Conflict

Xiao Jin pulled open the door and saw an incomparably beautiful girl standing outside.

The girl wore a purple dress, her jet-black hair cascading down her back like a waterfall. A faint smile curved her lips, and her entire being possessed the outstanding grace of a green lotus.

Because her hands were clasped behind her back, the girl's chest was slightly thrust forward, displaying her budding curves to the fullest.

Seeing Xiao Jin open the door, the smile at the corners of her lips deepened. "Brother Xiao Jin, can you accompany Xun'er to the Marketplace today?"

"Isn't Xun'er cultivating today?"

"Mm, Xun'er just broke through yesterday." The girl smiled sweetly and said playfully, "Cultivation requires a balance between work and rest. It's not as if everyone can be like Brother Xiao Jin and cultivate for one or two months at a time."

Xiao Jin grinned. "Is Xun'er blaming Brother for not spending enough time with you recently?"

The girl stuck out her tender pink tongue. She had known that her little thoughts could never escape Xiao Jin's notice.

The two had spent more than ten years together, after all, and their feelings had long since become like those between biological siblings.

At least, that was what Xiao Jin believed.

Therefore, instead of minding the girl's little schemes, Xiao Jin found Xun'er rather adorable.

Seeing the girl's playful expression, Xiao Jin did not pursue the matter. Instead, he changed the subject. "Xun'er mentioned breaking through just now. Could it be that you've already broken through to Dou Shi?"

The girl looked a little dejected. "How could it be that fast? It's not as if everyone can be like Brother Xiao Jin and break through to Nine-Star Dou Ling at fourteen."

Only a few people in the Xiao Clan knew about Xiao Jin's cultivation level, and Xun'er happened to be one of them. However, she only knew part of the truth. His Storage Ring was Xiao Jin's greatest secret, and until he possessed enough strength to protect himself, no one besides the Pill Tower Ancestor would know about it.

His Emperor Realm Soul was also one of his trump cards. With the protection of an Emperor Realm Soul, unless he encountered a Nine-Star Dou Sheng like Gu Yuan or Soul Heaven Emperor, he could keep his secrets safe.

Therefore, the only talent he displayed was his cultivation talent.

With Xiao Jin's talent, even among the Ancient Emperor Clan, he was a unique existence.

After all, the Ancient Emperor Clan relied on their bloodlines, whereas Xiao Jin relied on genuine talent.

It could only be said that a Dou Emperor Bloodline was far too unreasonable. Others could cultivate bitterly for ten years and still not match a single clan mark on the forehead of someone from the Ancient Emperor Clan.

Xiao Jin thought for a moment, then took a medicinal pill from his Storage Ring.

"Xun'er, this is an eighth-grade pinnacle medicinal pill, the Exotic Flame Fusion Pill. After you consume it, you'll be able to completely refine the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame Seed within your body and smoothly break through to the Dou Shi realm."

As the fourth-ranked Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame on the Heavenly Flame Ranking, its might was not to be underestimated, even if it was merely a Seed.

According to the Pill Tower Ancestor's introduction, even a Seed's might rivaled several of the lower-ranked Heavenly Flames on the Heavenly Flame Ranking.

Because Xun'er had forcibly subdued the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame Seed, there had always been problems with the meridians in her body.

After arriving at the Xiao Clan, the incident of Xiao Yan sneaking into the girl's room never happened.

Instead, once, Xiao Jin was delayed by cultivation. On his way home late at night, he heard sobbing coming from Xun'er's room.

Only after asking Xun'er about it the next day did Xiao Jin learn that the meridians in her body were constantly being scorched by the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame Seed, causing her immense pain.

From that day onward, Xiao Jin would alleviate the pain in Xun'er's meridians every day.

At that time, he was already a Dou Zhe. Although the Dou Qi in his body was insufficient to resolve the problem with Xun'er's meridians, with the power of his Emperor Realm Soul, alleviating such a minor problem was still easy.

But he also knew that he needed to conceal his abilities, so he merely helped Xun'er eliminate the pain.

Later, after Xun'er learned that he had a teacher who was a supreme powerhouse, Xiao Jin slightly revealed some of his trump cards and took out some medicinal pills to help Xun'er refine the Heavenly Flame.

