"Was that your little girlfriend?" Xiao Yi Xian held Qing Lin in her arms, gently rubbing the little girl's head as she looked at Xiao Yan with a mischievous grin.
"No." Xiao Yan sighed softly, then put away the protective talisman Xun'er had hurled at him, tucking it close to his body.
It was a brilliant golden protective talisman shaped like a flame, and looked quite luxurious.
"Then why did she look like she'd caught you in bed with another woman?" Xiao Yi Xian seemed unconvinced, but her hands never stopped, continually squishing Qing Lin's chubby little face into different shapes.
"Mas... ter..." Qing Lin wanted to cry but had no tears. Her new master's tastes were far too strange.
"That would take too long to explain. Get some rest first, senior sister. I have some family matters to handle." Xiao Yan shrugged and turned to leave.
He planned to finish dealing with his family's business before going to explain things to Xun'er.
Xiao Yi Xian rolled her eyes at his retreating back, took a protective talisman out of her Storage Ring as well, and called him back.
"Here. I bought this at last night's auction. They said it could block a full-strength strike from a Dou Ling. I meant to give it to you as a welcoming gift, but I ate so much last night that I forgot." Xiao Yi Xian turned her head away, unwilling to look at him.
"Th-thank you." Xiao Yan turned back and stared blankly at the protective talisman in her hand.
It was a square, black-and-white protective talisman, with a loose thread poking out of one corner. It looked hand-sewn.
"It's just a welcoming gift from a senior sister to her junior brother. Go on." Xiao Yi Xian handed him the protective talisman and waved him off, seemingly unconcerned.
"Young Master... Xiao Yan, good luck~" Qing Lin hid behind Xiao Yi Xian, shyly cheering him on.
Xiao Yan smiled warmly and waved to Qing Lin.
"When I get back, I'll properly introduce you both to my family."
This time, Xiao Yan truly turned and left. He reached the clan's training grounds as quickly as he could, but most of the people had already received their assignments and departed. Only the clan's core fighting force remained.
Four Da Dou Shi and twenty-seven Dou Shi-this was the entire core fighting force of the Xiao Clan, the foremost of Wutan City's three great families.
Among them, Xiao Zhan, the Xiao Clan's leader and Wutan City's strongest fighter, had reached the level of a five-star Da Dou Shi.
"Yan'er, you're far too late." Seeing Xiao Yan arrive so belatedly, Xiao Zhan could not help reproaching him.
The Great Elder beside him gave a cold snort.
Xiao Yan stepped forward calmly, cupped his hands toward Xiao Zhan, and said, "Please forgive me, Father. I had an important guest to receive. I'll introduce her to you afterward."
"Oh?" Xiao Zhan was somewhat surprised. Ever since four years ago, this son of his had barely had any friends within the clan. Had he actually made one outside it?
Xiao Zhan did not dwell on the matter and instead hurried to assign their tasks.
"In that case, Yan'er, your timing works out. Your build is very similar to mine, so put on my cloak and accompany the Third Elder. Pretend that I'm leading our clansmen in a surprise attack on the Jia Lie Family. As for everyone else..."
As one assignment after another was handed down, the Xiao Clan's war machine went into full operation.
As a newly advanced Dou Zhe, Xiao Yan was also assigned to the Third Elder's unit to raid the Jia Lie Family's compound. Their unit had the most people, but very few top fighters: only the Third Elder, a Da Dou Shi, and two relatively weak Dou Shi. They did, however, have over a hundred Dou Zhe.
To his surprise, Xiao Ning's father, Xiao An, was among the Third Elder's unit. He had assumed that the father of a genius like Xiao Ning, even if he did not share his son's talent, would at least stand among the best Dou Shi. Apparently, that was not the case.
The group raced openly down the street toward the Jia Lie Family, completely ignoring the ordinary people's astonished stares.
Xiao Yan was entirely shrouded in the cloak, his face hidden in shadow.
Suddenly, he sensed someone rapidly approaching him. He jerked his head around, only to find that Xiao An was already right beside him.
At this distance...
If a one-star Dou Shi suddenly attacked, he could still inflict a grievous injury on Xiao Yan!
Damn it! Xiao Yan sensed trouble and frantically stirred the dantian within his body. A bright yellow flame rose in one pupil while a pink flame flickered in the other. He was preparing to take Xiao An's strike head-on.
"The medicinal pill worked very well. Xiao Ning said he doesn't hate you." After drawing close, Xiao An did not attack. He merely left those words, then walked straight past Xiao Yan toward the front of the unit.
The dou qi surrounding Xiao Yan instantly dispersed, and his eyes returned to their ordinary black.
A self-mocking smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
This father and son aren't such unreasonable villains after all.
Xiao Yan's opinion of Xiao Ning and his father improved slightly.
Wutan City was not particularly large. After the Xiao Clan's people had hurried along for half an hour, the Jia Lie Family's gates appeared before them.
By then, the Jia Lie Family's experts had already accompanied Jia Lie Bi and the other senior members to confront the Ao Ba Family. Few people had remained to guard their compound. When several Jia Lie Family guards saw the Xiao Clan bearing down on them, their souls nearly fled their bodies.
One of them did not retreat into the compound with the others, but instead rushed toward the Ao Ba Family.
"Let him go." Third Elder Xiao watched with cold, sinister eyes and ordered those around him not to intercept the man.
The others already understood what the clan leader and elders intended. Xiao An made a token gesture, hurling a ranged Dou Technique toward the fleeing messenger.
The Third Elder circulated his dou qi and drove a punch at the Jia Lie Family's gates.
Boom!
The gates shattered with the impact, exploding into flying splinters.
The Xiao clansmen charged into the Jia Lie Family's compound with swords and sabers in hand, while Xiao Yan walked unhurriedly among them before coming to a stop at the entrance.
Within the Jia Lie Family's compound, no fewer than ten gazes were fixed on Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan lowered his voice, imitating Xiao Zhan as he loudly commanded, "Leave not even a chicken or dog alive!"
A bloody battle erupted at once.
"Xiao Zhan!!!" As expected, a Da Dou Shi had remained behind in the Jia Lie Family's compound.
Second Elder Jia Lie Family was a One-Star Great Dou Master, evenly matched in strength with Third Elder Xiao, though the latter held the advantage in Dou Techniques.
Xiao Yan looked coldly at Second Elder Jia Lie Family. The man probably could never have imagined just how youthful the face beneath that cloak was.
Third Elder Xiao and Second Elder Jia Lie Family instantly clashed, while the remaining Xiao clansmen swept away the resistance within the compound.
"Hurry! Tell the clan leader and the others to return! That old scoundrel Xiao Zhan has used the chaos to launch a surprise attack!" Second Elder Jia Lie Family shouted anxiously. He was already prepared to die in battle, but he had to hold out at least until the clan leader and the others returned.
Xiao Yan did not act. He stood at the entrance, maintaining the illusion that the Xiao Clan's leader was present. If he struck, he would expose the deception.
After this battle, Wutan City could have only one ruler.
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