Jia Lie Bi and Aoba Pa raised their heads. Their faces instantly turned deathly pale, their legs trembling uncontrollably before they dropped to their knees with a thud.
Master Liu also raised his head. The moment he made out the figure in the air, his pupils abruptly contracted to pinpricks.
Liu Xi, who had been shouting just a second earlier, collapsed to the ground. The fabric of his trousers below gradually darkened.
He had actually been scared pissless!
The entire scene fell deathly silent.
Even Xiao Zhan and the three elders stood with their mouths agape, unable to utter a sound.
A figure clad entirely in a black robe had appeared in the air at some unknown point.
The loose black robe concealed everything, making it impossible to see the figure's build or face.
The reason so many people at the scene were terrified was the pair of wings slowly beating behind that person.
The wings were as white as snow and shaped like flames, yet they radiated a bone-chilling cold.
Dou Qi transformed into wings!
At that moment, four words flashed through everyone's minds.
On the Dou Qi Continent, one needed sufficient strength to release Dou Qi outside the body.
Upon advancing to Dou Master, one could barely form a veil of Dou Qi.
A Da Dou Shi could condense Dou Qi Armor.
But to transform Dou Qi into wings and fly through the air, one had to be at least a Dou Wang.
In other words, the person overhead was at least a Dou Wang.
Jia Lie Bi, Aoba Pa, and even that third-grade alchemist were all only at the Da Dou Shi level.
They weren't even Dou Lings!
The shock of suddenly facing a mysterious person whose strength was at least that of a Dou Wang was unimaginable.
Aoba Pa abruptly turned around, glaring at Jia Lie Bi as if he wanted to devour him.
You bastard!
The Xiao Clan had such a powerful expert backing them, and you actually tricked me into boarding your pirate ship!
Jia Lie Bi, under his gaze, was too bitter to explain.
Throughout this period, he had kept people watching the Xiao Clan, but had never once seen any mysterious expert appear.
With Lord Liu backing him, he had been certain the Xiao Clan wouldn't dare compete with him in alchemy. He had also assumed that the alchemist backing them couldn't be very powerful.
Who could have known that...
"My lord, my lord, this is a misunderstanding. I..." the third-grade alchemist begged.
But a scream of agony cut him off the next moment. Flames wreathed in icy air erupted beneath his feet and quickly engulfed his entire body.
Even when he used Dou Qi to resist, it had no effect at all.
One after another, more people began screaming.
Xiao Zhan stared blankly at the scene. In the span of a few blinks, Jia Lie Bi, Aoba Pa, and all the people they had brought—including the two of them—had been reduced to piles of black ash.
"My lord..." Xiao Zhan came to his senses and began to speak, only to freeze again.
The mysterious person had vanished.
"Father, this is our chance! The elites of both the Jia Lie and Aoba families are all dead. It's time to strike back!"
Xiao Yan said excitedly.
At the sound of his voice, Xiao Zhan turned around.
From the elders down to the family members, every member of the Xiao Clan was brimming with fighting spirit!
"Everyone in the Xiao Clan, heed my orders! The Great Elder and Second Elder will lead one group to the Aoba Clan. The Third Elder and I will lead another to the Jia Lie Family!"
Xiao Zhan shouted.
At dusk, the setting sun cast its light over the city.
The restaurants in Wutan City were packed, while the marketplaces were deserted.
In the crowded restaurants, everyone was discussing the major events of the day.
No one had expected the Xiao Clan to win when faced with two allied clans—and then turn around and wipe them both out.
Now, apart from the city lord, the Xiao Clan was the most powerful force in Wutan City.
At that moment,
the Xiao Clan, the subject of everyone's discussion, had gathered together. They gazed at the wealth filling the room, their faces flushed with excitement and joy.
They had been suppressed for so long, and everyone had been seething with resentment. That day, their enemies had even stormed into their home. They had been ready to fight to the death, but they had come through unscathed while every one of their attackers had perished.
