Misty Cloud Sect Envoys Arrive

Before the Xiao Clan's gates.

A group dressed in white filed in. Their leader wore an arrogant expression, a sword at his waist, and an aura that surged around him. One look was enough to tell that he was no figure from a small place like Wutan City.

"Disciples of the Misty Cloud Sect's outer court, acting on our master's orders, have come to pay a visit to the Xiao Clan!"

The white-clad young man at the head of the group called out loudly, his voice rolling through the streets and drawing the attention of passersby.

"The Misty Cloud Sect? That's a colossal force in the Jia Ma Empire!"

"Why have they come to the Xiao Clan?"

"Shh—haven't you heard? That good-for-nothing Xiao Yan from the Xiao Clan was the one Nalan Yanran of the Misty Cloud Sect broke off her engagement with back then! They must be here to cause trouble!"

"There are only a few months left until the Three-Year Agreement. The Misty Cloud Sect is coming to their door now—aren't they just here to flaunt their power?"

The onlookers murmured among themselves, their gazes toward the Xiao Clan tinged with mixed emotions.

Xiao Zhan hurried over upon hearing the news, his expression changing slightly.

He might have been the Xiao Clan's patriarch, but in the Jia Ma Empire, the words "Misty Cloud Sect" were practically synonymous with the heavens. How could he dare show the slightest neglect?

"I wonder what guidance the honored guests of the Misty Cloud Sect have come to offer?" Xiao Zhan cupped his hands, his tone courteous.

"Guidance? Hardly."

The white-clad young man sneered, his arrogant gaze sweeping over the Xiao Clan members.

"My master heard that a young master of the Xiao Clan had declared that he would challenge Senior Sister Nalan of our Misty Cloud Sect at the Three-Year Agreement. He sent me here specifically to see what kind of hidden dragons and crouching tigers this Xiao Clan possesses."

His words dripped with mockery. The implication was obvious: the Xiao Clan was nothing more than a minor clan. What right did they have to challenge the Misty Cloud Sect?

Xiao Zhan's expression stiffened, while the Xiao Clan members turned livid with anger. Yet, intimidated by the Misty Cloud Sect's fearsome reputation, they dared not speak out.

"Oh?"

At that moment, a calm voice slowly drifted out from the hall.

Everyone turned toward the sound and saw Xiao Chen emerge with his hands clasped behind his back.

He wore a gray robe and carried himself with complete composure, as though the people before him were not disciples of the Misty Cloud Sect, but merely a few ordinary passersby.

"You must be the Xiao Clan's guest elder?"

The white-clad young man looked Xiao Chen up and down. Seeing that his aura appeared utterly unremarkable, the mockery at the corner of his lips deepened.

"What? Does Elder Xiao have something to say as well?"

"I do have a few words."

Xiao Chen said calmly, "First, whether the Xiao Clan is a place of hidden dragons and crouching tigers is not for an outer court disciple to judge."

The white-clad young man's face darkened. "You—"

"Second."

"Go back and tell your master that the Xiao Clan will be waiting for the Three-Year Agreement. When the time comes, it remains to be seen whose face will be slapped."

The entire crowd was stunned by those words!

"Gasp—Elder Xiao has quite the nerve!"

"That is the Misty Cloud Sect! He actually dared speak to them like that?"

"This Elder Xiao... is he really not afraid of death?"

The onlookers drew sharp breaths, their gazes toward Xiao Chen now filled with shock.

The disciples behind the white-clad young man exchanged glances as well.

They had traveled far and wide and encountered plenty of unyielding people, but this was the first time they had seen someone speak so boldly right in front of the Misty Cloud Sect!

"Has this Elder Xiao gone mad?!" one disciple muttered under his breath.

"Silence."

The leading white-clad young man spoke in a low voice, staring intently at Xiao Chen.

"Elder Xiao, do you realize that what you just said makes you an enemy of the entire Misty Cloud Sect?"

"An enemy of the Misty Cloud Sect?"

Xiao Chen smiled.

