Northwest Sect Tournament

Chapter 42

The Xiao Family was Xiao Lin's most precious possession, so the vast assets obtained from plundering the Snake People Clan once and the Misty Cloud Sect once were directly spent on the Xiao Family.

Any ordinary faction that saw what he was doing would surely slap their thighs and cry out, "What a spendthrift!"

But Xiao Lin was playing on another level. He truly regarded the Xiao Family as precious property; spending money on them merely meant that the money was accompanying Xiao Lin in another form.

Precisely because he treasured the Xiao Family so dearly, he would never tolerate the death of anyone bearing its bloodline.

Yet the Xiao Family had an irreconcilable feud with the Soul Hall and the Hun Clan. Sooner or later, they were bound to fight.

In a battle between life and death, blades and spears had no eyes. Xiao Lin could not bear to send members of the Xiao Family to their deaths.

Thus, he conceived the idea of establishing an external force. It just so happened that the Northwest Sect Tournament was about to begin, making it the perfect opportunity.

"Old Hai, have I ever cheated you?"

Xiao Lin smiled faintly. He first set up protections around them before slowly releasing his cultivation.

Hai Bodong was only a Seventh Star Dou Huang. Even if Xiao Lin no longer concealed his cultivation, he could not discern Xiao Lin's realm.

But he could sense that Xiao Lin's aura had leaped eight times in succession after reaching the Dou Zong realm!

The implications of that...

"How terrifying!"

Hai Bodong's throat felt dry. This was simply too shocking. He had been present for that battle atop the Misty Cloud Sect more than two years ago and had seen everything clearly.

That battle had lasted from afternoon until deep into the night. Clearly, Brother Xiao's strength at the time had been roughly on par with Yun Shan's.

Yet now, in less than three years, he had become an expert of this level. If he took another step forward, he might even qualify to enter the true stage of the Dou Qi Continent—the central region, Middle Continent!

"Fortunately, my Mite'er Family has always been on friendly terms with the Xiao Family. If we had become enemies of the Xiao Family..."

Hai Bodong did not dare imagine it. It was too terrifying.

Normally, when encountering such a situation, it would involve some young man. Such a child could not be allowed to live and had to be eliminated immediately.

But Brother Xiao had already been a Dou Wang when he first made a name for himself. He could already be considered a notable figure...

"Old Hai, help me contact the major forces in the Jia Ma Empire. Once I make a trip to the Black Corner Region, I'll discuss things with them in detail when I return."

Xiao Lin spoke with Hai Bodong for a long while before finally entrusting this matter to him. Then, he rose into the air. Without concealing his cultivation, he strode straight into the heavens!

Jia Ma Holy City, the Imperial Capital of the Jia Ma Empire, was the most prosperous city in the entire empire. Every day, the number of people passing through it reached a rather terrifying figure.

At that moment, someone suddenly shouted, "Look at the sky! What is that?!"

Everyone raised their heads and saw a white-robed figure walking through the sky. There was not the slightest trace of Dou Qi fluctuation behind him, and he seemed like an immortal or a god as he strode through the air!

"To walk through the air without Dou Qi Wings... could this person's cultivation have already reached the Dou Zong realm?"

All sorts of people could be found in the Imperial Capital. Before long, someone knowledgeable revealed the secret.

"In our Jia Ma Empire, the only Dou Zong expert is probably that Xiao Family Supreme Elder!"

"Everyone says the Xiao Family and the Mite'er Family are close. That Xiao Family Supreme Elder seemed to have flown out of the Mite'er Family's estate. The rumors were true after all!"

"Farewell, Xiao Family Supreme Elder!"

"Farewell, Xiao Family Supreme Elder!"

Jia Ma Holy City had originally been extremely noisy, its crowds buzzing with conversation. But when that white-robed figure stood in the sky, all the clamor came to an abrupt halt.

