Five Thunders in His Palm! Two Families Wiped Out!

The Xiao Clan's rear mountain.

Xiao Yan sat cross-legged on a bluestone slab, his eyes half closed, a faint layer of clear light glowing between his brows.

Bodhi sat beside him and lightly tapped a fingertip.

"Rein in your stray thoughts. Look again."

Foresee the Future.

This was one of the Heavenly Dipper Divine Powers the patriarch had recently taught him.

When he first began learning it, all he saw were blurred lights and shadows. The harder he tried to see clearly, the less he could grasp. Only now, as the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts circulated slowly, did the images in his mind finally change.

First came a City Gate.

Under cover of night, two groups arrived one after the other. Their leaders were none other than Jia Lie Bi and Oba Pa!

"Brother Han, we'll leave Xiao Zhan to you."

The scene shifted.

The Xiao Clan's courtyard gate shattered with a crash. Blades gleamed in the firelight as a man with a scar beside his eye charged through the front courtyard. His father met him with saber in hand, newly awakened clansmen crowding behind him.

"Spare no one except Xiao Yan!"

Jia Lie Bi's voice rang clearly in his ears.

Xiao Yan's eyes snapped open, his expression darkening at once. His voice was urgent. "Master, the two great families are going to attack the Xiao Clan tonight!"

Bodhi nodded lightly.

"Their killing intent has already settled on you, and the event is close at hand. That was why you could see it clearly. With your current cultivation, you cannot see too far ahead yet."

Xiao Yan pressed him.

"Will these things definitely happen?"

Bodhi said,

"Since you have already seen it, why ask me?"

Xiao Yan slowly rose, killing intent surging in his eyes. Since it was certain to happen, and he now knew about it, why should he sit at home and wait?

He had only intended to heal his father's injuries first, giving the clan a few more people who could help.

Yet these two families were already plotting to slaughter his entire family!

"Master, this disciple would like to go down the mountain."

Bodhi glanced at him, his gaze settling on the sword at his waist.

"Go. Your Five Thunders have only just taken shape. Remember to contain their power."

Xiao Yan nodded.

Over the past few days, the Grandmaster had taught him the Thunder Condensation Method. At first, he could only light a tiny spark in his palm. Now, he could finally summon a wisp of true lightning.

He was still far from fully mastering Command the Five Thunders.

But when the Grandmaster imparted the technique, he had said that even this wisp in Xiao Yan's hand was beyond comparison with ordinary Dou Techniques.

Xiao Yan raised his hand.

A thread of golden lightning danced silently between his fingers.

When he returned to the courtyard, Xun'er was approaching with a medical text in her arms. Seeing the sword at Xiao Yan's waist, she paused.

"Brother Xiao Yan, are you going out?"

"Yes, to take care of something." Xiao Yan paused, then looked at her and said quietly, "Tell Father for me to keep all the clansmen at home tonight. Even if there's a disturbance outside the gates, don't rush out."

Watching his expression, Xun'er's smile gradually faded.

"Does this concern the Jia Lie Family?"

"It'll be over soon."

With that, Xiao Yan strode out of the courtyard.

Xun'er remained where she was. Only after his figure disappeared did she speak softly.

"Elder Ling, follow him and take a look."

The shadows beside the wall stirred faintly, then fell still.

At midnight, at Wutan City's West City Gate.

The night wind swept dust along the deserted street. Jia Lie Bi arrived first with his men, his saber already drawn. Before long, Oba Pa arrived with his guards as well.

"Where's Han Kui?"

"He isn't here yet."

Jia Lie Bi frowned and looked beyond the City Gate.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded in the wind.

Both men looked up. A figure emerged from the shadows of the City Gate, dressed in a fitted black outfit, a sword at his waist and a cloth bundle in his hand.

"Xiao Yan?!"

Jia Lie Bi froze for a moment, then his expression changed sharply.

Why was this little beast here?

"You two wanted to kill me so badly, didn't you? Why don't you look happy to see me?" With a cold chuckle, Xiao Yan stopped several yards away and tossed the cloth bundle toward them.

Thud!

The bundle hit the ground. As its cloth corners fell open, a head rolled out, a scar running from the corner of its right eye all the way to the ear.

Han Kui?!

Oba Pa's pupils contracted sharply, and he forcibly halted the step he had just taken. The killing intent on Jia Lie Bi's face froze as well.

An Eight-Star Great Dou Master!

The powerful ally they had hired for five hundred thousand Gold Coins had been reduced to a severed head?!

The guards behind them all retreated half a step, even the clatter of their weapons falling into disarray.

Xiao Yan looked at the two men and said flatly,

"Stop waiting."

"He won't be coming."

Half an hour earlier, Han Kui and his men had barely left their courtyard outside the city when Xiao Yan intercepted them. A blast of Palm Thunder had then shattered Han Kui's Dou Qi Armor.

With the next stroke of his sword, Xiao Yan took his life.

The twelve mercenaries who had accompanied him had likewise failed to get past Xiao Yan's blade.

"Was it the teacher backing you?"

