Chapter 172: Returning to the Xiao Family

“Ziyue, come with us to Wutan City,” Xiao Xie said with a smile, glancing at the stunned Amethyst Winged Lion King.

“Yes!” The Amethyst Winged Lion King let out a helpless, bitter smile, realizing its days of leisure were once again coming to an end.

“All right, don’t look so down. Here, this Emperor’s Supreme Pill is for you.” Xiao Xie patted the lion’s head, produced an Emperor’s Supreme Pill, and fed it to the beast. Within ten minutes, the Amethyst Winged Lion King’s strength surged by two stars, reaching the nine-star Douhuang level, now standing at the very peak of a sixth-rank magical beast.

The Amethyst Winged Lion King lowered itself respectfully before Xiao Xie. “Thank you, Master!”

Cradling Qinglin in his arms, Xiao Xie climbed onto the lion’s back, patted its rear, and laughed, “Destination: Wutan City—let’s go!”

With a thunderous roar that shook the heavens, the Amethyst Winged Lion King unfurled its wings, carrying Xiao Xie and Qinglin, transforming into a streak of purple light that shot toward Wutan City.

Flying at full speed, the Amethyst Winged Lion King covered the distance in just two hours, arriving above Wutan City. Amidst exclamations of wonder, it descended onto the Xiao Clan’s plaza.

Now, the entire Wutan City had become a vassal to the Xiao Clan, a fact recognized by the imperial family of the Jia Ma Empire. Everyone knew that because the Xiao Clan had produced a peerless genius—one who maintained ties with the Cloudmist Sect and had even forced Queen Medusa into retreat—the imperial family had ceded Wutan City to the Xiao Clan to curry favor with Xiao Xie. Thus, the Xiao Clan, once a third-rate family, had risen to become the foremost clan in all of Jia Ma Empire.

When Xiao Xie rode the Amethyst Winged Lion King across the city’s skies, most of Wutan’s populace instantly recognized him. In Wutan City, Xiao Xie was practically a legend—a youth from a humble clan who had shaken the entire empire, leading his family to supremacy.

The people of Wutan City were immensely proud to have such a legendary figure among them. Outside the city, they could boast, “Do you know Xiao Xie, the King of Pills? The very one who forced Queen Medusa to back down and saved the Jia Ma Empire from disaster. He even used to call me ‘uncle’!”

“Xiao Xie, you’re back. Welcome home.” No sooner had the group landed in the Xiao Clan’s plaza than Xiao Zhan and the three great elders emerged to greet them.

“Clan Leader, I’m home.” Seeing the smiling faces of Xiao Zhan and the clan members, Xiao Xie replied warmly. This was his family, his clan. Witnessing the genuine smiles all around, Xiao Xie felt the true meaning of home—a sense of heartfelt warmth.

“Come inside, don’t just stand here,” Xiao Zhan chuckled, taking Xiao Xie’s arm and leading him toward the main hall.

“Elder Xiao Xie is so young and handsome!”

“Of course! He’s the living legend of the Xiao Clan—Xiao Xie!”

“Cousin Xiao Xie is the youngest Alchemy King in the history of the Jia Ma Empire, and when he was only sixteen, he could already fight with Douzong experts. He’s just too cool!”

“Cousin Xiao Xie is my eternal idol!”

As Xiao Xie’s figure disappeared into the distance, his disciples burst into excited conversation. Within the Xiao Clan, although Xiao Zhan was the clan leader, the one with the greatest prestige was Xiao Xie. With a single word, he could prompt Xiao Zhan to abdicate. Everyone knew that it was only thanks to Xiao Xie that the Xiao Clan had become the leading family of the Jia Ma Empire, and that Wutan City had become their domain.

“Xiao Xie, what is your current level of strength?” In the hall, Xiao Zhan voiced the question on everyone’s mind.

Xiao Xie stroked Qinglin’s little head, took a sip of tea, and replied with a smile, “Three-star Douzong.”

“Oh, three-star Dou—Three-star Douzong?!” At first, Xiao Zhan nodded calmly, but then he and the three great elders nearly dropped their jaws in shock.

