"However, perhaps our joy turned to sorrow, as our hopes were dashed. After reaching the Peak Origin Emperor, his cultivation stalled completely. Initially, we thought it was just a process of settling down, but... that wasn't the case. Even the Grand Elder personally investigated him, but couldn't find anything unusual..."
At this point, Xiao Mingyuan sighed deeply, looked up again at Xiao Xuan in the sky, his eyes filled with complex emotions. Who could have imagined that all the hard work and effort he had put in would end up like this?
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan chuckled softly. He recalled experiencing something similar when he was young. Now, thinking back, he could somewhat understand the feeling of being burdened with the hopes of his entire clan, only to have those hopes vanish like bubbles. After all, as Xiao Mingyuan had said before, this world was simply a place where the strong prey on the weak.
As for the Grand Elder, he naturally couldn't possibly see anything. The Origin Return Mantra was a cultivation method, and Xiao Xuan himself had no problems. Even if his body were dissected, no one would be able to find anything unusual.
"After that, his prestige in the clan declined further and further. Even the clan elders rarely paid attention to him, and even those who had previously supported him became like strangers. Some even mocked him. If it weren't for his calm and composed nature, he probably wouldn't have been able to stay in the clan any longer."
Xiao Yan simply smiled at this; it was just some casual conversation, which they had long since disregarded and would have no impact whatsoever. Now that the Origin Return Mantra was complete, he just didn't know what kind of interesting expressions those people would have when they saw Xiao Xuan's cultivation break through to the Yuan Zong level.
As the two of them spoke, the gradually freezing atmosphere on the field finally exploded at this moment!
"Laugh!"
In the sky, Xiao Feng clenched his fist, and the wind gathered between his palms, swirling and turning, transforming into a phantom spear. Gentle breezes gathered on it, constantly emitting a sound of wind breaking.
As the spear materialized, a chilling aura surged in Xiao Feng's eyes. He suddenly swung the spear, and a sharp whistling sound rang out. Then, the spear twisted, drawing an invisible giant dragon in the void, bringing with it an astonishingly terrifying wind pressure. With a roar, it carried the spear and shot towards Xiao Xuan!
With a calm gaze fixed on the invisible spear hurtling towards him, Xiao Xuan lightly raised his right hand, and his inner Origin Qi began to circulate without hesitation. With a thought, he quickly conjured an invisible sword blade in the void in front of him, and his Origin Qi surged into it. Then, he swung the sword out fiercely!
"Buzz!"
Two invisible forces suddenly collided in the void, and a deep explosion immediately rang out. A storm swept through, and the giant dragon and the sword were completely buried in the storm.
Immediately afterward, the sound of air being torn apart rang out again. Amidst the huge waves, Xiao Feng's body suddenly shot out, holding a long spear, and thrust it straight at Xiao Xuan.
" Xiao Xuan, let's settle our old scores here!"
Xiao Feng laughed angrily, his body trembled, and a blur remained in place. When he reappeared, he was not far in front of Xiao Xuan. His spear danced, the wind raged, and the sharp wind transformed into countless spear shadows, shooting cunningly and ruthlessly towards all parts of Xiao Xuan's body!
Below, upon hearing Xiao Feng's words, Xiao Yan frowned immediately, looking at Xiao Mingyuan with surprise, and asked in a doubtful voice:
"What? So, there was already a conflict between my ancestor and Xiao Feng before this?"
"Well... that's not entirely true. To be precise, it's actually because of Xiao Chuhang."
"It's him again..."
Thinking to himself, Xiao Yan, who already had no liking for this guy, now felt even more disgusted with him.
To this, Xiao Mingyuan gave a helpless, bitter smile and said:
" Xiao Feng and his brother lost their parents at a young age and suffered countless hardships growing up. As the elder brother, Xiao Feng doted on his younger brother, especially after the latter became the heir of the Xiao Clan..."
"But precisely because of this, while Xiao Xuan was valued by the family's higher-ups, Xiao Feng, as the heir apparent, was neglected. Xiao Chuhang felt resentful, so he maliciously broke in when Xiao Xuan Xuan's cultivation broke through. However, because Xiao Xuan's cultivation had just broken through at that time, he was severely injured by the backlash, which led to the conflict between him and Xiao Feng. After that, the two were prevented from clashing due to the deliberate obstruction of the family's higher-ups. Xiao Chuhang was also punished and devoted himself to cultivation, which allowed him to break through the shackles of the Yuan Zong Sect. In the end, this can be considered a blessing in disguise. It's just unexpected that Xiao Feng still cares so much about this matter."
Looking at Xiao Feng, whose face was cold and aloof in the void, Xiao Mingyuan slowly shook his head. If he only cared about his strength and wanted to become the heir of the Xiao Clan, he was afraid that he would not go very far.
Standing to the side, Xiao Yan couldn't help but chuckle when he heard that Xiao Chuhang had brought this upon himself. He then looked up again at the battle in the sky.
Facing Xiao Feng's fierce offensive, Xiao Xuan's expression remained unchanged. With a flick of his wrist, countless sword shadows rapidly materialized in the void around him. As he retreated rapidly, the sword shadows also thrust out one after another, colliding with the countless spear points and blocking the former's offensive.