At the front of the crowd, the three elders and Xiao Zhan surrounded Xiao Yan.
They wanted to summon Xiao Yu and eagerly ask him about that powerful expert.
But Xiao Yan said it wouldn't be appropriate. His younger brother was studying cultivation with his teacher and couldn't be disturbed.
It wasn't that he wanted to steal the limelight. Before coming down the mountain that day, Xiao Yu had specifically told him not to bring it up.
Xiao Yu didn't want people pestering him with questions. It would be a nuisance.
If he hadn't been worried about alerting the enemy, he would have dealt with those people long ago.
Fortunately, all that restraint hadn't been for nothing. A single, simple move had taken care of them all—quick and easy.
Meanwhile, Ya Fei and Gu Ni had also learned what had happened to the Xiao Clan.
"Dou Qi transformed into wings... Incredible. I can't believe an expert of that caliber would appear in Wutan City." Gu Ni still looked shaken by the news.
He simply couldn't understand it.
If the Xiao Clan had such a powerful expert, why hadn't they said anything? Had he known sooner, he would never have paid attention to that third-grade alchemist.
Ya Fei took a deep breath. "Uncle Gu, what's most frightening is that the Xiao Clan has been putting up with the Jia Lie Family's provocations all this time."
Gu Ni nodded in deep agreement.
If the Xiao Clan had revealed even the slightest hint, Jia Lie Bi would never have dared to provoke them like that.
That third-grade alchemist would have been the first to come to their door and apologize.
Yet the Xiao Clan had shown no reaction at all. They had endured it, and kept on enduring it.
Most importantly, with so many people in the Xiao Clan, not a single word had leaked out.
Gu Ni suddenly said, "Miss, we need to visit the Xiao Clan tomorrow."
"To apologize?" Ya Fei asked.
Gu Ni nodded bitterly. "From now on, the Xiao Clan will be the most powerful force in Wutan City. Even the city lord will have to show them proper respect. The Mittal Auction House is in the business of trade, so we need to build a good relationship with them too."
"Very well, I understand." Ya Fei agreed and watched Gu Ni leave.
The room fell quiet. Ya Fei leaned back until she was resting against the chair.
"You brat! With news this huge, you didn't let a single word slip to me!" Remembering her conversation with Xiao Yu that day, Ya Fei couldn't help gritting her teeth.
These past few days, Ya Fei had kept thinking about what Xiao Yu had said to her before leaving—and that smile of his.
The night passed without incident.
The next day,
Ya Fei and Gu Ni rode in a carriage to the entrance of the Xiao Clan.
When a servant asked who they were, Gu Ni smiled and introduced himself, then asked the servant to announce their arrival.
A short while later, the servant returned and invited Gu Ni and Ya Fei inside.
In the main hall, they saw Xiao Zhan and the three elders.
Smiling, Ya Fei first offered her congratulations, then apologized for having previously stopped supplying medicinal ingredients to the Xiao Clan.
After they had chatted for a while, Ya Fei suddenly steered the conversation toward Xiao Yu.
When she learned Xiao Yu was in the rear courtyard, Ya Fei said she wanted to see him and apologize to him in person.
Xiao Zhan paused, then sent a servant to ask whether Xiao Yu was willing to see her.
As they talked, the servant returned and asked Ya Fei to follow him.
Ya Fei rose and followed the servant.
Under ordinary circumstances, when Ya Fei wanted to see someone, her position as the person in charge of the Mittal Auction House would mean the other party came out to meet her.
But Xiao Yu was no ordinary person.
Besides, Ya Fei had come with an apology, and she also had a small ulterior motive she couldn't bring up in front of everyone else.
So she was glad Xiao Yu had agreed to see her.
After walking for a while, the servant stopped and pointed toward a pavilion ahead.
A young man sat there, the breeze stirring his hair as it fluttered in the air.
Before you continue