A year of tranquility passed. Under Xiao Lin's personal guidance, the seven-year-old Xiao Zhan successfully sensed the world's energy, mastering the First Stage of Dou Zhi Qi (Dou Disciple).
While this talent was leagues behind the monster-tier speed of the future Xiao Yan, it was considered top-tier within the current Xiao Clan. Xiao Lin estimated that Xiao Zhan would reach the Dou Zhe (Dou Practitioner) realm within a decade.
To an outsider, ten years sounds like an eternity. But even the "genius" Xiao Yan of the original story began at age four and took seven years to reach Dou Zhe at age eleven. Without the guidance of a Dou Huang like Xiao Lin, Xiao Zhan might have spent fifteen years just finding the threshold.
Xiao Lin placed immense importance on this stage. In the Dou Qi Continent, the Dou Zhi Qi phase isn't just about accumulation; it's about Nurturing the Meridians.
A sturdy foundation at this level determines a cultivator's ceiling. If the meridians are fragile, even a Heaven Tier Qi Method is a death sentence—the body simply cannot handle the sheer throughput of high-level energy. This is why the youths of the Ancient Eight Clans spend years grinding in the Disciple stage. They understand a fundamental truth: The stronger the foundation, the faster the later breakthroughs. A person might take ten years to reach Dou Zhe, but because their "pipes" are wide and reinforced, they could leap from Dou Zhe to Dou Huang in a fraction of the time it takes a "rushed" genius. Xiao Lin was playing the long game with his son.
Expanding the Sphere of Influence
With Xiao Lin's "Public" breakthrough to the Dou Wang realm, the Xiao Clan's prestige exploded. They were no longer confined to the capital. Like a star radiating light, the Xiao Clan's influence stretched across the empire.
Xiao Lin, with his foreknowledge, directed the clan to begin "investing" in Wu Tan City.
In the original timeline, the Xiao Clan fled to Wu Tan City as refugees after their decline. But in this timeline, they arrived as conquerors of commerce. Because of the Xiao Clan's presence—a Dou Wang level power—the once-mediocre Wu Tan City was forcibly elevated from a Second-Tier city to a First-Tier Metropolis.
The City Lord of Wu Tan was overjoyed; the influx of wealth and high-level practitioners made his treasury overflow. The local families, who previously thought themselves big fish, immediately "lay flat" (surrendered). They knew that if they so much as breathed wrong near a Xiao disciple, their entire bloodline would vanish by dawn.
To the clansmen, this was the "Golden Age." They reminisced about the days when the clan was just a mid-tier family in the capital, marveling at how a single Dou Wang—Xiao Lin—had turned them into a household name across the Northwest.
Another year passed. The echoes of Xiao Lin's breakthrough were followed by two more seismic tremors in the capital.
Nalan Jie and Mu Chen had finally broken through.
Fueled by the massive resources harvested from the fallen Intel Clan, the two "prodigies" reached the Dou Wang realm years earlier than the public expected. The "Three New Kings" had officially ascended.
The political deck was reshuffled once again:
Xiao Lin had already resigned his military post to focus on the clan and his son.
Nalan Jie followed suit, stepping down to manage the Nalan family's skyrocketing interests.
Mu Chen, seeing the vacuum left by the others, accepted the promotion and became the New Great Marshal of the Jia Ma Empire.
The people of the empire began to whisper a new title, one that would define the next generation: The Four Great Clans of Jia Ma. 1. The Primer Clan (Led by the Dou Huang, Hai Po Dong) 2. The Xiao Clan (Led by the Star-powered Dou Wang, Xiao Lin) 3. The Nalan Clan (Led by the Lion of the Military, Nalan Jie) 4. The Mu Clan (Led by the Great Marshal, Mu Chen)
This quartet became the iron pillars of the nation. Even neighboring empires took note; a country with four Dou Wang-level families (including a Dou Huang) was no longer a target to be trifled with.
While the Xiao Clan celebrated, Xiao Lin remained vigilant. He knew that "fame" was a double-edged sword. In the original background lore, the "Ancestor Xiao Lin" died of heavy injuries after a battle with a mysterious rival.
Was that 'rival' a pawn of the Soul Hall? Xiao Lin wondered.
He had exposed his Dou Wang strength to secure resources for his family, but he knew this would increase the "Outsourcing Level" of the enemies watching from the dark. He continued to polish his true Six-Star Dou Huang cultivation, hiding his real trump cards behind a mask of "Newfound King" status.
He looked at the peaceful capital, but in his mind, he saw the flickering shadows of the Soul Hall and the Gu Clan. The game was getting bigger, and the Empowered Ancestor needed more than just starlight to survive the coming eclipse.