou Qi in a year is now the talk of the town in Wu Tan City..."
"Haha, just luck," Xiao Yan scratched the back of his head.
Xiao Zhan looked up at the sky, patted Xiao Yan on the shoulder, and said: "I need to go prepare some things. The Coming-of-Age Ceremony is about to start, don't embarrass me later."
Watching the group walk away, Xiao Yan touched his nose: "What a vixen."
Xiao Meng poked Xiao Yan's shoulder with her index finger and whispered: "Young Master Xiao Yan, she's not a good woman. She's very dangerous, you need to be careful."
"Haha, don't worry, your young master won't be seduced by that vixen..." Xiao Yan said with a smile.
Looking at Xiao Yan, who still didn't understand the seriousness of the problem, Xiao Meng let out a soft sigh...
Ya Fei suddenly turned her head, a charming smile on her face, her gaze seemingly inadvertently sweeping over here.
Xiao Meng's expression froze... her eyes filled with some surprise and uncertainty.
It couldn't be, Wu Meng wasn't planning on arranging her to come over here too, was he?
...
The procedures of the Coming-of-Age Ceremony were so tedious that it made one's head hurt.
Sitting under the stage, Xiao Yan felt a little drowsy: "This is simply torture."
Xun Er smiled: "There's no helping it, it's a tradition passed down from generation to generation."
Brother Xian Yan, this isn't some meaningless, tedious procedure. It's just that its true purpose has been buried in the long river of time, and your Xiao clan has forgotten it... You must work hard to find them again... Xun Er thought to herself.
Xiao Yan suddenly noticed an unfriendly gaze directed at him, it was Xiao Yu.
A provocative smile appeared on his face, his gaze unscrupulously wandering over her legs, until the latter's face turned ashen.
Xiao Yu was instantly enraged, feeling an urge to rush over and beat him up.
"Absolutely not, absolutely not, Elder Sister... the Coming-of-Age Ceremony is still going on... if you cause trouble now, Grandpa won't spare you... Watch me, I'll definitely beat him to a pulp later to vent your anger!" Xiao Ning put in a great effort to persuade Xiao Yu.
It was Xiao Yan's turn. He walked onto the stage, completed the tedious ceremony, and then began the retesting ceremony.
Under the gaze of the representatives of various forces in Wu Tan City, and under the gazes of the young men and women of the clan, Xiao Yan slowly walked to the black stone tablet and placed his hand on it.
"Is he really at the seventh level?" Xiao Yu raised an eyebrow, turning her head to ask Xiao Ning beside her.
She had only returned from the academy in the last two days and had not seen the previous testing scene.
Xiao Ning was dumbstruck, not answering, but just staring blankly ahead, his Adam's apple bobbing.
"It doesn't seem to be the seventh level..."
Xiao Yu followed his gaze and saw light blooming on the black stone tablet, with several large golden characters appearing on the surface in a flamboyant style:
"Dou Disciple: Eighth Level!"
The entire venue fell silent.
"Yay... Young Master Xiao Yan has become even more powerful!" Only Xiao Meng was left cheering excitedly.
"Hahaha, my son Xiao Yan has the potential of a Dou Emperor," Xiao Zhan repeated his phrase.
No one refuted, and many people even couldn't help but nod in agreement... Five levels of Dou Disciple in a year, this was indeed the potential of a Dou Emperor... If Xiao Yan didn't have any accidents, the Xiao family would likely become a top family in the Jia Ma Empire in a few decades!
Ya Fei smiled and congratulated: "Clan Leader Xiao, with Young Master Xiao Yan's talent, your Xiao family may very well produce a remarkable powerhouse."
The Second Elder, who was personally overseeing the test in front of the black stone tablet, was even more stunned. It was not until Xiao Yan reminded him that he said awkwardly: "Dou Disciple, Eighth Level, High!"
After a moment of pause, he looked down at the stage and said loudly: "The retest is over. According to past rules, Xiao Yan needs to accept a challenge from peers below the Dou Practitioner level. Who wants to come?"
Xiao Ning, who no longer had much confidence in his heart, glanced at his older sister next to him, then looked at Xiao Meng, who was looking at Xiao Yan with admiration, and gritted his teeth:
"I'll go teach him a lesson!"
Xiao Yu looked at her younger brother's somewhat childish face with a hint of unease and hesitation, and sighed:
"Forget it, since you're both at the eighth level, you probably can't beat him... It's good that you want to help me vent my anger, but you also need to act according to your abilities."
She ruffled Xiao Ning's head, a smile on her face.
"But if I don't beat him, Xiao Meng will never like me... I don't believe that I can't beat a newbie who just entered the eighth level of Dou Disciple," Xiao Ning said with some stubbornness.
Xiao Yu's smile stiffened slightly, "I thought you were trying to stand up for your older sister... so it's because of Xiao Meng."
"No, no, no, half of it is because of my older sister, Xiao Meng is only half the reason," Xiao Ning hurriedly waved his hand to explain.
"Hahaha... look at how anxious you are." Xiao Yu smiled happily at his appearance, "But have you ever thought that Xiao Yan is not a newly advanced eighth level Dou Disciple, he has reached Dou Practitioner before!"
Xiao Ning's morale, which he had finally mustered, was severely hit. The corners of his mouth twitched... The steps he had originally wanted to take onto the stage weighed as if they were thousands of pounds, and he couldn't take them at all.
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