Chapter 88: Wu Tan City, Xiao Family
Chapter 88: Wu Tan City, Xiao Family
Chapter 88: Wu Tan City, Xiao Family
On the Griffin Beast, Xiao Yu and Xiao Hu were sitting in their chairs when they noticed a tremor under their feet and a feeling of weightlessness. Having been on a Griffin Beast before, they understood that this was the Griffin Beast taking off.
Since the Griffin had taken off, it meant that Xiao Ming had arrived.
As expected, a few seconds later, footsteps were heard at the door and a handsome young man dressed in white entered the room, followed by the tall Xiao Shan.
"Cousin Xiao Ming, Cousin Xiao Shan!"
Seeing Xiao Ming and Xiao Shan enter, Xiao Hu and Xiao Yu hurriedly stood up and greeted, apparently still a little nervous.
Xiao Yu and Xiao Hu had long since learned from their cousin Xiao Shan that Xiao Ming's strength was now in the Dou King realm, so even though they had a bloodline connection with Xiao Ming, they were still a little nervous.
It was impossible for them not to be nervous, knowing that they were facing a Dou King powerhouse!
It was a realm that they couldn't even think of with their limited strength, so it was no wonder they were nervous. Especially since Xiao Ming had been out of the clan for over eight years, to be honest, they weren't very familiar with him either.
"Cousin Xiao Yu, cousin Xiao Hu, long time no see."
Seeing them, Xiao Ming showed a gentle smile, he had met both of them before, so it wasn't wrong to say that it had been a long time.
He could see that the two of them looked a little nervous. Xiao Ming knew what was going on after thinking about it, and after smiling, he didn't say anything and just sat down at the table.
After Xiao Shan sat down next to Xiao Ming, Xiao Yu and Xiao Hu looked at each other and sat back in their chairs.
Xiao Ming looked around and then asked Xiao Shan, "Is Xue Tian in the room?"
"Well, Brother Xue Tian has returned to his room to cultivate."
Hearing that Xue Tian was still in his room, Xiao Ming closed his eyes and sensed for a while, and checked that Xue Tian was indeed in his room, which couldn't help but make him nod in satisfaction.
This time, he had actually left just to test Xue Tian to see if he would leave in his absence, and it seemed that Xue Tian did not have this in mind at the moment.
If Xue Tian had run away, he would actually have had a way to chase him back, except that would not be good for either party, especially Xue Tian, it would probably be another severe beating, which would not be a pleasant experience by any stretch of the imagination.
Although Xue Tian was taken in after being beaten to death, Xiao Ming still did not want to put too many restrictions on him as a slave master, even though Xue Tian called him master and treated himself as if he was in the position of a servant.
Now, with his behavior, Xiao Ming thought that perhaps he might consider training Xue Tian, who was of little use to him but was extremely useful to the Xiao family.
If he had Xue Tian in the Xiao family, he would prevent some dogs and cats from coming to mess with the Xiao family, and then they would ask him to intervene.
After planning in his heart, Xiao Ming raised his head again and asked.
"Zi Yan didn't cause any trouble, did she?"
"Just as you indicated to me, no one approached her while she was sleeping, so nothing happened."
"It's good that no one approached her, although magical beasts are in a dormant state when they digest energy, it doesn't mean they don't perceive the outside world, if someone they are unfamiliar with approaches, under their self-instinctive protection, it can be dangerous." Xiao Ming smiled and said.
'Cousin Xiao Ming is still as handsome as when he was a child.' As Xiao Ming spoke, Xiao Yu, who was beside him, looked at his profile in a daze and thought secretly.
Xiao Ming had had some moments of fame in the Xiao family since he was a child before his talent was exposed.
His fame was based on his cute looks, as could be inferred from the fact that Xiao Yan, who was a star at the time, could recognize Xiao Ming, with whom he basically had little dealings.
