The first shattered Guardian Spirit Stone could be dismissed as a fluke, a defect. But the second one exploding as well was undeniable proof.
Xena Xiao's Guardian Spirit potential surpassed the ninth tier!
Limitless potential!
"No way! How could this be?"
Liana Xiao stood there, bewildered, disbelief and madness flashing in her eyes.
The same Xena whom she had scorned as talentless, with a mere Inferior Guardian Spirit—how could her potential exceed the ninth tier?
It made no sense!
"This must be a mistake. It has to be wrong!" Liana muttered to herself.
Many Xiao family members shared her disbelief, but with two shattered Guardian Spirit Stones, there was nothing left to argue.
"Elder Ao Xiao, if you still think the Guardian Spirit Stone is defective, perhaps we should try another one," Xena said calmly.
"This…" Elder Ao Xiao's face turned dark.
The Guardian Spirit Stones were highly valuable, and even the Xiao family had only a few. No one had questioned the first Stone's loss, but the second was fetched only due to his doubt in Xena's potential. He would likely bear some responsibility for this expense. And if they fetched a third one, the result would likely be the same.
Not only would he lose face yet again, but the cost would also be considerable.
At this point, Bart Xiao spoke up: "The facts are clear. There was nothing wrong with the Guardian Spirit Stones. Xena's Guardian Spirit's potential exceeds the ninth tier!"
With the family head's final word, the record-keeper dutifully logged Xena Xiao's Guardian Spirit as "Inferior Class, Potential: Limitless."
"Now, Sister, no one will dare mock you again!" Leon Xiao beamed as he rushed up to meet Xena, who had just come down from the testing platform.
Xena's mood was good, but she knew that merely passing the initial testing wouldn't completely change many Xiao family members' minds. Some still doubted the validity of the results, and others suspected she might have cheated.
The real test would come in the second and third rounds of the family competition.
The first round of the family competition focused on assessing Guardian Spirit potential. The second round, however, was an Awakener combat trial.
Strength alone was the ultimate measure of truth!
No matter how promising a Guardian Spirit's potential or how excellent one's talent, none of it held up to the immediate reality of strength.
In the second round of the family competition, the top ten Awakeners would earn valuable resources from the family to encourage and support their cultivation efforts.
In the Guardian Spirit Space, Ethan Lin asked, "Xena, are you confident about the combat round?"
"Yes!" Xena said, filled with confidence. "I may only be at the seventh level of the Purification Stage, but with the Divine Skill Vajra Palm, I can definitely take down Liana Xiao, who's at the eighth level. Toby Xiao, on the other hand, has already reached the ninth level and can summon his Guardian Spirit in battle. Even though summoning is not allowed in this round, his strength far exceeds that of the eighth level. With my current grasp of Vajra Palm, I'm still not his match."
"Well, if you don't come first, second place isn't bad either. After all, your awakening was recent. Give it another month, and I guarantee you'll trounce Toby Xiao!" Ethan Lin encouraged her.
"Taking down Liana Xiao will be enough for now," Xena replied.
Under the Xiao family elders' arrangement, the second round of the family competition began.
The young Xiao Awakeners were divided into five groups, with each group selecting two finalists to move on to the last round. This distribution ensured that stronger competitors wouldn't be pitted against each other in the preliminary stages.
Xena was placed in the third group, while Liana was in the second.
"Hmph, too bad we're not in the same group. I would've loved to teach you a lesson!" Liana sneered at Xena from across the arena.
Although it was difficult to discern an individual's exact stage without specific techniques, higher stages such as the Purification and Void Stages could be roughly sensed. But as for exact levels within those stages, only certain skills could determine them accurately.
Because of this, Xena's progress to the seventh level of the Purification Stage remained a secret, and most assumed she was still at the third level.
In the third group, Xena quickly met her first opponent—a side family member at the second level of the Purification Stage.
With a single strike, Xena easily defeated her opponent, earning her first victory.
As the matches progressed, Xena's strength became increasingly evident. She defeated those at the fourth and even fifth levels of the Purification Stage with ease.
"My granddaughter has reached at least the sixth level of the Purification Stage!" Bart Xiao murmured in surprise. It had only been a few months since he had last checked on her progress, and her growth had been astonishing.
"Strange. Just a few months ago, Xena was only at the third level of the Purification Stage. Could her rapid improvement be due to her Guardian Spirit's limitless potential?" Bart mused to himself.
Xena effortlessly defeated every other competitor in her group and secured her place in the second-round finals.
This display left a lasting impression on the Xiao family, as they began to see Xena in a new light. She was far from the decorative "waste" they had once labeled her as; she was a genuine talent.
The person happiest about her performance was her father, Hugh Xiao.
His son's Guardian Spirit had mid-tier status with a potential of six, while his daughter's, though of Inferior Class, had limitless potential—and her combat strength was advancing swiftly.
With his children's achievements, he suddenly saw the hope of securing the family head position in the future, even with his own ordinary abilities.
Meanwhile, the person in the worst mood was undoubtedly Liana Xiao.
"Damn it! She's so pretty, and now her strength is impressive, too? I won't stand for this!"
A twisted resentment began to grow in Liana's heart as she yearned to crush Xena in the finals, to utterly humiliate and trample her underfoot.
After a brief rest, the finals commenced.
As fate would have it, the first matchup of the finals was precisely between Xena Xiao and Liana Xiao.
"Liana Xiao and Xena Xiao, please step onto the platform for the first match!" announced the family steward and referee.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。