Chapter 1: The Little Martial Uncle of Yunlan Sect
Yunlan Sect, Dou Qi Testing Platform
"Dou Zhe: Two Stars!"
A young man yawned lazily, his expression one of utter disinterest, as if the proceedings were none of his concern.
"Little Junior Brother Yun Xian, not bad! You've actually advanced by one star."
Great Elder Yun Leng glanced at the testing platform's display, his face alight with unconcealed mockery.
The bustling square teemed with Yunlan Sect disciples, their voices a chaotic hum of gossip.
"Two-star Dou Zhe? Tsk tsk. Didn't Little Shishu reach one-star Dou Zhe ten years ago? A whole decade for one star?"
"Heh, you don't get it. As the saying goes, 'ten years to sharpen a sword.' Little Shishu's spent a decade honing one star—sounds about right, doesn't it?"
"I'll never understand why the old sect master took him as a personal disciple."
"Sigh… the genius who once shook the Jia Ma Empire… how did he fall so far?"
"Who knows? Maybe he spouted nonsense and got cursed by an ascended Dou God!"
Faced with the barrage of jeers, Yun Xian impassively picked at his ear. The stench of mockery here is overwhelming, he thought, exasperated.
Yun Xian was a transmigrator, his past life unremarkable. Orphaned as a mercenary, his parents perished hunting in the Magical Beast Mountain Range—a classic sob story. He'd initially planned to head to Wutan City to cling to the coattails of Xiao Yan, the future Flame Emperor. But fate had other ideas. Through a twist of fortune, he landed at Yunlan Sect and became the personal disciple of Yun Shan, the former sect master. Talk about awkward!
Having read the original story, Yun Xian knew Yunlan Sect's grim fate as the early antagonist. Yun Shan, a mighty Dou Zong, was slain by Xiao Yan, then a mere Dou Wang, in a stunning upset. The sect's elders were annihilated by Protector Wu, and Yunlan Sect itself was ultimately disbanded. To steer the sect away from its doomed path, Yun Xian resolved to act.
On the chief's platform stood a woman, her graceful figure draped in a flowing, water-green dress. Her long hair was elegantly pinned with a phoenix ornament, and her breathtakingly beautiful face exuded serene calm. This was Yun Yun, the current sect master of Yunlan Sect and the youngest Dou Huang powerhouse in the Jia Ma Empire.
Yun Yun's gaze settled on the young man at the testing platform, her cool eyes flickering with complex emotions. Fifteen years ago, while training in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, she'd encountered a strikingly handsome boy and brought him to Yunlan Sect. Soon after, the boy displayed prodigious talent, condensing a Dou Zhi Cyclone at age ten, becoming the youngest Dou Zhe in Jia Ma Empire history.
The feat caught the eye of her teacher, Yun Shan, who took Yun Xian as his personal disciple, making him Yun Yun's junior brother. She still recalled Yun Shan's subtle hints that Yun Xian, with his heaven-defying talent and clean background, was an ideal partner to stand behind the future sect master… as her husband.
In her early twenties then, and naive about matters of the heart, Yun Yun had passively accepted her teacher's suggestion. From that moment, she paid special attention to her little junior brother. The thought that this boy, ten years her junior, might one day be her husband stirred an odd feeling in her heart.
How to describe it? Not entirely unpleasant, she admitted. She even dreamed of him sometimes…
But what followed shattered those dreams.
One day, Yun Xian boldly claimed he'd received a Dou God inheritance, proclaiming, "I'm laying my cards on the table—I'm invincible!" From then on, he abandoned Dou Qi cultivation entirely, choosing to lie flat.
This enraged Yun Shan. A Dou Huang or Dou Zong inheritance might've been plausible, a Dou Zun inheritance somewhat believable, but a Dou Sheng inheritance? Delusional. A Dou God inheritance? Why don't you just ascend to the heavens? Furious, Yun Shan beat Yun Xian senseless.
Yet Yun Xian remained defiant, insisting he was already invincible and had no need to strive. Exasperated, Yun Shan disowned him, declaring he'd been blind to take such a disciple. He retreated into seclusion, washing his hands of Yun Xian.
At first, Yun Yun patiently probed about this so-called "Dou God inheritance." Yun Xian's solemn response? Emperor-Realm soul force.
