Xiao Xuan's Helplessness

Hun Shengtian was a renowned older-generation powerhouse of the Hun Clan, a figure of the same tier as Xiao Chen and the others of the Xiao Clan.

"These two are my good friends, and I cannot allow Elder Hun to take them away.

I ask Elder Hun to save face for me, how about it?"

Hearing this, Hun Shengtian felt inner disdain. Was this the contemporary Patriarch of the Xiao Clan? He fell far short of their Young Patriarch.

"Oh... logically speaking, since the Patriarch of the Xiao speaks, this old man naturally must grant him face.

However, on the Dou Qi Continent, strength is supreme. Could it be that the Patriarch of the Xiao intends to rely on a single sentence to make this old man let go of these two people who have offended the Hun Clan?"

"You... old fellow, talking crap, completely shameless.

Who knows who it was that came indiscriminately and tried to subjugate the likes of us right away? Should we have just sat back and allowed ourselves to be captured without a fight?"

Xiao Xuan's expression did not change as he calmly said, "Of course it is more than just a single sentence, as that would be looking down upon Your Excellency far too much."

Immediately, monstrous soul power swept across, targeting none other than Hun Shengtian.

Soul Strike gathered soul power at a single point, suddenly erupting through a special method.

"Puff..."

How could Hun Shengtian, who was merely at the initial stage of the Heavenly Realm in soul power, withstand a Soul Strike? He directly spat out a mouthful of blood and slumped listlessly.

This was an injury to the soul. If he did not tend to it promptly, there was every chance this fellow would become an idiot hereafter.

"You..., Great Perfection of the Heavenly Realm? No... impossible!

Ah...

Fifth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking, the F-Flame of Life?"

With a single glance, this Eight-Star Dou Saint before them—an old fellow who had just been suppressing them in battle and leaving them utterly incapable of fighting back—was directly severely wounded in the hands of this Brother Xiao.

Both Dan Chengzi and Tang Xiao felt it was unfathomable. This Brother Xiao usually appeared entirely amicable and accommodating of wealth.

Although they knew this person was certainly extraordinary, they never imagined he could be perverted to this degree.

"Hmph, Hun Shengtian, stop presuming upon your seniority and acting the veteran. You said it very well—on the Dou Qi Continent, strength is paramount after all!"

A streak of green flame flashed across his eyes, wrapping around Hun Shengtian like tarsal maggots.

Until this fellow turned to ashes and vanished into thin air.

"Brother Xiao, have you achieved the realm of a Peak Dou Saint?

Hiss..."

Looking at the two shocked men, Xiao Xuan said dismissively, "Over the decades, I have merely managed to step into it.

However, Dou Emperor existences have not appeared on the continent for ten thousand years.

I refuse to believe that we, these later generations, are inferior to our predecessors.

Thus, perhaps there is simply something lacking between heaven and earth—an essential prerequisite for advancing to Dou Emperor.

Two elder brothers, if you encounter such despicable fellows in the future, just crush my Message Talisman.

Otherwise, there is no telling when you might truly fall victim to the schemes of those despicable wretches."

Not long after Xiao Xuan returned to the Xiao Clan, the statistics for each branch regarding children under the age of fifteen, including their talents, were delivered into his hands.

Inside the study, as he looked over these distressing statistics, Xiao Xuan felt irritated and unsettled.

In his generation, apart from himself, there were only a few whose talents were barely passable: Xiao Ruoruo, Xiao Xiong, Xiao Chen, Xiao Lan, and Xiao Yun.

Yet aside from him, including his younger sister Xiao Ruoruo, the chances of anyone reaching the heights of Xiao Feng and the others (Peak Eight-Star Dou Saint) were far too slim, barring some heaven-defying fortuitous encounter.

As for those of the generations after him, whether in their twenties, thirties, or among these under ten to fifteen years of age, those with a Dou Emperor Bloodline were minuscule in number—out of one hundred thousand, there might not even be one.

Even if one appeared, it would merely be a low-grade bloodline. Eighth-grade or ninth-grade was out of the question; not even a seventh-grade existed.

