Waste... Waste!

Xiao Chen moved, his figure weaving between the three men like a ghost.

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—"

Three dull thuds rang out as the weapons in their hands flew free at the same time.

The smell of scorched flesh spread through the air. They screamed and collapsed to the ground, staring at Xiao Chen as though they had seen a ghost.

The leader endured the agony and rasped, "You're merely a guest elder from Wutan City. How can you possess such strength?!"

Xiao Chen smiled faintly without explaining.

"That is not something you should be asking."

Xiao Chen slowly stepped forward and looked down at him. His voice was calm. "Tell me. Who sent you?"

"Humph!"

The leader gritted his teeth and suddenly pulled a black pill from his robes, about to crush it.

Xiao Chen had expected this. With a sweep of his sleeve, a gust of force knocked the black pill to the ground.

"Trying that trick in front of me? You're still too green."

He raised his hand and tapped several points on the leader's body, sealing his Dou Qi before speaking leisurely.

"Go on, tell me. Explain it clearly, and I, Xiao, will spare your life."

The leader trembled all over.

"It... it was Elder Zhao of the Misty Cloud Sect Outer Sect! He paid us to get rid of you after the finals!"

"Elder Zhao..."

Xiao Chen silently committed the name to memory.

City Lord's Mansion, rear hall.

"They hired assassins and brought them right to Wutan City!"

The City Lord slammed his palm onto the table. "And they were from the Misty Cloud Sect Outer Sect! Do they think Wutan City has no one?!"

Ya Fei's expression was equally grave.

"City Lord, Mittel shares your opinion. If we do not give the Xiao Clan an explanation for this matter, anyone will dare to run wild in Wutan City in the future."

"An explanation?"

The City Lord sneered. "Naturally, we will give one! And we will make it a proper one!"

The following morning.

The City Lord's Mansion was enraged, and Mittel was deeply dissatisfied. The two sides joined forces to pressure the Misty Cloud Sect Outer Sect.

"Ding! Detected that the City Lord's Mansion and Mittel have jointly pressured the Misty Cloud Sect Outer Sect. The Xiao Clan's situation has turned from peril to safety, triggering a return: [Spirit-Peering Art] Fragment ×1!"

"Spirit-Peering Art..."

"It can spy on the aura of another's soul and discern the truth of their strength. What an excellent auxiliary secret art!"

That morning, Xiao Yan practiced martial arts in the back mountain as usual. He

struck a palm against a wooden post, but his palm force was soft and weak. He stared blankly at his own hand, his eyes full of agitation.

"Not right... not right!" He irritably raked a hand through his hair.

He took a deep breath and struck out again.

His fist wind howled, only to lose its force midway. It swept crookedly past the wooden post. Xiao Yan's face turned pale. He punched the post, blood seeping from his knuckles, yet he did not notice at all.

"Xiao Yan! What are you so afraid of?!"

He growled and smashed his fists into the post again and again. Every punch drew blood, yet each was weaker than the last.

"Three years ago, you fell from the clouds into the mud. Everyone called you waste, but you endured it."

"Three years later, you clearly have the strength to avenge yourself, yet now you are afraid?"

"Waste... waste!"

He slumped to his knees before the wooden post, both hands braced against the ground as he panted like an ox.

"The Three-Year Agreement... only has one month left!"

"What if I lose? What will happen to the Xiao Clan? What will happen to Master Xiao?"

"The Misty Cloud Sect, one of the foremost sects on the Dou Qi Continent! Nalan Yanran, the Misty Cloud Sect's favored daughter of heaven... What do I have to win against her?"

The more he thought, the more anxious and muddled he became. In the end, he simply sat down on a stone stool, clutching his head in silence.

"What? Lost your nerve?"

A gentle voice suddenly sounded behind him.

Xiao Yan abruptly raised his head and saw Xiao Chen standing behind him at some unknown moment, carrying a jug of wine and looking at him with a smile.

"Master Xiao... why are you here?"

Xiao Yan hurriedly stood, somewhat embarrassed as he wiped his face.

"I came to see whether my boy had been scared out of his wits."

Xiao Chen walked over and sat beside him, handing him the wine jug. "Come, take a drink."

"Master Xiao, I—"

"Drink."

Xiao Chen's tone allowed no refusal.

Xiao Yan accepted the jug and tipped back a large mouthful.

As the wine flowed down his throat, the restless fire in his heart inexplicably faded somewhat.

"Good wine." He smacked his lips, surprised.

"Of course."

Xiao Chen smiled. "I brewed this Foundation-Nourishing Wine myself. I added seventeen kinds of nourishing medicinal ingredients."

"Master Xiao..."

Xiao Yan held the wine jug, his eyes reddening slightly.

"You have done so much for me, but I... if I lose at the Three-Year Agreement, wouldn't all your effort over these years have been wasted?"

"Wasted?"

Xiao Chen raised an eyebrow and gave the back of his head a neither light nor heavy knock.

"You brat, what kind of person do you take Master Xiao for?"

"Three years ago, you lost all your Dou Qi. The whole city said you were waste. Did you believe them?"

"No!" Xiao Yan blurted out.

"Exactly." Xiao Chen smiled. "You did not believe them when they called you waste three years ago, so why would you believe that you cannot win three years later?"

"Little Yan, listen carefully."

His expression suddenly turned serious. "No matter how strong Nalan Yanran is, she cannot be stronger than the abilities I taught you."

"Over these three years, everything I taught you, gave you, and fed you—what was any of it for, if not to let you win standing tall?"

"So... Xiao Yan, fight without holding back!"

Xiao Chen patted his shoulder.

Xiao Yan trembled all over. Looking into Xiao Chen's smiling eyes, his nose stung.

"Master Xiao..."

He fiercely sniffed back his tears and nodded heavily. "Yan'er will never disappoint Master Xiao!"

"That's more like it." Xiao Chen smiled and patted his shoulder again. "Go. Get that fire back."

Xiao Yan stood and took a deep breath. The gloom that had weighed on him for days was swept away.

He returned to the wooden post, assumed his stance, and threw a punch.

His fist wind howled, tearing through the air. A deep crack suddenly appeared in the wooden post!

"Good!"

Xiao Chen clapped and laughed heartily. "That is how a man of the Xiao Clan should be!"

He looked at the deep crack in the wooden post, suddenly remembered something, and added another question.

"By the way, Little Yan, what is Nalan Yanran studying in the Misty Cloud Sect now?"

"This boy does not know." Xiao Yan thought for a moment before answering.

"One of the Misty Cloud Sect's sect-defending Dou Techniques: Wind's Extreme, High Xuan Tier."

"High Xuan Tier, Wind's Extreme..." A thoughtful glint flashed through Xiao Yan's eyes.

"Then do you know what tier the Heaven-Burning Palm I taught you would be at if mastered to perfection?"

"Earth Tier... low grade?" Xiao Yan asked uncertainly.

"Correct."

Xiao Chen nodded.

"No matter how strong High Xuan Tier is, it cannot surpass Earth Tier. You are holding a trump card a full tier above hers, so what are you afraid of?"

Xiao Yan's eyes lit up, and he cupped his fists heavily.

"By the way, Master Xiao."

Xiao Yan was about to leave when he suddenly turned back and asked seriously, "What realm do you think Nalan Yanran is at now?"

"Now... she is probably a Da Dou Shi." Xiao Chen answered casually.

"A Da Dou Shi... while I am already a Dou Ling!"