Inside the Xiao Family Hall.
Everyone was in dead silence.
Xiao Zhan kept staring at Chu Feng, the expression in his brow and eyes growing increasingly displeased.
In the past, Xiao Huohuo frequently took con artists as his masters.
However, those con artists at least still put up a decent facade, managed to strike the right balance, and only dared to swindle Xiao Huohuo out of some money without ever daring to come over to the Xiao family.
Therefore, regarding such matters, he generally turned a blind eye and did not have the leisure or mindset to meddle too much, as long as the other party did not harm Huohuo.
As a result, today's person—a youth looking so young, barely a few years older than Xiao Huohuo himself—was here.
Forget about any proper attire; the youth did not even carry the slightest aura of martial arts practice on his body, yet he actually dared to follow them all the way back to the Xiao family.
Could it be that their Xiao family could no longer lift their blades?
Hearing Xiao Zhan's somewhat angry tone, Xiao Huohuo immediately stood up, about to explain.
Yet before he could even speak, the First Elder of the Xiao family and Xiao Zhan's left-hand seat, Xiao Shan, let out a cold snort and interrupted Xiao Huohuo.
Xiao Shan's hair and beard were completely white, and he was already at the biblical age of seventy, yet his lean and withered frame still looked extremely robust and spirited.
His pair of cloudy, aged eyes stared at Chu Feng like a tiger or leopard, a trace of contempt hanging between his brow and ridge:
"Within Dongli City, our Xiao family is the lord of the city, and we have four Houtian realm martial artists holding down the fort; other clans and factions can't even catch up if they whip their horses."
"The Young Clan Leader of the Xiao family holds a noble status, and just anyone cannot simply become his master."
"At least, Huohuo's master must not be weaker in strength than us old bones, right?"
"I wonder what kind of cultivation this Excellency possesses?"
Xiao Shan's momentum was aggressive, and anyone could hear the ill intent in his words.
Hearing this, Chu Feng did not speak, still sitting quietly.
As for Xiao Huohuo at his side, he straightened his torso and explained:
"First Elder, my master's cultivation reaches to the heavens and penetrates the earth; it is beyond the imagination of mortal beings."
He raised an eyebrow, a trace of pride in his expression as he crossed his arms and said:
"It's not that I look down on you."
"First Elder, you and my master simply have no comparison whatsoever!"
As his voice fell, Xiao Zhan, Xiao Shan, and the others looked at Xiao Huohuo's proud expression and listened to the confidence in his words, staring at each other in blank dismay, both bewildered and somewhat irritated at the same time.
Xiao Huohuo actually protected this master of his to this extent?
Right in front of them, he directly stood on the side of an outsider?
No comparison whatsoever?
The First Elder was at the Houtian realm, a level of cultivation of which not many could be found across the entire Dongli City.
Could it be that the youth Xiao Huohuo brought back was of the Xiantian Realm?
That was absolutely impossible!
Not to mention Dongli City, even in Jiangnan Province, one could not find many Xiantian experts, let alone such a young Xiantian expert.
Moreover, these Xiantian experts—who they were and what sects or factions they belonged to—were completely clear to them, and the youth before their eyes was certainly not among them.
Thinking of this, the gazes of Xiao Zhan and the three elders all turned sharp.
This was a con artist, and a remarkably profound one at that.
Although Xiao Huohuo had frequently fallen for tricks in the past, he at least still retained a shred of rationality and would not believe such an absurd matter.
This youngster must have fed Xiao Huohuo some kind of soul-bewitching potion to be able to trick him to this extent.
Daring to play such tricks on his child, Xiao Zhan angrily slapped the table and stood straight up.
With a bang, the entire hall trembled slightly.
Everyone could feel his fury.
Xiao Huohuo hurriedly got up and came before Xiao Zhan, just about to say something when the latter stopped him.
Xiao Zhan glared angrily, let out an angry laugh, and said:
"I am the Lord of Dongli City."
"I have some impression of the many Xiantian experts in the various cities across Jiangnan Province, but I just don't know what this Excellency's title is."
