Support me at patreon for 60+ advanced chapters :
patreon.com/YaoIk
**
After some casual conversation—
Wei Yang's gaze turned toward Xiao Li, who would occasionally cough, and asked, "Brother Xiao Li, you seem to be seriously injured. Also, as a mere Dou Shi, you actually took the risk to travel all the way from the Jia Ma Empire to the Black-Corner Region—did something happen?"
At those words—
The already strained smile on Xiao Yan's face gradually faded. In his pitch-black eyes, faint blood streaks began to surface and spread.
His fists clenched tightly, and his breathing grew slightly rapid.
At his side, Xiao Li—who appeared to be around twenty-four or twenty-five years old—suddenly broke into another violent coughing fit. His already pale complexion turned even paler.
A trace of pain surfaced on his face, and even his body began to tremble slightly.
In that moment, the hall fell silent, and the atmosphere became heavy and oppressive.
Watching the pained expressions of the brothers, Wei Yang faintly sensed something and furrowed his brow. "What exactly happened?"
Creak… creak…
"Brother Wei!" Xiao Yan's fists creaked as they clenched tighter. After taking a deep breath, he barely managed to suppress the fury and killing intent in his heart. His bloodshot eyes looked toward Wei Yang, his voice raspy as he said, "My Xiao Clan… something happened. Our clan was massacred—only one in ten survived! And my father…"
At this point, Xiao Yan gritted his teeth and growled, "He disappeared… his fate unknown!"
As expected Wei Yang slowly closed his eyes and let out a long breath.
The Hall of Souls had finally lost its patience… and chosen to strike at the Xiao Clan.
Things… had returned to the original trajectory.
Boom!
At that moment, Xiao Yan could no longer suppress the raging fury within. A powerful and violent aura erupted from his body.
This was the aura of a One-Star Dou Ling!
In the span of a year, Xiao Yan had successfully advanced into the Dou Ling realm.
"Cough, cough… calm down, Third Brother!" Xiao Li coughed violently and quickly reached out to grab Xiao Yan's arm, urging him in a low voice.
At his words, Xiao Yan's surging aura gradually subsided.
Huff… huff…
He stood there like a wounded, savage beast, panting heavily, his palms trembling slightly.
Xiao Li turned to Wei Yang and said apologetically, "Forgive us, Mister Wei."
"No need," Wei Yang lightly shook his head, showing it wasn't a problem. But a flicker of anger and killing intent did surface on his face. "Tell me everything—what exactly happened?"
Xiao Li pulled Xiao Yan back to his seat, then finally began to speak slowly. "It all started a year ago, when my third brother returned to the clan…"
…
As Xiao Li narrated the events, the full story gradually came to light.
Back then, after completing his Three-Year Agreement, Xiao Yan had returned to the clan.
When the Xiao Clan learned that Xiao Yan, after two years away from home, had not only become a Da Dou Shi, but had even publicly defeated Nalan Yanran on Cloud Mist Mountain, they were thrilled and excited beyond words.
After all, the humiliation from Nalan Yanran's public annulment of the engagement had been a stain on the entire clan.
Now, finally—they had their vengeance.
Clan Leader Xiao Zhan was so overjoyed that he stayed up all night writing a letter and immediately sent people to deliver the news to his two eldest sons, who were still in the Tagore Desert…
After staying with the clan for a few days, Xiao Yan once again set out—this time, heading for the Black-Corner Region.
Roughly two months after Xiao Yan's departure, the long-absent Xiao Ding and Xiao Li returned home together, having taken care of their mercenary group's affairs.
Unfortunately, by the time they arrived, Xiao Yan had already been gone for quite some time, much to their regret.
But since they'd finally returned home, the two brothers didn't leave in a rush. They decided to stay with the clan for a few days.
Everything was going smoothly—until two nights later, when the nightmare struck without warning.
"…That night, the clan held a banquet to welcome me and Big Brother home. But the banquet… turned into a bloodbath."
Xiao Li's face twisted in pain, his voice trembling. "That night, many people stormed into the Xiao Clan and began slaughtering indiscriminately. Some were from unknown forces… but there were also people from the Yun Lan Sect!"
