Rest assured, I won't kill you

Had it only been a few hundred years, the Misty Cloud Sect's foundations would still have been enough to contend with him.

But-

Thirty thousand years!

Those words exploded like thunder in Nalan Yanran's heart, and a chill instantly shot from the soles of her feet to the crown of her head.

What a terrifying concept was that?

Even the entire Jia Ma Empire had no history that long!

This... just what realm had this ancestor of the Xiao Clan reached?

Perhaps he ought to be called an old monster who had mastered the art of preserving his youth?

Was this someone the Nalan Family could oppose?

Never mind the Nalan Family... even the Jia Ma Imperial Family, which ruled the entire empire, would probably never dare show the slightest disrespect!

Nalan Yanran's heart reeled, her thoughts in utter disarray.

She could not imagine, or rather, could not begin to comprehend such an existence.

Just how far had Xiao Chen's cultivation reached now?

This was her first time meeting someone who had lived for thirty thousand years...

"All of you, rise."

"I truly never expected the Xiao Clan to have fallen to such a state."

Hearing Xiao Chen's words, Xiao Zhan felt somewhat ashamed.

Xiao Chen looked at Ge Ye and Nalan Yanran. Seeing how nervous they were before him, he smiled faintly.

"So you're Nalan Yanran?"

"Rest assured, I won't kill you."

"Xiao Yan, whatever you wanted to do just now, go ahead and do it boldly."

As he finished speaking, Xiao Chen turned to Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan looked slightly taken aback, then recalled the humiliation he had just suffered.

He abruptly turned, strode to the table, and began writing furiously!

The ink settled, and the brush stopped!

Then Xiao Yan suddenly drew the short sword on the table with his right hand and slashed its sharp edge across his left palm, opening a bloody wound.

His bloodstained palm left a glaring bloody print on the white paper!

Lightly picking up the contract, Xiao Yan let out a cold laugh.

As he passed Nalan Yanran, he slammed it heavily onto the table.

"Don't think I, Xiao Yan, care so much about having some genius wife like you."

"This contract isn't an agreement to dissolve our engagement. It's a writ of divorce expelling you from the Xiao Clan!"

"From this day onward, you, Nalan Yanran, have nothing whatsoever to do with my Xiao Clan!"

"You... you dare divorce me?" Staring at the bloody handprint on the contract, Nalan Yanran widened her beautiful eyes and spoke in disbelief.

With her beauty, talent, and background, she had actually been summarily divorced by a good-for-nothing from a minor clan?

Just then, however, she suddenly felt an icy gaze upon her and could not help shuddering.

It was that ancestor of the Xiao Clan!

Xiao Yan paid her no more attention. Instead, he turned around, knelt before Xiao Zhan, and kowtowed heavily.

He bit his lip tightly, stubbornly saying nothing...

Witnessing this iconic scene firsthand, Xiao Chen could not help feeling somewhat wistful.

He knew that although Xiao Yan had nominally expelled Nalan Yanran from the clan here, outsiders would not see it that way once word spread. Unaware of the circumstances, they would only believe that Nalan Yanran had used her powerful backing to force the Xiao Clan to break off the engagement.

After all, with Nalan Yanran's talent, beauty, and background, she was more than a match for a good-for-nothing young master of the Xiao Clan.

No one would believe Xiao Yan had the nerve to divorce the future leader of the Misty Cloud Sect!

And thus, as Xiao Yan's father, Xiao Zhan would undoubtedly face endless ridicule.

Looking at the kneeling Xiao Yan and understanding his guilt, Xiao Zhan smiled calmly and said warmly, "Since our Xiao Clan's ancestor has returned, my son certainly won't remain a good-for-nothing all his life. Mere rumors will collapse without a fight before reality in the days to come."

"Father, three years from now, I will go to the Misty Cloud Sect and personally wash away today's humiliation for you!" His eyes somewhat moist, Xiao Yan kowtowed heavily.

As for Xiao Chen, to Xiao Yan at present, he was still only a stranger.

"Very good!" Xiao Chen nodded in satisfaction.

"You three, since you've achieved your purpose, please leave."

Seeing the Xiao Clan's ancestor speak, Ge Ye and Nalan Yanran exchanged a glance, both inwardly breathing a sigh of relief.