"Young brother, you must be joking. All I said was that you should return and convey the matter of the Three-Year Agreement. What, can the mighty Misty Cloud Sect not even bear to hear the truth?"

The white-clad young man was left speechless.

He had thought that once he invoked the name of the Misty Cloud Sect, the patriarchs and elders of this small Wutan City clan would be scared out of their wits.

Yet this gray-robed man before him not only showed no fear, but with just a few words, he had put him on the spot!

"Good! What a Xiao Clan!"

He gritted his teeth and said coldly, "I will certainly bring Elder Xiao's words back exactly as they were spoken!"

"Then thank you."

Xiao Chen smiled faintly. "Someone, see our guests out."

The white-clad young man flicked his sleeve and left in disgrace, hurrying out of the city.

The few Misty Cloud Sect disciples behind him did not even dare look back.

"Elder Xiao!"

Only then did Xiao Zhan come back to his senses, his face full of lingering fear.

"That was the Misty Cloud Sect! You... you confronted them like that. What if..."

"Rest assured, Patriarch."

Xiao Chen smiled and waved a hand.

"They came today to test the Xiao Clan's strength. If I showed weakness, they would only look down on us even more."

"But what if they fly into a rage from humiliation..."

"Fly into a rage from humiliation?"

A chill flickered in Xiao Chen's eyes. "As the foremost sect of the Jia Ma Empire, if the Misty Cloud Sect were to attack the Xiao Clan over a mere verbal dispute, would they still have any face left if word got out?"

"The more arrogant they are, the more satisfying the battle at the Three-Year Agreement will be."

Xiao Zhan froze for a moment, then shook his head with a bitter smile. "Elder Xiao, your courage truly is..."

"Truly ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth?"

Xiao Chen smiled and finished the thought for him. "Patriarch, rest assured. I never fight a battle I am not sure of winning."

He stood before the hall with his hands behind his back, watching the direction in which the group in white had vanished.

"The Misty Cloud Sect... has finally lost its patience."

This verbal clash added more fuel to the coming confrontation, while also strengthening the morale of the Xiao Clan, uniting them against a common enemy.

"Elder Xiao is mighty!"

"The Xiao Clan is mighty!"

No one knew who shouted first, but a wave of suppressed cheers immediately rose before the Xiao Clan's gates.

Those young Xiao Clan members looked at Xiao Chen's back with eyes full of admiration.

When the Misty Cloud Sect disciples had acted so arrogantly, they had gritted their teeth in hatred but dared not vent it. Now, Xiao Chen had won back the Xiao Clan's dignity with just a few words. The satisfaction they felt was beyond words!

"Elder, those people from the Misty Cloud Sect... will they really not come again?"

A young man could not help stepping forward and asking in a low voice.

"They will come again sooner or later."

Xiao Chen smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "But when they return, it will no longer be to test us at our doorstep."

"Then... then what should we do?"

"What should we do?"

A profound look flashed through Xiao Chen's eyes.

"If soldiers come, generals will stop them; if water comes, earth will block it. The Xiao Clan of today is no longer the Xiao Clan that anyone could bully three years ago."

"Go back and train hard. On the day of the Three-Year Agreement, you will have your chance to vent your anger!"

"Yes!"

The disciples answered in unison, each one rubbing his fists and brimming with fighting spirit.

That night.

Xiao Chen sat alone in his room.

"The Misty Cloud Sect sent people to probe us today. That means they have already become wary of the Three-Year Agreement."

"Since that is the case..."

After Xiao Yan entered seclusion.

Xiao Chen personally moved a bamboo chair outside the cultivation chamber and sat there, standing guard for Xiao Yan.

He kept watch for seven full days.

"Elder, you have been guarding him for seven days. Why not go back and rest?" an attendant urged.

"No need."

Xiao Chen waved a hand.

"The fluctuations of battle qi inside the cultivation chamber have grown more intense by the day. He is at a critical point in his breakthrough. As his grand-uncle, how could I leave him without anyone watching over him?"

"But if you keep enduring like this, your body will not be able to take it either..."