Jia Tianyu

Jia Tianyu wore a kind smile and asked, "You're the one who killed Xiao Yan?"

"It's me," Xiao Yan replied. "And you are?"

"Me?" Jia Tianyu paused, thinking to himself that this was the first time a junior had ever asked him that. Didn't the Xiao Clan elder who went to find him earlier mention anything?

Yet Jia Tianyu quickly realized that Xiao Yan was putting himself on an equal footing with him. Since you asked who I am, shouldn't you introduce yourself as well?

"I am Jia Tianyu, a member of the Jia Ma Imperial Family. I've come to Wutan City this time to handle the matter of the city lord," Jia Tianyu said with a smile, thinking that geniuses indeed possessed an arrogance uncommon to ordinary people. Then his tone shifted, turning serious. "Xiao Yan, let me ask you, did you kill Wu Jin?"

The moment his voice fell, the members of the Xiao Clan, who had just relaxed because of Jia Tianyu's amicable attitude, instantly tensed up. Xiao Yan, however, remained expressionless. He first walked over to the seat on Xiao Zhan's immediate right and sat down, picked up a cup of tea that was already growing cold, and took a small sip.

Only then did he say unhurriedly, "It was me."

"Then do you know your crime!" Jia Tianyu's tone grew heavier, and the imposing aura belonging to a Dou Ling spilled out from his plain robes, pressing down upon the hearts of everyone present and causing the breathing of the Xiao Clan members to collectively hitch.

"Oh? My crime? I, Xiao Yan, act according to the law. What crime is there to speak of?" Facing Jia Tianyu's pressure, Xiao Yan turned a blind eye, instead asking with a hint of perplexity.

"According to the law?" Jia Tianyu repeated, a trace of confusion flashing in his eyes. Since when did the Jia Ma Empire have a law allowing citizens to behead city lords?

"What? Your Excellency doesn't know?" Xiao Yan said, feigning confusion, then turned his head to ask the Great Elder on the opposite side, who also wore a puzzled expression. "Great Elder, do you know where it was that I killed City Lord Wu Jin?"

"Ah?" The Great Elder, suddenly called upon by Xiao Yan, started in surprise and let out a yelp. The surrounding people, including Jia Tianyu, looked over, the dense stares causing his body to suddenly stiffen.

Although everyone knew where Wu Jin had died, Xiao Yan's confident demeanor still inexplicably made them feel a bit doubtful of themselves.

"Th-This, City Lord Wu Jin... died right h—left right here." At this moment, the Great Elder was also completely bewildered, having no idea what Xiao Yan was trying to convey. Thinking that he hadn't even coordinated his story with Xiao Yan, he struggled for a long time before finally blurting out the truth.

Hearing an answer no different from what they already knew, the crowd turned their gaze back to Xiao Yan.

"Did he have an invitation when he came?" Xiao Yan took another sip of tea and asked with unhurried composure.

"An—An invitation?" The Great Elder and everyone else felt somewhat baffled, thinking that since the man had come to pick a fight, how could he possibly have an invitation.

"None," the Great Elder answered truthfully as before.

"See? Doesn't that mean he came in violation of the law?" Xiao Yan said.

Yet upon hearing this, the crowd remained completely clueless.

However, the Great Elder, as the person involved, suddenly remembered something and blurted out, "According to the laws of the Jia Ma Empire, anyone who trespasses into a private residence may be killed by the owner without guilt?"

"As expected of the Great Elder, truly brilliant!" Xiao Yan gave an approving look and praised.

Only then did Jia Tianyu finally understand, leaving him with a feeling of between laughter and tears.

Yet there was no real anger in his heart, and perhaps even a sense of relief.

Hearing Xiao Yan's reasoning, the members of the Xiao Clan also recalled what Xiao Yan had said when they were formulating their plan earlier. It was just that back then, they all thought the targets to be killed were people from the Jia Lie Clan and the Ao Ba Clan, so they hadn't paid much mind after Xiao Yan let both families go. Who could have imagined he would apply it to City Lord Wu Jin?

No, who uses this reason to execute a city lord! the Xiao Clan members cried out internally, then stealthily glanced at Jia Tianyu's expression and, finding that he didn't seem angry, relaxed slightly.

