Gu Rong gathered his thoughts and quickly regained his composure.
Looking at Chen Xin, he said, "Old Swordman, thank you."
He thanked him sincerely. What Chen Xin had done outside just now had basically protected Gu Rong, letting him stop worrying about retaliation from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
At the same time, he had helped Gu Rong leave the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and shouldered everything on behalf of the Chen Family.
At this point, only Chen Xin could have done something like that.
Chen Xin waved a hand. "If you want to thank someone, thank Big Brother. If he hadn't called me out, you might have died at his hands."
Chen Xin hadn't expected to run into Gu Rong here, either.
Xu Xiao had called Chen Xin out only to intimidate the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and give the Ye Family some protection. He hadn't expected to encounter Gu Rong here.
It could only be called a coincidence.
Hearing this, Gu Rong went over to Xu Xiao and bowed. "Th-thank you, Big Brother!"
Xu Xiao waved him off. "Don't rush to call me Big Brother. It's not time yet!"
Xu Xiao chuckled as he stopped him, then turned to the man. "Senior, could you find a quiet place for the few of us?"
The man smiled and nodded. It seemed his son had earned their approval. "Go ahead. I'll stand guard for you."
Xu Xiao acknowledged him, then looked at Chen Xin and the others. "Come along."
Gu Rong was a little dazed, but he followed anyway. Ye Shengxin followed after him, curious.
The man left and went to the main entrance to stand guard for them.
Xu Xiao led the three of them to the quiet place from earlier.
As soon as they entered, Xu Xiao summoned his Martial Soul.
"Y-you're from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?"
Seeing the tower, Gu Rong cried out in surprise. Ye Shengxin also stared at him in astonishment. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda?
Before Xu Xiao could do anything, Chen Xin gave the two of them a hard knock on the head!
"If it were the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, would you still be alive?" Chen Xin snorted.
Heh, right. That did make sense.
The two of them looked embarrassed.
Xu Xiao didn't mind. It was normal to mistake it for one; after all, wasn't the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda the most famous tower around?
Xu Xiao gently tapped his tower, and three figures appeared.
Gui Mei and the other two appeared before them.
"Big Brother! Fifth Brother!"
All three called out in unison.
Xu Xiao and Chen Xin nodded lightly, and the three turned their attention to the two newcomers.
"Ye Shengxin? And who are you?"
Dugu Bo recognized Ye Shengxin, but not Gu Rong.
Xu Xiao leaned to one side and said, "These two are your Sixth Brother and Seventh Brother."
Dugu Bo immediately went, "Oh."
"Big Brother, I get it!" Dugu Bo quickly declared.
He was familiar with this sort of thing.
Xu Xiao was a little baffled. What did you get? I haven't even said anything yet.
But before Xu Xiao could speak, Dugu Bo took advantage of the two newcomers letting their guard down. He swung both arms, kicked Gu Rong and Ye Shengxin to the ground, then pounced on them and started beating them.
Yue Guan and Gui Mei were stunned. So that was what he'd gotten?
Chen Xin paused. "Big Brother, I understand too!"
As he spoke, he joined the fight.
Xu Xiao stared in shock. No, I hadn't said anything!
Yue Guan came over. "Big Brother, is this really our tradition?"
Xu Xiao's mouth twitched. He had no idea himself. "Maybe it is."
"Then we understand!"
The next moment, the two of them joined the fight as well.
Xu Xiao gave a wry smile. Fine, fine. From now on, this was their tradition.
The four of them beat up Gu Rong and Ye Shengxin, and seemed to enjoy themselves.
Afterward, Chen Xin looked at the two of them. "From now on, Gu Rong, you're Sixth Brother, and Shengxin, you're Seventh Brother."
"This is a tradition of Chuan Ling. You'll get used to it."
Dugu Bo chimed in. "That's right. I got beaten up back then, and Fifth Brother did too. It's tradition!"
The two spoke with absolute certainty, though it was hard to say who had started it. It seemed to have been Dugu Bo.
No wonder he'd acted like he knew exactly what to do. So that was what it was about.
Gu Rong and Ye Shengxin wiped the blood from the corners of their mouths. These guys had really gone at them. They'd thought it was just for show, but those blows had been deadly!
The two of them hissed in pain.
"Greetings, Big Brother. Greetings, brothers!" The two forced themselves to their feet and paid their respects. They weren't happy about it, but they knew this was a sign that the others had accepted them.
"Hahahaha! Greetings, our two younger brothers. From now on, you'll be the Sixth Hall Master and Seventh Hall Master of Chuan Ling." Xu Xiao had accepted them as well.
Overall, Gu Rong was a good choice. Even without taking an Immortal Herb, his talent was enough to reach the Title Douluo level, and it surpassed Ye Shengxin's.
Besides, he was fiercely protective of his own. When trouble came, he truly stepped up. If he took an Immortal Herb and grew strong, could he withstand Tang Chen's Great Sumeru Hammer unleashed with all nine rings detonated?
Ye Shengxin was surprised. He'd already become the Seventh Hall Master?
"Big Brother, how many Hall Masters does Chuan Ling have?" Ye Shengxin asked curiously.
Xu Xiao replied, "Seven for now. I'm planning to gather nine."
One tower, two ghosts, three chrysanthemums, four poisons, five swords, six bones, seven leaves!
They already had a whole team. They had defense, offense, healing, and even control.
It seemed they weren't missing anything!
"If we can find more, we'll fill the ranks. If not, the seven of us will do." Xu Xiao wasn't going to force it.
Nine was the ultimate number, but seven wasn't bad either.
That was how Xu Xiao saw it, but Gu Rong and Ye Shengxin didn't agree. No, they had to gather nine for Big Brother. They wanted to carry on Chuan Ling's tradition, after all.
They couldn't just give up like this.
They had to find an Eighth Brother and a Ninth Brother.
The two exchanged a glance without meaning to, and saw their own thoughts reflected in each other's eyes.
They understood one another without saying a word.
Xu Xiao continued, "Sixth Brother, Seventh Brother, go have the senior treat your injuries. After that, we'll leave together."
The two nodded, said their goodbyes, and left. Xu Xiao also sent Yue Guan and the others into the Spirit Ascension Platform space.
Elsewhere, the student from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect who had left Ye Mansion was now kneeling before Sect Master Ning. He repeated Chen Xin's words to him without leaving out a single one.
Bong!
Ning Buqun's brow furrowed tightly, and the fury on his face showed no sign of fading.
"Damn it, damn it!!!"
"Can someone tell me why the Chen Family has gotten involved?!"
Ning Buqun glared furiously, but met only silence.
Chen Xin hadn't just killed their people; he had also brazenly threatened them.
Anyone would be furious in his place.
Ning Buqun's contorted face looked ready to burst into flames, but the people below him still said nothing.
That was the Chen Family, a family with a Titled Douluo.
What were they supposed to say?
"宗主, we can't afford to offend the Chen Family," one of the Soul Douluo elders said.
"That's right, Sect Master. Why not just let the Ye Family go?" Seeing someone speak up, the others began to voice their opinions too.
Ning Buqun looked at them, feeling his unwillingness surge again and again.
He'd schemed for so long, and now they wanted him to just give up??