"Could it be that this Excellency is a powerhouse hailing from beyond Jiangnan Province?"
Chu Feng still did not respond, calmly sipping the hot tea on the table as if the matter had nothing to do with him.
The more he acted like this, the more irritated Xiao Zhan became.
Before Xiao Zhan could flare up again, Xiao Huohuo preempted him and spoke with disdain:
"What Xiantian? They aren't even worthy of carrying my master's shoes."
Hearing this, Xiao Zhan and the others became even more convinced that this foolish child Xiao Huohuo had been fed a soul-bewitching potion to believe such ghost stories.
The gaze he cast at Chu Feng became increasingly malicious!
This person was a fraud!
Not even worthy of carrying shoes for a Xiantian expert?
Could it be that he was a Grandmaster?
How could that be possible!
How lofty and powerful was the realm of a Grandmaster? Not a single one could be found in the entirety of Jiangnan Province, and only a few could be sought across the entire Lihuo Kingdom.
Xiao Zhan looked at Xiao Huohuo and clenched his teeth tight.
It seemed that he had been too indulgent toward this child on ordinary days and lax in discipline, which was why he had turned into his present state.
The three Xiao family elders also lowered their brows and shook their heads in disappointment at a piece of iron that failed to become steel.
The Young Clan Leader was truly becoming more and more outrageous, believing just anyone.
Now, he was actually infatuated to such a muddled degree by a fraud who possessed not a shred of cultivation and didn't even bother to put up a front.
Just as Xiao Zhan and the other four were about to erupt.
Thump!
With a soft sound, the teacup landed on the tabletop.
Chu Feng flicked his robe, stood up, swept his gaze over Xiao Zhan and the others, and stood with his hands clasped behind his back.
Amidst everyone's angry glares, he was heard to say leisurely:
"Holding the sun and moon in my hand to pluck the stars, there is no one like me in this world."
"Realm?"
A trace of nostalgia flashed within his eyes as he raised his head and said:
"This Seat has long since forgotten the so-called realms."
"And I have long since forgotten how mortals use realms to address This Seat."
His gaze fell upon the crowd.
Everyone looked into his eyes, and the expression on that face was clearly a disdainful smile.
Yet he was heard to heave a leisurely sigh:
"Xiantian?"
"It truly is a remarkably unfamiliar tier of existence."
"I dimly remember when This Seat first stepped upon the path of cultivation, though I also made enemies without number."
"Yet I never even had clashes with such insignificant ants as the Xiantian realm."
As his voice fell.
The hall remained silent and motionless.
A single droplet of tea on the tabletop fell to the floor, sounding crisp and pleasant to the ear.
The Three Elders and Xiao Zhan were all struck dumb like wooden chickens.
The four of them had stiff facial expressions, while the corners of their mouths trembled slightly.
It was as if they were muttering:
"Stepping into the path of cultivation, never having had clashes with such ants as the Xiantian realm."
Words of this sort were simply like a thunderclap on flat ground, blasting the crowd to the point where they could not snap out of it for a long time.
The youth before them—his imposing manner of speech and his actions—truly possessed a certain miraculous and extraordinary air.
Seeing that his father and the three elders were all in this state, Xiao Huohuo could not help but be overjoyed as well, thinking to himself:
Dad and the First Elder must have been subdued by Master's supreme dominance!
However, the four of them immediately processed the problem within these words and found it utterly unbelievable!
The meaning behind this kid's words right in front of them was that the moment he first stepped onto the path of cultivation, he already regarded Xiantian as mere ants?
How could this be possible?
Xiao Zhan merely dazed for a moment before snapping right back to his senses, curling his lip in utter scorn as he said:
"Could it be that you are going to tell me that the moment you began your cultivation, you were already at the Grandmaster realm?"
"And since realms cannot describe it, could it be that you have broken through to an existence surpassing the Grandmasters?"
"Even across the entire Southern Desolate Realm, such a supreme expert cannot be found, right?"
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