Having lived for a thousand years and experienced countless bloody battles, Xiao Xuan's combat experience is far richer than that of Xiao Feng, who has been cultivating peacefully within the Xiao Clan. If the two were to fight each other, the latter would be no match for Xiao Xuan in terms of sheer martial prowess.
Seeing Xiao Xuan's composure, Xiao Feng's eyes grew even colder. With a flick of his sleeve, the wide robe enveloped the spear handle. As the hurricane howled, his entire body supported the spear as he shot forward, tearing a huge rift in space along the way.
"Laugh!"
The spear flashed out with lightning speed, but just as it was about to strike Xiao Xuan's chest, the latter swiftly raised both hands, his fingertips rapidly changing hand seals, circulating the Origin Qi, and gathering the clear wind, instantly transforming into an invisible longsword. Instantly, the incomparably sharp sword energy surged out, causing the surrounding void to distort with a buzzing sound.
"Huh?"
Upon sensing the sharp sword energy, a look of surprise immediately appeared on Xiao Mingyuan's old face. Although Xiao Xuan's momentum was strong, the fact that he could use the power of the wind to unleash such a sharp and domineering sword energy was even more surprising than the previous one!
"Bite!"
The invisible spear collided with the sword, producing a crisp sound. At the same time, sword energy shot out from both sides of the spear, tearing through the void and heading straight for Xiao Feng's face.
"Snort!"
As the sword energy shot towards him, Xiao Feng's expression immediately changed. Ignoring his spear, he rolled up his sleeves, releasing the spear as an invisible gust of wind covered his sleeves, blocking the incoming sword energy. At the same time, Xiao Xuan twisted his wrist, and the invisible sword in front of him collided with the invisible spear. Then, with a slight tremor, a crack was heard, and the invisible spear shattered, turning into countless whirlwinds that scattered in all directions.
"Young Master Xiao Feng, with your weapon destroyed, I think this battle can be considered to have come to an end."
With a faint smile, Xiao Xuan withdrew and landed back on the ground below. By the time Xiao Feng came to his senses, he had already seen the broken spear. When he looked at Xiao Xuan again, his face finally turned completely gloomy.
"If you want to end this fight, defeat me!"
With a low roar, Xiao Feng's body trembled violently as his internal Origin Qi surged outwards. At the same time, distorted, invisible curtains rapidly materialized in the void around him. Then, he raised his hands to his chest, his ten fingers moving in unison, forming a hand seal. Above his head, gusts of gentle breeze gathered together.
"This is... the Wind God's Fury!"
Upon seeing this scene in the void, Xiao Yan's expression changed instantly. The hand seal that Xiao Feng was using at this moment was exactly the same as the one that Xiao Chuhang had used in Xiao City before. It was undoubtedly the Wind God's Fury. However, if it were just the battle like before, it would be fine. But now, once the Wind God's Fury is used, even with Xiao Xuan's current cultivation level, he would probably find it difficult to withstand it!
" Xiao Feng, this battle is meaningless to begin with, so why are you making a fuss? You should know that needlessly harming your clansmen will be severely punished!"
Whether it was out of guilt towards Xiao Xuan or because of Xiao Yan's presence, Xiao Mingyuan spoke more sternly at this moment. However, now that things had come to this, how could Xiao Feng be willing to give up so easily?
"Third Elder, until now, I have never uttered a word of surrender, nor have I ever exhausted myself. Therefore, the battle is not over yet, so it cannot be considered an act of harming someone without cause!"
" Xiao Xuan, if you want to end this battle, one of us must fall!"
"The wind... god... is... wrathful!"
A powerful and overwhelming aura spread out, causing the expressions of the surrounding guards to change drastically. They quickly retreated, and even some elders who were watching the battle from a distance nodded slightly at the oppressive feeling. No matter how domineering his temperament was, Xiao Feng's strength was undeniable. No one could deny that.
"Buzz!"
Below, Xiao Yan took a step forward, blocking Xiao Xuan's path. A powerful sense of pressure, no less than that of the former, spread out. Immediately, the expressions of everyone present changed drastically again. The pressure from Xiao Feng alone was already so astonishing. If Xiao Yan were added to the mix, the result of a clash between the two would be unimaginable!
"Is it time to make a move...?"
Staring intently at Xiao Yan below, who was about to make his move, Xiao Feng in the void had a chilling glint in his eyes, and his aura became increasingly powerful.
However, the next moment, just as Xiao Yan was about to make his move...
"Um?!"
Raising an eyebrow, Xiao Yan turned his head, but Xiao Xuan's hand stopped him again. His expression remained calm, and before Xiao Yan could speak, he slowly said:
"You've had a tough journey, you should get some rest. I'll finish my own battle."
Having said that, without caring about Xiao Yan's expression, Xiao Xuan took a dozen steps forward. Then, under the watchful eyes of many people around him, he slowly raised his right hand, his two fingers together. At the same time, Xiao Mingyuan's expression suddenly changed. Looking up, he saw that above Xiao Xuan's head, a huge whirlwind had instantly condensed, followed by...
With a fierce flick of his sword, the massive whirlwind above Xiao Xuan's head, to the astonishment of everyone present, instantly transformed into a gigantic phantom image. And this phantom image was none other than...
The Wind God's Fury!