On the martial arts arena, as the Origin Emperor Battle began, fierce battles were raging on three enormous battle stages.
Lian'er stood on a floating battle platform. Opposite her was a Three-Star Origin Emperor. When the latter saw the beautiful woman before him, a frivolous look appeared on his face. Sensing Lian'er's Early-Stage Origin Emperor cultivation, he couldn't help but tease her:
"Tsk tsk, you must be that girl who follows Xiao Yan around. I didn't expect you to be a Origin Emperor as well. But judging from your aura, you probably just broke through not long ago."
The man's words made Lian'er frown slightly, a feeling of disgust rising in her heart. With a thought, she immediately began to circulate the Origin Qi within her body.
"Hehe, little girl, I won't bully you, so you won't lose face. After all, it's not good for such a charming girl to cry. Why don't you just admit defeat, and I won't make things difficult for you? How about it?"
Seeing Lian'er frown, as if he had hit a nerve, the man's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he continued.
"Laugh!"
However, the moment her words fell, the girl's delicate body suddenly shot forward. With a flick of her fingers, several purple lights shot out and landed around the man. Some of them went straight for him. Wherever they passed, the invisible void twisted and shattered, and the air was shrouded in a purple poisonous mist.
"Damn it! This woman's Origin Qi is poisonous!"
Upon seeing this, the man's expression changed instantly. He realized his carelessness and retreated hastily, his inner Origin Qi surging as he blocked the purple streaks of light shooting towards him. Immediately afterward, his figure flashed, and a series of collision sounds followed.
From the very beginning, the girl skipped all the warm-up phases and swiftly brought the battle to a fever pitch with a head-on clash.
"Tsk tsk, the Woeful Poison Body! Having grown to this level, the power it can unleash is far beyond what an ordinary Origin Emperor can achieve. That kid is going to lose!"
In a certain spot in the stands, Xiao Lei leaned comfortably against a railing, arms crossed, and said casually.
Beside him, Xiao Zhuobin nodded with a smile, then turned his gaze and said:
"Oh, by the way, my elder brother went to visit Xiao Yan yesterday, although he didn't see him."
"Oh? I didn't see anyone. What do you mean?"
Xiao Lei raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised. The latter shook his head helplessly, saying with a wry smile:
"It's said that guy is currently refining pills and has gone into seclusion, refusing to see anyone."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Lei straightened up, turned around and stared at the latter, and said in astonishment:
"What? The clan assembly has already started, why is he going off to refine pills? Isn't that clearly giving up on joining the clan?"
The latter shrugged and pursed their lips in helplessness. At this moment, all they knew was that Xiao Yan was in seclusion refining pills, but they had no idea why.
"Bang!"
At that very moment, the man who was fiercely fighting with Lian'er was knocked back by her palm strike with an incredulous expression. He took half a step off the stage and almost fell. This determined the final result of the match.
The girl stood indifferently on the battle platform, her gaze sweeping across the stands, where Xiao Xuan stood quietly.
In the blink of an eye, the Origin Emperor War came to an end. Next, the Yuan Zong War, which will be the focus of attention for the entire Xiao Clan's younger generation, will begin!
The next day.
The competition is about to begin. In the courtyard, Xiao Xuan frowned and stared at the gate that had not moved at all. His hands clenched into fists involuntarily. He was anxious. The Yuan Zong Battle was about to begin, but Xiao Yan still showed no signs of emerging from seclusion. This was adding insult to injury for them, who had little hope to begin with!
The Xiao Clan, Martial Arts Arena.
Xiao Tian wins!
On the battle platform, as Xiao Tian defeated a newly promoted family member, a satisfied laugh rang out from the elders' seats. Xiao Jinghong exchanged a smile with Xiao Tian on the platform below, and then, just as he was about to sit down, Xiao Dingtian, who was beside him, slowly stood up. After judging the result of the other battle, his next words made the faces of some people on the elders' seats tighten immediately.
"Next match, Xiao Chuhang will face... Xiao Yan."
Noticing the change in their expressions, Xiao Dingtian couldn't help but smile coldly. He had naturally heard about Xiao Yan's affairs in recent days, so after some arrangements, Xiao Chuhang's original opponent was replaced by Xiao Yan.
On the field, Xiao Chuhang also had a relaxed expression on his face, clearly aware of the matter.
After Xiao Dingtian found him and explained the reason the day before yesterday, Xiao Chuhang was quite satisfied with the matter. Recalling how Xiao Yan had attacked him before even stepping into the Xiao Clan, although he couldn't defeat him head-on today, he could still defeat the latter without lifting a finger. Why not do something so pleasant and simple?
From the stands below, Xiao Xuan witnessed this scene and understood the reasons behind it all. However, now that the situation was too dire for him to handle, he couldn't change it with just a few words.
" Xiao Yan! If you are present, then quickly go up on stage and participate in the battle; otherwise, you will be considered to have forfeited!"
Xiao Dingtian's gaze slowly swept across the entire scene, especially when it swept over Xiao Xuan. Seeing the solemn expression on the latter's face, his smile deepened. Since even the usually composed Xiao Xuan showed such an expression, he had no doubt that Xiao Yan would definitely not be able to show up today.
"Since you are unwilling to take the field, then I hereby declare this battle..."
After surveying the area, Xiao Dingtian smiled, a hint of smugness in his expression. He slowly exhaled, and just as he was about to utter a word, Xiao Mingyuan, who was not far away, suddenly interrupted him, saying:
" Xiao Dingtian, are you in such a hurry to see the results? According to the rules of the competition, even if a participant is not present, they should be declared to have forfeited after fifteen minutes. As the person in charge, are you going to disregard the rules?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Dingtian didn't get angry but laughed instead, staring at Xiao Mingyuan with a mocking expression, and said sarcastically:
"Hmph, don't you and I both know whether Xiao Yan can attend? Since that's the case, why waste any more time and delay?"
"Rules are rules, are you trying to disregard them?"
Xiao Mingyuan frowned, staring at the former with displeasure, and said in a deep voice.
"You..."
Just as Xiao Dingtian was about to speak, Xiao Yuheng, the clan leader, finally spoke slowly, saying:
"Rules are established to be followed, and as a family elder, you should set an example in your actions. What do you say?"
Upon seeing Xiao Yuheng's gaze, the latter paused slightly, then shifted his gaze back to Xiao Mingyuan. After a moment's hesitation, he burst into laughter:
"Haha, fine, I'm not afraid of you. Since you insist, what's wrong with waiting a little longer? But don't blame me for not warning you, no matter how much you delay, the outcome is destined to be unchanged!"
After speaking, Xiao Dingtian said no more, his gaze returning to the arena, looking at Xiao Xuan in the stands whose face was full of anxiety, and his smugness grew even stronger.
Time passed second by second, and the battles in the other two locations on the field had intensified and gradually entered a white-hot stage. On Xiao Chuhang's side, although the field was silent, the tense atmosphere in the air was no less than that in the other two locations.
At this moment, everyone's hearts were pounding with tension, right up to the very last second...
"Hmph, alright, just one or two minutes left. This battle should have a result by now."
Xiao Dingtian smiled mockingly and looked back at Xiao Mingyuan. At this moment, the latter's expression was ashen, and he no longer had the stubbornness he had shown before in the face of Xiao Dingtian's provocation.
However, just as Xiao Dingtian stood up and was about to determine the result, a thunderous sound suddenly echoed from somewhere outside the arena. As Xiao Dingtian turned his head to look, a dark curtain slowly condensed above the battle platform, and then a slightly pale face appeared before everyone's eyes.
"Sorry I'm late."