Dad, did you rise from the dead?

Xiao Lin rubbed his chin, his tone tinged with disbelief. "So you're saying that I'm actually a statue you had someone carve."

"It's only because of some secret art you used that I'm essentially no different from Xiao Lin, but at my core, I'm still a statue."

"I am me, but I'm also not me!"

Xiao Long hurriedly nodded. "That's exactly right. Besides, Grandfather, you should have sensed your strength by now. You probably don't have the strength of a Dou Wang anymore."

After all, even at its strongest, the Rat Talisman could only approach the original's strength, never surpass it. It might even grant only half the original's power.

And he hadn't fully unleashed the Rat Talisman's power yet, so it might not even be half.

"Yes, Peak Dou Ling."

Xiao Lin nodded. He had finally accepted this explanation, but then another thought struck him. Even if he wasn't truly himself, he still had independent consciousness and memories.

How was that any different from being himself? In fact, as long as Xiao Long kept quiet, he was Xiao Lin.

Suddenly, Xiao Lin looked at Xiao Long. "Little Long, are there any restrictions to this?"

"Uh, I'm not sure yet. This is my first attempt, too. This secret art has been lost for a very long time. If the Xiao Clan weren't in such a bad situation, I wouldn't have dared try it on you, Grandfather!"

Xiao Long wasn't exactly wrong. After all, Jackie Chan Adventures didn't exist on the Dou Qi Continent. If it didn't exist here, didn't that make it lost?

"For now, I'm probably the only one who can sustain it..."

"Wait, forget about sustaining it for a moment. What did you say? What do you mean, the Xiao Clan is in a bad situation? And come to think of it, I don't remember a mountain like this near the Xiao Clan. What middle-of-nowhere place have you come to?"

Xiao Lin glanced around. The mountains were lush and the waters clear, but as far as he remembered, the Xiao Clan was in Jia Ma Holy City.

How could there be scenery like this near Jia Ma Holy City? After all, it was the political and economic center of the entire Jia Ma Empire, with roads stretching in every direction.

"We've already left Jia Ma Holy City," Xiao Long said quietly. "After you fell, Grandfather, there was also all the infighting over power and profit."

"The clan's ancestral properties were sold off, and we moved to Wutan City to settle down. For the past decade or so, the strongest people in the clan have been my father-your son-and the Three Great Elders. They're all Da Dou Shi."

"Da Dou Shi? Zhan hasn't even reached Dou Ling?"

"How could he? The clan's resources aren't made available to my father. The Three Great Elders are all guarding against him!"

Hearing Xiao Long's tearful complaints, Xiao Lin bristled with rage and growled, "Outrageous!"

Xiao Long couldn't help adding, "Grandfather, while you were gone, they all bullied our direct line!"

This was why he had brought Xiao Lin back. After thinking it over, he knew he could force the Xiao Clan into submission with his strength, but that still left his lack of prestige.

Nor could he stay in the Xiao Clan forever. The world was vast, and he wanted to see it. Once he left, the Xiao Clan would simply return to its old ways.

If Xiao Long had transmigrated into some other clan, he could have let a clan like this die. But he had been given a second life, and these people were his family.

Since he couldn't keep them in line, he would let someone older do it. You like throwing your weight around because of your age, do you? Then I'll bring out someone even older.

Besides, with Xiao Lin around, he would have backing for many of the things he wanted to do in the Xiao Clan.

"All right, take me to your father! I want to see just what the Xiao Clan has become to end up like this!"

Although Xiao Lin was a statue brought to life by the Rat Talisman, he was essentially no different from the original Xiao Lin, aside from a slight disparity in strength.

Naturally, he cared deeply about his clan. Otherwise, he wouldn't have raised a son like Xiao Zhan, who cared so much about it.

"I'm not dreaming, am I? Dad, did you rise from the dead? No, that can't be right. There wasn't even a corpse, so how could you rise from the dead?"

Xiao Zhan, who had just been pondering when to go to Jia Ma Holy City, swallowed as he stared at the figure before him.

Was he hallucinating in broad daylight?

How had his son shown up with his dead father in tow?

"What do you think?"

"Who is it? Who's using an illusion on me? Senior, using my late father to play a joke on me is going too far!" Xiao Zhan scanned his surroundings warily.

For an illusion to be this lifelike, what level must this person's soul have reached to keep him from detecting even the slightest hint?

After all, he had personally watched Xiao Lin go out to face his enemy, and his father had never returned.

"I've come back. I didn't die back then; I was gravely wounded. But to keep that enemy from discovering I was still alive, I hid away and spent more than a decade recovering."

Xiao Lin spoke the story he and Xiao Long had agreed upon. After all, a statue coming to life and a man returning after surviving severe injuries were two different things.

They were entirely different concepts. On the way back, Xiao Long had already told him about the Xiao Clan's current situation.

It had filled him with fury. The clan was already declining, yet instead of working to hold it together, they were still fighting over power and profit.

He also understood why Xiao Long had done this. The boy probably couldn't bear to watch it anymore.

"Huh?"

Seeing that Xiao Zhan still looked doubtful, Xiao Lin summoned a wisp of Dou Qi in his palm. It was precisely the Dou Qi of the cultivation method Xiao Zhan practiced.

The Xiao Clan's highest cultivation method: Furious Lion Vajra!

Grade: Mid-level Xuan!

Standing nearby, Xiao Long glanced at it. This was currently the Xiao Clan's only mid-level Xuan cultivation method, and its attribute was wind.

Father and son shared the same attribute, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case for Xiao Zhan's four sons. Of Xiao Long's older brothers, Xiao Ding was the eldest, and Xiao Li, the second, had the lightning attribute. Xiao Long didn't know what his own original attribute was; the Shendu template had simply turned it into pure fire.

As for Xiao Yan, that went without saying: fire and wood.

"Dad, it really is you! Dad! Why didn't you send word home all these years?"

"Ah, it's a long story."

"Then make a long story short, Dad!"

Xiao Long was speechless. It really did run in the family. Why were they both so impatient?

Xiao Long withdrew. His task was done, anyway. With Xiao Lin taking charge from here, at least the Xiao Clan wouldn't have any more of that disgusting nonsense.

"Was it the Soul Hall, or someone else?" Leaving Xiao Zhan's courtyard, Xiao Long had also learned about Xiao Lin's old enemy from him.

The enemy had indeed been a Dou Wang, and stronger than Xiao Lin at that, but Xiao Lin didn't know who they actually were.

They had only claimed to have a grudge against him. But the Xiao Clan had existed for so long that its enemies could be found practically anywhere.

All Xiao Lin knew was that the enemy had used wind-attribute Dou Qi and had been stronger than him. That was why he had fallen despite being a Dou Wang.

With the same attribute, even a certain gap in strength could make one side extremely easy to suppress.

"If we're talking about the Jia Ma Empire, the place with the most wind-attribute cultivators should be the Misty Cloud Sect. And the Misty Cloud Sect..."

Xiao Long rubbed his chin. Could this really be connected to the Misty Cloud Sect? After all, one of the Soul Hall's hideouts in the Jia Ma Empire was the Misty Cloud Sect.

"Brother Xiao Long, what are you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking about the Misty Cloud Sect..." Xiao Long replied offhandedly. Then he came back to his senses and saw Xiao Xun'er puffing out her cheeks.

"Are you thinking about that Nalan Yanran?"

Xiao Xun'er wore a smile, but Xiao Long could swear he felt a trace of killing intent. He hurriedly shook his head. "No, my grandfather came back. He told me a little about his enemy, and I was wondering whether it might be the Misty Cloud Sect..."

"Huh? What do you mean, your grandfather came back?"