Su Xin's retaliation came swiftly. Even Dugu Yan hadn't expected it to happen so soon.
And Su Xin's actions infuriated him. To be fair, Su Xin hadn't directly gone after the Dugu Clan's disciples, but he was poaching from the Dugu Clan and undermining its foundations.
Those small sects were certainly weak and insignificant, but they were all vassals of the Dugu Clan. Su Xin had now seized their people. If the Dugu Clan didn't even make a peep, wouldn't that be tantamount to fearing the Imperial Court—and Su Xin?
So now that the leaders of more than a dozen factions were outside pleading for help, Dugu Yan had no choice but to make the trip himself.
At that moment, Xiao Huang suddenly said, "Uncle, I'll go with you."
Dugu Yan paused. Then it occurred to him that Xiao Huang's identity might put some pressure on Su Xin, so he nodded and immediately led his people to demand an explanation from Su Xin.
Meanwhile, Su Xin had stopped outside the Zhang Family estate, a minor clan, and was demanding that they hand over their people. The Zhang Family's patriarch looked close to tears, but under the threat of force from Su Xin and his men, he had no choice but to swallow his pride and hand over the people Su Xin wanted.
Su Xin had visited more than a dozen factions, but truth be told, every one of them had ultimately chosen to submit and hand over their people. Not a single one had stood firm.
That was only natural, given who they were. A sect with any backbone wouldn't have become a vassal of the Dugu Clan in the first place. They had bowed to the Dugu Clan before, so of course they could bow to Su Xin now.