Establishing Authority

"Enough, Arno, stop!" Just as Arno's fist was only a centimeter away from Ge Ye's head, Xiao Xie finally spoke to stop him. Beating Ge Ye up was one thing, but killing him would be tantamount to provoking the Misty Cloud Sect. Although Xiao Xie did not think much of the Misty Cloud Sect, he was not yet capable of dealing with them. Now was not the time to completely tear all ties with the Misty Cloud Sect.

Ge Ye stared at the fist before him, unable to calm down for a long while. He could tell that if Xiao Xie had not spoken, this black-clad giant before him would have killed him without the slightest hesitation.

The others were equally shocked as they looked at the cold-faced Arno. Ge Ye was a Seven Star Great Dou Shi, yet Arno had dealt with him so easily. Just how strong was Arno? A Great Dou Shi, or perhaps a Dou Ling?

Upon hearing Xiao Xie's words, Arno expressionlessly turned around and returned to stand behind him. Seeing Arno standing behind Xiao Xie, everyone else, including Xiao Zhan and the others, revealed envious expressions.

Xiao Xie glanced at Xiao Yan and found that he did not look incredulous. He immediately understood. It seemed that the Earth from Xiao Yan's previous life had no Terminator movies.

Xiao Xie looked at Ge Ye's bitter expression and said coldly, "You want to break off the engagement? Fine. Have Nalan Jie and Yun Yun come here in person. Otherwise, what gives the likes of you the right to humiliate my Xiao Clan? Do you have a death wish?"

The moment Xiao Xie finished speaking, Arno immediately strode forward. Seeing the killing intent radiating from Xiao Xie, the entire hall fell silent, and everyone's gaze landed on Ge Ye.

Drenched in sweat, Ge Ye hurriedly stopped Nalan Yanran, who was about to speak. Little miss, please think before you talk! Saying the wrong thing now could really get us killed in the Xiao Clan! Ge Ye truly believed Xiao Xie would kill someone. It was perfectly normal for young people to act impulsively. If Xiao Xie had a moment of impulse and ordered Arno to attack, even Xiao Zhan and the others would not be able to stop him. Even if the Misty Cloud Sect avenged him afterward, he would already be dead and gone.

Ge Ye forced a smile at Xiao Xie. "Elder Xiao Xie, you misunderstand. We did not come empty-handed. The Sect Leader knew that today's request was rather discourteous, so she specifically instructed me to bring something as an apology!"

As he spoke, Ge Ye wiped the ring on his finger, and an ancient jade box glowing entirely green appeared in his hand out of thin air. Ge Ye carefully opened the box, and a strange fragrance instantly filled the hall, refreshing the spirits of everyone who smelled it.

The Three Elders curiously leaned in to look. When they saw what was inside the jade box, their bodies shook sharply, and they cried out, "Gathering Qi Powder?"

Inside the ancient box lay a jade-green medicinal pill the size of a longan. That alluring fragrance came from it.

On the Dou Qi Continent, to become a true Dou Zhe, one first had to condense a Dou Qi Cyclone within one's body. However, condensing a Dou Qi Cyclone came with a considerable chance of failure. The purpose of Gathering Qi Powder was to allow someone at the ninth stage of Dou Qi to successfully condense a Dou Qi Cyclone with a one hundred percent success rate!

"Hahaha..." Seeing this, Xiao Xie could not help but burst into laughter. Yet anyone could hear the undisguised contempt in his laughter.

"How laughable. Are you insulting us by bringing out this kind of trash?" Xiao Xie narrowed his eyes and said coldly. The killing intent emanating from him caused the temperature in the hall to drop noticeably.

Sensing Xiao Xie's killing intent, Ge Ye's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly said, "This was personally refined by Pill King Gu He, the honorary elder of our sect. It is not trash!"

"Tch!" Xiao Xie disdainfully took out a Jade Bottle from his robes and tossed it to Ge Ye, who hurriedly caught it.

"The pill inside this bottle is called the Dou Zhe Pill, a Second Grade Special Pill. It can directly raise a Dou Zhe's cultivation by one star. This Young Master refined it himself. Compared with the Gathering Qi Powder in your hand, which is stronger and which is weaker?" Xiao Xie asked disdainfully.

