"What happened?"Xiao Yan stood up and asked.He had a vague premonition that something bad was going on.
"Put your clothes on first."Xiao Yu glanced at Xiao Yan's standing figure, blushing slightly, then deliberately looked away.
"Clothes?"Xiao Yan suddenly remembered his clothes had just been burned to ashes by the aftershock of energy and flames.
A gentle breeze blew, and his manhood swayed slightly.
"We've seen each other naked since we were kids, what are you shy about?"Xiao Yan said as he pulled out a piece of clothing and put it on.
"You were a pervert as a kid, and you're even more of one now that you've grown up."
Xiao Yu shot a sharp glare at Xiao Yan, then coldly said after recalling the recent events, "It's Xiao Jiande. He knows he can't get revenge on you, so he simply shifted his target."
"Shifted his target?"Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes and asked, "To Xiao Niu and Xiao Ma's group?"
"Exactly. Xiao Jiande knows he can't touch us, so he sent people to deal with Xiao Niu and Xiao Ma, and even arranged a few cousins to stir up trouble on our side.
Now the two groups have already clashed several times, both sides have suffered injuries. But they're all just young men who can take a beating. The real problem is the descendants' village of Xiao Niu and Xiao Ma — this could end in death."
Hearing this, Xiao Yan's face immediately darkened.
A nameless fury burned inside him.
He had broken Xiao Jiande's leg, and it was normal for the descendants of the Xiao Lu branch to come and cause trouble. His own men had been beaten, so naturally, he would compensate and take back some face.
But Xiao Niu and Xiao Ma? They were just descendants trying desperately to climb up in life. Now they were suffering innocent disasters simply because of the grudge of a second-generation rich kid.
"Xiao Jiande, you deserve to die!"Xiao Yan glared coldly, then turned to Xiao Yu and said, "Take me to the descendants' village of Xiao Niu and Xiao Ma first."
"Alright."Xiao Yu nodded slightly, his Dou Qi wings fluttered and turned into a streak of light as he flew off. Xiao Yan followed behind, lost in thought.
After crossing several mountain ranges, the two arrived at a small basin nestled within the mountains.
Qiling Village was located in the Qiling Basin, named after the excellent grazing grass called Qiling Alfalfa, which was very suitable for raising magical beasts.
Because of the abundant Qiling Alfalfa, a powerful Dou Zun had rented this place and transformed it into a ranch.
The descendants in Qiling Village mostly made a living by herding magical beasts for that Dou Zun.
The ranch mainly raised a third-tier magical beast called the White Brocade Rainbow Cloud Ox.
This third-tier beast was strong and sturdy; eating its meat could strengthen the body, its magical core and beast bones were valuable for alchemy, and importantly, its temperament was relatively gentle, making it a very economical livestock beast.
But last night, over ten thousand White Brocade Rainbow Cloud Oxen in the ranch suddenly went mad and charged towards Qiling Village. The small village was flattened in moments.
Fortunately, even though it was a descendants' village, there were a few Dou Wang experts and one Dou Huang village chief among them. Their help greatly reduced casualties.
Still, two people died, and nearly ten were seriously injured.
"Village Chief, we bear an undeniable responsibility for this." Standing by the ruins, Xiao Niu and Xiao Ma looked disheveled, their weathered eyes holding numbness and sorrow.
The two brothers had spent nearly thirty years training to break through to Dou Wang.
When they finally did and had their names recorded in the clan genealogy, they felt immense pride.
They were their parents' pride and the future of Qiling Village.
But after leaving the village, they realized there were always people stronger and higher than them.
The Dou Wang warriors revered by the whole village were nothing in the grand hierarchy of the Xiao Clan!
Many young people effortlessly reached Dou Wang level just by relying on their bloodline powers and resources provided by their fathers and grandfathers—and their future wasn't limited to that.
Worse still, someone like Xiao Jiande, with just a bit of malice in his heart, could wipe away all their hard work and, just to vent, destroy their home.
"Stop talking." The old village chief sat on a large rock, his aged face covered in wrinkles, white hair scattered about, and his cloudy old eyes lost in thought.
"If anyone is to blame, it's only ourselves for being too weak. Weakness is truly a sin." A trace of sorrow flashed in the village chief's eyes.
To the descendants, he was the strongest, oldest, and wisest elder of Qiling Village. But only he knew how weak he was compared to the truly powerful in the Xiao Clan.
"But... what exactly did we do wrong? Why were we born to be weak, to be bullied and looked down upon?" The old chief looked at the dusty villagers.
On the ground lay a pile of mangled corpses trampled by the White Brocade Rainbow Cloud Oxen—his childhood friends.
Though they had Dou Ling cultivation, their blood had long since faded with age. After being hit by a Bull King, they never got up and were turned into a pulp amid the chaos.
He then glanced at a pale little girl nearby.
This innocent child, ten years old and already a Dou Zhe, was the village's best prodigy.
She might have had a chance to reach the coveted Dou Zong realm in the future, but in the chaos last night, she lost her right arm.
This incident threw her into the abyss; she might never even reach Dou Wang now.
The sorrowful atmosphere lingered over the ruins of Qiling Village, and despair spread through the villagers' hearts.
"Hoo!" Suddenly, a breeze blew, and everyone looked up to see a young man dressed in black, vibrating his Dou Qi wings, flying like a shooting star.
"This is the place."Xiao Yu pointed to the village ruins in the basin.
The moment Xiao Yan saw the ruins, his blood pressure surged uncontrollably.
"Young Master Xiao Yan." Despite his inner frustration, Xiao Niu and Xiao Ma respectfully bowed to Xiao Yan.
"Young Master Xiao Yan." The old village chief slowly stood and bowed slightly. Although a Dou Huang, his age had bent his body like a mountain pressing on his spine, his gray hair radiating desolation.
"Was it done by Xiao Jiande?"Xiao Yan's voice was icy cold.
"Young Master Xiao Yan, we have no solid evidence." The village chief's weary voice showed exhaustion.
"Evidence!"Xiao Yan stared coldly at the ruins.
Xiao Jiande's move was truly disgusting.
If he were still just Xiao Lin's grandson, finding evidence would be difficult. Even if evidence were found, Xiao Jiande would only receive a mild punishment at best.
To satisfy his own desire for justice, he would have to wait until he reached the Dou Sheng level and take matters into his own hands.
Fortunately, he was no longer a mere genius—he was the emperor's son of the Xiao Clan!
One of the highest-ranking figures under the clan ancestor Xiao Xuan, even if many elders did not fully acknowledge him yet.
But to deal with a petty second-generation rich kid like Xiao Jiande...
"Since you like to use your power and background to pressure people, I'll let you experience what it's like to be crushed by power." A cruel smile curled on Xiao Yan's lips.
(End of Chapter)