"Yan'er?" Xiao Zhan called tentatively.
The young man walking at the front replied, "Father, I'm not too late, am I?"
A look of apology crossed Xiao Yan's face.
According to the original plan, they would have arrived in Wutan City that morning.
But something unexpected had happened along the way. It hadn't endangered their lives, but it had slowed their journey.
At the time, Xiao Yan had wished he were a Dou Wang, able to grow wings of Dou Qi and fly straight back to Wutan City.
His father had told him there was something very important that required his presence.
Xiao Zhan didn't answer. As soon as he heard Xiao Yan's reply, he knew who the person on the arena was.
"Yu'er?" Xiao Zhan called.
The next moment,
Xiao Yu turned around on the arena and asked, "Father, what is it?"
As soon as he finished speaking,
the three elders standing beside Xiao Zhan suddenly looked utterly miserable, as if they'd swallowed a fly.
The Great Elder even bellowed, "Xiao Yu, who gave you permission to get up on the arena? Get down here right now!"
The Second Elder immediately chimed in. "Don't be ridiculous! You're about to come of age. Why are you still acting like a child?"
At that moment, the spectators surrounding the arena finally came to their senses.
"What? So that's the young master of the Xiao Clan up there?"
"No way. I was startled when he showed up. Isn't he a good-for-nothing?"
"Don't say that! At fifteen, he's at the Third Stage of Dou Qi. You can't call someone like that a good-for-nothing. That's an insult to the word. You should call him a waste instead!"
"Thank goodness Third Young Master got back in time. If he'd been any later, that young master might already be lying on the ground."
"..."
Who in all of Wutan City didn't know that the Xiao Clan had a pair of twins?
The two brothers were like opposite ends of a spectrum.
The elder brother, Xiao Yan, had been exceptionally gifted from childhood. He began cultivating at four and broke through to Dou Zhe at eleven.
He became the youngest Dou Zhe in Wutan City's history.
Even the Misty Cloud Sect, the most powerful sect in the Jia Ma Empire, had invited Xiao Yan to join after hearing the news.
Everyone knew that the Misty Cloud Sect's position in the Jia Ma Empire was in no way inferior to that of the Gama Imperial Family!
Few people in the Jia Ma Empire received such an honor.
By contrast, the younger brother, Xiao Yu, was a good-for-nothing beyond compare.
Year after year, he tested at the Third Stage of Dou Qi.
One year after another, and he'd made not the slightest progress!
It seemed he couldn't even break through to the Fourth Stage of Dou Qi.
It was hard to imagine that such a pair of brothers had been born of the same mother.
If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, no one would have believed it.
"Xiao Yu, long time no see." Xiao Yan waved at the figure on the arena.
Xiao Yu waved back.
"Come down, Xiao Yu," Xiao Yan said. "With your big brother here, no one would dare bully the Xiao Clan, and no one would dare bully you."
In an instant,
the voices of those discussing Xiao Yu fell away.
Hearing that, Xiao Yu didn't argue. He nodded and prepared to step down from the arena.
When the sky fell, a tall man would hold it up.
Besides, his big brother loved showing off in situations like this.
However,
someone wasn't having it!
"Wait!" Jia Lie Ao roared with all his might.
Xiao Yu stopped and turned to look at him.
"Once you step onto the arena, the match has begun. You can't just switch fighters. Either you represent the Xiao Clan and fight me, or you represent the Xiao Clan and forfeit," Jia Lie Ao said arrogantly.
He could barely conceal the delight in his eyes. Inside, he was practically howling.
Jia Lie Ao had been worried about facing Xiao Yan from the start. Given their difference in strength, even taking a Blood Burst Pill probably wouldn't give him much chance of winning.
A moment ago, facing Xiao Yu, he'd thought Xiao Yu was Xiao Yan and had panicked a little.
Who could have guessed that this fellow was the most famous waste in the Xiao Clan—or even all of Wutan City?
What did you call that?
Heaven had finally opened its eyes!
If Xiao Yu hadn't stepped onto the arena on his own, then given how quickly Xiao Yan had returned, Jia Lie Ao would have had to face him. But now, things had worked out.
All I have to do is beat a good-for-nothing!
That market district... My Jia Lie Family is claiming it!
"Jia Lie Ao, if you're a man, fight me! What's the point of picking on my younger brother?" Xiao Yan said with a frown.
Jia Lie Ao straightened his back and said coolly, "The arena has its rules. Xiao Yu is part of the Xiao Clan, and he stepped onto it of his own accord."
In the stands,
Jia Lie Bi came to his senses as well and immediately said, "That's right. We have to follow the arena's rules. You can't switch fighters at the last minute. Either Xiao Yu fights my son, or the Xiao Clan forfeits."
As he spoke, he looked toward Xiao Zhan and smugly added, "Clan Leader Xiao, I advise your Xiao Clan to forfeit. Fists and feet don't have eyes. It would be rather unfortunate if your precious young master got hurt."
Xiao Zhan fell silent.
Beside him, the Great Elder beat his chest and stamped his feet, fuming. "What is Xiao Yu thinking? This is so important. How could he just jump up there?"
The Second Elder chimed in. "We had that market district in the bag, and now we're handing it over to the Jia Lie Clan for nothing."
The Third Elder nodded. "I asked around. If our Xiao Clan gets that market district, our annual family income will increase by at least ten percent!"
His words made the Great Elder and Second Elder sigh even more heavily.
Even Xiao Ning couldn't help saying, "We might as well have let me go up. At least I could've lasted two more moves than him!"
"Enough! You ignored my advice before, and now you regret it? Where were you then?" Xiao Zhan roared in exasperation.
The Great Elder refused to back down. "Clan Leader, we were doing this for the clan. If Xiao Yu hadn't caused trouble, that market district would already belong to the Xiao Clan!"
Xiao Zhan looked at him, his eyes growing cold. "If we lose that market district, I'll make up that ten percent by setting aside part of my own annual share!"
At that, the three elders stopped arguing.
The Third Elder immediately said, "Clan Leader, you'd better keep your word in front of all these people."
Xiao Zhan couldn't be bothered with those three. He looked toward the arena and called, "Yu'er, come down. The Xiao Clan is forfeiting this match."
Jia Lie Bi was right.
Fists and feet didn't have eyes!
What's more, Jia Lie Ao was always ruthless. When he'd beaten Xiao Hong and Xiao He just moments ago, he'd injured them badly. They'd need at least a week to recover.
With Xiao Yu's meager strength, if they really fought, he might be unable to move for anywhere from a month to three months.
Broken bones took a hundred days to heal.
However,
on the arena,
Xiao Yu shook his head at Xiao Zhan's words and said, "Father, I want to try."
"Yu'er, don't be reckless. You're no match for him." Xiao Zhan frowned. He was worried that his son would feel he couldn't back down in front of all these people and force himself to fight.
Losing face was a small matter. Getting hurt would be a real loss.
But Xiao Yu's expression was resolute. "Father, trust me."
Seeing Xiao Yu like this, the three elders only smiled, their eyes filled with faint mockery and doubt.
If acting on impulse were any use, why bother working hard to cultivate?
Without strength, insisting on fighting on the arena would only get you beaten.
Xiao Zhan fell silent as he looked at his son.
Below the arena,
Xiao Yan's gaze turned ruthless. He stared at Jia Lie Ao and said in a low voice, "Jia Lie Ao, watch yourself when you make your move. If you hurt my younger brother, you'd better not step outside while I'm in Wutan City!"
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