"So that's how it is. It's just that this alone isn't enough to completely wash away your crime of privately executing a city lord!" After chuckling to himself for a moment, Jia Tianyu turned serious once more and said in a deep voice.

"So, what do you people from the Imperial Capital plan to do about it?" Xiao Yan asked calmly.

No, could you show me a little respect, please? From just now until this moment, Xiao Yan had acted as though he didn't take Jia Tianyu seriously at all; even someone with the famously good temper of the Jia Ma Imperial Family was starting to reach his limit.

Sighing helplessly in his heart, Jia Tianyu cleared his throat and spoke in a rather solemn tone: "According to the law, anyone who wrongfully kills a city lord pays with their life! But... considering there were extenuating circumstances, it is commuted to being escorted to the Imperial Capital for imprisonment!"

Fortunately, it wasn't execution. Quite a few Xiao family members let out sighs of relief, though upon second thought they felt a bit regretful, never expecting that the young patriarch would end up with a sentence of imprisonment at such a tender age.

However, the few experienced individuals led by Xiao Zhan caught the subtext, exchanging a tacit glance and seeing the amusement in each other's eyes.

"Oh, imprisonment. Let me ask, exactly where? And for how long?" Xiao Yan asked, still acting as if nothing was the matter.

Jia Tianyu was somewhat awkwardly taken aback by the question. "This... ahem, there aren't many places in the Imperial Capital that can imprison a Peak Great Dou Master let alone a Dou Ling, so the high probability is inside the imperial palace. As for the duration, well, that depends on the situation."

As he spoke, Jia Tianyu even exchanged subtle glances with Xiao Zhan. Did you understand? If you understand, hurry up and persuade your son to stop asking! Is what comes next something that can just be spoken aloud? Our Imperial Family needs to save face, too!

Xiao Zhan naturally could understand Jia Tianyu's meaning. Although he didn't know whether Xiao Yan truly failed to understand or was just pretending not to, he still spoke up to persuade him.

"Well, Yan'er, a person must accept punishment when they do something wrong. The Imperial Family has also said as much—as long as you go to the Imperial Capital for a stint and come back, listen to your old man and let's just make the trip."

Although Xiao Zhan added the line about coming back after a short while, Jia Tianyu didn't correct him. After all, the most important thing for him was to bring the person back, and besides, what Xiao Zhan said wasn't necessarily untrue.

"Sorry, Father, I said before that I'm going to study at Jia Nan Academy. Besides, I haven't finished dealing with matters at home, so I really don't have time to go to the Imperial Capital. Senior Tianyu doesn't need to exchange glances with my father either, because I won't go." Xiao Yan smiled and responded to both of them.

"You really won't go?" Jia Tianyu's gaze narrowed.

"Not going." Xiao Yan smiled faintly and said with determination.

"Hmph! That's not up for you to decide!" Jia Tianyu let out a cold snort, revealing a trace of hostility for the first time since arriving at the Xiao Clan.

True, Xiao Yan's talent was exceptional, far beyond what someone of Wu Jin's caliber could compare to, which was why the Jia Ma Empire naturally wouldn't actively destroy such a genius now that Wu Jin was already dead. But that assumed this genius was willing to serve the Jia Ma Empire; otherwise, the greater the talent, the greater the threat, and the sooner he needed to be eliminated!

Facing the chill radiated by Jia Tianyu, Xiao Yan didn't mind. He simply released his own aura as well, helping to shield some of the weaker Xiao family members against the pressure.

"Ah, Senior Tianyu, Xiao Yan is not someone who fails to recognize what's good for him or appreciates the Empire's good intentions. It's just that I truly have my own path to walk, and it's impossible for me to waste time lingering in the Imperial Capital. However, I suppose it's also impossible to expect Senior to give up on this just from a few words. So how about this," Xiao Yan proposed: "You and I have a fight. As long as you can win against me, I'll go with you. Conversely, the matter of going to the Imperial Capital will be dropped. How does that sound?"

"A fight? With me?" Jia Tianyu burst out laughing, his aura unleashing unreservedly at that moment to reveal himself as a Six-Star Dou Ling, merely a step away from a Seven-Star Dou Ling!

"Then let me see just what level this Xiao Yan is, the one who caused such an uproar in the Imperial Capital over a single message and is rumored to be the number one genius of the Jia Ma Empire!"