Inside the main hall of the Xiao Clan, several elders were seated, and each of their expressions looked rather unpleasant.
A youth was standing right in the center of the hall, looking to be only in his teens. At the moment, his arms were being pinned down by several Xiao Clan youths, keeping him stuck there and unable to move.
Xiao Ning stood off to the side with a somewhat smug look on his face, pointing at the pinned youth as he said, "Respected elders, I personally caught him sneaking into my room. This Huang-tier intermediate Dou Technique was searched out from his body, and we have caught him red-handed. I ask the respected elders to severely punish him!"
After saying this, Xiao Ning slammed a Dou Technique manual onto the table, his facial expression exceptionally righteous and confident.
The First Elder, who was seated at the head of the hall, nodded. This person was precisely Xiao Ning's grandfather, and also the First Elder of the Xiao Clan.
He let out a cold laugh and turned his gaze toward the patriarch, Xiao Zhan, who was beside him: "Patriarch, you saw it too. This is the good deed your good son has done."
"It's already bad enough that Xiao Yun doesn't put effort into his cultivation on ordinary days, but now he actually pulls off this kind of thievery. If word gets out, do we still want the reputation of the Xiao Clan?"
The pinned youth raised his head, a trace of bewilderment in his gaze.
His name was Xiao Yun, and he was the fourth son of Xiao Zhan as well as the younger brother of Xiao Yan.
Right at this moment, his mind was a complete mess, and his entire person was somewhat bewildered.
A segment of memories that did not belong to him flooded into his brain, and Xiao Yun finally realized that he had actually time-traveled.
He had transmigrated into a character from Battle Through the Heavens, Xiao Zhan's son, Xiao Yun.
As for that Xiao Ning standing off to the side with a smug face, he was precisely the grandson of the Xiao Clan's First Elder from the original work who targeted Xiao Yan at every turn.
The scene before him left Xiao Yun somewhat speechless. Had he just carried such a huge undeserved blame the moment he transmigrated?
"I didn't steal anything," Xiao Yun spoke up and said.
"I never even entered his room, and I have no idea how this thing ended up on my body."
Upon hearing these words, Xiao Ning immediately let out a cold laugh: "Heh, of course you won't admit it."
"But it doesn't matter anyway. Since both human and physical evidence are here, do you think you can muddle through with a few words of sophistry?"
The First Elder also followed suit and nodded, a look of watching a good show plastered across his face: "Patriarch, take a look for yourself. Not only does this son of yours steal things, but he even dares to lie right in front of so many elders."
"If we don't teach him a lesson today, what will he become in the future?"
The other several elders seated in the hall also chimed in one after another, each wearing a somewhat disdainful expression.
"Indeed, this kind of behavior absolutely cannot be condoned."
"He shows no improvement in his cultivation on ordinary days, but he's certainly fast at learning thievery. If we don't properly discipline him, I'm afraid he'll bring even bigger trouble to our Xiao Clan in the future."
"In my opinion, we should just send him to watch the gates at the family's medicine market so he doesn't stay here and be an eyesore, and it'll also temper his temperament."
Xiao Zhan, who was seated, had a livid expression. He abruptly slammed his hand against the table and stood up.
"Enough!"
A furious shout caused the main hall to quiet down.
Xiao Zhan's gaze swept across the elders present, his voice low: "Although Xiao Yun doesn't apply himself to cultivation on ordinary days, based on my understanding of him, he would never commit such an act as stealing a Dou Technique."
"Besides, you keep claiming that you caught him red-handed, but did anyone actually see him enter Xiao Ning's room?"
Xiao Ning, who was standing to the side, became somewhat displeased upon hearing this: "Patriarch, what do you mean by that? Could it be that I would still wrong him?"
However, Xiao Zhan ignored Xiao Ning and instead looked toward the First Elder: "First Elder, there are quite a few doubtful points in this matter. I suggest we investigate it clearly first and not hastily convict a child like this."
Upon hearing Xiao Zhan's words, the First Elder let out a cold laugh: "Heh heh, investigate it clearly? Patriarch, you really guard your own son tightly."
"The evidence is laid right here, and everyone has seen it. What more do you want to investigate?"
"Or is the patriarch planning to rely on his status to forcefully suppress this matter?"
At this, Xiao Zhan's expression became even uglier. The First Elder's words were clearly forcing him to state his stance.
Right at this moment, the sound of footsteps came from outside the hall.
A young girl wearing a light cyan dress slowly walked in. The young girl possessed exquisite facial features and an extraordinary temperament, and she walked with a certain composure that did not match her age.
The person who arrived was precisely Xun Er.
