At the sight of that sturdy youth who had rushed to be the first challenger, the other failed clansmen could not help letting out sighs of disappointment. Judging by their expressions, they seemed to envy this first one who had dared to taste the crab.
Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes, running his gaze up and down over the youth before him. Though he could not put a name to every member of the clan, he did have some impression of this one. If his memory served, the youth was called Xiao Ke, a man of the Grand Elder's faction, who usually tagged along at Xiao Ning's heels like a faithfully fawning little lackey. Back when Xiao Yan had been in his miserable straits, this fellow had not exactly been sparing with his sneers and cold looks either.
As he slowly dredged up these old memories, the corner of Xiao Yan's mouth curved into a faintly dangerous smile.
Glancing over to meet Xun'er's amused, meaningful gaze, Xiao Yan smiled slightly. Then, beneath the watch of the entire crowd, he nodded and said in a light voice: "Very well, I accept."
Xiao Yan had agreed so readily that Xiao Ke's brow gave an involuntary twitch, and a nameless unease crept quietly up through his heart. His throat bobbed, and more than a little regret over his rashness began to churn inside him. Yet though the regret had come, the arrow was already nocked upon the string — there was no turning back now.
"It's just an illusion. No one could rise four full ranks of Dou Qi in a single year. This wretch must have used some trick to hoodwink everyone! I can certainly defeat him!" Having heartened himself with this self-deceiving burst of bravado, Xiao Ke forced a smile and said: "Then let me have a taste of your strength, cousin Xiao Yan!"
Xiao Yan smiled but said nothing. He rose to his feet and, before all those watching eyes, walked into the training grounds, where he made a polite gesture of invitation to Xiao Ke.
Seeing Xiao Yan's placid, utterly unruffled countenance, the unease in Xiao Ke's heart swelled all the greater. He gave a sheepish little laugh, and with stiff, halting steps, moved slowly into the arena.
At the sight of the two men in the center, everyone gathered at the edge of the training grounds swiftly turned their gazes over.
Up upon the high platform, Xiao Zhan took the cloth that the attendant behind him handed over, and used it to wipe the moisture from his hands, his gaze fixed intently upon the field below, a hidden thread of tension flickering in his eyes.
To speak plainly, it was not only the youths who found Xiao Yan's achievement hard to credit. Even Xiao Zhan himself felt a kind of hazy, unreal daze in the depths of his heart. This could not be blamed on any lack of faith in Xiao Yan on his part — after all, to raise a full four ranks of Dou Qi within a single year was a speed that could almost be described as monstrous. Even the Xiao Yan of three years past, in the height of his talent, had never managed such a feat.
And precisely because the achievement had been so overwhelming, it was hard for anyone's heart to truly believe it.
Yet whether one believed it or not, the moment Xiao Yan crossed hands with another man, his true strength would be laid bare for all to see — and then everyone would know his real level!
At Xiao Zhan's side, the breathing of the Three Elders gradually quickened. Their withered palms dug deep creases into the arms of their chairs, and a pair of dim, turbid gazes fixed upon the arena with a complicated look.
Upon the blue-stone training grounds, every eye was riveted upon the two men at the center. Whether the terrifying result Xiao Yan had displayed earlier was real or false — the very first clash would settle it once and for all!
"It's absolutely a fraud!" At the edge of the square, licking his dry lips, Xiao Ning said fiercely and low. "Surely... it must be false, right?" Here and there in the crowd, Xiao Mei gently bit her rosy lip, her heart uncertain and adrift. She too found it hard to believe that this youth who had lain dormant for three years could suddenly achieve such a monstrous result.
Amidst a host of complicated gazes, Xiao Yan and Xiao Ke in the center of the field had already completed the formalities before their duel.
His twin palms raised slightly, faint strands of Dou Qi curling about them, Xiao Ke let out a deep breath. His feet stamped against the ground, and his form charged straight at Xiao Yan to ram against him.
In a low-level battle there was no dazzling interplay — everything was simply the crudest of collisions.
"Mountain-Splitting Palm!"
Closing swiftly on Xiao Yan, Xiao Ke gathered a trace of Dou Qi upon his right palm and, with a sweep of his right hand, hacked viciously at the center of Xiao Yan's chest.
The Mountain-Splitting Palm was a Yellow-rank intermediate Dou Technique — wieldable only by clansmen with Dou Qi of the fifth rank or above!
A light breeze met him head-on, ruffling the hair across Xiao Yan's brow and baring a pair of ink-black pupils beneath. His eyelids flickered, and through those half-lidded eyes he watched, with calm indifference, the hand that drew ever nearer.
Only when the palm was about to reach his shoulder did Xiao Yan unhurriedly shift a single step to the left. A year of grueling training had honed his reflexes to an extraordinary sharpness.
That single step — no more, no less — was precisely enough to evade Xiao Ke's strike. Tilting his body slightly, Xiao Yan's hand slipped through the gap beneath Xiao Ke's arm as lightly as a flower threaded amid leaves, and pressed, almost casually, against his shoulder.
"Crushed-Stone Palm!"
The Crushed-Stone Palm was a Yellow-rank low-level Dou Technique, one that required only Dou Qi of the third rank to learn!
"Boom!" came the muffled thud. Xiao Ke, stricken by Xiao Yan's attack, felt the healthy flush drain from his face in an instant. A stifled grunt escaped him as he staggered backward, until at last, with his footing lost, he crumpled and fell flat upon his back, flailing.
The whole arena fell silent. Xiao Ke's defeat had proven certain facts rather neatly.
Having felled his opponent with a single palm blow, Xiao Yan shook his head in mild boredom. This kind of opponent really posed no challenge at all — leaving aside his hidden trump card, he had not even drawn on half his true strength.
Of course, unlike Xiao Yan's own boredom, out beyond the field everyone slowly shut their eyes. Since Xiao Yan could so easily defeat a clansman of the sixth rank of Dou Qi, his own strength was surely above the seventh rank. And if that was so, then the terrifying result he had displayed earlier... had to be genuine!
To raise four ranks of Dou Qi in a single year — such an achievement could only be called a miracle among miracles!
Up on the high platform, Xiao Zhan exhaled heavily, and the great boulder that had hung suspended in his heart finally settled.
"...It's real. He really has reached the seventh rank..." Gazing at the defeated Xiao Ke, Xiao Mei slowly lifted a small hand to cover her rosy lips, murmuring in hushed, shaken wonder.