Xiao Realm, Xiao Xuan's residence.
"As long as the green mountains remain, there will be no shortage of firewood?
"Tian Ce, perhaps you're right. But if I lost the will to forge ahead, I would no longer be Xiao Xuan."
After Xiao Tian Ce left, Xiao Xuan murmured to himself, an indomitable resolve flickering in his deep, distant eyes.
Meanwhile, after returning to the ninth floor of the Heavenly Strategy Manor, Xiao Tian Ce sank into thought. From their conversation just now, he could tell that Xiao Xuan had already made up his mind.
And no amount of persuasion from anyone would change it.
Deep down, Xiao Tian Ce had already suspected as much. After all, if a few simple words from him could change Xiao Xuan's mind, then he would not be Xiao Xuan.
"Ah, a man like Brother Xuan inspires both admiration and regret.
"Unfortunately, the Dou Qi Continent has no Origin Qi left. Even with your heaven-gifted talent, Brother Xuan, you're destined never to glimpse the Dou Di realm."
With a sigh, Xiao Tian Ce decided to prepare on two fronts. First, within the deadline Xiao Xuan had given him, he would quietly move his branch of the clan out of the Xiao Realm and secretly develop a force of his own.
Second, he would see whether he could find another way to persuade Xiao Xuan. After all, an attempt doomed to fail was not worth making.
At that thought, the Storage Ring on Xiao Tian Ce's hand flashed faintly. A moment later, he crushed something resembling a crystal in his fist.
Shortly afterward, space rippled on the ninth floor of the Heavenly Strategy Manor. An old man, a middle-aged man, and a young woman who looked to be only in her twenties stepped out of it.
"Tian Ce."
"Brother Ce."
"Third Uncle."
As soon as the three emerged, they greeted Xiao Tian Ce.
"Second Uncle, Tian Ming, Qing, you're all here." Xiao Tian Ce looked at the three with a smile.
The old man was the first person who had arrived when Xiao Tian Ce woke up. His name was Xiao Chun, and he was the only elder left in Xiao Tian Ce's branch. An Early-Stage Three-Star Dou Sheng, he was also Xiao Tian Ce's father's brother.
"Tian Ce, what did you summon us here for?" Xiao Chun asked.
"Yes, Brother Ce. I was just about to head out. If there's something you need, just say the word."
The man who called him Brother Ce was Xiao Tian Ming, a Peak Three-Star Dou Saint, only a step away from becoming a Four-Star Dou Sheng. He was also Second Uncle Xiao Chun's only son.
The silent junior with the deeply respectful expression was Xiao Qing, Xiao Tian Ce's niece. Her parents had died young, and she had grown up by Xiao Tian Ce's side since she was seven or eight. Now a peak Two-Star Dou Saint, she was one of the Xiao Clan's rising talents.
As the three looked toward him, Xiao Tian Ce smiled and waved a hand. Four chairs suddenly appeared. After gesturing for them to sit, he said, "I did summon you here for something urgent. You all know about the clan leader's plan to gather the entire clan's bloodline power into himself and attempt to break through to the Dou Di realm, don't you?"
All three nodded. As Dou Sheng of the Xiao Clan, they naturally knew about it. However, Xiao Tian Ce was the head of their branch.
The clan had its rules. Without Xiao Tian Ce's approval, the members of their branch would neither accept nor reject Xiao Xuan's proposal on their own.
While Xiao Tian Ce had been unconscious, their dragons had been left without a head, and they could only follow the crowd.
Now that the head of their branch had awakened, even Xiao Xuan, the clan leader, could not command them directly.
At this point, Xiao Chun explained gravely, "The clan leader put forward his proposal twenty years ago. The other elders and clan members have all agreed to lend him their strength. But since you remained unconscious, Tian Ce, we didn't dare make the decision ourselves.
"Because of this, the other clan members have also had plenty of complaints about our branch. It even nearly came to blows.
"Now that you're awake, we naturally need to hear your opinion."
"My father is right, Brother Ce. If you agree, we have no objections. The clan leader may be staking everything on a single throw, but there's still a chance of success," Xiao Tian Ming said with a nod.
"You raised me, Third Uncle. Without you, I wouldn't be here. Whatever decision you make, I will firmly support it," Xiao Qing said, bowing respectfully.
Seeing that none of them had entertained thoughts of taking control of the branch despite his century-long coma, Xiao Tian Ce felt deeply gratified.
He shook his head and explained gravely, "I already rejected the clan leader's proposal to his face. What he intends to do is far too risky. I asked him, and his confidence in succeeding is less than ten percent. The odds are simply too low.
"So, whether for the sake of preserving the Xiao Clan's glory or protecting the members of our branch, I will not agree to such a reckless gamble."
The moment he finished, all three rose to their feet, staring at Xiao Tian Ce in disbelief. Whether in the Xiao Clan or across the entire Dou Qi Continent, very few people could refuse Xiao Xuan, the continent's strongest expert, to his face.
Xiao Tian Ce pressed his hand downward, motioning for them to sit, then smiled. "No need to panic. Brother Xuan may be our clan leader, but as I just said, I refused.
"In the end, he agreed to let us move the members of our branch out of the Xiao Realm within ten years."
"Really? The clan leader actually agreed?" Xiao Chun exclaimed.
Although he belonged to a generation senior to Xiao Xuan's, he fell far short of him in both standing within the clan and strength.
Moreover, Xiao Xuan had always been domineering. Throughout the entire Xiao Clan, no one but Xiao Tian Ce could refuse him.
"That's unbelievable. The clan leader didn't even blame you, Brother Ce?" Xiao Tian Ming also exclaimed.
Beside him, Xiao Qing said nothing, but it was clear that she was just as astonished.
"He agreed. Not only that, he will also hand over all the Xiao Clan's resources for me to take away. If he succeeds, we'll return to the Xiao Realm. If he fails, we'll be the hope of carrying on the Xiao Clan's glory."
At this point, he glanced at the astonishment in their eyes, then continued, "I called you here today because I want to know exactly how strong the members of our branch are."
Xiao Chun glanced at Xiao Tian Ming, signaling with his eyes for him to answer.
Xiao Tian Ming stood and bowed respectfully. "Brother Ce, life hasn't been easy for our branch during the years you were unconscious. The other branches have been suppressing us.
"If my father, Qing, and I hadn't been holding things together, the resources we receive now would probably have been cut by another eighty percent.
"At present, the only Dou Sheng Experts in our branch are the four of us. We have twenty-one Dou Zun: three Peak Dou Zun, six peak Nine-Star Dou Zun, two Eight-Star Dou Zun, one Seven-Star Dou Zun, four Six-Star Dou Zun, two Five-Star Dou Zun, one Four-Star Dou Zun, and two who have only just entered the Dou Zun realm.
"We also have seventy-five Dou Zong, a hundred and twenty Dou Emperors, three hundred and forty-three below the Dou Emperor level, and two clan members who cannot cultivate."
As Xiao Tian Ce listened to Xiao Tian Ming's report, his expression darkened. If he remembered correctly, their branch had already possessed roughly this level of strength a hundred years ago.
Yet after a century, aside from the addition of Xiao Qing, a peak Two-Star Dou Saint, there had been little change in their strength at the other levels.
Seeing his displeasure, Xiao Chun hurriedly explained, "Tian Ce, for the past hundred years, whenever the clan had a dangerous mission, they would send the members of our branch to bear the brunt first. Many of our people died.
"And with you unconscious all this time, there was no one to stand up for us. My strength is meager, and I have little say in the clan. Our branch could only swallow its anger, not daring to speak!"
"Damn it! What about the clan leader? Did he just ignore it?"
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