Chapter 42: Begging for Mercy

As soon as Xiao Yan stepped into the main hall, he saw that the two sides were already at daggers drawn, looking as if they were about to brawl, and the Xiao family, being at a disadvantage in numbers, was naturally going to suffer.

To avoid this situation, Xiao Yan instantly stirred up the Dou Qi throughout his body, transforming it into a rolling momentum that pressed down upon the crowd. The green and red dual-colored Green Lotus Core Flame coiled around his legs, erupting with a massive impact force that propelled Xiao Yan's body forward like a cannonball, directly pinning the heads of the two old men who had been charging at the front under his feet.

With a mere "Crack!", the sound of bones breaking rang out in the Xiao family's main hall, falling into the ears of everyone present.

"Huh? These two have quite hard heads, don't they?" Xiao Yan thought to himself. One had to know that although Xiao Yan couldn't be said to have used his full strength just now, he hadn't held back either. To not be directly crushed under such circumstances was already quite impressive by Wutan City's standards.

"Young Clan Head! It's the Young Clan Head!"

Seeing the suddenly appeared Xiao Yan, the people of the Xiao family revealed fervent expressions on their faces and cheered.

"Cough, cough, it is Young Master Xiao Yan who has arrived," the First Elder said with some embarrassment.

"Huh? First Elder, how did you get injured like this? Who made the move?" Xiao Yan looked over, somewhat shocked. If he remembered correctly, he should have stopped them just before they clashed; could it be that someone launched a sneak attack?

"Er—this—" The First Elder stammered for a good while, hesitant to speak, especially when he saw the two people pinned under Xiao Yan's feet; he felt even more ashamed and unable to speak, somewhat hating himself for being so foolish as to step forward earlier.

"That—Young Clan Head, the person who injured the First Elder earlier is currently under your feet!" someone reminded him weakly from the side.

"Is that so?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan lowered his head to look, only to see that the two people he had stepped on were already breathing more than they were exhaling, groaning helplessly on the ground.

At this moment, Xiao Yan also understood why the First Elder found it hard to speak. After all, the person who could injure the First Elder was being stepped on by him, one under each foot; in a roundabout way, how was that any different from the First Elder being stepped on by him?

Although the Xiao family members also knew that the First Elder was no match for him, and even the First Elder himself understood it, it was ultimately not as intense as this comparison.

"Ahahaha, well, First Elder, it's good that you're alright." Xiao Yan laughed it off to move past the matter, then turned his head to look at the people from the Jia Lie and Ao Ba families.

Although Xiao Yan and the First Elder had talked for a long time, the people from the two families were not dissatisfied; instead, they hoped Xiao Yan would keep chatting like this, preferably forgetting about them entirely. Some who were standing further back had even started to sneakily shuffle toward the door, hoping to escape this place of trouble.

But when Xiao Yan's gaze swept over, everyone, including the two family heads Jia Lie Bi and Ao Ba Dun, instantly stiffened their bodies.

The groans of the two families' First Elders were still echoing on the ground, and Wu Jin's mention of a Spirit Master was still lingering among the rafters; clearly, the person before them was simply not someone they could deal with.

Moreover, through the conversation just now, the people from the Jia Lie and Ao Ba families already knew the identity of this young man—Xiao Zhan's son, the Xiao family's Young Clan Head, Xiao Yan!

This fact directly extinguished their last shred of hope for winning him over, leaving only despair in their hearts.

Except for staying motionless where they were, waiting for Xiao Yan's judgment, no one dared to make a second move.

Watching the people from the two families standing there trembling, like a group of children who had done something wrong waiting for their parents' punishment, a trace of mockery rose on Xiao Yan's face.

"Speak, how do you want to handle today's matter?" Xiao Yan sneered.

"This—" Jia Lie Bi and Ao Ba Dun exchanged a glance.

Jia Lie Bi stepped forward first, biting the bullet, and attempted to muddle through: "This—Young Master Xiao Yan, it's a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding! Hahaha."

"Ah!!!" A scream rang out; the Jia Lie family's First Elder, still under Xiao Yan's foot, suddenly let out a miserable cry, which turned into chills in the hearts of everyone present.

"Ah, sorry, I misunderstood by accident, thinking this one under my foot liked being stepped on. My apologies." Xiao Yan apologized with zero sincerity.

"Young Master Xiao Yan, today's matter is entirely the fault of our two families. We are willing to offer half of our family assets, only begging Young Master Xiao for forgiveness!" Ao Ba Dun followed up by stepping forward to say.

