Xiao Yan waved a hand, paying no mind to Xiao Ning's earlier sneers. Instead, he fired right back.
"Are you done? Hearing a dog barking its head off first thing in the morning really leaves me speechless."
"What did you say? Who are you calling a dog?"
Xiao Ning was thoroughly displeased to hear Xiao Yan mock him like that.
Still, he held his temper, thinking that the elders would certainly make Xiao Yan pay in a moment.
"Go ahead and enjoy your little war of words. Before long, the Jia Lie Family will probably take one of your arms off. Even the clan leader won't be able to protect you."
"You won't be strutting around for much longer."
Xiao Yan entered the Inner Hall. The moment he stepped through the door, he saw the elders angrily berating his father.
"Clan leader, you absolutely cannot keep protecting Xiao Yan."
"That Xiao Yan has always thought himself the Xiao Clan's genius, so he looks down on everyone and acts with boundless arrogance. He hardly ever respected us old fellows before, but we let it slide."
"This time is different, though. He's caused serious trouble. The Jia Lie Family's young master, Jia Lie Ao, is Jia Lie Bi's son, after all. Xiao Yan injured one of his arms. How could his father possibly let that rest?"
"I think we must give them an explanation. Otherwise, our two families will become as incompatible as fire and water, and that will benefit neither side."
"As the head of the clan, you must put the clan's interests first. You absolutely cannot keep shielding Xiao Yan."
"I say we hand him over and let them take an arm off to settle this."
The elders each voiced their opinions.
Hearing this, however, Xiao Zhan snapped right back.
"As elders of the Xiao Clan, why are you bolstering someone else's spirit while crushing our own prestige at a time like this?"
"Are you saying that letting our young master lose an arm serves the clan's interests? If word gets out, how will our Xiao Clan have the face to stand in Wutan City?"
Just as Xiao Zhan was angrily rebuking them,
he raised his head and noticed that Xiao Yan had arrived before him.
"Xiao Yan, look at what you've done!"
The elders berated him one after another.
Xiao Yan, however, answered with utter composure.
"Father, I'm back."
"I heard something has happened in the clan recently. Is that right? Is it because I injured that useless Jia Lie Ao?"
"It's only a minor matter. There's no need to fret, Father."
"I'll handle it myself."
Having said this, Xiao Yan immediately found a place nearby to sit down and took a sip of tea.
His opponent was a Five-Star Da Dou Shi, equal in strength to his father.
Together with the Jia Lie Family's other Dou Shi and Dou Zhe, they were indeed more than his own strength could handle if a fight broke out.
Still, trash like that wasn't worth asking his teacher, Yao Ling, to deal with.
So he recalled the Amethyst Winged Lion King he had subdued in the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
Since he had already subdued a Tier-Six Magical Beast to do his bidding, it would be a real shame not to put him to use.
He lightly tapped the mark the Amethyst Winged Lion King had left on his forehead.
Far away in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, the Amethyst Winged Lion King heard his master's summons.
He threw back his head with an angry roar, then shot straight toward the edge of the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
The Amethyst Winged Lion King was a Tier-Six Magical Beast, a powerhouse at the peak of nine-star Dou Sheng.
Although he was a brute, he was very clever.
He knew perfectly well just how terrifying his master's strength was. No matter what, he had to obey his commands absolutely, or he would face nothing but annihilation.
Xiao Yan sat in the Xiao Clan's hall.
Seeing how little he cared, the elders grew even more furious.
"Xiao Yan, tell us how we're supposed to handle this now!"
"Because of you, our two families are now at odds, and we've practically torn away all pretense of civility. If you're a filial son, don't put your father in a difficult position. Be good and give up an arm, and this matter will be settled."
"We old fellows will also swallow our pride and help negotiate peace for you. That will put an end to this."
Hearing the elders' words, however, Xiao Yan began sneering at them outright.
He did not take them seriously at all.
Just then, the guards outside came in to report.
"Clan leader, elders, the Jia Lie Family learned that Young Master Xiao Yan had returned to Wutan City. They've brought quite a few people here to make trouble."
Upon hearing the guard's report, the elders all spoke up.
"See? The Jia Lie Family has come looking for trouble! Xiao Yan, do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused?"
Xiao Zhan was somewhat worried as well.
He thought to himself that if a fight broke out, he would protect Xiao Yan even if it cost him his old life.
Yet Xiao Yan merely said calmly,
"Don't worry, Father. Those who've come are nothing but a bunch of trash. Your son naturally has a way to drive them off."
"The best way to deal with people like that is to kill them."
The moment Xiao Yan finished speaking, the elders began mocking him.
"Xiao Yan, could you stop boasting? Even if you're a One-Star Dou Zhe, and breaking through to Dou Zhe so quickly at your age does show considerable talent,"
"in the face of absolute strength, your little bit of power is nothing to fear."
"Don't think the Xiao Clan will step in to help you. I'm telling you, dream on."
Xiao Yan completely ignored those old fools' remarks.
They would have plenty to be astonished about in a moment.
When he came outside to the Xiao Clan's Disciples' Square,
the place was already packed, with many members of the Jia Lie Family gathered there.
Jia Lie Bi and his son, Jia Lie Ao, stood at the head of the crowd.
They angrily shouted,
"Xiao Yan, you've finally returned! You've made me wait long enough!"
"No matter what, you're leaving that arm here today. Otherwise, our Jia Lie Family will not leave!"
Jia Lie Bi warned Xiao Zhan and the other elders.
"If you dare intervene, that will amount to a formal declaration of war against our Jia Lie Family."
"From then on, our two families will fight until one of us is dead. You'd better think carefully about the consequences."
Yet faced with a battle that could erupt at the slightest spark,
Xiao Yan's expression remained utterly calm.
It was as though nothing was happening at all.
Off to the side, Xiao Ning sneered. Even at a time like this, the fellow was still putting on airs.
He truly had no idea of his own limits.
Now that the Xiao Clan refused to intervene, could a mere Dou Zhe like him possibly stand against a Da Dou Shi? Suddenly, at that very moment,
a dark silhouette slowly appeared in the sky.
It carried an extraordinarily powerful, terrifying aura.
Everyone present was instantly stunned.
"That's the aura of a magical beast... Look, that magical beast in the sky looks like a lion, but it has wings, and it's giving off such terrifying Dou Technique pressure!"
"Could that magical beast have already reached tier six? Wait, could it be the Amethyst Winged Lion King?"
Everyone present was dumbfounded.
The Amethyst Winged Lion King was the overlord of the Magical Beast Mountain Range. No one knew why he had appeared here in Wutan City.
Everyone present grew nervous and uneasy.
They even felt despair and fear.
He was a powerhouse comparable to a human Peak Dou Emperor!
Why had he appeared here in Wutan City?
Before you continue