Arriving at the Xiao Clan, the Beginning of the Story

Outside Wutan City

Xiao Yi Xian stood outside the ancient city in flowing white robes, her slender, fair fingers lightly winding around her long purple hair. No matter how many times she smelled that medicinal fragrance, it always remained intoxicating.

She gazed at the towering city walls before her. Though weathered and dilapidated, they carried a profound sense of age. The large words "Wutan City" were written upon them.

The moment she saw those three ancient characters, she knew she had finally reached her destination.

Her last battle with Muli had been thanks to the Calamity Poison Body. Otherwise, fighting a Seven-Star opponent at two stars would have been unimaginably difficult. If her Poison Dou Qi had not unknowingly entered Muli's body, that final strike might not necessarily have killed him.

Although that blade looked magnificent, and its magic core was a third-tier fire attribute one, it still could not compare to her "You Su."

That battle had also brought considerable gains. Xiao Lan had returned to its former condition, though it now craved strength even more.

Xiao Yi Xian entered Wutan City, this legendary newbie village. With its ancient walls and massive crowds, it truly deserved to be called a city—at the very least, it was far better than Qingshan Town.

There were also countless people around her, all kinds of individuals everywhere. Even the side streets and alleys held small beggars.

Everyone wore different emotions on their faces, yet they were completely unlike the mercenaries of Qingshan Town.

They looked utterly ordinary, without that fierce, murderous air. There were no scars on their faces either; they seemed just like common people.

"Have you heard? Something big has happened to the Xiao Clan."

"Of course. How could I not know?"

"I heard the Nalan Family is involved..."

"Hm?"

When Xiao Yi Xian heard about the Xiao Clan's major affair, she quietly moved toward the speakers. She appeared to be examining a hairpin at a stall, but her mind was elsewhere.

"Why did you say the Nalan Family came to the Xiao Clan?"

"You don't know?"

"Know what?"

"The Nalan Family has a marriage agreement with the Xiao Clan's Third Young Master!"

"What? With that trash?"

"Shh, keep your voice down..."

Hearing the surrounding discussion, she realized that this newbie village had only just begun its story. Did that mean she could witness that legendary scene as well?

"Hey, miss, you've been looking for so long. Are you buying it or not?"

An impatient voice at her ear pulled Xiao Yi Xian from her thoughts.

Xiao Yi Xian smiled awkwardly, took out three gold coins, and took the hairpin.

"Hey, miss, you gave too much. One gold coin is enough..."

Xiao Yi Xian did not pay attention to what the stall owner said. She was going to the Xiao Clan to watch the show.

She did not care about overpaying. As long as she had not paid too little, it was fine. After all, she had barely spent any of the thousand gold coins from Muli!

Besides, she still had that earlier treasure—a whole pile of gold coins, more than ten thousand of them ξ(✿＞◡❛)

Xiao Clan

Wrapped in a black robe she had obtained from who knew where, Xiao Yi Xian stood amid the packed crowd and watched the legendary beginning between the Xiao Clan and the Nalan Family.

The first person to catch her eye was the strongest figure at the start of this newbie story, a Seven-Star Grand Dou Shi. One look at his face told her he was past fifty. Truly...

Trash...

Beside the old man sat a very pretty girl. The young woman possessed breathtaking beauty and carried an air of nobility.

Green jade pendants hung from her delicate earlobes. As they swayed gently, they produced crisp jade chimes, bringing out a sudden hint of pampered grace...

There was no need to look further. This had to be the legendary Nalan Yanran, the one who began the Three-Year Agreement.

Xiao Yi Xian could understand breaking off the engagement. After all, who would want to marry someone they had never even met?

Especially in an arranged childhood marriage?

Still, no matter what, breaking off an engagement was wrong, and humiliating the man was wrong as well. Yet without breaking it off, the plot truly could not begin.

Neither side could even be called wholly right or wrong. Even the countless viewers from her previous life could never settle the matter.

Xiao Yi Xian glanced at the middle-aged man seated at the top. With glasses on, he looked like a scholar. His somewhat handsome face was rather pleasing to look at.

