The Devil King? No, Please Call Me The Immortal King Xiaoyao.

How many years have passed in dormancy? Golden scales remain unspread, and no glorious light shines forth.

But winter's cold always yields to spring's gentle breeze, and heroes will naturally transform into dragons in a dance.

"What! You... you must be joking!" The academy elder, upon hearing the report from his subordinate, was utterly shocked, the writing brush falling from his hand.

The Rank 2 Gu Master who came to report affirmed, "Elder, I am under the orders of the clan leader to invite you to the Clan Head Pavilion to jointly witness Gu Yue Yixing's advancement to Rank 3."

Hearing the report again, the academy elder staggered, leaning heavily on his chair, muttering, "Rank 3! How old is he?"

"Indeed, he's not even sixteen yet, and he's already Rank 3."

"Heavens, I feel like I've lived this long in vain."

Listening to the whispers of the surrounding elders and the occasional glances cast his way, Yixing calmly accepted the tea offered by Gu Yue Bo, who was beaming with joy, constantly engaging him in conversation, his smile as bright as a chrysanthemum.

*Tap, tap, tap*

A series of hurried footsteps approached as the academy elder, panting, rushed into the Clan Head Pavilion. Before he could catch his breath, he saw Yixing sitting beside the head seat, drinking tea with the clan leader Gu Yue Bo.

Noticing that everyone in the hall had noticed his arrival, the academy elder patted his sleeves, calmed himself, and bowed to Gu Yue Bo, "Clan Leader."

Gu Yue Bo gestured for him to sit down, then surveyed the hall and said, "Alright, now that everyone is here, we can begin."

Then he turned to Yixing, "Yixing, the clan's elders are all present. Now, release your primeval essence and let everyone see."

Hearing this, the elders, already full of anticipation, craned their necks and widened their eyes.

Yixing smiled slightly and raised his right hand.

Testing a Rank 3's cultivation doesn't require probing their aperture. After all, reaching Rank 3 allows one to become a clan elder, a person of high status within the village, so they should be given due respect. Randomly probing an elder's aperture is an offense.

Under the expectant and nervous gazes of the crowd, the light in the young and handsome boy's hand grew brighter and brighter. The silvery-white light illuminated the hall as if it were daytime, and their eyes simultaneously turned to shock.

"Rank 3! It's really Rank 3!"

"My heavens, it really is Rank 3!"

"A Rank 3 at such a young age, am I dreaming?"

The crowd could no longer contain themselves, and exclamations rose and fell.

Gu Yue Bo was overjoyed, "Good, good, good, Yixing, you've done well. A Rank 3 before sixteen, unprecedented in the entire Qing Mao Mountain."

Of course, celebration and emotion were only temporary. The key was how to allocate a position for Yixing now that he had advanced to Rank 3.

The Gu Yue clan's current elders controlled almost every aspect of the Gu Yue clan, and most affairs were already managed. How to allocate resources to such a young and talented newly promoted elder like Yixing was a dilemma for Gu Yue Bo.

"The Crimson and Desert Veins check each other, the Medicine Hall is neutral but controls the clan's medical care, and the clan leader's line commands the overall situation."

Everyone pondered secretly, guessing the changes Yixing would bring.

Gu Yue Chicheng, Gu Yue Mobei, and Gu Yue Yaoji exchanged glances, their eyes constantly shifting over Yixing. Clearly, all three wanted to bring this potential powerhouse to their side.

"Before, Gu Yue Yixing cultivated diligently and had to take care of his mother, so we had no chance to contact him. Now that his mother has passed away and the clan leader has arranged for him to join Gu Yue Qingshu's group, it seems the clan leader wants to control this prodigy himself."

The three pondered, eventually looking towards Gu Yue Bo.

Gu Yue Bo was silent for a moment, then smiled and looked at Yixing, "Yixing, our clan is full of talented people, and the elders are diligent and conscientious. The clan is thriving."

"You are still young, and although you are already Rank 3, your experience is still somewhat shallow and needs to be tempered, so…"

Hearing Gu Yue Bo's words, the elders had a feeling: "Could it be!"

"I intend to make you the young clan leader of our Gu Yue clan."

As soon as these words came out, the whole place was in an uproar.

Yixing, however, remained calm and was not surprised.

…

As soon as the meeting in the Clan Head Pavilion ended, the news of Yixing becoming the young clan leader spread like wildfire, quickly reaching every corner of the Gu Yue village.

Fang Yuan, who had just advanced to Rank 2 middle stage, frowned upon hearing the news: "Has the future changed so much?"

Gu Yue Qingshu and Gu Yue Fangzheng, who had returned to report after completing their mission, were surprised and delighted.

The Crimson, Desert, and Medicine Veins were holding their own meetings, thinking about how to befriend Yixing, even considering how to win him over, while Gu Yue Yixing's classmates were all shocked and wanted to improve their relationship with him.

The entire Gu Yue village, even the entire Qing Mao Mountain, was changing due to Yixing's rise.

As the protagonist of all this, Yixing was still sitting peacefully at home, organizing his future plans.

"After becoming the young clan leader, I will naturally attract a lot of attention. That way, Fang Yuan won't be able to probe me secretly like last time."

"Now, the Ten Extreme Physique is no longer dangerous for a certain period of time. Of course, I still can't expose it, or I will become a sacrifice for the Gu Yue generation."

"With my current status and position, I will no longer have to worry about primeval stones and Gu worms. And I only need one more chance to get that."

Thinking of this, he looked at the Bee Mastery Gu in his aperture and smiled slowly.

"I've also contacted people from the merchant caravan, and they've prepared the items."

"Next, I just need to develop slowly, get the things in the plan, and I can take a grand bow."

Time passed quickly, many things happened, and the beast tide was getting closer and closer.

The three great villages of Qing Mao Mountain had been communicating more and more frequently recently, and it was clear that an alliance was about to happen.

And the news that Yixing had been waiting for had arrived.

"Three days ago, a River Swallowing Toad appeared near the village at the foot of the mountain. This toad seemed to have traveled upstream from the Yellow Dragon River and accidentally ended up here."

"Now, it's blocking a river channel and sleeping inside. If we let it continue, the village will always be in danger. Elders, what good ideas do you have to drive this toad away?" Gu Yue Bo said with a worried face.

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became serious, and the elders looked at each other, and no one spoke for a while.

The academy elder frowned: "This River Swallowing Toad is a Rank 5 Gu worm with great power. When it opens its mouth and spits, a great river flows. If we don't handle it well and anger it, I'm afraid half of Qing Mao Mountain will be flooded, and the entire village will be washed away."

…

Just as the people in the hall were racking their brains and arguing about this matter, Yixing received the news that he was invited to a meeting.

As the young clan leader, he had to participate in many major clan affairs. However, this matter was a trouble for others, but it was a surprise for him.

Just as Gu Yue Bo was asking him what to do about this matter, Yixing simply and neatly stated in the shocked expressions of everyone: "Leave this matter to me."