Temporarily Stripped of His Position as an Elder!

"First Elder, that's such a blatant double standard! When your grandson beats someone else, you call it a friendly spar between juniors. Now that someone's beaten your grandson, you fly into a rage and use your seniority to bully the young!"

"Exactly! And he calls himself an elder! So your Xiao Ning can beat people, but nobody's allowed to hit back?"

"Using your seniority to bully the young—what a show of authority! If Xiao Ze weren't the Fourth Young Master and the clan leader hadn't arrived in time, I bet he'd have kept attacking, using his Da Dou Shi strength to suppress a talented young Dou Zhe of the clan!"

The First Elder's face twitched. He might be old, but he wasn't deaf!

Those words were like sharp thorns driven into his ears, then into his heart.

The First Elder found them painfully grating, and he was deeply troubled as well.

But what he had done really was just as Xiao Ze had said. Even he himself didn't know how to refute it.

And then there was Xiao Zhan beside him, still in a state of fury.

The First Elder felt trapped between a rock and a hard place. He bitterly regretted coming here and letting anger cloud his judgment!

At that thought, the First Elder suddenly realized that the real reason he'd come here was Xiao Ning!

His grandson, who usually idled about and did nothing but get himself into trouble!

The First Elder had already cursed Xiao Ning up and down in his heart, but kept silent all the same.

Xiao Ze had naturally heard the comments from the Xiao Clan youths watching nearby, and smiled faintly to himself.

If an elder couldn't command the people's respect, then his time in that position was probably over.

"Why has the First Elder fallen silent? Is there nothing you can say in the face of the facts?"

Xiao Ze pressed his advantage. The First Elder finally managed to calm his surging blood and opened his mouth slightly, intending to explain himself.

"Hmph! First Elder, don't bother explaining. Everyone saw what happened today!"

Xiao Zhan spoke up suddenly, glancing at the Second Elder and Third Elder, who had hurried over.

"As an elder, the First Elder's conduct has failed to command the people's respect. He openly violated the Xiao Clan's rules, used his seniority to bully the young, and even tried to crush a clan prodigy, hindering the Xiao Clan's progress!"

"By the authority of the clan leader, I hereby impose the following punishment: the First Elder is temporarily stripped of his position as an elder of the Xiao Clan. If he does this again, his cultivation will be crippled and he will be expelled from the Xiao Clan!"

"Hiss—"

At Xiao Zhan's words, everyone present sucked in a sharp breath.

The First Elder, the person directly involved, was no exception. His face flushed with anger and shock as he said,

"Xiao Zhan, you're stripping me of my position as First Elder for the sake of your son?!"

The other two elders exchanged glances. They had arrived last and had only seen Xiao Zhan attack the First Elder in a fit of rage.

What had the First Elder done to deserve such a severe punishment from Xiao Zhan?

The Xiao Clan youths around them began murmuring among themselves.

"Isn't that punishment a bit too harsh for the First Elder? Using his seniority to bully the young is disgraceful, sure, but he's still an elder."

"Exactly! Stripping the First Elder of his position for the sake of a prodigy who hasn't even grown up yet—is that really in keeping with the rules?"

"The clan leader's punishment is far too severe. Who'll dare to devote themselves to the Xiao Clan in the future if an elder can be stripped of his position over one small mistake?"

Hearing the murmurs around him, the First Elder no longer felt panicked.

I may have been in the wrong first, but you, Xiao Zhan, are being unfair. Punishing a minor offense with a major penalty won't win people over either.

Sure enough, the other two elders also spoke up, urging Xiao Zhan to reconsider.

"Xiao Zhan, that punishment is too severe. The First Elder was at fault, but not so badly that he should be stripped of his position. It'll chill the hearts of many in the Xiao Clan!"

"That's right. You're seizing on one minor mistake to impose a heavy punishment! That's far too unfair!"

Facing the doubts of the crowd and the other two elders' pleas, Xiao Zhan gave a cold laugh.

"Do you all think my punishment is too severe?"

He looked around. Everyone who met Xiao Zhan's gaze turned away, not daring to look the furious lion in the eye.

"Ze'er, show them your strength!"

Xiao Zhan suddenly turned and spoke to Xiao Ze.

Xiao Ze didn't waste words. He stopped concealing his strength.

The aura around Xiao Ze, unremarkable just moments before, began to climb steadily.

Before long, those with a keen eye sensed that the Dou Zhe aura around Xiao Ze was far too substantial for a newly advanced Dou Zhe!

He was at least a high-tier Dou Zhe, and among high-tier Dou Zhe, he was among the very best!

The two elders were left dumbfounded. They could tell, of course, that Xiao Ze's cultivation had reached the Nine-Star Dou Zhe level!

The First Elder's heart shook violently. Xiao Ze was only eleven years old!

When Xiao Yan had advanced to One-Star Dou Zhe at the age of eleven, he'd already been hailed as the greatest prodigy the Xiao Clan had seen in a hundred years.

So what should Xiao Ze, an eleven-year-old Nine-Star Dou Zhe, be called? The greatest prodigy in a thousand years?

"You've all seen it. He's an eleven-year-old high-tier Dou Zhe!"

Xiao Zhan's voice brimmed with pride. "If he doesn't die young and grows up safely, he'll reach at least the Dou Wang level in the future."

"There's a very good chance he'll become a Dou Emperor. Even the legendary Dou Zong isn't out of the question!"

"If the Xiao Clan had a Dou Wang guarding it, we'd be a first-rate force in the entire Jia Ma Empire! We wouldn't need three families to vie for dominance in little Wutan City—the Xiao Clan would reign supreme!"

"If we had a Dou Emperor, we'd rank among the Jia Ma Empire's top forces! The Xiao Clan could flourish and possess countless resources for you to cultivate with!"

"As for Dou Zong, that's far too elusive! I'm not harboring any great hopes. Even so, Xiao Ze is still the hope of the Xiao Clan's future prosperity!"

At that, Xiao Zhan's tone abruptly shifted, his impassioned words now laced with anger.

"And yet the First Elder dared to attack the Xiao Clan's hope for the future!"

"He used the strength of a Da Dou Shi to attack a Dou Zhe! If that isn't an attempt to kill him, then what is? A lesson from an elder?"

The whole place erupted!!!

After hearing Xiao Zhan's explanation, everyone looked at the First Elder with resentment and indignation!

This wasn't just some ordinary prodigy. He was a future Dou Wang, perhaps even a Dou Emperor!

If they'd previously felt that this had nothing to do with them, now they could finally empathize.

People only truly felt the pain when their own interests were harmed!

They knew perfectly well what it meant to have a powerful expert guarding the clan. It brought not only a deep sense of security, but also abundant cultivation resources!

High-level Dou Techniques, cultivation-aiding pills, guidance from stronger experts—the benefits were enough to make anyone's heart stir.

The other two elders felt the same way. They understood even better just how coveted a force with a high-level expert in the family truly was!

The cultivation resources they could only dream of, even the pills needed to break through critical bottlenecks, could all be obtained thanks to the presence of a high-level expert.

Higher cultivation meant they could enjoy longer lives!

And now the First Elder had actually dared to attack the clan's future. They weren't ready to die yet!

For a moment, even the two elders glared furiously at the First Elder!

The First Elder was dumbstruck. He hadn't expected the person he'd attacked in his fury to be such a prodigy!

Regret instantly filled his heart!

Readers, please give the book a follow! Recommendations are now entirely based on follows, so please lend a hand and scroll to the very end of the book. I'm deeply grateful!