Once the three visitors from the Misty Cloud Sect vanished completely through the doorway...
The deathly silent Council Hall seemed to have had a thunderbolt hurled into it, instantly erupting with a mountain-shaking, sea-roaring wave of discussion!
"Heavens! What did I just see? The people from the Misty Cloud Sect... just left like that?"
"They left! And with their tails between their legs! They even paid five doses of Qi Gathering Powder and two hundred and fifty thousand gold coins!"
"Is... is this really the Xiao Yan I knew? That silver tongue, those brains... absolutely incredible!"
"Exactly! He kept the Misty Cloud Sect on the back foot and tore into them from beginning to end! Our Xiao Clan didn't lose face today!"
"What's all that compared to the real point? Aren't you missing what matters? Our Xiao Clan now has an Alchemist! That's the big news!"
Every member of the Xiao Clan, whatever they had thought of Xiao Yan before, now gazed at the figure standing in the middle of the hall with nothing but awe and shock in their eyes!
Xiao Mei, in particular, had gone deathly pale, her delicate frame trembling slightly.
The "good-for-nothing" she had once looked down on now filled her with utter despair.
So what if she was a genius who had reached the seventh stage of dou power at fourteen?
What good did that do?
He was an Alchemist! His status inherently placed him two whole ranks above her!
How could she compete?
The title of the Xiao Clan's greatest genius was destined never to belong to her again!
As for becoming Clan Leader-hah. Choose an Alchemist if one was available; otherwise, compare cultivation. That had always been the tradition on the Dou Qi Continent.
Almost no clan would pass over an Alchemist and choose someone else as its leader.
Her dream of becoming a female Clan Leader had now been utterly shattered!
At the head of the hall, Xiao Zhan could no longer contain his excitement!
He sprang to his feet, rushed down the steps, and seized Xiao Yan by the shoulders, tears faintly glimmering in his eyes!
His voice trembled and caught with emotion.
"Good! Good! Wonderful!"
Those three cries expressed every surge of emotion and pride in his heart!
He had thought the Xiao Clan was doomed to suffer a monstrous humiliation today, and that he, its Clan Leader, would become a sinner in the eyes of the entire clan!
Yet his son, the son he had thought unremarkable, had single-handedly turned back the raging tide!
Not only had he preserved the Xiao Clan's dignity, he had even forced the Misty Cloud Sect to abandon their helmets and armor, paying compensation to sue for peace!
More importantly, his son had actually become a distinguished Alchemist!
That was a tremendous blessing for the clan!
On a smaller scale, his son now had an excellent chance of inheriting his position as Clan Leader!
On a larger scale, the title of Wutan City's foremost clan would likely belong to none other than the Xiao Clan!
"Yan'er, you... you truly make your father proud!"
Xiao Zhan patted Xiao Yan's shoulders hard, his heart overflowing with comfort, his laughter ringing throughout the Council Hall.
Just then, a graceful figure carrying a faint fragrance came to Xiao Yan's side.
Xiao Xun'er's eyes, clear as autumn waters, shone astonishingly bright.
She gazed at Xiao Yan and said softly, "Brother Xiao Yan, you were... so impressive just now."
Xiao Xun'er was not amazed by Xiao Yan's status as an Alchemist. As a princess of the Gu Clan, what kind of talent had she not seen?
What amazed her was Xiao Yan's mind!
Today's incident had come completely out of the blue. No one had been prepared.
Even she had been unable to think of a better way to handle it at the time!
Yet faced with this sudden crisis, Xiao Yan had calmly taken control. Not only had he saved the Xiao Clan from humiliation, he had turned passivity into initiative and ruthlessly squeezed a fortune out of the Misty Cloud Sect!
Extorting them was one thing, but Xiao Yan had suffered no loss whatsoever. He still held the initiative and had instead backed Nalan Yanran into a corner!
No one thought fighting one against five was a condition favorable to Nalan Yanran!
Even three years from now, Xiao Yan would still have the better chance of winning!
At Xiao Xun'er's praise, Xiao Yan merely smiled faintly and said nothing more.
Just then, the Three Elders gathered around him as well.