Xiao Zhan stared at the smiling Xiao Xie, a cold sweat forming on his brow. “Heavens! Just half a year ago, Xiao Xie was only at the Douhuang level, and now he’s Douzong? I know he’s not one to measure by common standards, but still…”

Meeting each other’s eyes, Xiao Zhan and the three elders saw the same astonishment reflected there. They could only shake their heads with wry smiles. Though it was a cause for joy to have such a genius in the family, it was also unsettling for the elders to see their junior advance so rapidly—pride and a tinge of embarrassment mingled in their hearts.

“Clan leader, these are the gifts I brought back this time: a low-tier Earth-level cultivation method; three low-tier Earth-level battle techniques; three high-tier Heaven-level cultivation methods; five high-tier Heaven-level battle techniques; and some pills—enough for you all to reach the Dou Wang level.” Xiao Xie handed Xiao Zhan a storage ring. It wasn’t that he lacked more advanced techniques, but even with the pills Xiao Xie had provided earlier, their strengths had only recently risen to Dou Ling. More advanced methods and techniques were beyond their current reach.

Compared to Xiao Xie and the Little Medicine Fairy, their progress was slow—but, in truth, their situation was normal. Not everyone could advance as rapidly as Xiao Xie and the Little Medicine Fairy.

The main reason for Xiao Xie’s meteoric rise was the Collapse Jade within him. Even after absorbing three clusters of Heavenly Flame, he likely couldn’t have reached Douzong without it, as each rank required overcoming a bottleneck—and the leap from Douhuang to Douzong was a major one. Thanks to the Collapse Jade, which ignored bottlenecks, he could leverage the three Heavenly Flames to break through to three-star Douzong.

As for the Little Medicine Fairy, her Affliction Poison Body and the Poison Fruit meant that as long as she had enough toxins, her strength could skyrocket—another case that defied common sense. Although Xiao Xie’s strength was still below hers, he knew his rapid progress was due to the cheat-like Worship System, and the extra two years he’d spent in a replica world.

Now, though the Little Medicine Fairy was only at eight-star Dou Wang, just over a year ago she had only been a Dou Practitioner. To go from Dou Practitioner to eight-star Dou Wang in just over a year was truly terrifying. What’s more, for her, challenging those above her level was easy; in the face of her toxins, even Douzong-level experts would be doomed if they were careless enough to be poisoned.

“An Earth-level cultivation method?” Xiao Zhan and the others exclaimed in unison. Their reaction was understandable—Earth-level cultivation methods were far more valuable than battle techniques. Even the Cloudmist Sect’s leader likely only cultivated a Heaven-level method, and now Xiao Xie had brought them an Earth-level one.

Seeing their flustered expressions, Xiao Xie wasn’t disdainful—he just found it amusing.

Noticing the faint smile on Xiao Xie’s face, the four elders couldn’t help but blush. Having let their junior shoulder the burden of the family, they already felt guilty; now, losing composure before him, they had lost all their dignity as elders.

Once they’d recovered, Xiao Xie dropped yet another bombshell—he handed Xiao Zhan the Bone Pearl of a one-star Douzong-level Bone Knight, along with instructions for its use.

Xiao Xie knew that the Soul Clan was eyeing the Xiao Clan, or rather, the Ancient Emperor’s Jade Tiger in their possession. But with the Ancient Clan’s presence, the Soul Clan dared not move openly against them. Still, as a precaution, Xiao Xie gave Xiao Zhan the Douzong-level Bone Knight as a trump card.

The Bone Warriors summoned via Bone Summoning were all contracted with Xiao Xie through the Spirit Pact, meaning he could use Reverse Spirit Summoning to instantly appear alongside any Bone Warrior. Even if the one-star Douzong Bone Knight couldn’t withstand the Soul Clan’s assault, it could at least stall them and send a distress signal to Xiao Xie, giving him time to reverse summon himself there.

“A one-star Douzong Bone Knight!” The four elders stared in shock at the Bone Pearl in Xiao Zhan’s hand. Though the Xiao Clan was now the top family in Jia Ma Empire, this was all due to Xiao Xie’s presence. He couldn’t stay with them forever; with only the four elders at Dou Ling level, if a Dou Wang expert decided to ignore Xiao Xie’s reputation, they could easily sweep through the Xiao Clan.