Six Talents of Xiao Family

"Ah!"

"Ah!"

"Ah!"

Han Feng's screams rose and fell in succession. From his eyes, ears, nostrils, and mouth—the seven apertures—strand after strand of Deep Blue Flame drifted out, directly absorbed and seized by Xiao Yan.

Visible to the naked eye, the blazing flames were even burning Han Feng, their original owner, within the seven apertures from which the heavenly flame had been forcibly taken.

This was pain from the inside out, inhuman torture—but it was perfectly suited for dealing with Han Feng.

Ranked fifteenth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking, the Sea Heart Flame was a deep blue flame that appeared exceptionally mysterious. As it surged, it slowly spread like clear seawater, its faint ripples resembling waves upon the water.

Xiao Lin watched for a few moments longer as strand after strand of Deep Blue Flame was seized from Han Feng and gathered above Xiao Yan's head, forming a single flame.

The entire process lasted roughly half an hour, and Han Feng endured half an hour of the heavenly flame turning on its master, relentlessly burning him from within and without.

At last, the flawless Sea Heart Flame appeared in Xiao Yan's palm. Next came devouring the heavenly flame and raising the Flame Mantra, using the technique's advancement to break through to Dou Wang!

After seeing Xiao Yan enter deep cultivation, Xiao Lin left directly.

By now, all the outstanding young members of the Xiao family had returned to Wutan City: the Desert Iron Mercenary Group's Xiao Ding and Xiao Li, as well as Xiao Ning, Xiao Yu, Xiao Mei, and the others from Jia Nan Academy.

Xiao Lin intended to assess them and see whether the Xiao family had any promising juniors besides Xiao Yan.

At the Xiao Family Training Ground stood six figures: Xiao Lin, Xiao Ding, Xiao Li, Xiao Yu, Xiao Ning, and Xiao Mei.

Xiao Lin's gaze swept across the five of them. Someone from the clan had already sent him their information.

Xiao Ding, twenty-six years old, a six-star Dou Ling. After the Xiao family rose to prominence, he had unlocked the new profession of alchemist and was now already a Second-grade Alchemist.

Xiao Li, twenty-four years old, a four-star Dou Ling. This lad was not as steady as his elder brother Xiao Ding, so naturally, he could not become an alchemist.

However, his methods were quite ruthless, and he struck with exceptional viciousness. That had been honed through his experience in the mercenary group.

Xiao Yu, twenty-four years old, a nine-star Da Dou Shi at the peak of perfection. This child's talent had never been particularly strong, and even with resources piled onto her, she was still somewhat stuck at this bottleneck.

Still, Xiao Yu was a woman, and her looks were good enough. With those uniquely long legs of hers, she could be considered gifted from another perspective. She would do just fine as a pretty face in the Xiao family.

Xiao Ning, twenty-one years old, a one-star Dou Ling. Though his talent was not particularly outstanding either, with the Xiao family's resources supporting him, he had still surpassed his older sister.

Xiao Mei, twenty years old, a four-star Dou Ling. Other than Xun Er and Xiao Yan, she was the most talented among the Xiao family's younger generation.

In Xiao Lin's view, the Xiao family's new generation was fairly decent within the Jia Ma Empire.

But if measured against Jia Nan Academy's geniuses, the first-ranked Zi Yan was not human, so she did not count.

As for Lin Xiuyai and Liu Qing behind her, after cultivating for two or three more years, they had long since broken through to Dou Wang.

Clearly, these five outstanding youths of the Xiao family could not be mentioned in the same breath as them.

"After all, the bloodline power was taken away. Being able to produce even one Xiao Yan is already good fortune. I should lower my expectations further."

Xiao Lin consoled himself like this. Looking at the five of them, he spoke.

"You are no longer young. Now that you have returned to the clan, you should make plans for the future as well. Do you wish to live within the clan and take up clan positions, or continue cultivating and tempering yourselves in pursuit of further advancement?"