Although in this world where the strong are the most respected, being cute or not, it wasn't really too important, but children, well, sometimes they didn't pay that much attention, so Xiao Yu had seen scenes of Xiao Ming surrounded by some young children his age before.
'If it was now, I think with cousin Xiao Ming's looks, he is capable of driving women crazy, if that vixen Xue Ni and the others saw him, they would surely be full of dirty talk again.' Xiao Yu thought to herself, Xue Ni was a classmate she knew at Jia Nan Academy who used to make risqué comments.
"Cousin Xiao Yu doesn't seem to have changed much since she was a child."
While Xiao Yu was thinking about all those scenes she used to see of Xiao Ming in the Xiao family, she suddenly heard Xiao Ming beside her strike up a conversation with her.
"Ah!" Xiao Yu was startled when her reverie was suddenly interrupted, and seeing that it was Xiao Ming talking to her, she thought of what Xue Ni and the girls would have said in her mind a moment ago and felt an inexplicable sense of embarrassment, and her white cheeks flushed slightly.
Seeing this look on her face, Xiao Ming felt a little insecure and repeated what he had just said.
This time Xiao Yu finally heard him clearly and coughed a little to adjust her emotions.
"How can it be? In fact, it's Cousin Xiao Ming who is the same as before, you haven't changed at all in all these years."
"Hehe, is that so?" at those words, Xiao Ming laughed.
"Of course it's true, in my impression, Cousin Xiao Ming has always been very gentle in dealing with people, and you are still the same as before, unlike some people who are arrogant and domineering just because they have some talent."
Xiao Yu did not mention that she thought Xiao Ming was as handsome as when he was a child, instead, she mentioned other points.
Xiao Hu and Xiao Shan beside him nodded at her words, Xiao Ming did have a good temper and they had never seen him get angry or anything like that, this was something that Xiao Shan, who had been with Xiao Ming the longest, could confidently assure.
Speaking of being arrogant and domineering with a bit of talent, Xiao Yu suddenly remembered something and immediately spoke, "Speaking of which, there is something I have to thank you for, cousin Xiao Ming."
"What is it?" Hearing this, Xiao Ming was a bit puzzled.
"Do you still remember when you were young, you reminded me that there were snakes at the back of the mountain and that I should take a maid to the hot springs?"
Xiao Ming's expression was one of surprise, then he nodded and said, "I remember, is it possible that you actually encountered snakes? You haven't been bitten, have you?"
"Indeed, there is a kind of non-venomous snake in the back mountain that bites people very painfully, I have also encountered it, it's just that kind of snake is not common, and it's bad luck enough that you have encountered it, cousin Xiao Yu." Xiao Shan, at her side, resumed the story.
Xiao Yu waved her hand and said, "I didn't encounter a snake, but I did encounter a wolf!"
"Ah, is there still a wolf at the back of the mountain? You must have seen it wrong." Xiao Shan's expression was confused, the back mountain was connected to the Xiao family's backyard, that there were non-poisonous snakes was already the limit, how could there be a wolf?
Xiao Hu, who had not said much beside him, was also confused, it was really impossible for there to be wolves in the Xiao family's back mountain.
Seeing the confused expression of Xiao Shan and the others, Xiao Yu knew that they had misunderstood and blamed herself for not making it clear, and immediately explained.
"It's a lecherous wolf!".
Xiao Shan and the others were not stupid, and when she said it that way, everyone understood.
"Are you trying to say that you met a pervert peeping into the hot spring?" Xiao Ming said with a strange look on his face, as a name suddenly came to his mind.
"It can't be, can it? Who has the guts to be so bold!?" Xiao Shan to the side was a little shocked, the rules of the Xiao family were strict, and whoever dared to do so would be severely punished.
"There really was one, because I heard you say that there are snakes in the back mountain, I was spending some time with the maid to check the surroundings before preparing to bathe in the hot spring, it was at that moment that Xiao Yan burst in and was discovered by me." Hearing Xiao Ming says that, Xiao Yu hastened to explain.
"Xiao Yan!?"
