After all, the man before him was the future Flame Emperor!
The destined protagonist of the Dou Qi Continent!
In the future, he would rank among the foremost figures even in the Great Thousand World.
Yet now, he was about to die at Steward Mo's hands.
When that happened, everything he possessed would belong to Steward Mo.
At the thought, Steward Mo could not keep a savage smile from spreading across his face.
"If you attack me here, aren't you afraid my father and the others will notice?"
To be on the safe side, Xiao Yan probed Steward Mo once more.
"Ha ha, how naive!"
"Since I dare to act, of course I've made certain nothing can go wrong!"
"Since you're about to die, I'll at least let you become a ghost who knows why."
"I've already used a Spatial Talisman to temporarily isolate the space we're in from the outside world."
"Forget a Da Dou Shi like Xiao Zhan-even that Dou Emperor hiding in your Xiao Clan won't notice a thing."
Steward Mo burst into laughter again as he spoke.
He wanted to savor the despair on Xiao Yan's face.
"So that's how it is!"
"It looks like you really are an Otherworlder!"
"But in that case, I can attack without worrying."
"You were only small fry who appeared once in the original story anyway. Killing you shouldn't have much of an impact."
To Steward Mo's surprise, Xiao Yan did not look despairing after hearing his words. Instead, he smiled happily.
As Steward Mo puzzled over this, an overwhelming aura awakened within Xiao Yan like a slumbering primordial beast and came surging straight at him.
Steward Mo lost his footing and fell flat on the ground.
The pressure of that nearly tangible Dou Qi left him unable to move even a finger.
"H-how is this possible?"
Has Yao Lao already awakened?
No, Yao Lao could only match a Dou Huang expert through his soul power, but this is pure Dou Qi pressure.
How could Xiao Yan possibly have such power at this point?
Steward Mo lay on the ground, blood spilling from his mouth as these terrified thoughts raced through his mind.
Even as an Otherworlder, he could not understand why such a drastic change had occurred.
And how had Xiao Yan known he was an Otherworlder?
Granted, the Xiao Yan of the original story had also come from another world.
But Otherworlders had not been so widespread back when he crossed over, had they?
"Why do you have... such immense power?"
"Don't you only have third-stage Dou Qi?"
With immense difficulty, Steward Mo turned his head to look at Xiao Yan as he spoke.
"A dead man doesn't need to know so much!"
Xiao Yan smiled, then lightly snapped his fingers. Steward Mo's body instantly burst apart, exploding into a cloud of blood.
"Ding! Another system detected. Plunder it?"
The instant Steward Mo's body exploded, a glimmer of golden light appeared.
It was the system within him.
At the same time, a voice rang out in Xiao Yan's mind.
"Plunder!"
Hearing the notification in his mind, Xiao Yan spoke almost without thinking.
His cheat was called the Infinite Plunder System.
Its help was precisely why he had cultivated to the Dou Huang Realm so quickly.
"Ding! Plunder successful. Begin fusion?" "System fusion requires one month. Once fusion is complete, all of this system's abilities will become available."
After the golden light was plundered, another notification rang out in Xiao Yan's mind.
"Fuse!"
Xiao Yan spoke without the slightest hesitation.
After all, he was already a Dou Huang expert.
He could spare a month.
At worst, his cultivation would just slow down a teeny billion-fold.
After he had dealt with the minor interruption that was Steward Mo,
the Spatial Talisman's effects gradually faded as well.
Xiao Yan did not linger and headed straight for the reception hall.
As for Steward Mo's corpse...
Having exploded into a cloud of blood, Steward Mo had left no corpse behind.
The instant Xiao Yan entered the hall, everyone's gaze fell upon him.
Xiao Yan took the opportunity to survey his surroundings.
Quite a few people were present. Seated at the head were his father, Xiao Zhan, and three elders with indifferent expressions.
Below them, on their left, sat several senior members of the Xiao Clan.
On the other side were the central figures of today's proceedings: Nalan Yanran and her companions.
After a brief glance, Xiao Yan strode forward and cupped his hands in greeting to Xiao Zhan and the others.
"Father, Elders!"
At the same time, he thought that it really was just like the original story: there was not even a seat for him here.
"Heh, Yan'er, you're here. Come, sit down!"
Seeing Xiao Yan arrive, Xiao Zhan nodded at him and spoke with a light chuckle.
As soon as Xiao Zhan finished speaking, the three elders and the other Xiao Clan members curled their lips in amusement.
Sit down?
He would need a seat first!
How could trash who brought shame upon the Xiao Clan deserve a place here?
"Second Elder, you..."
Xiao Zhan had clearly noticed this as well, and anger flashed across his face.
Before he could finish, however, the Second Elder spoke with a show of concern.
"Oh dear, my sincerest apologies. I actually forgot the Third Young Master. I'll have someone prepare a seat at once!"
Seeing the false smile on the Second Elder's face and the blatant mockery in his eyes,
Xiao Yan remained composed. In his eyes, these people were nothing but clowns jumping about on a stage.
If he had not been trying to keep the plot from falling apart, he could have slapped everyone here to death with a casual sweep of his hand.
But for the sake of his grand ambition to become a Dou Di, Xiao Yan decided to endure a little longer.
What had just happened with Steward Mo, in particular, had made Xiao Yan even more vigilant.
Since he was not the only Otherworlder, who could say whether there were more besides Steward Mo?
So I absolutely can't act rashly. I have to disguise myself as the Xiao Yan from the original story.
"Brother Xiao Yan..."
Just as Xiao Xun'er was about to rescue Xiao Yan from his predicament,
a voice suddenly rang out that caught everyone by surprise.
"Young Master Xiao Yan, if you don't mind, why not sit here with me?"
The speaker was none other than Nalan Yanran, the central figure who had come to break off the engagement.
Her words drew everyone's gaze toward her.
Their eyes were filled with confusion.
The younger members of the Xiao Clan, in particular, were seething with resentment.
Why?
Why would such a beautiful, charming young woman, with an illustrious status and exceptional talent,
look so favorably upon a piece of trash?
The younger disciples of the Xiao Clan all felt bitterly aggrieved.
At the sight, a slight ripple passed through Xiao Xun'er's lovely eyes as well, and her gaze toward Nalan Yanran grew a little more wary.
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