The five wore different expressions. In the end, Xiao Yu and Xiao Ding stepped forward.

Xiao Ding said, "Grandfather, I feel that refining medicine and pills suits me better. I want to remain in the clan and refine pills."

"Old Master, I also wish to remain in the clan and take up a clan position," Xiao Yu said.

"Ding'er, I have an Alchemist Manual here for you. The clan will also provide you with an additional batch of materials each month for practice."

The reason Xiao Lin had summoned all five of them with such fanfare was naturally not merely to ask what they wished to do. He also intended to guide their future cultivation.

"Thank you, Grandfather!"

Xiao Ding accepted the manual and flipped through a couple of pages. The more he read, the brighter the gleam in his eyes became.

Though Han Feng's character was lacking, his alchemy techniques had been inherited from Yao Lao. The Alchemist Manual he had written was therefore of extremely high quality.

"Yu'er, before long, our Xiao family will be receiving a host of experts from the Jia Ma Empire. At that time, I will grant you the authority to take full charge of this operation. Your performance will determine the position you take up in the future."

Xiao Lin looked at Xiao Yu and handed her a jade pendant. Its authority was second only to Clan Leader Xiao Zhan and the Three Elders.

"Old Master, for Yu'er to be put in charge of such an important matter on her first time, I'm afraid I might damage our Xiao family's reputation..." Xiao Yu replied, feeling somewhat pressured.

"It does not matter. They already know that our Xiao family does things differently. Just go and do it."

After arranging matters for Xiao Ding and Xiao Yu, Xiao Lin looked toward Xiao Li, Xiao Ning, and Xiao Mei.

The three of them still wished to give it another shot, to gain experience through cultivation and rise to a higher level.

"For this Sect Tournament in the Northwest, you three will accompany me and broaden your horizons."

After thinking for a moment, Xiao Lin added, "There are five Jade Talismans here. Take them to the Second Elder, and he will have someone bring you to a place that will greatly benefit your cultivation."

There were five young people, and each received a Jade Talisman. Xiao Yu and Xiao Ding were not left out.

Finally, Xiao Lin offered them some guidance on their cultivation issues before bringing this thorough assessment of the Xiao family's younger generation to an end.

After that, the Xiao family remained peaceful and stable. Aside from the five youngsters being stunned by the old master's lavish arrangements when they used their Jade Talismans to cultivate, everything continued as usual.

Just like that, a month swiftly passed.

In the early morning, as the warm sunlight gradually enveloped all of Wutan City, several of the Jia Ma Empire's most powerful factions arrived one after another outside the Xiao Family's gardens.

From afar, many people in Wutan City watched the faction emblems parked before the gates and could not help but feel that something major was about to happen in the Jia Ma Empire.

The defenses throughout Xiao Mansion were exceptionally tight today. Any outsider walking within would immediately draw dozens of gazes from the shadows. Should anyone reveal even the slightest malicious intent, they would likely be met with a barrage of attacks.

At the center of Xiao Mansion stood a sizable council hall. Within a hundred meters of it, numerous guards stood watch, their cold eyes constantly sweeping back and forth.

The atmosphere inside the council hall was not as grave as one might have imagined. There were not many people qualified to enter—only a handful—but they represented several of the Jia Ma Empire's strongest factions.

At the head of the hall, Xiao Lin and Hai Bodong chatted with smiles on their faces.

After some time, Xiao Yu quietly entered, closed the doors to the hall, and announced that everyone qualified to come to the Xiao Family had arrived.

The meeting held within the Xiao Family's gardens in Wutan City—a meeting capable of changing the entire Jia Ma Empire—had officially begun!

P.S. Regarding the issue of ages, I used Xiao Yan's age as the reference point and adjusted the others accordingly.

Xiao Yan was fifteen when the engagement was broken off. He then spent three years at the Misty Cloud Sect and over two, but less than three, years at Jia Nan Academy.

So Xiao Yan was not yet twenty-one.

If you think there is anything wrong with the ages, please point it out and I will revise it.