Hearing this name, Xiao Ming had little reaction, while Xiao Hu and Xiao Shan beside him reacted a little more, and said in disbelief.
"That pervert is Xiao Yan? No way, he's the Clan Head's son, there's no way he doesn't know the seriousness of such a matter."
"Hmph, why wouldn't he? You guys haven't been in the clan for that long, but you don't know how infuriating that little bastard is, he used to have his nose pointed towards the sky just because he had some talent. Barging into the hot springs and saying something about him getting in by mistake, who would believe it!?"
The displeasure and contempt in Xiao Yu's tone almost overflowed, and she seemed very hostile towards Xiao Yan, the reason for the quarrel between the two was probably Xiao Yan's appearance in the hot spring.
Xiao Yu, being the Grand Elder's granddaughter and having good talent, had a personality that was not so much good-natured, but rather a bit spiteful, and Xiao Yan had always been remembered by her after provoking her like that.
If one had to say who hated Xiao Yan the most in the Xiao family now, it was estimated that she might top the list.
For Xiao Yan's arrogance said from Xiao Yu's mouth, everyone else was actually aware of it.
In fact, it was not difficult to understand, arrogance was a common problem of geniuses, Xiao Yan's previous talent in the Xiao family was the second best after Xiao Ming, and he was the son of the Clan Head, pampered by his two elder brothers, it was not uncommon for him to be arrogant to others.
In a place like Jia Nan Academy, where geniuses gathered, they had seen many arrogant students, so now they could treat them normally.
As long as one had the strength and talent, one could be as arrogant as one wanted, no one would say anything, others would at most insult you in their hearts, but on the surface, they would still treat you with respect.
Of course, since you were arrogant, you had to have the strength to be arrogant all the time, otherwise, if in the process you offended someone you shouldn't, it would be a disaster!
Others would take the opportunity to pour out all their previous grievances on you.
Being the target of others' negative emotions is the consequence that had to be faced.
Looking at Xiao Yu who was very hostile towards Xiao Yan, Xiao Shan sighed, to be honest, he felt that there was still some truth in Xiao Yu's words, whether Xiao Yan intended to enter the hot spring or not, it was still wrong to enter.
Without the incident of entering the hot spring, there was no need for Xiao Yu to hate Xiao Yan so much and not even try to hide it from any of them.
This could not help but cause his evaluation of Xiao Yan to begin to decline.
Seeing that something was wrong with the atmosphere, Xiao Ming took the initiative to change the subject.
"It's good that my initial advice has served you well... That said, your current strength is a seven-star Dou Practitioner, right? Cultivate hard, if you can cultivate to the Dou Master realm this year, I will give you a gift."
Xiao Yu and Xiao Hu were instantly attracted by these words, over the years Xiao Ming had sent many high-level Dou Techniques to the Xiao family, as well as some pills and so on.
Now that he said he wanted to give a gift, it was definitely no ordinary thing.
"What kind of gift is it?" Xiao Yu asked with some curiosity.
"Well, an item that I can't use." Stopping Xiao Shan who wanted to talk beside him, Xiao Ming then said to Xiao Hu who was beside him and had an envious expression "The same goes for you, if you can get into the Inner Academy this year, I will give you a gift too."
Being from the same family, since they were both present, it was not good to treat them differently.
"Thank you, cousin!"
Xiao Hu, who was by his side, did not expect to have a share as well, so he replied with great joy, his face did not have the slightest intention of refusing, after all, Xiao Ming was a Dou King powerhouse and an alchemist, even if he gave him some random thing that was of no use to him, it would still be a treasure, only someone with a hole in the head would refuse.
"Oh, no need to thank me, there are still about twenty days until we reach the clan, in the meantime, everyone cultivates well."
...
In the next twenty days or so, the griffin beast continued to fly towards the Jia Ma Empire, and flying over the borders of various empires, relying on the reputation of Jia Nan Academy and its own Dou King level strength, Xiao Ming and the others arrived unharmed and without getting into any trouble.
