Oba Pa froze for a moment. Xiao Li's eyes narrowed as he swept the Thunder Scale Spear across with both hands. Azure lightning surged out, transforming into a tide of thunder that swept through the hall.
"Lightning Flash Strike!"
Compared to the purple lightning before, the blue lightning now was higher by more than one level in both quality and quantity. No wonder everyone pursued high-tier cultivation techniques.
Oba Pa didn't dare let his guard down for a moment. Looking at the young Xiao Li, he silently resolved to kill him. A Great Dou Master this young would surely become a grave threat in time. He had to eliminate him today!
Although they were both One-Star Great Dou Masters, Oba Pa was confident he could take Xiao Li down with his wealth of experience. What practical experience could a young boy possibly have? He was nothing but a greenhouse flower.
But the moment they clashed, Oba Pa felt an irresistible force slam into him. He staggered back four or five meters before barely managing to stop.
"H-how is this possible? Your strength!"
Xiao Li's gaze was cold. He gave Oba Pa no time to catch his breath and pressed forward again.
It was only after absorbing the Blood Pill in the Magical Beast Mountain Range that Xiao Li understood why Xiao Yan could absorb so many pills and still have such a solid foundation, allowing him to fight opponents above his level.
If a pill could raise someone's level by three to five stages, most people would choose five, or even six or seven. Xiao Yan was different. He would absolutely choose three, then do everything he could to compress his Dou Qi. That was one of the reasons Xiao Yan was invincible among those of the same level.
As for Xiao Li, he had forcibly limited the gains from a third-tier Magical Beast Blood Pill—which could have raised him by at least five stages—to just two. Worried that the impurities hadn't been completely removed, he'd spent several days tempering his Dou Qi.
"You good-for-nothing old fool, today is the day you die!"
The Thunder Scale Spear whirled again and again in Xiao Li's hands, as Lightning Flash Strike gathered into a massive net of lightning. Now that he had become a Great Dou Master, using a Yellow Tier Lightning Flash Strike barely drained him at all.
Fortunately, the highest-tier Dou Technique Xiao Li had cultivated was only Yellow Tier. Oba Pa could just barely hold his own with a low-tier Profound Tier Dou Technique. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't have lasted twenty moves.
Jia Lie Bi did everything he could to withstand Xiao Zhan's attacks, but his opponent had the advantage in both age and cultivation. Jia Lie Bi could only just manage to hold on without losing.
"Oba Pa, finish off your opponent quickly! Stop holding back, or we'll all die today!"
Jia Lie Bi's roar drew no response. Instead, a round head rolled to his feet.
Jia Lie Bi was utterly horrified. The head was unmistakably Oba Pa's. "How is this possible?!"
Jia Lie Bi turned to look at Xiao Li in disbelief. Oba Pa might have been the most useless of the three clan heads, and he'd only become a Great Dou Master by stuffing himself with pills, but there was no way he should have been defeated so quickly by a junior at the same level!
"You dare get distracted while fighting me? Lion Mountain Split!" Xiao Zhan's expression turned fierce as he threw all his strength into the blow.
As Jia Lie Bi spat blood and flew backward, Xiao Li quickly took care of Jia Lie Nu and Jia Lie Ao as well. One was just a Dou Master and the other a Dou Zhe; it only took a few moves. They weren't even worth showing on screen.
Xiao Li then dealt with the remaining members of the Ao Ba Family, while Xiao Zhan led his people straight to the two families' estates to slaughter the rest.
Only a few Dou Masters remained to guard the two families' homes. They were no threat at all.
The Jia Lie Family and the Ao Ba Family were wiped from Wutan City. It was Xiao Li's sudden rise that had shattered the balance between the three great families. Then, by dividing and defeating them one at a time, he had ultimately brought about the two families' destruction.
With the resources of Wutan City all to themselves, the Xiao Clan would surely be able to produce more experts above the Dou Master level.
At the Wutan City auction house, the still-young Ya Fei hid behind Gu Ni, looking fearfully at the Xiao Clan members in the street.
The Xiao Clan looked so aggressive that even Gu Ni felt a pang of panic. He was an alchemist, sure, but that didn't mean he was good at fighting. Even an alchemist could die when faced with a reckless fool.
Fortunately, the Xiao Clan paid no attention to the people at the auction house. They ran straight toward the Jia Lie and Ao Ba families instead.
Gu Ni breathed a sigh of relief, but his worry only grew. It looked like Wutan City was about to undergo a great change. Whoever came to dominate the city, it wouldn't be good news for their auction house. If one family held all the power, they could buy anything at auction for the lowest price, since no one would dare compete with them.
I hope nothing too drastic happens, Gu Ni sighed inwardly.
But when Gu Ni saw Xiao Zhan lead dozens of Xiao Clan members to the marketplace, carrying hundreds of severed heads, he knew Wutan City's power structure had changed.
"Send the Xiao Clan a generous gift. From now on, we'll be far from headquarters. With just our little branch, which no one pays much attention to, it'll probably be hard to stand against the Xiao Clan, the local power."
Ya Fei nodded solemnly. She still hoped to return to the Mittel Clan and couldn't afford any mishaps.
At the Xiao Clan, Xiao Zhan nonchalantly wiped the blood from his hands.
"They're all dead."
Xiao Li nodded. "What about the women and children?"
"All the children were killed. Not one woman was spared."
Xiao Li's expression didn't change. He seemed quite satisfied with the result. It was a good thing the ruthless, seasoned Xiao Zhan had taken care of it. If it had been Xiao Yan, who'd received nine years of compulsory education, he would probably have left behind a few loose ends.
Seeing Xiao Li's calm expression, Xiao Zhan nodded in satisfaction. Of his three sons, the eldest was the steadiest, but lacked decisiveness, while the youngest was the most reckless and lacked maturity.
Only Xiao Li was ruthless yet had his own bottom line. He'd gone out to gain experience, and had become more mature in the way he dealt with people and situations.
On the training grounds, Xiao Yi Xian was helping bandage the wounded. She wasn't very strong, so this was about all she could do.
Xiao Yi Xian's gentle voice and cheerful nature had won her the Xiao Clan's favor. Of course, the fact that the Xiao Clan treated her warmly was also because Xiao Li had brought her back. That mattered just as much.
Xiao Yan stood in the marketplace, his expression dark as he stared at the bodies of the Jia Lie and Ao Ba families. "Old man, tell me—can I still catch up to Second Brother?"
An aged voice emerged from within Xiao Yan's body. "Don't worry. With me here, you definitely can."
Hearing this made Xiao Yan grit his teeth in anger. "You've got some nerve saying that! It's all your fault I fell to the Eighth Stage Dou Qi. And now you've made me come look at these corpses, saying it'll toughen me up. Bah!"
Yao Lao coughed awkwardly twice. "Ahem, I was testing you. If I didn't think you had some backbone, I would've planned to absorb your Dou Qi for three years."
"Three years?!"
Xiao Yan cried out in alarm, nearly cursing out the cheap master he'd only taken on the previous night.
Three days later, at the Xiao Clan
Xiao Zhan sat in the main hall, beaming. The Xiao Clan had been flourishing lately. All the large and small families in Wutan City were scrambling to bring them gifts, and the Xiao Clan had taken over the two other families' properties as well. Their influence had more than doubled at a stroke.
"Li, the Jia Nan Academy entrance examinations begin in three days. Make your preparations."
"Yes, Father. I'll do my best."