Third Brother, That's Enough! (Please Bookmark and Vote)

"What exactly happened to the Xiao Clan?" Xiao Meng asked, breathing heavily. Cold sweat trickled down his forehead as he prayed inwardly, Dad, please don't let anything happen to you all!

"Young Master, during the month you were gone, our Xiao Clan was bullied terribly," a guard said indignantly.

Xiao Meng: "?????"

"You were bullied, so this forty- or fifty-year-old grown man cried his eyes out? How fragile are you, damn it?" Xiao Meng felt like beating this bastard to death.

"My father and the others are all right, aren't they?" Xiao Meng asked after taking a deep breath.

"The Clan Chief and the others are all right. They only suffered some injuries," a guard said.

Xiao Meng: "I%#&%@..."

"Those bastards nearly scared me to death," Xiao Meng cursed. He had no time to beat up the guards and quickly ran toward where his father lived.

"Dad! Dad!" Xiao Meng shouted loudly before he even entered.

Inside, Xiao Zhan was worrying when he heard that familiar voice. He immediately rushed out the door, and seeing Xiao Meng hurrying over, his heart surged with excitement.

"You brat, you still know how to come back," Xiao Zhan scolded angrily.

"Dad, which bastard injured you like this?" Seeing Xiao Zhan's injuries, Xiao Meng's eyes flashed with chilling light as murderous intent billowed around him.

"Come inside first. We'll talk there," Xiao Zhan said.

Before long, Xiao Zhan told him everything that had happened over the past few days.

"That old turtle Jia Lie Bi really deserves to die!"

Xiao Meng's gaze turned vicious as cold light glinted in his eyes. He said sternly, "Dad, wait here. I'll go wipe out the Gale Clan right now."

Xiao Zhan hurriedly grabbed him. "Don't be rash. Unless there's no other choice, I don't want you to make a move."

Now that Xiao Meng had returned, the Xiao Clan's people would settle down as well. As for whether Xiao Meng needed to act, they could wait until the critical moment. After all, Xiao Zhan knew Xiao Meng was not particularly strong, so it was best not to use his trump cards unless necessary. At a crucial moment, they might save his life.

"Dad, don't worry. I've got plenty of trump cards. Killing a few hundred Grand Masters would be easy, let alone the Gale Clan, which doesn't even have several hundred people. Wiping them out would take no effort at all," Xiao Meng said.

Xiao Zhan froze for a moment, but still shook his head. "Third Brother, there's no need to use trump cards yet. Besides, if you openly wipe out the Gale Clan, it will cause a huge stir. That would be very unfavorable to both you and the rest of the Xiao Clan."

"The tallest tree in the forest gets broken by the wind."

Xiao Zhan said seriously, "If we wipe them out ourselves, no one will have anything to say. At most, they'll think the Xiao Clan is much stronger than the Gale Clan. Aside from making the people of Wutan City fearful, it won't draw the Cloudmist Sect's or any other force's attention."

Xiao Meng frowned. His father made sense, but swallowing this anger would not be easy.

Before long, news of his return caused a huge commotion within the Xiao Clan. The elders and many direct descendants all rushed over, thrilled beyond measure.

"Haha, Third Brother, we've been waiting for you to come back!" When everyone saw Xiao Meng, the stone hanging over their hearts finally dropped.

"Elders, if Xiao Meng has ever offended you in the past, I apologize here and ask for your forgiveness." From Xiao Zhan, he had learned that the Xiao Clan's elders had all stood united this time, fighting bloodily for the clan. He felt it necessary to apologize for some of his past behavior, because elders like them deserved his respect.

The atmosphere in the hall stiffened slightly. The First Elder was the first to break the silence with a smile. "Brat, if anyone should apologize, it should be us elders. If not for what you said back then, we would all have become sinners of the Xiao Clan. Even in death, we would have had no face to meet the Xiao Clan's ancestors."

"Just as you said, two Xiao characters can't be written with one stroke. We're family, so what is there to apologize for? Let's let the past drift away with the wind. Honestly, us elders should only feel ashamed," the Ninth Elder said with a hearty laugh.

Seeing this change in the Xiao Clan, Xiao Zhan felt gratified. If a clan wanted to survive longer in this dog-eat-dog world, it had to learn to huddle together for warmth and stand united.

Together, they would resist their enemies.

After some discussion, Xiao Zhan voiced his thoughts. Unless there was no other choice, Xiao Meng would not act. Of course, he did not reveal Xiao Meng's true strength, lest people's hearts become unsettled.

He only said that he did not want Xiao Meng to appear too outstanding, lest he draw the fear of other forces and bring even greater trouble to the Xiao Clan.

After thinking it over, the elders all agreed.

Night fell. Starlight scattered across the sky, pure and bright, like auspicious snow fluttering down or white jade sinking from above, draping the earth in an illusory veil of silver.

After leaving the hall where Xiao Zhan lived, Xiao Meng planned to check on Xiao Yan. He knew very well that the ones who had saved the Xiao Clan during the day were Xiao Yan and Yao Lao.

He simply did not understand why Yao Lao had not killed Jia Lie Bi and had instead let that old man survive.

However, before he got halfway there, he encountered Xiao Yan, clad in a black robe and cautiously sneaking back.

