Alliance Between the Two Families

"Father."

After several years apart, Xiao Zhan's temples seemed to have gained even more white hair. Xiao Yan's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly, as though he had caught the scent of something troubling.

"Yan'er, you're back." Seeing his youngest son return home after so many years, Xiao Zhan was overjoyed, even throwing all his recent worries to the back of his mind. His concerned gaze swept Xiao Yan from head to toe, and only after confirming that he was a healthy, spirited young man did he finally relax.

Xiao Yan was vastly different from who he had been two years ago. If the Xiao Yan of two years ago had possessed an unstoppable sharpness, then the current Xiao Yan had gained the confidence born of strength and the steadiness tempered by nearly three years of hardship.

"Father, I'm back." Xiao Yan nodded and smiled.

"Good, good, good... Uh..." Though they both had endless emotions and words in their hearts, father and son had never been good at openly expressing their affection. Now, the two of them stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to say.

"Greetings, Uncle." Seeing father and son standing there in awkward silence, Little Fairy Doctor found it amusing. She stepped out from behind Xiao Yan and respectfully bowed.

"This is..." Xiao Zhan's eyes lit up. Although the letters Xiao Ding and Xiao Li had sent home had not mentioned her, he quickly figured it out and looked expectantly at Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan smiled faintly, wrapped an arm around her slender waist, and pulled Little Fairy Doctor into his embrace. With great pride, he said, "Her name is Little Fairy Doctor. She's my wife!"

Little Fairy Doctor shyly leaned into Xiao Yan's arms, openly acknowledging their relationship.

"Good! Good boy! You've got your old man's flair!" Xiao Zhan laughed heartily, then turned and instructed the people behind him, "Go tell the kitchen that they can serve the dishes now. Hurry!"

Xiao Zhan turned back, intending to lead his son and daughter-in-law inside, when he noticed another figure behind Xiao Yan. Though she was a little young, she was a genuine little beauty. This brat didn't bring back two daughters-in-law at once, did he? But this little girl still looks so young. Could Yan'er have gone astray while he was out these past two years?

"Who is she?" Xiao Zhan asked, pointing at Qinglian behind Xiao Yan.

"She's a girl my eldest and second brothers took in at the Tagore Great Desert. When I went there, I saw that she had great talent for cultivation, so I brought her along with me." As he spoke, Xiao Yan pulled Qinglian forward. "Come, Qinglian. Call him Uncle."

"Greetings, Uncle." Qinglian shyly bowed.

"Good, good. Ah, Yan'er, your two brothers should have mentioned these things in their letters beforehand. You caught your father completely unprepared—I don't even have a greeting gift for them." Xiao Zhan looked at Xiao Yan with mild reproach.

"What are you saying, Father? Even if there are gifts to be given, shouldn't it be us juniors giving them to you?"

"Ah, you..."

"Patriarch, Cousin Xiao Yan, why don't we go inside and talk? We've been standing at the entrance for quite a while already." Xiao Ning suddenly stepped forward and said.

"Oh, right. Look at my brain. Come on, let's eat first and talk later."

Inside one of the Xiao Clan's halls, aside from Xiao Zhan, Xiao Yan, Little Fairy Doctor, Qinglian, and the others, quite a few elders and talented juniors of the Xiao Clan had gathered as well.

"Speaking of which, Young Master Xiao Yan has been away from home for over two years. I wonder what his cultivation has reached now?" Amid the clinking of cups and lively conversation, the Third Elder was the first to raise the question everyone cared about.

At once, everyone present turned their gazes toward Xiao Yan. Some looked at him with envy, anticipation, and admiration; others with jealousy, wariness, and even doubt.

Xiao Yan swept his gaze around the room, taking in every look, before finally meeting his father Xiao Zhan's expectant eyes.

A vast aura erupted from Xiao Yan's body, swiftly enveloping the entire Xiao Clan hall and causing everyone's expressions to change drastically.

The younger generation of the Xiao Clan fared relatively well. They merely felt that Xiao Yan was incredibly powerful, far beyond anything they could compare to. But the older generation's expressions changed completely. Even Xiao Zhan, though mentally prepared, was immensely shocked. Compared to the younger generation, they understood far better what kind of realm Xiao Yan's strength had reached. One after another, they stared at him in disbelief.

"Yan'er, you... Could it be that you've already..." Xiao Zhan struggled to swallow before speaking the realm that felt like a dream to everyone present. "Peak... Great Dou Master?!"

A smile curved across Xiao Yan's lips as he answered generously, "That's right, Father."

Though Xiao Yan's voice was calm, to the Xiao Clan members, it was no less than a thunderclap!

"What did the Patriarch and Young Patriarch just say? I don't think I heard clearly."

"I think they said Great Dou Master."

"Great Dou Master? The Great Dou Master I'm thinking of? Who became a Great Dou Master?"

"It seems to be Young Patriarch Xiao Yan!"

Xiao Ning was naturally present as well. Upon hearing Xiao Zhan's words, his first reaction was disbelief. He turned to look at his grandfather, the Xiao Clan's First Elder, hoping to confirm his suspicions.

But all he saw was the old man frozen in shock. His slightly parted lips moved up and down unconsciously, while sounds like "uh" and "ah" escaped from his mouth from time to time. He looked as though he had been frightened senseless.

Only the Second Elder was the first to recover. He immediately rose to his feet and bowed deeply to Xiao Yan. "Young Patriarch possesses heaven-defying talent. Before even reaching sixteen, you have already become a Peak Great Dou Master. You are truly the Xiao Clan's greatest genius and strongest expert! The Xiao Clan is blessed! The Xiao Clan is blessed!"

With the Second Elder stepping forward to confirm it, the Xiao Clan juniors present finally accepted the truth.

"Heavens! The Young Patriarch is already a Great Dou Master! To possess such cultivation at his age, becoming a Dou King or even a Dou Emperor in the future will surely not be a dream!"

"What Dou King or Dou Emperor? Be bolder! The Young Patriarch should at least become a Battle Ancestor in the future! Our Xiao Clan will soon become a Battle Ancestor family!"

"I don't care about Battle Ancestors or Dou Emperors. I only want those other two families dead! Recently, those two families have inexplicably joined forces and stolen a great deal of our Xiao Clan's business!" said someone responsible for managing the Xiao Clan's properties.

"The other two families joined forces to steal our business?" Xiao Yan asked in surprise, turning toward the person who had spoken.

"Yes. You don't know this, but about half a year ago, the Jia Lie Clan and the Oba Clan, the other two great families alongside our Xiao Clan in Wutan City, suddenly joined forces for some unknown reason. First, they started a price war against our Xiao Clan's shops. That would have been one thing, but later they even sent people to smash things up on streets managed by our Xiao Clan. Young Patriarch, you know that in terms of numbers, our Xiao Clan is definitely smaller than the other two combined. Even if we sent people to retaliate, we couldn't outplay them. In just half a year, our Xiao Clan's revenue has fallen by at least seventy percent compared to before!"

"Seventy percent!" Xiao Yan frowned, visibly angered. "Father, why didn't you tell me about something like this sooner?"

"Sigh, you had only just returned. Why tell you about this? Besides..." An awkward look flashed across Xiao Zhan's face. He said with some difficulty, "Besides, I bear some responsibility for this matter too."

Xiao Yan froze, hardly daring to believe what he had heard. "What?"