"That's right, Young Master Xiao, please spare our lives! Clan Head Xiao, Brother Xiao Zhan! You and I have known each other in Wutan City for forty years; it's not like we haven't cooperated before. I wonder if you could spare this younger brother's life for the sake of our past friendship!" Perhaps feeling that he wasn't close with Xiao Yan and that the chances of pleading for mercy were slim, Jia Lie Bi turned his gaze toward Xiao Zhan, who had remained silent from beginning to end, and pleaded with tears in his eyes.

"That's right, Brother Xiao Zhan! Do you remember when we were young and once hunted magical beasts together? This time it really was us two being blinded by greed; it is our fault. Please, for the sake of the past, spare us this once!" Ao Ba Dun said, kneeling before Xiao Zhan with tears and snot streaming down his face.

As for the Wutan City Lord who brought them, the two of them didn't count on him at all; after all, if the other party had been willing to help plead for mercy, he would have done so long ago and wouldn't have waited until now.

Even so, the two of them didn't dare to shift the blame onto Ao Ba Dun, even though this matter was indeed instigated by Ao Ba Dun behind the scenes.

But the other party was, after all, a peak Great Dou Shi expert; if pushed too far, he might very well eliminate them afterward.

As for whether Ao Ba Dun himself would be dealt with by Xiao Yan and fail to walk out of this door, the two of them hadn't even considered it.

Ao Ba Dun was, after all, the Wutan City Lord recognized by the Jia Ma Empire royal family. If one were to kill him, it would inevitably invite a manhunt from the Jia Ma Empire; let alone a Spirit Master, even a King Master might not dare to pluck the whiskers of this tiger.

"What do you think, Father?" Xiao Yan asked Xiao Zhan, directly ignoring Ao Ba Dun on the side.

Although Ao Ba Dun was so angry his lips turned purple and his fingers left deep indentations on the chair's armrest, he had no good solution.

Over this past period, Ao Ba Dun had also realized that Xiao Yan was not a Dou Ling and was still at the Great Dou Shi realm, but the strength he displayed was undoubtedly above his own. Although he had the backing of the Jia Ma Empire royal family, this did not mean he could do whatever he wanted!

After all, the connection between the various city lords and the Jia Ma Empire royal family was actually not that tight; it was simply a relationship of paying taxes in exchange for protection. If the people above found out he was the one stirring up trouble, they might even abandon him because of Xiao Yan's heaven-defying talent and turn to win Xiao Yan over instead.

Regarding the question Xiao Yan threw his way, Xiao Zhan couldn't help but ponder for a while. He was naturally aware of what Ao Ba Dun was thinking, but on one hand, the Xiao family had suffered no casualties in this conflict, so there was no need to drive others to extinction. On the other hand, after today's events, the Xiao family would inevitably widen the gap with the other two families, reaching a point of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with or even surpassing the City Lord's Mansion. Under such circumstances, taking in a few lackey families was naturally necessary.

"Very well, for the sake of our past friendship, I will let you off. However, after you return, you must cede half of your markets to the name of our Xiao family. Besides that, your two families' members must never offend our Xiao family members when out in the future; otherwise, I will definitely execute you without mercy!" Xiao Zhan's tone shifted from gentle to severe, finally speaking in an unquestionable tone.

"Yes! Many thanks to Clan Head Xiao for your mercy." Jia Lie Bi and Ao Ba Dun bowed in unison, then quickly left the Xiao family's main hall with their people.

"That—Young Master Xiao, under your feet—" Two people from the Jia Lie and Ao Ba families ran over and pointed at the two people under Xiao Yan's feet.

Since the matter was already resolved, and these two would likely never recover after this ordeal anyway, Xiao Yan didn't stop them and let them carry the two away.

"Remember, be more polite when you see our Xiao family members in the future, understand?"

"Yes, yes!" The people from the two families hurriedly replied, then ran out quickly.

"Hahaha! Clan Head Xiao, I never expected your Xiao family to have such a gifted child; it's truly unexpected! I was originally worried about what would happen today. I never expected it to end in such a way. Since the Xiao family is already fine, I will take my leave first, see you later!" Saying this, Ao Ba Dun stepped forward, also intending to leave.

Unexpectedly, he was stopped at the door by one of Xiao Yan's hands.

"What, does Young Master Xiao still want to keep this City Lord for a meal?" Ao Ba Dun's eyes narrowed, his voice saying gloomily.

The atmosphere in the Xiao family's main hall suddenly became tense again.

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