Inside the Mittel Auction House, Ya Fei saw that Xiao Yao was about to leave. As if remembering something, she handed him a piece of intelligence and said:
"Little brother Xiao Yao, these are the people you asked me to keep an eye out for. People from the Misty Cloud Sect really have come to Wutan City."
Xiao Yao took the report and looked through it. An elderly man was accompanied by two young people, all dressed in Misty Cloud Sect uniforms.
His eyes lit up. It seemed these were the people he had been waiting for: the Misty Cloud Sect party that had come to break off the engagement.
The only girl in the report was probably Nalan Yanran, the apple of the Nalan Family's eye.
Xiao Yao was now sixteen. Judging by his age, it was about time for the uproar over his younger brother's broken engagement.
So Xiao Yao had asked Ya Fei to keep an eye out for any Misty Cloud Sect members coming to Wutan City.
After all, under normal circumstances, even if they had come to break off the engagement, the Misty Cloud Sect party could hardly go straight to the Xiao Clan the moment they arrived in Wutan City.
They would surely send a calling card first, announcing their visit so the Xiao Clan could prepare.
That was indeed what had happened. The report said the Misty Cloud Sect party had arrived in Wutan City at noon today.
But they had gone to rest at the Misty Cloud Sect's Wutan City branch. Presumably, they would not pay their official visit to the Xiao Clan until tomorrow.
Xiao Yao fell into thought.
As the saying went, where you sat determined where you stood.
Since he had been born and raised in the Xiao Clan, he naturally had to consider its interests.
The Three-Year Agreement had caused far too great an uproar.
So much so that, after Xiao Yan defeated Nalan Yanran three years later, a Misty Cloud Sect elder flew into a rage out of humiliation and came to wreak havoc at the Xiao Clan, causing Xiao Zhan to disappear.
Since Xiao Yao knew about it, he had to do his best to prevent it.
With his current strength, however, there was really nothing he could do to Nalan Yanran, and it would be difficult to persuade her to honor the engagement.
In that case, he would do his best to contain the uproar over the broken engagement. At the very least, he had to keep it from becoming common knowledge throughout the Jia Ma Empire.
Xiao Yao's eyes flickered. He had already made plans, and now that he went over them again, he felt they had a reasonable chance of success.
Even if he failed, at worst things would go as they had in the original story, with the Three-Year Agreement causing such a clamor that the entire Jia Ma Empire knew about it.
Seeing Xiao Yao lost in thought, Ya Fei could not help reaching out to take his hand. She said softly:
"Little brother Xiao Yao, you aren't thinking of attacking the people from the Misty Cloud Sect, are you?"
Xiao Yao shook his head and said with a smile, "I'm not so blind to my own limits."
Ya Fei immediately breathed a sigh of relief, then added, "In that case, if you aren't going to attack them and there's anything you need from me, just say the word."
Xiao Yao nodded with a smile. "Don't worry, Sister Ya Fei. If I really need your help, I won't stand on ceremony."
Xiao Yao put the report into his Storage Ring and waved to Ya Fei.
Ya Fei watched Xiao Yao's retreating figure, a trace of worry flashing through her eyes as she murmured to herself:
My dear little brother, please don't do anything foolish. Otherwise, even I might not be able to protect you.
Ya Fei recalled what the report had revealed. Of the three people from the Misty Cloud Sect, neither the old man nor the young man was cause for concern, but the girl had a formidable background.
Not only was she the apple of the Nalan Family's eye, she had also been accepted as a disciple by the Misty Cloud Sect's master and was the sect's young mistress.
With someone of such standing involved, if Xiao Yao really attacked them, Ya Fei might wish to protect him, but she lacked the power to do so.
Thinking of this, Ya Fei gritted her teeth and decided to make some preparations first.
If something really did happen, even if she could not protect Xiao Yao, she could still help him escape.
Xiao Yao did not know that merely asking Ya Fei to gather information on the Misty Cloud Sect had already led her to anticipate the worst.
Following the information in the report, Xiao Yao had now arrived at the Misty Cloud Sect's Wutan City branch.
As the strongest sect in the Jia Ma Empire, the Misty Cloud Sect had small liaison branches in every city, providing convenience to its disciples and allowing the sect to directly recruit any talented disciples it encountered.
Xiao Yao stood in the shadows, looking at the elegant courtyard, which was not particularly ostentatious.
Two black-clad guards stood at the entrance, bored out of their minds.
Xiao Yao was now draped in a black robe, with a pitch-black mask covering his entire face. Two blue crystals even covered the mask's eyeholes.
This was the disguise Xiao Yao had worn when he first entered the Mittel Auction House, used to conceal his identity.
After growing closer to Ya Fei, however, he had resumed using his identity as a member of the Xiao Clan.
Besides concealing his face, the mask's most important purpose was to hide Xiao Yao's eyes.
His pale golden eyes were fairly unusual. Without something to conceal them, they could easily be traced back to him.
With his preparations complete, Xiao Yao half-closed his eyes and spread out his soul perception to sense the situation inside the courtyard.
Besides the Dou Zhe and Dou Shi, there were two presences at the center of the courtyard stronger than Xiao Yao. Both were probably Da Dou Shi.
One of them had a powerful presence and had already reached the late stage of Da Dou Shi, seven stars or higher. That was probably Ge Ye.
The other Da Dou Shi was probably the person in charge of this Misty Cloud Sect branch.
Two Da Dou Shi. Xiao Yao considered his abilities and decided that even if things went wrong, he should have no trouble withdrawing unscathed.
After turning seven, he had remained stuck at the initial stage of Dou Zhe, unable to increase his Dou Qi, but that did not mean he had stopped cultivating.
Besides cultivating Dou Qi, he could improve his strength in other ways as well, such as by strengthening his physique.
Sun Power was an excellent power for tempering the body.
With his current physique, he could actually take on a tier-three magical beast even without using Dou Qi.
A tier-three magical beast was equivalent to a human Da Dou Shi.
On top of that, Xiao Yao's Dou Qi cultivation had also reached Nine-Star Dou Shi. When he unleashed his Sun Power, even a Da Dou Shi would not dare underestimate him.
Having made up his mind, Xiao Yao acted. His figure flickered as he reached the courtyard, then he shot upward like an arrow loosed from a bow, clearing the wall.
The two guards froze for a moment before coming to their senses and hurriedly shouting, "Intruder!"
Xiao Yao had barely landed when a burly middle-aged figure rushed out from the main house and shouted coldly:
"Who dares trespass on my Misty Cloud Sect branch? Hiding your face and skulking about!"
The burly middle-aged man was the person in charge of this branch. He had never expected an uninvited guest to arrive just after he had received honored guests from the sect.
If the honored guests were offended, his position as branch head would probably be in jeopardy.
At that thought, the middle-aged steward abruptly unleashed a powerful bearing and charged fiercely at Xiao Yao, Dou Qi Armor forming over his arms.
It was indeed Dou Qi Armor, a technique that could only be used upon reaching Da Dou Shi and possessed astonishing destructive power.
Xiao Yao did not yield. He clenched his right hand into a fist, and the glove made from magical beast hide rapidly turned scorching hot.
It was as though the glove held not a fist, but searing magma.
Boom!
The two fists collided with a tremendous bang. A terrifying shock wave rippled outward, cracking the courtyard's stone paving inch by inch around them.
Xiao Yao took three steps back, leaving three deep footprints.
The middle-aged steward, having lunged at him, was sent flying by the recoil. He landed thirty feet away and staggered several steps before coming to a stop, a flash of shock in his eyes.