But now that the broken engagement had been settled, the Three Elders were not nearly as delighted as the other members of the Xiao Clan.
Over the past few years, the three elders had fought both openly and in secret, each trying to secure the next Clan Leader's position for their own grandchildren.
Now that Xiao Yan had become an Alchemist, the struggle over the next Clan Leader could essentially be declared over.
There was no candidate but Xiao Yan!
Yet the Three Elders remained unwilling to accept it.
The Third Elder first turned his gaze toward the jade bottle and Purple Gold Card on the table, his eyes filled with envy and covetousness!
If those resources could be spent on his granddaughter Xiao Mei, and her cultivation eventually far surpassed Xiao Yan's, she might still be able to contend for the position of Clan Leader!
At that thought, the Third Elder rubbed his hands together and smiled at Xiao Yan.
"Well... Xiao Yan, you see, these five doses of Qi Gathering Powder are crucial to our Xiao Clan's future development. Why not... let the clan distribute them to the disciples who need them most? What do you think?"
Hearing this, the First Elder and Second Elder hurriedly voiced their agreement.
They did not want Xiao Yan to take these resources and continue growing stronger either!
The moment those words were spoken, the hall fell considerably quieter.
Many of the younger clan members pricked up their ears, staring at the jade bottle with burning eyes.
Five doses of Qi Gathering Powder!
That was enough to guarantee that five disciples stuck at the Ninth Stage of Dou Qi would break through to Dou Zhe!
No member of the Xiao Clan could resist such a temptation! They, too, dreamed of getting a share!
Xiao Zhan immediately frowned and was about to rebuke them, but after a moment's hesitation, he fell silent.
Had another disciple obtained such treasures, he certainly would not have made them surrender them to the clan.
But his own son had obtained them this time. If he spoke up against having his son hand them over, it would look somewhat like favoritism!
Xiao Zhan remained silent, but Xiao Yan smiled first.
He picked up the jade bottle and Purple Gold Card from the table and openly tucked them into his robes.
Only then did he look at the Three Elders, his smile mild but his words carrying an unquestionable resolve.
"You must be joking, Elders.
The Misty Cloud Sect gave this Qi Gathering Powder and these gold coins as compensation to me personally. They rightfully belong to me."
"Of course," he said, changing tack, "as a member of the Xiao Clan, I naturally hope to see the clan grow stronger.
I can sell these five doses of Qi Gathering Powder to the clan at a reduced price.
But however low the price, there must still be a price. You elders cannot simply take them for nothing."
The smiles on the Three Elders' faces instantly froze.
They had hoped to invoke the "greater good of the clan" to catch a white wolf bare-handed, only for Xiao Yan to shut them down with a single remark!
This was personal compensation, not the clan's spoils of war!
The Third Elder's face alternated between green and white. In the end, he could only give a dry laugh. "Haha... you've thought this through carefully, Xiao Yan. Very carefully..."
Their attempt to get something for nothing had to end there!
Seeing the shocked or admiring expressions directed at him throughout the Council Hall, Xiao Yan sighed in satisfaction, cupped his hands, and left without lingering any longer!
Today's events had already gone badly against his principles for handling matters!
He had drawn far too much attention!
But with his father being humiliated, he could not afford to worry about all that!
Fortunately, he had not revealed too much of his strength!
As far as anyone knew, his cultivation was still at the sixth stage of dou power.
He had merely revealed his identity as an Alchemist as well.
And on the Dou Qi Continent, few people would make an enemy of an Alchemist.
If anything, he would be safer now.
But!
Although today's incident had been resolved perfectly, he had no intention of letting the matter end here!
Beyond being discreet and cautious, and never rising early without something to gain, he was also the sort to repay even the slightest grievance!
For the humiliation Nalan Yanran had brought to his doorstep today, he would one day repay her a hundredfold!
Within his sea of consciousness, Xiao Yan said quietly to Yao Lao:
"Teacher, starting tomorrow, intensify my special training!
I need to improve my strength as quickly as possible. Three years from now, I want to trample the Misty Cloud Sect beneath my feet and fully avenge today's humiliation!"
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