"Ah~~~ It's so enjoyable to soak in the hot spring occasionally after training," Xiao Ning leaned against the edge of the spring, feeling extremely comfortable.

Then Xiao Ning looked at Xiao Yan and a mischievous smile appeared on his face.

"Hehe~ Little cousin, how were those beautiful women that i took you to see at Ningchun Tower last time?"

"Uh..."

Xiao Yan was slightly stunned, images of those enchanting women surrounding him at Ningchun Tower flashed through his mind, and his face turned slightly red. He awkwardly replied, "They... were not bad..."

"Right? Forget about training this time. After the coming-of-age ceremony, i will take you there again. You must enjoy yourself thoroughly," Xiao Ning patted Xiao Yan's shoulder and laughed heartily. The other boys looked at Xiao Ning as if he were an idiot, and Xiao Yan was also speechless about his cousin.

Is he really missing a few screws in his head? Did he not realize that he was not the only one who could hear him?

"Xiao Ning!!! If you dare to take Cousin Xiao Yan to such a place again, I will break all of your bones!!"

As expected, as soon as Xiao Ning finished speaking, a terrifying roar came from the other side of the partition, followed by the chilling voice of Xiao Xun'er, who may not have a loud voice, but was exceptionally cold.

"Cousin Xiao Ning, it's not good to force Brother Xiao Yan to do something he doesn't want to, do I need to remind you what would happen to mischievous children like you again?"

Xiao Ning was used to Xiao Mei's loud voice, but the chilling voice of Xiao Xun'er made him shiver.

We're in the hot spring, after all!

"I-I understand! I was just joking! Don't take it seriously, okay!"

Xiao Ning quickly explained, then shut his mouth and changed the subject, asking Xiao Yan again.

"By the way! How are we going to sleep tonight?"

"The weather has been quite warm lately, so we can just gather a bunch of leaves and dry grass to sleep on the ground," Xiao Yan looked up at the starry sky and chuckled. "But when it gets colder, we'll have to set up tents. We'll figure it out when the time comes."

"What?! We have to sleep out here?" Xiao Mei's skeptical voice came from the other side of the partition.

"Cousin Xiao Yan! There are a lot of mosquitoes in the mountains!"

"I know."

"Then why..."

"Just don't deactivate your Dou Qi when you sleep, and it will be fine." Xiao Yan responded indifferently,

"..."

Upon hearing Xiao Yan's reply, not only Xiao Mei, but every Xiao Clan younger generation fell silent.

Indeed, Xiao Yan had brought them here for training... and considering his personality, there is a high chance that not even their sleep is going to be peaceful.

Of course, they could choose to deactivate their Dou Qi when they slept, but that would mean they would have to bear the consequences no matter how miserable they felt the next day.

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The mosquitoes in the mountains were more venomous than they had anticipated.

"What are you afraid of! We are members of the Xiao clan! It’s just some tiny mosquitoes! They are nothing to fear of!"

Xiao Ning clenched his fist and spoke out with an inspiring tone, and the other boys echoed his words.

"You're right!"

"The Xiao clan fears nothing!"

"It's just sleeping without deactivating our Dou Qi, right? Let's just do it!"

In contrast to the boys' resolute words, the girls remained silent.

After soaking in the hot spring, Xiao Mei, on behalf of the girls, pleaded with Xiao Yan in various ways, but ultimately couldn't change his mind. They could only miserably sleep on a pile of leaves and dry grass together with everyone else.

In the tranquil forest, they spent their first day of training.

The next morning, under the sunlight, Xiao Yan clapped his hands and called out, and everyone slowly woke up.

At this moment, both the boys and girls looked at each other in silence, not uttering a word.

On the boys' side, apart from Xiao Yan, who seemed fine, everyone else had various red bumps from mosquito bites all over their faces, itching and grimacing.

Originally, the boys had intended to maintain their Dou Qi protection throughout the night. However, after a day of training, even though the hot spring had relieved some fatigue, they unknowingly fell into a deep sleep, unconsciously deactivating their Dou Qi protection.

As a result, they ended up in this miserable state.

If it were any other time and the girls saw the boys in such a sorry state, it's hard to say how they would react, but Xiao Mei would definitely be the loudest one laughing.

But now, Xiao Mei didn't have the energy to mock the boys because the girls themselves didn't fare much better. Although they were not bitten by mosquitoes, they had been cautious about not deactivating their Dou Qi protection throughout the night, resulting in a sleepless night. Including Xiao Xun'er, all the girls had prominent dark circles under their eyes.

After all, they were girls who cared more about their appearance than the boys did. Making them look as miserable as the boys would be even more uncomfortable. In comparison, dark circles were a minor issue.

At this moment, Xiao Yan clapped his hands and energetically greeted everyone.

"Everyone, wash your faces, tidy up, and make breakfast. After eating, we'll start training."

"Yes..."

Compared to the excited response from yesterday, the spirits of the group were undoubtedly much lower today. The initial excitement of coming to the mountain for training had long disappeared.

Under Xiao Yan's repeated urging, everyone mustered their energy and started preparing breakfast for the day.

Breakfast was simple, just boiling water and cooking several pots of plain porridge. After finishing their meal, they began another day of training.

"Um... Cousin Xiao Yan..."

During the training, Xiao Mei weakly looked at Xiao Yan, and Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Can... can I go back home to get something?"

"What do you want to get?"

"Stuff like insect repellent..."

"Sorry, but no~"

Before Xiao Mei could finish her sentence, Xiao Yan smiled and rejected her, causing Xiao Mei and the other girls, including Xiao Xun'er, to deflate instantly.

Although Xiao Yan was generally very kind to everyone and always thought of them first when it came to anything, he didn't give any leeway when it came to serious matters.

"Endure it. I told you yesterday that we're here for training, and we can't think of sneaky ways out."

Xiao Yan gently stroked Xiao Mei's head to comfort her, and Xiao Mei nodded lightly before focusing on her training.

Seeing this scene, Yao Chen was somewhat surprised and talked to the young man in his mind..

(Xiao Yan, I thought you would agree.)

(Why?)

Upon hearing Yao Chen's question, Xiao Yan asked in return.

(Aren't you usually very doting towards these kids?)

(When it's appropriate, I naturally dote on them.)

Xiao Yan looked at the Xiao clan disciples who were training, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, and a serious look in his eyes.

(But when it's not appropriate, I absolutely can't spoil them. Excessive indulgence is equivalent to harming them. I don't want them to encounter bigger troubles in the future because I relaxed with them for a moment.)

(I already said it yesterday, the reason why we are here is for training, not to leisuring around.)

(In that case, we should strictly follow the standards and be strict in our execution. There is no room for any sentimentality.)

After listening to Xiao Yan's words, Yao Chen remained stunned for a while.

She had originally thought that her disciple would unconditionally help and protect his clan members.

But now it seemed that it was not the case.

He genuinely considered the future of these fellow clan members.

(Xiao Yan.)

(Yes?)

(It's the luckiest thing in their lives for the Xiao clan children to have a leader like you...)

Upon hearing Yao Chen's words, Xiao Yan paused for a moment, then his expression relaxed, and he chuckled lightly.

(I hope so~)