Strike now and wipe out their entire clan!
As soon as he said this,
the noisy hall fell utterly silent.
All the Xiao Clan's senior members turned to look at Xiao Ze. Only then did they suddenly remember that their clan seemed to have an ancestor of its own.
"An-ancestor, sir, wiping out their entire clan... isn't that a little excessive?" one elder asked cautiously.
Facing this ancestor, who had lived more than a hundred and fifty years ago and whose cultivation was unknown, these "juniors" were constantly on edge.
"Excessive?" Xiao Ze gave a cold snort. "How is it excessive?"
"A mere Jalie Clan dared to attack my Xiao Tribe. Wiping out their entire clan is already showing them exceptional mercy!"
"If this had happened a hundred years ago, with my temperament, I would have wiped out their nine generations!"
"I would've even split every earthworm in the soil clean in half!"
"How could I let them bark here like dogs?"
"Hmph!"
Xiao Ze's gaze turned as cold as frost. A sharp killing intent burst from him, and everyone shuddered. They felt the temperature in the entire hall plunge to freezing in an instant.
"Our ancestor really does have a fearsome bloodlust!"
Feeling the biting chill around them, every senior member of the Xiao Clan felt their heart jump. They were deeply afraid of how overbearing their ancestor was.
"Ahem..." Xiao Zhan coughed softly twice, drawing everyone's attention back to him.
"Since our ancestor has said so, let's discuss how to attack the Jalie Clan."
"I want us to be ready to strike within a month. The sooner we act, the better. Ideally, we'll land a heavy blow before they realize what's happening!"
Xiao Zhan's steady voice echoed through the hall.
It drew the attention of everyone present to the plan for striking back against the Jalie Clan.
The hall, which had been quiet, once again grew noisy with debate.
Just as everyone was arguing back and forth,
Xiao Ze's voice rang out again. "A month?"
"That's far too long to spend preparing."
"Deliberating too long invites disaster. We must strike back as quickly as possible!"
"In my view, tomorrow is the perfect time to act."
"If we catch them off guard, we can wipe out the Jialie Clan in one fell swoop..."
He spoke with such ease, showing no regard for the Jalie Clan at all, as if a wave of his hand would reduce them to ashes.
Of course, to him, the Jalie Clan truly amounted to nothing.
But to everyone else in the Xiao Clan, his words were shocking.
"Ancestor, act tomorrow? Isn't that far too rushed?"
"That's right, Ancestor. One day isn't enough time to prepare. We wouldn't even have time to summon the clan's experts. We absolutely mustn't do this!"
"Ancestor, my Xiao Clan and the Jialie Clan are evenly matched. If we act in such haste, the outcome will be hard to predict."
"Ancestor..."
"Ancestor..."
The senior members of the Xiao Clan voiced their objections one after another.
Yet Xiao Ze remained unmoved.
He was silent for a moment, then looked at Xiao Zhan coolly. "What does the clan leader think? Do you also believe my proposal is too absurd?"
"Uh..." Xiao Zhan's eyes flickered. For a moment, he didn't know how to answer.
After a moment, he said helplessly, "Ancestor, the elders do have a point."
"The Jalie Clan has been established in Wutan City for at least a thousand years. They're a renowned local powerhouse, with not only great strength but also an incredibly deep foundation."
"My Xiao Tribe only migrated here less than a hundred years ago."
"In terms of both strength and foundation, we're no match for them."
"To attack them rashly would be unwise."
"I hope you'll think this over, Ancestor..."
As clan leader, Xiao Zhan had to consider the entire Xiao Clan. There was nothing wrong with striking the Jalie Clan, but they needed a perfect plan for how to do it.
In terms of both influence and foundation, the Jalie Clan was far stronger than the Xiao Clan, by at least a third.
More importantly, the current clan leader of the Jalie Clan was his sworn enemy, Jialie Bi. Though he hated to admit it, the other man's cultivation was two minor realms higher than his own.
A Seven-Star Great Dou Master was a renowned expert even in the several large cities nearby.
What was more, the Jalie Clan might have three Great Dou Masters.
If they acted rashly, the Xiao Clan would be the only one to suffer.
"Heh..." After hearing Xiao Zhan out, Xiao Ze gave a scornful smile. He looked around at the elders and said, "So you're worried that my Xiao Clan isn't strong enough!"
"Don't worry. A mere Jialie Clan is no more than a flick of the finger away from being destroyed by me."
Xiao Ze's words made everyone's eyes light up.
"Ancestor, are you going to take action?" one elder asked excitedly.
"Take action?" Xiao Ze looked disdainful. "Would I need to personally deal with a Jialie Clan? One sword is enough!"
As soon as he finished speaking,
the Storage Ring on his left thumb suddenly glowed. Then a long sword, its blade gleaming with a cold light, appeared in his hand. It was four feet and one inch long, three fingers wide, and three snow-white pearls were set into its hilt.
"This sword can help you wipe out the Jalie Clan!"
As he spoke, he handed the Taixiao Sword to Xiao Zhan.
"Ancestor, this..." Xiao Zhan took the sword, his eyes full of confusion.
Could a single sword really help them defeat the Jalie Clan?
It didn't sound very convincing.
He wasn't the only one. The other elders also looked at the plain-looking sword with doubt in their eyes.
"What, you don't believe me?" Xiao Ze glanced at him and said irritably, "If you don't believe me, you can give the sword back."
"I believe you!" Xiao Zhan hugged the sword to his chest and declared righteously, "Who said we don't believe you?"
"If our ancestor says it can be done, then it can be done!"
"Isn't that right, elders?!"
Xiao Zhan's words immediately drew a chorus of agreement from the elders. They praised and discussed the sword, and it all came down to one thing.
—[Yes, yes, yes. Whatever our great ancestor says is right!]
"Heh..." Xiao Ze gave a faint snort and said casually, "Forget it. I've said all I needed to say, so I won't stay here any longer."
"In any case, you can handle the operation yourselves."
"I hope I'll hear the good news tomorrow that you've wiped out the Jalie Clan."
"I'm off—"
With that, he dusted off his rear and left at an unhurried pace.
Only his departing figure remained, etched deeply in the eyes of the Xiao Clan's senior members.
They were still standing in the council hall, staring blankly at one another.
"Clan leader, are we really going to follow our ancestor's suggestion and strike back against the Jalie Clan tomorrow?"
An elder near the bottom of the ranks asked, still somewhat worried.
"What? Do you have a problem with it?" Xiao Zhan glanced at him casually. "If you have a different opinion, you can go after our ancestor right now and report it to him yourself."
"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare." The elder shrank his neck and meekly retreated.
Argue with their ancestor?
He'd rather not.
Their ancestor was immensely powerful. With his own short arms and legs, he'd better not go looking for trouble.
"Hmph..." Xiao Zhan gave a disdainful snort.
He lowered his head and began examining the sword their ancestor had given him.
With a metallic clang, he drew the sword. A snow-white blade of light burst from its sheath. In an instant, a chill filled the hall, and the sword's radiance shone cold and fierce.
Xiao Zhan narrowed his eyes and looked. Two ancient characters were engraved on the blade: [Taixiao]!
"Taixiao?"
"Could this be our ancestor's personal sword?"
"Truly terrifying."
"I wonder what level of weapon this is?!"
Before you continue