The several elders in the hall all looked somewhat surprised upon seeing Xun Er, seeing as Xun Er rarely involved herself in these matters of the Xiao Clan on ordinary days.
"Xun Er greets the respected elders."
"Xun'er, why are you here?" Xiao Zhan asked.
Only to see Xun'er glance at the pinned Xiao Yun, then turn toward the several elders, her voice exceptionally calm: "Xun'er heard a few words outside just now, and there are some things I want to say on behalf of Brother Xiao Yun."
At this, the First Elder frowned: "What do you want to say?"
"Brother Xiao Yun spent the entire afternoon over at my place, helping me organize some books and archives."
"My personal maidservant can testify to this matter. He had no time whatsoever to go to Xiao Ning's room, let alone steal any Dou Technique."
Upon hearing Xun'er's words, everyone in the hall was startled, and Xiao Ning's expression changed instantly.
"Xun'er, don't protect him."
At this, Xun'er calmly glanced at Xiao Ning: "Does Cousin Xiao Ning mean that I am lying?"
This sentence instantly choked Xiao Ning into silence. Facing Xun'er, he truly did not dare to say anything too excessive.
After all, although Xun'er's status in the Xiao Clan was seemingly just that of a guest, everyone knew that the faction standing behind her was one that even the Xiao Clan could not afford to offend.
The First Elder's expression turned rather ugly, too. He glanced at his grandson, then at Xun Er.
"Since Miss Xun Er has vouched for you, we'll let this matter go."
"But Xiao Yun, you'd better focus on cultivation instead of wasting your days. Our Xiao Clan won't support a good-for-nothing."
With that, the First Elder rose and swept out of the hall. Seeing him leave, the other elders followed suit.
Xiao Ning was especially unwilling to let it go. He shot Xiao Yun a resentful look, glared at him, then turned and followed the others.
Once everyone had left, Xiao Zhan finally relaxed. He looked at his son, then at Xun Er. "Xun Er, I owe you thanks for this."
Xun Er shook her head slightly. "You're too kind, Uncle Xiao Zhan. Xiao Yun has always looked after me, so this little thing is nothing."
Although Xun Er's intervention had spared him any punishment,
with his strength at Two-Stage Dou Qi, he still couldn't help grumbling: Damn, what kind of disastrous start is this?
Xiao Yun couldn't help complaining inwardly. Other transmigrators got perfect starts, while he'd been saddled with the blame right off the bat.
If Xun Er hadn't shown up in time to bail him out, this whole thing might not have ended so peacefully.
But speaking of Xun Er, Xiao Yun was a little surprised.
In the original story, Xun Er had only ever cared about Xiao Yan and had always been indifferent toward the other Xiao Clan disciples. Why would she step forward to vouch for him?
Just then, a light screen suddenly appeared before Xiao Yun's eyes, and a voice sounded directly in his mind.
[Host successfully bound. Attribute Copy System initializing... Initialization complete.]
Xiao Yun froze for a moment, then was overcome with joy.
A system?
He hurriedly focused on the light screen before him. Lines of text appeared on it.
[Attribute Copy System: The host may use three copy attempts per day to copy an attribute from any target. Upon successful copying, the attribute can be applied to the host.]
[Notice: The higher an attribute's quality, the lower the success rate. Please choose your targets carefully.]
After reading the system's explanation, Xiao Yun grew excited.
That meant that as long as he found a suitable target, he could copy someone else's strength and talent directly onto himself.
At once, Xiao Yun sat up straight. He already knew who his first target would be.
The strongest person in all of Wu Tan City was undoubtedly Xiao Zhan, right there before him. With the strength of a Five-Star Da Dou Shi, he could practically dominate the city.
If Xiao Yun could copy Xiao Zhan's strength, wouldn't he take off in an instant?
"Copy Xiao Zhan's Five-Star Da Dou Shi strength attribute!"
Xiao Yun silently repeated the words in his mind, and the light screen immediately began to flash.
[Copying target attribute: Five-Star Da Dou Shi strength... Copying... Copy successful!]
A surge of heat instantly flooded Xiao Yun's body. His Dou Qi began to rise rapidly, breaking through bottleneck after bottleneck from Two-Stage onward.
Three stages of Dou Qi, four stages, five stages...
The successive increases left him thrilled.
When the surge of heat gradually subsided, Xiao Yun clenched his fist and felt the abundant power within him. His excitement was beyond words.
Five-Star Da Dou Shi.
In the blink of an eye, he'd gone from a good-for-nothing with Two-Stage Dou Qi to a Five-Star Da Dou Shi. Among the younger generation in Wu Tan City, he could probably dominate with that kind of strength.
Xiao Yun took a deep breath, unable to keep the smile from spreading across his face!
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