He was Xiao Yan's father...

The father who had been captured yet somehow had not died...

Xiao Yi Xian's eyes roamed beneath her black robe, and in a corner, she spotted a girl who was no less beautiful than Nalan Yanran.

The female lead, Xiao Xun'er, truly lived up to her reputation, possessing the pure lotus-like temperament of one unstained by mud, enchanting yet never seductive.

That temperament, that figure, that face... truly...

Before Xiao Yi Xian had seen enough, her eyes met Xiao Xun'er's for a second. She quickly turned away and did her best to conceal herself within the black robe.

"Strange?"

Xiao Xun'er looked suspiciously at the crowd outside. She had clearly sensed someone watching her just now.

The Nalan Family was attracting everyone's attention, and she herself was tucked away in a corner. Who could have noticed her?

Hiding beneath the black robe, Xiao Yi Xian did not dare look at anything. She had never expected Xiao Xun'er to be so perceptive. She had only glanced at her once. The ancient clans truly were no joke.

After some unknown amount of time...

The protagonist finally arrived late and stepped onto the stage of the story...

Beneath her black robe, Xiao Yi Xian studied the final black-clothed youth to enter with great interest.

He appeared to be around fifteen or sixteen. His handsome face still retained a trace of youthful immaturity, while the faint self-mocking curve of his lips added a touch of despondency to him. Yet flames still smoldered in those dark eyes, and his fighting spirit had not faded.

Xiao Yi Xian sensed the standard third stage of Dou Qi within him. Paired with the youth's age, it was not difficult to guess his identity: the Xiao Clan's Third Young Master, Nalan Yanran's nominal fiancé, Xiao Yan.

The protagonist of this incident, and the beginning of the protagonist's rise...

"Father, three Elders!" Xiao Yan suppressed the stirrings in his heart, strode forward, and respectfully bowed to Xiao Zhan and the other three seated above.

"Hehe, Yan'er, you're here. Hurry and take a seat." Seeing Xiao Yan arrive, Xiao Zhan, the Xiao Clan's Patriarch, stopped his pleasant conversation with the guests, nodded at him, and waved.

Smiling and nodding, Xiao Yan pretended not to see the impatience and faint contempt in the gazes of the three Elders beside him. He turned and swept his eyes through the hall, only to discover in astonishment that there was no seat for him...

My status in this clan really is getting lower and lower. It was fine in the past, but now they're making things difficult for me right in front of the guests. These three old fools... Xiao Yan laughed bitterly to himself and shook his head inwardly.

Seeing Xiao Yan standing there without moving, the younger members of the clan could not help laughing mockingly. They clearly enjoyed seeing him make a fool of himself.

Xiao Yi Xian watched the farce unfold just as it had in the original story, her expression blank as she shook her head inwardly.

The Patriarch had no authority, the Elders acted without restraint, and the younger clan members mocked one another. They did not restrain themselves even before guests. Quite a few outsiders had even slipped in to witness this scene, yet no one cared in the slightest for the clan's reputation. It was no wonder such a clan had declined to this point.

Moreover, the Xiao Clan's Third Young Master seemed to hold an even lower position within the clan than she had imagined. Having lost both his talent and cultivation, he was not merely ridiculed and despised—he was even hated and humiliated.

Xiao Yi Xian looked at the unmoving Xiao Yan. She saw neither hysterics nor dejected self-pity, only a little embarrassment and self-mockery.

After enduring such immense highs and lows, he still possessed such composure. If he ever seized an opportunity, he would surely soar into the skies.

However, the calmer Xiao Yan appeared, the more troublesome Xiao Yi Xian felt he was. They said that an honest man's anger was the most terrifying. If Xiao Yan's three years of pent-up resentment erupted in a single day because of her breaking off the engagement, the resulting scene was easy to imagine. Both the Nalan Family and the Xiao Clan would inevitably lose all face.

And this was also the beginning of Xiao Yan's path to becoming the Flame Emperor...