Only after Xun'er became a Nine-Star Dou Zhe did he take out this Exotic Flame Fusion Pill.

Meeting the girl's sparkling eyes, Xiao Jin continued explaining, "Although the Exotic Flame Fusion Pill is an Eighth-Grade Medicinal Pill, as long as one has a Heavenly Flame within their body, even a Dou Zhe can consume it. Afterward, its medicinal power can help the user refine the Heavenly Flame within their body, and it can also lay the foundation for Xun'er to subdue the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame Origin in the future."

"Thank you, Brother Xiao Jin." Xun'er accepted the porcelain bottle containing the medicinal pill with both hands and held it against her chest. Her two tender hands gripped it tightly, as if she were holding the most precious thing in the world.

"You're my younger sister. How could a younger sister be so polite with her brother?" Xiao Jin rubbed the girl's smooth hair, failing to notice the emotions roiling in her lowered eyes.

Where Xiao Jin could not see, Xun'er pursed her lips and quietly muttered, "I'm not your younger sister."

Refining an Eighth-Grade Medicinal Pill was not something that could be finished in a short while, and Xun'er had no intention of consuming it right away.

It was not easy to have some time alone with Brother Xiao Jin. She had to seize the opportunity.

The two left Xiao Jin's small courtyard side by side. Before they reached the entrance, they saw several familiar figures.

Three youths who appeared slightly older than Xiao Jin were surrounding a calm-looking youth and speaking provocative words.

"Xiao Yan, weren't you pretty arrogant? The once-in-a-century genius of the Xiao Clan? How did you become so useless now?" The leader of the three wore a look of mockery all over his face, his gaze at Xiao Yan filled with scorn and provocation.

The other two kept chiming in. Their unending verbal attacks made Xiao Jin frown.

The youth surrounded by them merely looked calm, as if he had not heard a thing.

He slowly raised his head and asked evenly, "Cousin Xiao Ning, can you let me pass?"

The more Xiao Yan ignored him, the angrier Xiao Ning became.

Did he still think he was the genius he used to be?

He had become a good-for-nothing. What gave him the right to ignore me?

It could be said that among the younger generation of the entire Xiao Clan, everyone except Xiao Jin had grown up under the pressure of Xiao Yan's reputation.

Who had gone through school without having a child from the neighboring family to compare them with?

"I really wonder what sin the Clan Chief committed to end up with a useless son like you." Xiao Ning continued mocking him. He could not stand Xiao Yan's calm and unruffled appearance.

Yet Xiao Yan's brow merely twitched slightly. He asked softly, "Why didn't you dare speak to me like that three years ago?"

Those words completely tore open Xiao Ning's true nature as a bully who picked on the weak and feared the strong.

"Xiao Yan, you're courting death!" Xiao Ning's expression twisted. He was only two years older than Xiao Jin and was at the age of youthful impetuousness.

Seeing that Xiao Ning was about to attack Xiao Yan, Xiao Jin took a single step forward and kicked Xiao Ning flying.

Only after doing all this did he look toward Xiao Yan. "Third Brother, are you all right?"

"Brother Jin?" Xiao Yan had not expected that the person who would step in at the crucial moment would be his usually low-key Fourth Brother.

In truth, even Xiao Zhan did not know which of the two, Xiao Yan or Xiao Jin, was older.

After all, he did not know Xiao Jin's birthday.

Besides, when Xiao Jin came to the Xiao Clan, he had appeared to be about the same age as Xiao Yan. Xiao Zhan had simply arranged their seniority according to the order in which they had arrived at the Xiao Clan.

As for Xiao Jin's birthday, he treated the day Xiao Jin arrived at the Xiao Clan as his birthday.

Xiao Jin patted Xiao Yan. "Third Brother, step back for now. I'll deal with this guy first."

He and Xiao Yan had grown up fighting each other. They were about the same age, and during the years when they were hated by both people and dogs, they had teamed up for countless pranks.

Of course, whenever they were exposed, the two naturally dumped the blame on each other like mad. After doing so time and again, they had also fought plenty of times.

But those had been playful fights between brothers, unlike Xiao Ning's earlier attack, which had been purely to vent his anger.

Xiao Yan pressed down on Xiao Jin's shoulder. "Brother Jin, Xiao Ning's grandfather is the clan's Great Elder. Don't cause any more trouble."