Uncle Xiao Yan, Invincible From the Start

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Dou-Ling, Xiao-Xiao.

"Where... am I?"

Lin Hai struggled to sit up, casting a glance around.

It was a grand, ancient hall, though it radiated a stifling atmosphere.

His gaze first landed on the seat of honor, where a middle-aged man with a dignified yet visibly haggard face sat. The man's fists were clenched tight, cyan energy fluctuating violently around his body before being forcibly suppressed, finally dissolving into a powerless sigh as he slumped back into his chair.

"Xiao Zhan! Pull yourself together! Your words and actions represent the entire Xiao Clan!"

"Do you intend to sacrifice the future of the Xiao Clan for your own personal pride?"

Two aged, sharp voices came from the side, dripping with unconcealed reproach.

Xiao Zhan? The Xiao Clan?

Lin Hai's heart skipped a beat, a sense of utter absurdity washing over him.

Before he could process it, his gaze was drawn involuntarily to the center of the hall.

Standing there was an elderly man in moon-white robes with an arrogant expression, and a beautiful young girl who was currently lifting her chin, her eyes filled with impatience.

Nalan Yanran! Ge Ye!

Memory fragments pieced themselves together frantically, and a worldview he was once intimately familiar with surfaced clearly: the Spirit Continent, the Xiao Clan of Wutan City!

And his current identity... he was actually a relative from the side of Xiao Zhan's late wife; by lineage, he was the uncle of Xiao Yan, the future Emperor Yan who would one day shake the continent!

Just then, the elder named Ge Ye took out a cyan-glowing ancient jade box from his storage ring with a tone of condescension: "This is a Tier 4 medicinal pill, Qi Gathering Powder. Consider it a small compensation from our Yunlan Sect..."

BOOM--!

Before the words had even faded, a torrent of terrifying information, impossible to resist, exploded deep within Lin Hai's mind, as if some ancient, dormant will had suddenly awakened.

[Ding! Host detected...]

[Heavens Supreme System binding complete!]

[Initial identity verification: Xiao Yan's uncle, Lin Hai.]

[Congratulations to the host, initial cultivation level granted: Peak Spirit Saint!]

[Novice gift pack issued: Exclusive art Nine Nether Flame God Art, Spirit Skill Great Heaven Creation Palm]

A power beyond description instantly flooded every corner of Lin Hai's body!

It felt as though a mere wave of his hand could cause mountains to crumble and space to shatter.

This illusion of ultimate power (or perhaps, a brief moment of reality) left him feeling slightly dizzy.

His gaze snapped toward the back of the hall, where a delicate youth stood, his face marked by a confusion and bewilderment beyond his years, alongside a deeply suppressed sense of humiliation.

That was the young Xiao Yan, his "nephew."

As for the "Qi Gathering Powder" in Ge Ye's hand, while it might have been a rare treasure in the eyes of the surrounding Xiao clansmen, to Lin Hai, whose perception had skyrocketed, the energy contained within was pathetically impure, and the faint glow on the surface of the pill was nothing more than a laughable display of vanity.

"A mere Tier 4..." A soft chuckle, yet one imbued with boundless majesty and disdain, echoed clearly in the ears of everyone present.

In an instant, the entire hall fell silent.

Every pair of eyes, including Xiao Zhan, the three elders, Ge Ye, Nalan Yanran, and the Xiao Yan and Xun Er in the back, focused on the young man leaning against the hall pillar.

Ge Ye's face darkened instantly like water, his aura as a 7-star Great Spirit Master erupting instinctively, pressing down toward Lin Hai like a mountain: "Junior! What did you say?!"

Yet, that pressure, which would have forced an ordinary Spirit Master to their knees, encountered Lin Hai and dissolved silently like snow meeting the scorching sun, failing to even stir a corner of his clothes.

Lin Hai slowly stood up.

Ignoring the flushed Ge Ye, his gaze fell directly upon Nalan Yanran, whose expression had shifted, and his lips curled into a cold arc.

"I said, do you think you can trample on the dignity of my... nephew with just a piece of candy?"

He paused deliberately on the word "nephew," clearly seeing Xiao Yan's body shudder, a light of disbelief erupting in his eyes.

"Your Yunlan Sect," Lin Hai's voice was flat, yet carried a pressure that seemed to originate from the heavens and earth itself, "are you so poor you can't afford a meal, or do you truly believe that the people of my Xiao Clan... are so easily dismissed?"

"Insolent!" Ge Ye was thoroughly enraged, white spirit energy surging out as he prepared to strike.

"Elder Ge Ye!" Nalan Yanran hurriedly intervened. She had sensed something wrong more keenly than Ge Ye. This young man who had suddenly spoken was too calm—calm enough to be unsettling. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to remain composed as she addressed Lin Hai: "Who are you? This is a matter between our Yunlan Sect and the Xiao Clan..."

"Who am I?" Lin Hai chuckled and began to walk forward slowly.

With every step he took, invisible ripples seemed to spread from beneath his feet, and the very space of the Xiao Clan hall seemed to tremble in rhythm with his movement.

The hanging plaques and the teacups on the tables began to hum faintly.

The black ring where Yao Chen hid suddenly became scalding hot!

The ancient soul hidden within the ring's space abruptly opened his eyes, feeling that aura—even if it was just a sliver, its essence was so terrifying it made his soul tremble—and he gasped: "This... this is... the aura of a Spirit Saint?! No... impossible!! How could there be such a person in this Gama Empire..."

Xiao Yan shuddered, instinctively gripping the ring.

Xun Er frowned slightly, a wisp of imperceptible golden flame flickering at her fingertips, her beautiful eyes filled with suspicion and vigilance.

Ge Ye, who bore the brunt of it, felt his surging white spirit energy seized by an invisible giant hand, collapsing and dissipating in an instant!

He let out a muffled groan and staggered back several steps, the color draining from his face until only boundless terror remained.

Nalan Yanran's face turned deathly pale; before that formless pressure, she felt like a lone leaf in a storm, tiny and fragile.

Every ounce of pride and every reliance she held in her heart was utterly crushed in this moment!

Lin Hai walked up to Nalan Yanran and looked down at her from above. Within those deep eyes, scenes of stars collapsing and universes being born seemed to churn.

"Go back and tell Yun Shan," his voice was not loud, yet it rolled through the deathly silent hall like a thunderclap, "whether the engagement between Nalan Yanran and my nephew Xiao Yan is to be annulled, and when, will be decided by my nephew alone."

"As for your Yunlan Sect..."

The cold smirk on Lin Hai's lips widened, carrying the indifference of one looking down upon ants.

"Is it very impressive?"