The border cities of the Jia Ma Empire did not stop them either and let them leave without further ado.
The only thing is that the information about Xiao Ming began to spread from the border cities to certain places.
...
Twenty days later.
A flying magical beast flew over a city in the Jia Ma Empire.
In the griffin beast, Zi Yan sat bored beside Xiao Ming, the day they left, Zi Yan woke up and stayed in the griffin beast for more than twenty days, the others were fine, Zi Yan really felt like she was dying of boredom.
"Xiao Ming, I'm so bored!"
"If you are bored, go cultivate." Next to her, Xiao Ming sat on a chair, holding a book in his hands, and said slowly.
"But ordinary cultivation is too slow, why don't we go together to look for medicinal herbs? I feel that there are many precious medicinal herbs nearby, and when we find them, we will have half each."
Hearing this, Xiao Ming put down the book in his hand, looked at Zi Yan's expectant little face and said wordlessly.
"Looking for medicinal herbs? You're trying to steal medicinal herbs, aren't you?"
Zi Yan's talent for sensing medicinal herbs had come through the simulator a long time ago, and after going through many places these days, he had actually sensed quite a few good things.
However, most of those things were the treasures of certain powers.
How did Xiao Ming know that most of them were the treasures of certain powers?
This was because Zi Yan had started saying that she was bored early on, and seeing her pitiful look, Xiao Ming had agreed to accompany her out once.
Unexpectedly, every time Zi Yan pointed somewhere, it was a heavily guarded building with the aura of a powerful person.
At that moment, Xiao Ming was startled, grabbed Zi Yan, and ran out, fearing that Zi Yan would sneak in when he was not paying attention and be discovered.
He just wanted to go home in peace and quiet, he didn't want to be chased!
"Hmph, why are you afraid of those people? Many of them are not as strong as you." Zi Yan's little face frowned with dissatisfaction.
"I'm not afraid of them, it's just that there's no need to cause trouble, we should reach our destination very soon, don't you want herbs? Here, this is for you."
Seeing Zi Yan's unhappy look, Xiao Ming shook his head helplessly and took out a red fruit from his storage ring and handed it to Zi Yan.
"It's a vermillion fruit!" When she saw the fruit, Zi Yan's eyes lit up and the unhappy look on her face instantly disappeared, the vermillion fruit was a rare medicinal herb with a good taste, she had been longing for this fruit for a long time before, but Xiao Ming had not given it to her.
The sweet taste with a special aroma stimulated her taste buds, and Zi Yan murmured, "Delicious!" as she ate it.
Rubbing Zi Yan's hair, Xiao Ming walked out of the room, outside the room was the place where he had chatted with Xiao Yu and the others last time, which could hardly be called the living room.
At this moment, Xiao Shan was standing by the living room window, looking into the distance, Xiao Ming came to his side and asked, "How long until we reach Wu Tan City?"
Hearing this, Xiao Shan took out a map and said after comparing it.
"We just passed through Yan City, With the speed of the Griffin Beast, we should arrive in twenty minutes."
"Oh, we're finally almost there, go talk to Xiao Yu and the others."
"Okay."
After looking at Xiao Shan's departing back, Xiao Ming turned his head to look out the window and muttered.
"Counting down the time, today must be the day the Xiao family tests the clan members' Dou Qi!"
He had performed some life simulations in the past few days and had obtained hundreds of thousands of gold coins.
There wasn't much to say about the items, but one of the simulations mentioned that today was the time when the clan's Dou Qi test would be conducted.
...
The Xiao Clan of Wu Tan City, the square of the Dou Qi test magic stone monument.
Young boys and girls crowded together, and from time to time a young man whose name was called would run to the central stage to test his Dou Qi.
Next to the test magic stone tablet, there was a middle-aged man who was in charge of announcing the information that appeared on the tablet.
"Xiao Yun, Dou Disciple, Six Star, Level: Intermediate."