"Nine-Star Dou Sheng..."
Xiao Zhan froze at those words.
Dou Sheng?
What realm was that?
Xiao Zhan looked at the Xiao Clan elders beside him, who were equally stunned.
They exchanged glances. Clearly, none of them had heard of this realm either.
Evidently, neither Xiao Zhan nor Xiao Xuan quite understood the other's realm.
Of course, neither Xiao Xuan nor Xiao Zhan could be blamed for that.
The Xiao Clan had been in decline for a thousand years. Had its inheritance not been severed, it would never have fallen this far.
The present Xiao Clan had become thoroughly provincial, nothing more than a minor clan in the Jia Ma Empire.
Its strongest member was only a Da Dou Shi, and even the strongest person in the entire Jia Ma Empire was merely a Dou Emperor.
The highest realm Xiao Zhan knew about was Dou Emperor. As for the realms beyond that, he had barely heard of them, let alone looked into them.
Those realms had little to do with people like them.
What was a Dou Sheng? He had no idea.
Xiao Zhan said, "The cultivation realms are divided into Dou Qi, Dou Zhe, Dou Shi, Da Dou Shi, Dou Ling, Dou Wang, and Dou Emperor."
"What realm is Dou Sheng? I've never heard of it. Boy, stop trying to mystify us."
Looking at Xiao Zhan and the bewildered members of the Xiao Clan, Xiao Xuan laughed in exasperation.
He had never imagined that the present Xiao Clan had not even heard of Dou Sheng. At its peak, the clan had possessed dozens of Dou Shengs.
There had even been several at Eight-Star or above, yet now they had never so much as heard of the realm?
Just then, Xiao Yan spoke up from the side. "Well, Father, I think I've heard of Dou Sheng."
Xiao Zhan turned to his son, Xiao Yan.
Since Xiao Yan had not been cultivating for very long, the book on cultivation he had read when he first started was still fresh in his mind, including its descriptions of the cultivation realms.
Xiao Yan's face was deathly pale now, because if his memory served him right...
Dou Sheng seemed to be an exceedingly high realm, apparently only one realm below the legendary Dou Di.
Xiao Yan said, "Father, above Dou Emperor are Dou Zong and Dou Zun. The realm above Dou Zun seems to be called... Dou Sheng."
Peak Nine-Star Dou Saint-wasn't that only one minor realm below Dou Di?
That made him a supreme powerhouse with one foot already in the Dou Di realm!
Xiao Yan went pale with fright as he stared at "Brother" Xiao Xuan, whom he had personally brought into the Xiao Clan just moments earlier.
Brother... no, Senior, are you really a Dou Sheng?
Xiao Zhan was dumbfounded too.
A Nine-Star Dou Sheng, the strongest beneath Dou Di?
Was that really true?
The Xiao Clan elders were all stunned, but a moment later, disbelief took over.
"Dou Sheng? Stop trying to scare us. We don't believe you."
"The strongest person in the Jia Ma Empire is only a Dou Emperor. Where would a Dou Sheng come from? What a joke."
They refused to believe him because it was uncertain whether legendary experts on the level of Dou Sheng even existed on the Dou Qi Continent. Why would one come to their Xiao Clan?
Seeing this, Xiao Xuan sighed, no longer willing to bother explaining.
He casually released a thread of his Dou Sheng aura. The next instant, his Dou Sheng domain enveloped the entire Xiao Residence.
In a single instant, Xiao Zhan and the Xiao Clan elders were pressed to the ground by Xiao Xuan's Dou Sheng aura. They could not get up, or even lift their heads.
Such terrifying pressure was simply appalling.
Xiao Zhan's face turned ashen. He was scared out of his wits.
He had traveled the Jia Ma Empire in his youth, and his greatest source of pride was having personally witnessed Dou Huang experts clash in the imperial capital.
That battle had lasted several hours, and the aura of those Dou Huang experts remained indelibly etched in his memory.
Yet today, Xiao Xuan's aura was stronger than the Dou Emperors he remembered by an unimaginable margin. Compared with him, a Dou Emperor was nothing more than a firefly beside the sun and moon.
Dou Sheng!