"Although they tried to conceal their identities and mingled among the crowd," Xiao Li said, "How could they possibly hide the sword aura produced by the unique techniques of the Yun Lan Sect?"
As he spoke, a faint smile appeared on Xiao Li's face, but beneath it was a hatred so intense it was etched into his very bones. "They said not a word—just charged in and began a merciless slaughter. Every single one of them was terrifyingly strong.
We stood no chance... We fought with our lives on the line, but our clan members were still slaughtered one after another. Those beasts… they didn't even spare infants or young children!"
"I saw it with my own eyes—those barely old enough to stumble on their feet, cut down before me… and I was powerless to stop it…" Xiao Li tilted his head back and let out a low, bitter laugh. That laugh carried unimaginable grief, fury, and desolation.
"Yun Lan Sect…!" Xiao Yan could no longer suppress his rage. He threw his head back and roared, his nails digging deep into his palms, blood dripping from between his fingers. "Yun! Lan! Sect! I, Xiao Yan, swear to the heavens—I will destroy you all in this lifetime! Aaaah!!"
Fury and bloodlust surged in his chest, nearly drowning his reason.
"Yun Shan…" Wei Yang frowned deeply, and even he couldn't help but feel a rare flash of genuine killing intent. He coldly spat out the name.
The Yun Lan Sect's involvement in this massacre could not be separated from Yun Shan.
And as for Yun Shan's reason for doing this—there was no need to ask. It was undoubtedly tied to the Hall of Souls.
That the Hall of Souls had enlisted the Yun Lan Sect didn't surprise Wei Yang at all.
Outsourcing—it's their standard approach.
After all, the Xiao Clan had a large number of members. If the goal was to wipe them all out, they'd need assistance.
And the Hall of Souls rarely acted in the open. They preferred to operate from the shadows.
Besides, what happened to the Xiao Clan was far too deeply entangled to be simple.
…
"Why would the Yun Lan Sect suddenly target your Xiao Clan?" Wei Yang asked, though he already knew the answer.
At this point, Xiao Yan calmed down somewhat. His face was grim, and he remained silent.
"I don't know," Xiao Li said, shaking his head. Then he added, "But aside from those unknown forces and the Yun Lan Sect members, there was another group hidden in the shadows."
A flash of fierce light glinted in Xiao Li's eyes—vicious and cold—unconcealed on his pale face. "Those mysterious people stayed in the dark, but I could vaguely sense the chilling aura coming from them."
"They were like shadowy figures without visible faces, and their attacks were unstoppable. Occasionally, a pitch-black chain would shoot out from the darkness."
"Those black iron chains were extremely strange. Even Dou Qi could be pierced through. Every time we heard that metallic clatter in the dark… another clan member would be impaled and dragged away—into the shadows."
"These shadowy figures didn't seem to be there just to kill. It was more like… they were searching for something."
"Black iron chains…" Wei Yang's expression twitched slightly.
Those damn specters…
He let out a silent sigh in his heart. So it really was all for the Tuo She Ancient God Jade…
Xiao Li glanced at Xiao Yan, who gave him a subtle shake of the head. So he chose to skip over certain details and continued, "Afterward, we made the decision to scatter and flee. We ran toward the magical beast mountains behind the clan… but we were relentlessly hunted. With our strength, it was only a matter of time before the Xiao Clan would be completely annihilated."
"But fortunately, at the final moment, in the dark forest, help arrived—they saved me and the surviving clan members."
"They were strong experts sent by the royal family… along with members of the Mittel Clan. Even Elder Jia Xingtian, Hai Bodong, and Fa Ma all appeared together."
"Under their protection, the few surviving members of the Xiao Clan were able to survive… and later were secretly relocated to the Imperial Capital."
"I was only able to make it here to the Black-Corner Region and deliver this news because of a flying magical beast lent to me by the Mittel Clan. Without it… I might not have made it here alive."
"But… my father went missing in the chaos. We couldn't even find his body…" Xiao Li growled through clenched teeth.
"Father!" Xiao Yan's eyes reddened once more.
To the three Xiao brothers—who had lost their mother at a young age—Xiao Zhan was not only their father. In many ways, he had filled the role of both mother and father.
-------------------------------------------------------
Support me at patreon for 60+ advanced chapters :
patreon.com/YaoIk