Just Xiao Yan? How Could That Be?

Xiao Yan walked out of his room. The sky was already bright.

The courtyard was quiet, with only a few birds chirping in the distance.

He stretched, and was just about to find somewhere to cultivate when footsteps sounded behind him.

"Yan'er."

Xiao Zhan came down the corridor.

Xiao Yan turned around and looked at him. "Father."

Xiao Zhan came up to him, looking as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.

"Is something the matter, Father?" Xiao Yan asked.

Xiao Zhan fell silent for a moment, then spoke. "Yan'er, your strength... why has it improved so quickly?"

Xiao Yan said nothing.

Seeing that he wasn't going to answer, Xiao Zhan didn't press him.

"Forget it. If you don't want to say, I won't ask," Xiao Zhan said. "I'm just worried about you."

"I understand," Xiao Yan replied.

"The elders came to see me again," Xiao Zhan said. "They still want you to go apologize to the Misty Cloud Sect."

Xiao Yan furrowed his brows.

"I already refused," Xiao Zhan said. "But they won't give up. They keep pressuring me."

"Don't worry, Father," Xiao Yan said. "I'll handle this."

Xiao Zhan looked at him and sighed.

"Yan'er, you're not alone," Xiao Zhan said. "Whatever happens, talk to your father."

Xiao Yan nodded.

Xiao Zhan patted him on the shoulder, then turned and left.

Xiao Zhan's residence.

As soon as Xiao Zhan walked through the door, he saw the three elders already seated inside.

The First Elder sat in a chair, his expression sour.

The Second Elder and Third Elder sat on either side of him, their expressions just as grim.

Xiao Zhan's face darkened.

"Elders, you're back again?"

"Xiao Zhan, sit down. Let's talk this through," the First Elder said.

Xiao Zhan went to the seat of honor and sat down, looking at them.

"What is there to talk about?"

"Xiao Yan," the First Elder said. "He killed the Fourth Elder. The Misty Cloud Sect won't let this go."

"I already said I'd handle Yan'er's affairs," Xiao Zhan replied.

"How are you going to handle it?" the First Elder demanded. "If the Misty Cloud Sect comes knocking, what will you use to stop them?"

Xiao Zhan said nothing.

"Xiao Zhan, stop being foolish," the Second Elder said. "Xiao Yan killed an elder of the Misty Cloud Sect. There's no hiding it."

"The Misty Cloud Sect will come for revenge sooner or later," the Third Elder said. "When they do, the entire Xiao Clan will suffer."

"Then what do you want?" Xiao Zhan asked.

"Hand Xiao Yan over," the First Elder said. "He caused this trouble himself. Let him bear the consequences."

"Impossible," Xiao Zhan replied.

"Xiao Zhan!" The First Elder slammed the table and shot to his feet.

"I said, impossible." Xiao Zhan stood up as well. "Yan'er is my son. No one is touching him."

"You!" The First Elder was furious.

"First Elder, there's no need to say another word." Xiao Zhan cut him off. "I've made up my mind."

"Xiao Zhan, you'll bring ruin upon the Xiao Clan," the Second Elder said.

"That's my concern," Xiao Zhan replied.

"You're the clan leader. Your concerns are the Xiao Clan's concerns," the Third Elder said.

Xiao Zhan looked at them, his voice turning cold. "If there's nothing else, elders, please leave."

The First Elder trembled with rage.

"Fine, fine, fine." He repeated the word three times. "Xiao Zhan, remember what you said today. If anything happens to the Xiao Clan, you'll be the sinner."

With that, the First Elder turned and left.

The Second Elder and Third Elder exchanged a glance, then followed him out.

Xiao Zhan stood where he was, his expression utterly grim.

In the courtyard.

Xiao Yan sat cross-legged on the ground, cultivating.

Dou Qi flowed through his meridians, again and again.

After who knew how long, he opened his eyes.

A good deal of the Dou Qi within him had been depleted.

Xiao Yan took a pill from his Storage Ring and put it in his mouth.

The pill went down, and a gentle medicinal power spread through his body.

His depleted Dou Qi quickly recovered.

[The host helped Xiao Yan recover his Dou Qi and received a feedback reward.]

