Xun'er's Strange Behavior

Xiao Se had never cared about the dispute between the Xiao father and son and the Xiao Clan's three elders. He still sat with his eyes slightly closed, resting while recalling his battle with Hong Kui in his mind—which moves had gone wrong, where his footwork had faltered...

"Brother, why is it so noisy outside?" Long Kui's languid yet ethereal voice suddenly rang out in Xiao Se's mind.

Unlike Hong Kui's voice, this one was exceedingly gentle, as though it cleansed the soul. Xiao Se recognized it as Lan Kui.

"Long Kui, are you awake?" Xiao Se replied in his mind with a faint smile.

"Mhm... Long Kui hasn't slept this comfortably in a long time... It's just too noisy outside now..." Long Kui's sweet voice echoed through Xiao Se's mind once more.

"Don't mind it. How about Brother sings you a song?" Xiao Se said with a smile.

"Mm, then sing, Brother. Long Kui is listening." Within the Demon Sword Space, Long Kui lay on the soft bed Xiao Se had prepared for her. Recalling how Hong Kui had undressed him yesterday, her pretty face flushed crimson.

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star... How I wonder what you are..." Xiao Se softly hummed under his breath, so quietly that only he could hear it.

Xun'er, seated beside Xiao Se, froze slightly. Others might not have caught his soft humming, but she, too, had been born with powerful Soul Power, and she heard it.

Turning her head to look at Xiao Se, Xun'er's delicate brows furrowed slightly. She murmured inwardly, What song is this? Why does it feel so familiar?

She thought carefully, but could not remember where she had heard it. Shaking her head in frustration, she simply stopped dwelling on it and turned her gaze back to Xiao Yan.

At this moment, Xiao Yan and the three great elders had already reached a point of open hostility.

"Xiao Yan, do you truly wish to remain the Young Clan Leader?" The Great Elder narrowed his aged eyes and asked in a deep voice.

"It isn't that I, Xiao Yan, want the position of Young Clan Leader. This concerns my father's reputation. If I am stripped of my position as Young Clan Leader, how will my father establish his authority among the clansmen in the future?" Xiao Yan declared righteously.

"The position of Young Clan Leader has always belonged to the capable. Back then, Old Clan Leader Xiao Lin defeated the previous clan head's son to obtain the position of Young Clan Leader, and later became clan head. The Xiao Clan cannot ruin the rules left behind by our ancestors simply because you are the clan head's son."

At the mention of authority, the Great Elder sneered inwardly and immediately pinned a lofty charge on him. Wasn't the three great elders' purpose in removing Xiao Yan as Young Clan Leader to weaken Xiao Zhan's influence in the Xiao Clan and secure more benefits for themselves?

"You..." Xiao Yan's expression stiffened, and he was rendered speechless with anger.

"Yan'er, stop talking. The ancestral laws cannot be defied..." Xiao Zhan's helpless voice called out from the seat of honor.

Though he knew that the three elders were deliberately making trouble, they were not wrong. Not only was the position of Young Clan Leader reserved for the capable—even the clan head's position was as well. Xiao Zhan had become clan head because his cultivation was the highest in the Xiao Clan.

Upon hearing Xiao Zhan speak, a satisfied smile appeared on the Great Elder's aged face. With a wave of his hand, he solemnly announced, "In that case, I hereby formally declare that Xiao Yan is stripped of his position as the Xiao Clan's Young Clan Leader. When a capable candidate emerges, another selection will be held. Xiao Yan shall be reduced to an ordinary disciple of the Xiao Clan, move out of the Xiao Clan's main courtyard, have his cultivation resources reduced by ninety percent, and have his monthly allowance cut to ten Gold Coins. The excess cultivation resources and Gold Coins shall be distributed to the outstanding younger generation of the Xiao Clan."

The moment the Great Elder's words left his mouth, they predictably stirred a wave of mocking commotion throughout the hall.

"Three Stages of Dou Qi. Hehe, even if his cultivation talent returns, he shouldn't even think about breaking through to Dou Zhe for another seven or eight years."