Soul realms were beyond Yun Yun's expertise. She consulted Gu He, the Pill King and a sixth-grade alchemist, about soul realms. Gu He admitted his knowledge was limited, explaining that soul realms were divided into Mortal, Spiritual, Heavenly, and Emperor. He himself was at the Mortal Realm. Legends spoke of Emperor-Realm soul force rivaling a Dou Sheng powerhouse.
Ha! A Dou Zhe matching a Dou Sheng? Absurd.
When Yun Yun expressed her doubts, Yun Xian's confident "Yes" elevated the absurdity to new heights. She concluded he was lost in fantasy. After countless failed attempts to reason with him, she, too, lost her temper and gave him a thorough thrashing.
Even with a swollen face, Yun Xian rambled about his "terrifying Emperor-Realm soul force" and how he "didn't want to hurt his little Dou Huang senior sister." In the decade that followed, he fully embraced his laid-back lifestyle, his Dou Qi inching from one-star to two-star Dou Zhe.
A ten-year-old Dou Zhe was a prodigy; a twenty-year-old Dou Zhe, while not a failure, was utterly ordinary. He was unworthy of the title "personal disciple of the old sect master." Even some younger disciples surpassed him.
A young girl stood out, her delicate earlobes adorned with green jade earrings that chimed softly with each movement, exuding refined elegance.
"Shut up!" she snapped. "Who gave you permission to gossip about Little Shishu behind his back?"
Her eyes blazed as she scolded the surrounding disciples.
"Yes, Junior Sister Yanran…" The crowd fell silent.
The girl, about fourteen or fifteen, was a recent disciple. Yet none dared underestimate her, for she was Nalan Yanran, the personal disciple of Sect Master Yun Yun.
"Next, Nalan Yanran."
Under the crowd's watchful eyes, Nalan Yanran glided to the testing platform, her small hand emerging from the sleeve of her moon-white robe.
"Dou Zhe: Six Stars!"
After a moment of stunned silence, the square erupted in gasps of awe.
"Six-star Dou Zhe! She's leagues ahead of her peers!"
"Didn't Junior Sister Yanran just break through to Dou Zhe recently?"
"How long has it been? She's already jumped five stars!"
"Tsk tsk tsk… That cultivation speed must be worth fifty years of Little Shishu's effort, right?"
"Haha!"
While praising Nalan Yanran, the crowd seized the chance to jab at Yun Xian.
Seeing the results, Yun Leng's demeanor shifted instantly. With a fawning smile, he said to Nalan Yanran, "Yanran, at this rate, you'll reach Dou Shi within a year. In three years, you could be a Da Dou Shi, truly the Jia Ma Empire's number one genius!"
He emphasized "truly the Jia Ma Empire's number one genius," a pointed dig everyone knew was aimed at Yun Xian. Mocking gazes turned toward the young man.
Yun Leng's hostility stemmed from their nominal equality as sect brothers, despite the vast gap between his Dou Wang cultivation and Yun Xian's mere Dou Zhe. With his sharp tongue, Yun Leng couldn't stomach a lowly Dou Zhe standing on equal footing, even in name.
Yun Xian watched the scene, unimpressed. Whether in the book or reality, Yun Leng's just a spiteful fool who stirs up trouble.
"Great Elder flatters me," Nalan Yanran replied coolly, unfazed by the praise. "Little Shishu once said, 'Beyond the heavens are more heavens, beyond the people are even more people.' My modest talent is nothing in the vast Dou Qi Continent."
She turned and left the platform, weaving through the crowd's fervent stares to the lazy young man at the back.
Yun Leng's face darkened. He'd just insulted Yun Xian, and Nalan Yanran had countered by elevating him, openly undermining his authority.
"Little Shishu."
Nalan Yanran stopped before Yun Xian, bowing respectfully. Her cool expression melted into a sweet smile.
"Not bad, Yanran. You've worked hard," Yun Xian said, instinctively patting her head.
As a member of Yunlan Sect's faction, he naturally supported Nalan Yanran. Under his guidance from a young age, her once spoiled and willful personality had softened into one of grace and restraint. Her cultivation, too, far surpassed her original counterpart in the story at this stage.
"Hehe~" Nalan Yanran leaned into his touch, a faint blush coloring her youthful face.
The crowd shot jealous glances their way.
On the chief's platform, Yun Yun's cool expression flickered with a strange emotion. One's my little junior brother, who nearly became my husband. The other's my personal disciple. There's nothing going on between them… right?