[Alchemist rank increased: sixth-grade alchemist.]

A vast amount of information surged into Xiao Yan's mind.

Countless pill recipes, alchemy techniques, and methods of controlling flames all flooded into his memory.

Sixth-grade alchemist.

The corners of Xiao Yan's mouth lifted slightly.

In the Jia Ma Empire, a sixth-grade alchemist already stood at the pinnacle. There were only a handful of sixth-grade alchemists in the entire Jia Ma Empire.

Xiao Yan was only fifteen, yet he was already a sixth-grade alchemist.

If this news got out, the entire Jia Ma Empire would be shaken.

[Alchemist rank increase detected. New pill recipe unlocked: sixth-grade Barrier Breaking Pill.]

[Barrier Breaking Pill effect: After consumption, it can break through cultivation bottlenecks and increase the chances of a successful breakthrough.]

Xiao Yan was overjoyed.

The Barrier Breaking Pill was a real treasure.

Bottlenecks were the biggest headache in cultivation. With the Barrier Breaking Pill, the chances of breaking through would increase substantially.

However, refining a Barrier Breaking Pill required quite a few sixth-grade medicinal ingredients, and they were expensive.

After weighing his options, Xiao Yan decided to visit the Miteer Auction House.

He stood up, dusted himself off, and headed outside.

Outside the Xiao Clan gates.

As soon as Xiao Yan stepped out, he heard several people up ahead talking.

"Have you heard? Xiao Yan killed an elder of the Misty Cloud Sect."

"I heard. Apparently he killed two of them, a deacon and an elder."

"That can't be right. Wasn't Xiao Yan a good-for-nothing? How could he kill an elder of the Misty Cloud Sect?"

"Who knows? That's what people are saying, anyway."

"I think it's fake. How could a good-for-nothing with only three segments of Dou Qi kill an elder of the Misty Cloud Sect?"

"Exactly. What kind of strength does an elder of the Misty Cloud Sect have? At the very least, he'd be a Da Dou Shi, right?"

"More than that. I heard the Fourth Elder was a Dou Wang expert."

"A Dou Wang? Then it's even more impossible. How could a good-for-nothing like Xiao Yan kill a Dou Wang?"

Xiao Yan stopped and looked toward the voices.

A few people stood on the roadside talking. At their head was a young man.

He wore luxurious clothes, and his face was set in a disdainful smile.

Jia Lie Ao, the young master of the Jia Lie Clan.

Several subordinates stood beside Jia Lie Ao, each of them fawning over him.

"Young Master is right. How could a good-for-nothing like Xiao Yan kill a Dou Wang expert?" one subordinate said.

"Exactly. It has to be a rumor," another said. "That Xiao Yan isn't even worthy of holding our young master's shoes."

Jia Lie Ao smiled. "You're right. Xiao Yan's nothing but a good-for-nothing. Back when he was a genius, I thought highly of him. But now? Heh."

Jia Lie Ao gave a cold laugh, his face full of contempt.

"Young Master, I heard Xiao Yan even broke off his engagement with Nalan Yanran," one subordinate said.

"I heard," Jia Lie Ao replied. "A good-for-nothing breaking off his engagement with the Misty Cloud Sect's young Sect Master? What a joke. Who is Nalan Yanran, and what right does a good-for-nothing like Xiao Yan have to reject her?"

"Young Master is right," the subordinate echoed.

Jia Lie Ao was about to continue when he looked up and saw Xiao Yan standing at the gate.

The smile froze on Jia Lie Ao's face.

The few subordinates saw Xiao Yan too, and their expressions changed.

Xiao Yan looked at Jia Lie Ao, his face expressionless.

Jia Lie Ao recovered, his expression turning somewhat ugly.

"Xiao Yan, you... what are you doing here?"

Xiao Yan didn't answer. He simply looked at Jia Lie Ao.

Jia Lie Ao began to feel uncomfortable under his gaze, but he didn't want to back down in front of his subordinates.

"Xiao Yan, I heard you killed an elder of the Misty Cloud Sect," Jia Lie Ao said. "Is it true?"

"What the hell does it have to do with you?" Xiao Yan said coolly.

Jia Lie Ao's expression stiffened.