"Uncle Xiao, I apologize to you for what happened today. If you have time in the future, please visit the Nalan Family!"

"Senior, sorry for the intrusion."

Nalan Yanran bowed to Xiao Zhan and Xiao Chen in turn, then, not daring to linger, rose and headed out of the hall.

Behind her, Ge Ye and the handsome young man hurried to follow.

"Take the Qi Gathering Powder with you!" With a sweep of his hand, Xiao Zhan coldly sent the jade box on the table flying out.

Ge Ye reached behind him and caught the box securely. His eyes flickered as he put it into his ring.

Seeing Nalan Yanran about to leave the hall, Xiao Chen felt he ought to say something.

"Nalan Yanran, I hope you won't regret today's spoiled young lady behavior in the future."

"Don't think having the Misty Cloud Sect behind you means you can run rampant without restraint. The Dou Qi Continent is vast, and there is no shortage of people stronger than Yun Shan and Yun Yun."

At those words, the first to react was instead the girl in the purple dress in the corner.

She felt somewhat surprised, because those were the very words she had wanted to say.

At the same moment, at the entrance to the hall, Ge Ye's body shook violently, and terror instantly covered his aged face.

His withered hands immediately seized Nalan Yanran and the young man, and he bolted out of the hall as though fleeing for his life.

At Ge Ye's actions, everyone in the hall turned to look at Xiao Chen.

Our ancestor is mighty!

Ge Ye and the others, who had been so arrogant earlier, had actually been scared straight into running away?

Xiao Chen smiled faintly.

Although he had no cultivation whatsoever, he had spent years beside his beautiful teacher. He could muster all the bearing and presence a powerful expert ought to have!

"You did well just now, boy."

Xiao Chen looked straight at Xiao Yan.

"Thank you for your praise, Ancestor."

Although he still did not know what was going on, or why an ancestor had suddenly appeared, Xiao Yan chose to trust his father's judgment.

"Hahahaha!"

"Rest assured, with me here, no one will dare humiliate the Xiao Clan again!" Yet Xiao Chen's supremely domineering declaration earned him a disdainful look from the little golden snake.

With you here? What damn use are you?

You get to show off, but if anything really happens, won't you still have to rely on me?

"Yes! With you here, Ancestor, our Xiao Clan... will surely rise and return to its peak!" Xiao Zhan said excitedly.

"Not me. You'll have to rely on yourselves."

"For a clan, having one powerful person is far from enough."

"Besides, given my status, it really wouldn't be appropriate for me to take action within the Jia Ma Empire, lest people say I'm using seniority to bully the young."

Xiao Chen gave them a warning in advance.

After all, with his meager abilities, he could not beat anyone in a fight. He could only take a beating.

He could not kill anyone!

"Well... Ancestor, the Xiao Clan now..." Xiao Zhan immediately looked embarrassed.

"I know. The strongest is only a Da Dou Shi."

"But don't worry. With me here, improving your strength won't be much of a problem."

"Thank you, Ancestor!"

Xiao Chen's words excited everyone.

Although many of them still did not understand the situation, Ancestor Xiao Chen radiated the presence and confidence of a powerful expert from the inside out.

They could not muster even the slightest doubt.

"Everyone else, leave. You two stay. I have something to discuss with you."

"Yes, Ancestor."

The Xiao Clan members soon left.

Gu Xun'er was the last to leave, but she said nothing more either.

She merely gave Xiao Yan a sweet smile.

The two Xiao Chen had asked to remain were, naturally, Xiao Zhan and Xiao Yan.

"Ancestor, what is it you wish to discuss?" Xiao Zhan asked somewhat apprehensively.

"If I remember correctly, the Xiao Clan wasn't in this remote Northwest Region back then. How did you end up here?" Xiao Chen asked, though he already knew the answer.

Xiao Zhan drew a deep breath and sighed softly. "Only the clan head is entitled to know such secrets. It all began with a great battle a thousand years ago..."

Listening to Xiao Zhan's account, Xiao Chen looked thoughtful. The precise details had long since been lost to history, but the general circumstances differed little from what the original story had described.

As Xiao Yan listened to Xiao Zhan's account, his eyes gradually widened.

He had never imagined their Xiao Clan had such a glorious past!

Even a certain soul within the ring on his finger trembled slightly at that moment.