Every street in Jia Ma Holy City where the white-robed man could be seen was packed with people, numbering over tens of thousands. At this moment, they all bid him farewell in unison.

To be fair, although Xiao Lin had destroyed the Misty Cloud Sect in advance and spared the Jia Ma Empire from a bloody storm, these people clearly did not know about it.

The reason for their fervor toward Xiao Lin was still the spread of his legendary experiences after the Xiao Family went into seclusion three years ago.

Moreover, the Jia Ma Empire's sole Dou Zong expert never appeared in public. Now that he had finally shown himself, it naturally drove everyone mad.

Only the combination of these factors had produced this scene.

Within Jia Ma Holy City, Jia Xing Tian and a group of imperial higher-ups leaned against the city walls. Watching the overwhelming cries throughout the holy city, they were all deeply moved.

"Someone who didn't know better might think the Xiao Family was the imperial family..."

Someone snorted, but immediately afterward, he fell silent.

Because he realized that the Xiao Family did not become the imperial family because they did not want to, not because they could not.

If the Xiao Family Supreme Elder came to the imperial city with his sword and demanded that the Xiao Family become the imperial family, what could they do...

Xiao Lin had already set out on the road away from the Jia Ma Empire. Leaving the holy city in such a conspicuous manner had naturally been deliberate.

It had been too long. If he did not show off his cultivation, people might truly forget that he was a Dou Zong.

Besides, displaying his strength before leaving would also greatly lessen Old Hai's burden.

Jia Nan Academy was an ancient academy situated in the central region of the continent. For thousands of years, every peak expert who had emerged from this place had possessed a great reputation across the continent and become famous in their own right.

The most terrifying thing about an academy was not how formidable its teaching staff was, but the tens of thousands of experts who had walked out of it.

If Jia Nan Academy ever faced a crisis of destruction and summoned back those experts who had left the academy, it was difficult to imagine just how terrifying that force would be...

Although the various academies across the continent were nearly countless, Jia Nan Academy's reputation had never been surpassed.

From this, one could see just how profound the foundations of this academy shrouded in ancient aura truly were.

Across the continent, regardless of race, countless people took pride in being able to enter this ancient academy. Unfortunately, its nearly harsh admission requirements left many people sighing in despair.

At the summit of the lushly forested back mountain of Jia Nan Academy, a Young Girl in a pale green dress stood graceful and slim. A purple sash was lightly tied around her slender waist, outlining it exquisitely.

"Young Miss, Old Master Xiao has emerged from seclusion and is heading toward the Black Corner Region. According to our investigation, his cultivation has advanced again and seems to have reached a high-star Dou Zong. We hope Young Miss will proceed with caution."

That battle more than two years ago had fully exposed Xiao Lin's cultivation. The Misty Cloud Sect had been affected the most, while Gu Xun Er and the forces around her had been the next most affected.

Rising from the Dou Wang realm to the Dou Zong realm in such a short time seemed utterly fantastical and unimaginable. But as members of the Gu Clan, once the news was sent back, someone quickly put forth a conjecture.

The power of Xiao Lin's bloodline had been stirred. It was possible that the Xiao Family had passed down some secret method from their ancestors that allowed later generations to increase their cultivation.

It was also possible that some Xiao Family experts had not died and were still alive. The Xiao Family of old had been far too vast. Even though the clan had been destroyed, the chances that experts away training had survived were slim, but they still existed.

And regardless of which possibility was true, this Old Master Xiao had most likely already learned the relevant information about the former Xiao Clan.

When Xun Er had come to the Xiao Family in the past, the stated reason was to protect her from the clan's internal struggles, but secretly, she had also been tasked with investigating the Tou She Ancient God Jade.

Thus, the Gu Clan feared that Xiao Lin would become enraged over this matter. They specifically raised the security level around Xun Er. Ling Ying was removed from his post and replaced with a Dou Zong guard one level higher.

But after probing Xiao Lin's strength this time, it might soon be these Dou Zong guards' turn to be removed...