"Sigh, who told him to be so arrogant and overbearing back then? Other than his father, he never put anyone in his eyes."

"Twelve years old and only at Three Stages of Dou Qi. At that age, everyone else has at least four stages."

"He wasted the clan's resources for so many years. They should just expel him from the clan..."

The contempt and mockery from all around pierced Xiao Yan's ears like sharp thorns, stabbing into his heart and making his breathing abruptly grow rapid.

With the matter settled, Xiao Yan glanced at Xiao Zhan, who seemed to have aged greatly in an instant, sitting at the highest seat. His throat tightened, and without looking back, he ran from the Council Hall, leaving everyone only with a lonely, desolate silhouette.

He needed to vent the fury in his heart...

With Xiao Yan stripped of his position as Young Clan Leader, the Clan Meeting came to a "perfect" conclusion. The Xiao Clan elders and younger generation all departed one after another.

"Cousin Xiao Se, Cousin Xiao Se, the Clan Meeting is over. It's time to go." Xun'er had originally wanted to chase after Xiao Yan, but after glancing at Xiao Se, who was still resting with his eyes closed, she hesitated briefly before gently nudging him and speaking up to remind him.

Xiao Se slowly opened his eyes. He looked at the crowd gradually leaving around them, then at Xiao Xun'er. A trace of surprise flashed through his eyes. Xiao Yan had already left, yet Xiao Xun'er had not followed him.

"Oh, thank you." Xiao Se nodded to Xiao Xun'er in thanks, then rose and left.

"Cousin Xiao Se, please wait a moment." Not long after Xiao Se walked out of the Council Hall, Xun'er's clear, ethereal voice suddenly sounded behind him.

Turning around, Xiao Se said flatly, "Miss Xun'er, what is it?"

"Nothing, nothing. I just wanted to ask what tune Cousin Xiao Se was softly humming in the hall just now. Xun'er feels like she has heard it somewhere before..." Xun'er blinked her large, watery eyes and said with a cheerful smile.

Hearing this, Xiao Se frowned. What he had hummed was a children's song from Blue Star. Xun'er could not possibly have heard it—unless Xiao Yan, the transmigrator from a parallel world, had sung it to her.

At that thought, Xiao Se silently cursed himself for being careless. He had actually forgotten that the Xun'er beside him had also been born with powerful Soul Power. Even an extremely faint sound could be heard by her.

"I think Miss Xun'er may have misheard. I wasn't humming any tune. I have something to do, so goodbye."

Without waiting for her reply, Xiao Se headed straight for the Xiao Clan's main gate without looking back.

Watching Xiao Se's retreating back, Xiao Xun'er was left dumbfounded by his utterly distant and dismissive behavior. It was only after standing there for quite some time that she came back to her senses. Stomping her foot, she pouted and muttered, "Hmph, then don't tell me..."

In a deserted alley somewhere in Wutan City.

"Long Kui, no one is watching us nearby, right?" Xiao Se swept his sharp eyes over the surroundings. Once he found no one, he called out in his mind.

"Brother, don't worry. That person from the Imitation Market who used Soul Power to monitor you last time didn't follow us," Long Kui's ethereal voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

Xiao Se nodded slightly and waved his hand. A black robe appeared out of thin air in his grasp, and he swiftly put it on.

After adjusting it slightly and confirming that no one would be able to make out his build or appearance, he stepped onto the street and headed toward Mittel Auction in the city center.

Upon entering the auction house, Xiao Se made his way to the appraiser with practiced familiarity beneath the guards' wary gazes.

The middle-aged man seated in a chair beside the desk froze when he saw Xiao Se. Then he sprang to his feet, hurried over, and respectfully asked, "You... are Master Pu?"

"Mhm." The familiar hoarse voice of a middle-aged man came from beneath the black robe.

Upon hearing that familiar voice, although he did not know why Xiao Se was slightly taller than he had been a month ago, the middle-aged man did not pay it much mind. Excitedly, he led him toward the VIP room.