Jia Lie Bi's death: That man's Dou Technique could stir wondrous phenomena in heaven and earth

The Xiao Clan's main hall.

Even from a hundred meters away, the quarrel inside could still be heard.

"Xiao Zhan, you are the clan leader. You should put the bigger picture first! How could you buy unrelated things on your own without our consent?"

The speaker was the First Elder, whose prestige was the highest in the entire Xiao Clan.

The other two elders at his side were currying favor with him as well.

"Exactly, Clan Leader Xiao. Your actions have truly chilled everyone's hearts."

"If you ask me, why not do this: let the First Elder distribute all the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid acquired at this auction?"

With that, the two elders turned their gazes toward the First Elder in unison.

Anyone with discerning eyes could have seen at a glance that these three were all wearing the same pair of trousers.

Worse still, their discussion completely ignored Xiao Zhan beside them, as though his opinion carried no real weight in their eyes.

"Since everyone has said as much, how about we divide the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid fairly according to the performance of the clan's disciples?"

His eyes slightly narrowed, the First Elder looked toward the other two elders with a nod.

At those words, the Second and Third Elders exchanged a glance, tacitly understanding his meaning.

"Hehe, Xiao Ning and Xiao Mei have made rapid progress lately. Why not give them the fourth-grade and third-grade Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid we won at the auction? With its aid, surely it won't be long before our Xiao Clan gains two more young Dou Zhe."

"As for the last bottle, the second-grade one, we can give it to Xiao Xun'er. Though that girl is exceptionally talented, she is, after all, not one of our Xiao Clan."

The First and Second Elders said nothing. After all, Xiao Ning and Xiao Mei were their blood relatives. To keep anyone with ulterior motives from accusing them of bending the rules for personal gain, silence was their best option.

The Third Elder was a shrewd old hand as well. From their expressions alone, he knew that his proposed distribution had pleased them greatly.

"Haha, we have no objections. We just wonder what Clan Leader Xiao thinks." As he spoke, the First and Second Elders turned their gazes toward Xiao Zhan.

Taking a deep breath, Xiao Zhan loosened his clenched fists and said, "Elders, do you think that distribution was fair?"

"Oh? What does Clan Leader Xiao mean? Could it be that you want to save a bottle for your son?" The First Elder fixed him with a torch-bright stare, a hint of mockery in his words.

The Second and Third Elders immediately followed up. "Clan Leader Xiao, please put the bigger picture first. Xiao Yan is no longer the genius he once was. Everyone has witnessed how quickly he has regressed over these past years. Do you think you can justify wasting the clan's resources on a piece of trash?"

"Trash? Who are you calling trash?!" Green Dou Qi flooded the entire hall.

Xiao Zhan's temper erupted!

As a father, the one line he could never tolerate anyone crossing was insulting his son.

"Hmph, what a temper you have, Clan Leader Xiao!" Faced with Xiao Zhan's fury, the expressions of the Three Great Elders first changed, then they gave a cold snort. "If Clan Leader Xiao thinks the distribution is unfair, why don't we let everyone judge?"

The atmosphere grew increasingly tense.

Suddenly!

A streak of golden light shot into the hall.

Immediately afterward, Xiao Xun'er's cool voice came from outside the door.

"What a fine notion of fairness. Elders, there is no need to make things difficult for Uncle Xiao. Consider the money for the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid paid by me!"

After a stretch of silence, bitter smiles appeared on all three elders' faces, their earlier arrogance vanishing without a trace.

"Ahem, let's set aside the matter of the Spirit Liquid for now. What explanation does Clan Leader Xiao have for those four hundred thousand-odd gold coins?" Perhaps out of guilt, or perhaps out of apprehension, the First Elder gave a dry cough and changed the subject.

As though he had anticipated this, Xiao Zhan said evenly, "I've already explained where those four hundred thousand gold coins went. It was all to forge a connection between the Xiao Clan and an important figure."