"This..." Ge Ye was too embarrassed to say anything. Although Gathering Qi Powder required an Alchemist of at least the fourth grade to refine, it was ultimately only useful to those below the Dou Zhe level. The Dou Zhe Pill, on the other hand, was useful to Dou Zhes. Which was superior was obvious at a glance. Yet he had treated Gathering Qi Powder like some priceless treasure. More importantly, Xiao Xie had said that he refined the Dou Zhe Pill himself. No wonder he called Gathering Qi Powder trash.

Xiao Xie looked at Ge Ye's embarrassed face and said calmly, "Fine. Consider this Dou Zhe Pill compensation for your medical expenses. Next time you come to break off an engagement, make sure to bring something genuinely valuable. Do not try to fob me off with trash again. Otherwise, I will assume that the heir of your Misty Cloud Sect is worth no more than garbage. You may leave now."

"You..." Nalan Yanran had just begun to retort when Ge Ye stopped her.

"Elder Xiao Xie, we have disturbed you today. We shall take our leave first!" Ge Ye hurriedly dragged the unwilling Nalan Yanran away. They had already lost all face today. Were they supposed to stay and let everyone laugh at them?

Watching the three of them leave in such a sorry state, the members of the Xiao Clan finally felt as if they had vented their anger. They had gone too far! Fortunately, Elder Xiao Xie had been formidable. Otherwise, who knew how badly the Xiao Clan would have been bullied today?

"Alright, today's farce ends here. Arno, let's go!" Xiao Xie flicked his sleeve and left with Arno.

Watching Xiao Xie's retreating figure, all the Xiao Clan members revealed worshipful expressions. At this point, Xiao Xie was no longer merely the number one among the Xiao Clan's younger generation—he was the Xiao Clan's number one. Although he was not the Clan Leader, his prestige within the Xiao Clan now surpassed even Xiao Zhan's.

In the blink of an eye, a month had passed since the last clan assessment, and Xiao Xie had also arrived at his Coming of Age Ceremony.

For a clan to remain prosperous for generations, the most important thing was to preserve its vitality. That vitality came from the younger generation of the clan. They were the clan's fresh blood, and only with a continuous influx of fresh blood could the great machine that was the clan continue operating without pause.

Therefore, the Coming of Age Ceremony was an extremely important occasion for every clan, and the Xiao Clan was no exception.

As one of Utan City's three great clans, the Xiao Clan's Coming of Age Ceremony naturally drew the attention of every force within the city. Some factions friendly with the Xiao Clan had even accepted invitations to attend the ceremony directly.

Xiao Xie sat beneath the shade of a large tree as a cool breeze gently blew by, pleasantly warm and refreshing. Enjoying the breeze, Xiao Xie half-closed his eyes and gazed at the enormous platform in the distance. The platform had been built from massive timber and was specially constructed for this Coming of Age Ceremony.

Xiao Xie's casually wandering gaze paused slightly. Near the giant wooden platform, a bewitching woman in a red dress was chatting with others, smiling sweetly. Beneath the wrapping red dress, her full and exquisite figure was vaguely visible, immensely alluring. Quite a few people had already gathered around her, making her the center of the liveliest group below the stage.

This red-dressed woman, whose every smile and frown carried a mature charm, was none other than Ya Fei, the chief auctioneer of the Mite'er Auction House whom Xiao Xie had met before.

His gaze casually swept across her water-snake waist, and Xiao Xie secretly sighed, What a knockout!

After admiring the beauty's figure for a while, Xiao Xie leaned against the tree with narrowed eyes and simply took a nap.

The host of the Coming of Age Ceremony was Second Elder Xiao Ying. Looking at Xiao Xie, who was taking a nap, Xiao Ying shook his head helplessly. Only this fellow could still sleep peacefully at a time like this.

At Arno's quiet call, Xiao Xie stretched lazily before walking up the high platform step by step beneath the gazes of the entire crowd.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Xiao Xie stood there like an idiot for a full half hour before those cumbersome rituals finally came to a slow end.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Xiao Xie looked at the various spices scattered all over his body and rolled his eyes in frustration.

After finishing all those tedious procedures, the Second Elder also wiped away some sweat before turning to the Black Stone Testing Monument and loudly announcing, "Ceremonial retest!"

The ceremonial retest was another examination of one's Dou Qi. The assessment from one month ago had merely been a preliminary test, intended to select the outstanding seeds within the clan. Only those outstanding clan members qualified to hold their Coming of Age Ceremony on this high platform. Those below the seventh stage could only undergo a simpler, rather shabby ceremony.

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