The Dou Emperor Bloodline was withering far too quickly and severely. No wonder the version of him in the original text chose to take a rash gamble.

He was driven to this by sheer helplessness; even if he did not take risks, as the older generation of Dou Saints gradually passed away, whether their descendants could give birth to Dou Saints was one matter.

Even if one or two Dou Saints occasionally appeared, they would not go very far among Dou Saints.

In these ancient clans—where everyone smiled pleasantly on the surface, acting as though all were friends, while secretly itching to devour one another down to the very last bone—the fate of the Xiao Clan would not be much better than in the original text.

"Sigh!"

Helpless, he directly summoned all Saint-Level clan elders, preparing to discuss the problems the Xiao Clan would face in the future.

In the Xiao Emperor Hall, Xiao Xuan sat in his seat with a heavy heart, closing his eyes to wait quietly.

He did not even notice when the six Eight-Star Dou Saint existences—Xiao Feng, Xiao Chen, Xiao Yu, Xiao Gong, Xiao Jing, and Xiao Kong—made their appearance.

Seeing that the sole Nine-Star powerhouse the Xiao Clan had ever produced wore a gloomy expression upon his seat, they felt curious, yet they did not disturb him and quietly took their seats as well.

Before long, one after another, over a dozen Advanced Dou Saints, around forty Intermediate Dou Saints, and nearly a hundred Primary Dou Saints arrived. This was the foundation that allowed the Xiao Clan to rank at the head of the ancient clans.

"Patriarch!"

Xiao Xuan slowly opened his eyes, looking at these Dou Saints. The Intermediate and Advanced Dou Saints were mostly white-haired and aged; even his father, who appeared middle-aged, was actually over a thousand years old.

His very first sentence felt like a thunderclap, causing these elders to find it inconceivable.

"Sigh, the greatest crisis of clan annihilation since the existence of the Xiao Clan has arrived."

"What..."

"Impossible. Patriarch, with the strength of our Xiao Clan ranking as the head of the ancient clans, how could there be a crisis of annihilation?"

Xiao Feng: "Patriarch, have you discovered something?"

"Listen to the Patriarch first."

At a single word from Xiao Gong, the great hall instantly became so silent that a pin drop could be heard, and their gazes toward Xiao Xuan were filled with a strange perplexity.

In their minds, this Patriarch must surely be losing his mind.

Xiao Xuan minded it not, sweeping his gaze across these people one by one as he asked, "Everyone, do you have the confidence to keep advancing and see your lifespans continuously increase?

You are all veterans of the Xiao Clan, and your youth is...

To speak with utter disrespect, even if there were no conflicts and no accidents, do all of you have the confidence to live for another several hundred years?

Among you all, in the younger generation, only a handful of people like Cousin Xiao Xiong and Cousin Xiao Chen have achieved the realm of Dou Saints, and they are merely Primary Dou Saints.

To successfully reach Advanced Dou Saint without several hundred years is hardly realistic.

I wonder if you have paid attention to the Xiao Clan members under the age of forty.

What is their aptitude, and what is the number and grade of those possessing the Dou Emperor Bloodline?"

With a wave of his hand, the results obtained from the investigation he had ordered flew directly into the hands of these hundred-odd figures who held high and mighty positions within the Xiao Clan.

As they read further down, their expressions grew uglier, and by the end, they even found it unbelievable.

Unawares, the situation of the Xiao Clan had actually turned grave to this extent?

After finishing the contents, the great hall fell into a terrifying silence.

Xiao Jing: "Patriarch, we have failed in our duty. The Xiao Clan is facing such a grave situation, yet we actually... We beg the Patriarch to punish us!"

Xiao Xuan said, "Second Elder speaks too seriously. This is not the problem of any single individual.

Rather, it is the problem of everyone in our Xiao Clan.

If this continues, without me needing to say it, can the Xiao Clan still survive for another hundred or two hundred years?

Sooner or later, other clans will seize the opportunity to completely wipe us out.

When that time truly comes, not even chickens or dogs will be left alive in the Xiao Clan."