Affiliation Binding!

Chapter 19: Subsidiary Binding!

"Xun'er, my apologies, it seems we've widened the gap between us again."

Xiao Ze said with a teasing smile, drawing a lovely roll of the eyes from Xiao Xun'er, followed by a soft huff.

"I don't care, Brother Xiao Ze, for this period of time, you must assist me with my cultivation!"

"Ah? I'm only at the Dou Shi realm myself; how am I supposed to assist you, a Dou Practitioner, with your cultivation?"

Xiao Ze said, looking somewhat dumbfounded.

Xiao Xun'er leaned in curiously, her eyes blinking as she stared intently at Xiao Ze's face, as if she could find a flower blooming there.

"I honestly don't know how to teach you! Should we just let the breakthrough happen naturally?"

"Hehe, I'm just kidding. Brother Xiao Ze, how does it feel to have broken through to the Dou Shi realm this time?"

Xiao Xun'er chuckled, then became curious about Xiao Ze's current combat strength.

After all, what kind of power could that previous phenomenon have forged?

It truly made her feel an itch of curiosity she couldn't suppress.

"Unprecedentedly comfortable. Both my body and soul have been elevated! Based on physical fitness alone, I could take on ten of my former self!"

Xiao Ze sensed his condition and said earnestly.

His strength had improved significantly, and when combined with his various Dou Techniques, he should be invincible among low-level Dou Shi.

"If I were to encounter the Grand Elder now, perhaps I wouldn't need to use the Swallow Return Strike to deflect all his force like before; I could fight him head-on."

Xiao Xun'er widened her eyes in shock.

Xiao Ze had only just advanced to Dou Shi; his realm might not even be stabilized at one star yet.

Yet the Grand Elder was a Dou Grandmaster!

Although the Grand Elder's potential was exhausted and his vitality was waning, he was still a veteran Dou Grandmaster whose strength was definitely not comparable to an average one.

For Xiao Ze to be able to contend with him immediately after his breakthrough—one could only imagine how massive the increase in Xiao Ze's strength truly was.

"Alright, you've also just broken through to a one-star Dou Practitioner, go back and stabilize your foundation."

Xiao Ze ruffled Xiao Xun'er's hair, urging her to return and consolidate her realm.

"Mm, you too, Brother Xiao Ze."

The two descended the mountain together and waved goodbye at the crossroads.

Xiao Ze stood at the junction, watching Xiao Xun'er depart, before turning to look at the shadows nearby.

His enhanced soul perception allowed Xiao Ze to easily detect a figure lurking there.

"Father, stop hiding. Is something the matter?"

"Ahaha, Ze'er, I saw you chatting with Xun'er and didn't want to interrupt!"

Xiao Zhan stepped out from the shadows, scratching his head with a hearty laugh.

"This..."

Xiao Zhan looked at Xiao Ze nervously, but unfortunately, Xiao Ze's aura was so restrained that there was no sign of a breakthrough to be seen.

"Father, if you have something to say, just say it."

"I heard from Xun'er that you were breaking through to Dou Shi earlier?"

Xiao Zhan asked hurriedly; he needed to confirm this personally.

"That's right, I just broke through."

As Xiao Ze spoke, he released a wisp of his aura.

Xiao Zhan's eyes widened instantly. Feeling the intensity of this Dou Shi's Dou Qi, he couldn't help but swallow hard.

"Good, good, good! Ze'er, your talent is likely unique in the Xiao Clan for hundreds of years!"

"The future of the Xiao Clan may truly be revitalized in your hands!"

Xiao Ze nodded with a smile and chatted with Xiao Zhan for a while before returning to his residence.

He knew what the Xiao Clan would face in the future; let alone revitalization and prosperity, just managing to survive would be a feat in itself.

After all, that was the Soul Hall!

However, there were still a few years before the Soul Hall would make its move, which was enough time for Xiao Ze to develop.

At worst, he would strike first when the time came, take out Protector Wu, and sever the Soul Hall's spies in the Jia Ma Empire.

But to silently eliminate a Dou Zong powerhouse would still be a bit difficult for Xiao Ze.

It was not that Xiao Ze could not grow to become a Dou Zong, but rather that there was not enough time; the time left for Xiao Ze to develop was simply insufficient!

According to the timeline, in two years, Xiao Yan would face the marriage annulment by Nalan Yanran.

Following that would be the three-year agreement, marked by the declaration: "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river; do not bully the young because they are poor."

Some time after the three-year agreement, the incident where the Soul Hall and the Misty Cloud Sect joined forces to annihilate the Xiao Clan would erupt.

Somewhere along the way, the Soul Hall had determined from an unknown source that the Xiao Clan in Wutan City was the original Xiao Tribe!

During the destruction of the Xiao Clan, the Soul Hall had acted from the shadows to abduct the clan leader, all for the sake of the Tou She Ancient God Jade!

If he could take the first step and sever their channels for gathering intelligence.

Perhaps he could grant Xiao Ze more time to develop.

Of course, if that failed, he could also relocate the entire Xiao Clan, or even break them up into smaller groups and temporarily disperse the clan members.

However, those were matters to consider for the future; for now, he had to seize the time to improve his strength.

The key to whether Xiao Ze could accelerate his growth lay in the two notifications provided by the system.

Xiao Ze looked at the system panel.

[Congratulations, Xiao Xun'er's strength has increased, reaching a one-star Dou Practitioner. Having improved by a major realm, congratulations to the host for obtaining a special reward!]

[In addition to the primary bond with Xiao Xun'er, an auxiliary bond has been added!]

Xiao Ze studied these two notifications.

He had roughly figured out the conditions for the appearance of the auxiliary bond and the requirements for binding.