Deep into the night, in Xiao Yan's room within the Xiao Clan Courtyard, the young man scrambled through the window, panting and flustered.
He had barely landed before he stumbled and collapsed onto the bed, his face deathly pale and an indelible trace of terror still lingering in his eyes.
Yao Lao's spectral figure arrived belatedly, drifting in through the window, his aged face brimming with displeasure.
"You unfilial disciple! What was that supposed to mean? You abandoned your master and ran! And so fast, too!"
His voice carried unmistakable reproach, but even more than that, an indescribable lingering fear. Even an old monster like him, who had lived for hundreds of years, had been left with his heart pounding at that sight.
Xiao Yan sat up helplessly and shrugged.
"I had no choice, teacher! Didn't you see those three 'Soaring Dragons' starting to swell up at the end? They were about to explode! If I hadn't run, I'd probably be like those people from the Jia Lie Family right now, covered from head to toe in that... that..."
At this point, he shuddered involuntarily, his face twisting into an expression somewhere between wanting to vomit and wanting to cry.
Yao Lao snorted, but let the matter drop. He floated to the middle of the room and sank into thought.
"So Xiao Yi has this side to him as well... Truly terrifying beyond measure. Such a vicious mind, such ruthless methods. The construction of those three 'Filth Dragons' simply defied belief."
Xiao Yan straightened up, his complexion still rather sickly. He hesitated, seemingly considering a serious question.
"Teacher, with the Jia Lie Family getting wrecked this badly, do you think they'll declare all-out war on our Xiao Clan? Xiao Yi may be an adopted son, but he's still part of