Was this the power of a Dou Sheng?!
At that moment, Xiao Zhan believed him completely.
Bitterness showed on his face, and he could not make sense of it.
I'm merely the head of the Xiao Clan in Wutan City. Normally, even a Dou Wang is far beyond my reach. When could I possibly have offended an expert like a Dou Sheng?
Was the Xiao Clan doomed today?
Before a legendary Dou Sheng, Xiao Zhan could not even muster the will to resist.
After all, the gap between a Da Dou Shi and a Dou Sheng was no trifling difference. It spanned seven whole major realms and fifty-six minor realms.
It was no exaggeration to say that if Xiao Xuan failed to control even that thread of aura, it could crush them to death.
But just as Xiao Zhan sank into despair, the Dou Sheng aura Xiao Xuan had released silently receded like the tide.
When Xiao Zhan and the others looked up again, they discovered that the Nine-Star Dou Sheng, Xiao Xuan, had somehow already taken the clan head's seat.
Xiao Zhan wiped the sweat from his forehead, finally able to raise his head.
He said, "S-Senior, why would someone of your standing come to our Xiao Clan? When have we ever offended you?"
Xiao Zhan was exceedingly cautious. Even if he had to die, he at least wanted to be a ghost who knew why.
Yet the next moment, Xiao Xuan said, "Didn't I already tell you? My name is Xiao Xuan. I'm not an enemy of the Xiao Clan. I am the patriarch of the Ancient Xiao Clan, and you descend from the same lineage as me. I am your ancestor from a thousand years ago.
"By seniority, all of you ought to call me Ancestor."
Xiao Xuan sighed.
The Xiao Clan had declined so far that it had probably even lost its genealogy. Strictly speaking, the responsibility lay not with Xiao Zhan or these Xiao Clan elders, but with him.
Xiao Zhan and the Xiao Clan elders froze at his words, then were swept by wild joy.
A-Ancestor?
The Xiao Clan's ancestor from a thousand years ago!
Then this Nine-Star Dou Sheng Expert standing before them was not merely no enemy of the Xiao Clan-he was one of their own?
Unrestrained joy instantly spread across Xiao Zhan's face.
Though everything felt like a dream, it was truly happening.
Their Xiao Clan had actually possessed a Nine-Star Dou Sheng ancestor a thousand years ago? And he was still alive?
This... was utterly unbelievable.
With a thump, Xiao Zhan dropped straight to his knees before Xiao Xuan.
Seeing their clan head kneel, the Xiao Clan elders followed without the slightest hesitation.
"This unworthy descendant, Xiao Zhan, pays his respects to Ancestor Xiao Xuan!"
Then Xiao Zhan turned to Xiao Yan, who was still standing there in a daze. "Yan'er, what are you waiting for? Hurry and pay your respects to our ancestor!"
Xiao Yan looked utterly bewildered.
Brother Xiao Xuan was not only a Dou Sheng Expert, but also the Xiao Clan's ancestor from a thousand years ago?
Wasn't that a little too absurd?
Looking at his father and the Xiao Clan elders kneeling all around without a moment's hesitation, Xiao Yan was still wondering whether they ought to investigate more carefully.
What if he was an impostor?
Exasperated by his son's failure to live up to expectations, Xiao Zhan dragged Xiao Yan down onto his knees.
Xiao Zhan: You foolish child, investigate my ass! He's a Nine-Star Dou Sheng. Does he need to deceive our Xiao Clan? What could he possibly gain from it?
Besides, a Nine-Star Dou Sheng has come to the Xiao Clan and declared himself our ancestor. What are you hesitating for?
Even if he isn't, he has to be!
Cling to that mighty thigh first, and worry about the rest later!
To put it another way, suppose your family had been getting along perfectly well in poverty, and the world's richest man, Musk, suddenly descended from the heavens, claiming to be your relative and offering to help you out. If he personally acknowledged that connection, could you possibly refuse to recognize it?
Xiao Zhan's grin was so wide it practically split his face all the way to the back of his head.
Whenever he thought of their Xiao Clan actually having a Nine-Star Dou Sheng ancestor, he could not contain himself.
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