"Third Brother? When did you come back?" Xiao Yan froze when he saw Xiao Meng. At the same time, Yao Lao immediately withdrew from Xiao Yan's body, turning into a streak of white light that entered the ring, leaving Xiao Yan in control of his own body.

"Your injuries are serious." Xiao Meng's expression darkened. At that moment, he roughly understood why Yao Lao had not killed Jia Lie Bi.

Xiao Yan removed his black robe and smiled bitterly. "That bastard Jia Lie Ao bit me hard. It'll take some time before I recover."

"Then focus on recovering. Leave what comes next to me. I'll make the Gale Clan disappear from Wutan City," Xiao Meng said with overwhelming killing intent.

"Third Brother, can you leave the Gale Clan to me?"

Xiao Yan scratched his head. "I may not have the strength to destroy them now, but once my injuries recover, I can still make them experience fear. And that will be far more painful than simply wiping them out."

Xiao Meng frowned. "Can you beat Liu Xi's master right now?"

"That old man is a third-grade alchemist. How could I possibly beat him now?"

Xiao Yan then grinned. "But a third-grade alchemist without medicinal ingredients is another matter entirely."

Xiao Meng paused, then chuckled. "Looks like you just went to discuss business with the Mittel Auction House."

"Heh, nothing can be hidden from you, Third Brother," Xiao Yan said with a smile.

Xiao Meng rolled his eyes. "You've only made the Mittel Auction House stop supplying medicinal ingredients to the Gale Clan. But don't forget that Liu Xi's master is a third-grade alchemist. With his connections, getting medicinal ingredients elsewhere won't be difficult. At most, it will take a little time, so you can't let your guard down."

"Don't worry, Third Brother. I've thought about that too. So I plan to have Teacher refine some third-grade pills that can boost cultivation, helping Dad and the others improve their strength. That way, I'll have more time to deal with them. And once my injuries recover, I'll try advancing to a second-grade alchemist. Then I'll slowly deal with them," Xiao Yan said.

"A second-grade alchemist? With your cultivation as a Fighter, how are you going to advance to a second-grade alchemist?" Xiao Meng asked doubtfully.

Hearing this, Xiao Yan grinned. "Not long ago, I found a fiery-red crystal in the Xiao Clan's back mountain. I accidentally swallowed it, and it turned into a flame. This flame is very strange. Back when I was still at Dou Qi, I relied on it to refine first-grade pills."

"Fire Essence?"

Xiao Meng froze. The moment Xiao Yan mentioned a fiery-red crystal, he immediately thought of Fire Essence. Back when he had collected Fire Essence, he had once lost one piece. At the time, he thought a bird had carried it away.

Now it seemed more likely that the wind had blown it away.

He simply had not expected that thing could be swallowed, much less turn into a flame.

Next, Xiao Yan summoned the flame. It was the size of a palm-leaf fan and radiated intense heat.

"Fine. Since you're confident you can deal with Liu Xi's master, I won't interfere in the Gale Clan's affairs for now," Xiao Meng said after thinking it over.

Xiao Meng paused, then said, "I'll be home during this time. If you need anything, just tell me. Maybe I can help you out."

"There really is something I need your help with, Third Brother," Xiao Yan said with a grin.

Xiao Meng's face instantly darkened. He had only been polite, yet this little bastard had actually taken him seriously?

"Fourth Brother, has anyone ever told you that you really need a beating?" Xiao Meng asked calmly.

Xiao Yan's mouth twitched hard. He remained silent, but his gaze stayed fixed on Xiao Meng.

"If you've got something to say, say it quickly," Xiao Meng said with a dark face.

Xiao Yan rubbed his hands together. "Lend me some money to buy medicinal ingredients."

Xiao Meng gave Xiao Yan a long look, then took out more than ten storage rings and tossed them to him.

"Hiss!"

Xiao Yan instinctively caught what Xiao Meng threw at him. Once he saw clearly what they were, he sucked in a cold breath.

More than ten storage rings?

Xiao Yan could hardly believe his eyes. There were, at most, only a dozen storage rings in all of Wutan City. These things were extremely precious and impossible to buy even with money, yet Xiao Meng casually tossed over more than ten.

"Third Brother, where did you get so many storage rings?" Xiao Yan was deeply shocked. Did Xiao Meng rob some major force?

"I got lucky and found them on the road," Xiao Meng said with a shrug.

Xiao Yan's heart twitched. Damn it, you could pick up an Earth-rank combat technique, and now you could pick up this many storage rings too? Did you step in dog shit every day?

"Third Brother, do you believe what you just said?" Xiao Yan asked, rolling his eyes.

Xiao Meng said firmly, "Of course I believe it. What, don't you?"

Xiao Yan: "..."

Only an idiot would believe you.

Xiao Meng seemed to see through Xiao Yan's thoughts and smiled faintly. "If you weren't an idiot, I wouldn't tell you I found them."

"Who are you calling an idiot?"

Xiao Yan said darkly, "Third Brother, that's enough!"

"What's inside these storage rings will be enough for you to spend freely for a while. Go ahead and do whatever you want. I'm leaving first," Xiao Meng said with a shrug.

"Wait, Third Brother, there's one more small matter." Xiao Yan hurriedly grabbed Xiao Meng and smiled sheepishly.