Jia Lie Bi's voice tightened as his gaze swept sharply around them.

"Since you're here, sir, why skulk in the shadows!"

Xiao Yan raised his right hand and sneered.

"I don't need my master to kill you."

Golden Thunderbolt suddenly flared in his palm.

Crack!

At the explosive sound, several nearby guards instinctively covered their ears.

Jia Lie Bi's expression turned savage.

"Whether anyone's hiding out there or not, seize Xiao Yan first! We'll still have a thread of hope!"

"Attack together!"

The Dou Qi of a four-star Da Dou Shi erupted, a solid layer of armor covering his entire body. He crushed the paving stones beneath his foot, his saber slicing toward Xiao Yan's shoulder with a shrill rush of wind!

Xiao Yan did not retreat a single step.

The Eight-Nine Arcane Arts circulated, his muscles and bones shuddering faintly. His left hand shot out and caught the spine of the saber outright!

Clang!

The blade stopped before his shoulder, unable to descend another fraction of an inch.

Jia Lie Bi's eyes went wide. He frantically drove his Dou Qi, but the saber in his hand remained utterly motionless, as though embedded in a mountain!

Xiao Yan lifted his gaze and said coldly,

"With that little strength, you thought you could wipe out my Xiao Clan?"

He thrust his right palm forward.

Command the Five Thunders!

The wisp of golden lightning compressed within his palm finally burst into full bloom!

Boom!

Thunder shook the entire street.

Cracks instantly covered the Dou Qi Armor around Jia Lie Bi before it shattered with a crash. Lightning pierced through his body, hurling him backward to slam heavily against the city wall!

His saber flew from his hand. Jia Lie Bi fell to the ground, his lips moving, but he died before he could utter a single complete sentence.

A four-star Da Dou Shi.

Dead in one move again?!

"Run!"

At the sight before him, Oba Pa's soul nearly fled his body. The Marketplace, the Xiao Clan's businesses—how could he spare a thought for any of them now?

He poured all his three-star Da Dou Shi Dou Qi into his legs, turned, and fled without even glancing at his own guards.

Xiao Yan's right hand dropped to his sword hilt.

Shing!

The Taiji Liangyi Sword left its sheath.

The lightning lingering in his palm traveled along the spine of the blade, and clear and black light shone with it.

"Die!"

The sword swept down. A thin streak of sword light wrapped in golden lightning flashed along the street, instantly overtaking Oba Pa. His Dou Qi Armor had barely solidified when it split open from behind.

Oba Pa's body stiffened. He staggered forward a few steps and fell facedown, instantly reduced to charcoal!

At the same time, several of the Jia Lie Family's Death Warriors charged with furious roars, sabers and swords striking together.

Xiao Yan turned his wrist and swept his blade across. Several slender bolts of lightning burst from the sword, exploding one after another among the crowd. Weapons fell to the ground, and screams abruptly rose.

Those charging at the front fell in swathes without even touching the hem of Xiao Yan's clothes. The remaining guards stared at the bodies of the two patriarchs, every trace of color draining from their faces.

Clatter!

No one knew who threw down his weapon first.

Soon, only kneeling figures remained along the entire street.

In the shadows beneath a roof beside the City Gate, Ling Ying watched the scene below, his fingers unconsciously tightening.

He had seen it clearly. From beginning to end, no one had lent a hand. Xiao Yan had truly killed all three Da Dou Shi himself!

Especially that bolt of lightning just now...

Ling Ying looked at the young man's blade, electricity still dancing along its edge, and his gaze changed completely.

When Xiao Yan returned to the Xiao Clan, Xiao Zhan was standing guard in the front courtyard with several elders. Seeing him return alone, Xiao Zhan immediately went to meet him.

"Yan'er, that thunder in the west of the city..."

"Jia Lie Bi and Oba Pa are both dead." Xiao Yan placed the personal tokens the two men had carried on the table, then took out the two Crystal Cards he had recovered from Han Kui.

"They planned to join forces and wipe out our Xiao Clan tonight. I sent them on their way first."

The entire courtyard fell silent.

Xiao Zhan stared at the items on the table, saying nothing for a long while. Though he had questions, he thought of the teacher backing Xiao Yan and did not ask further.

In his view, Xiao Yan's teacher must have acted. Everyone else thought the same.

Xiao Yan had already turned to look at Xiao Hong and the others as he said,

"Father, I'll leave the rest to you."

Before dawn, the Xiao Clan's guards split up and headed to the two families' residences.

With their patriarchs dead and their elite fighters lost to the last man, none of those left behind dared resist. Storehouses were sealed, ledgers confiscated, and the Stewards of the various properties were brought to the front hall to surrender their deeds one by one.

The following morning, the news spread throughout Wutan City.

The Jia Lie Family was gone.

The Ao Ba Family was gone too!

Overnight, the two great families that had held sway for years were completely wiped out. The Marketplace, shops, and warehouses all fell into the Xiao Clan's hands.

When the merchants along the streets opened their doors, the patrol guards they saw already wore the Xiao Clan's emblem. Yet there was only one name everyone kept repeating.

Xiao Yan!