Chapter 1: Reborn Ruthless Xiao Li

The youth dressed in all-black tight attire, his straight and powerful stature exuding vigor, his dark eyes revealing laziness and sharpness, his face brimming with a smile.

"Xiao Yan, even breaking through to Fighter is still not enough, hahaha."

Hearing his second brother's loud laughter, Xiao Yan crawled up from the ground, feeling wronged, "Damn, you're only three years older than me; if I were your age, my cultivation would surely surpass yours!"

Xiao Ding watched on, amused; his two younger brothers were both astonishingly talented.

Third brother Xiao Yan broke through to Fighter at eleven; second brother Xiao Li was even more of a monster, a Fighter at ten, now fourteen, and without much help from the family he had somehow become a nine-star Fighter, leaving even his elder brother behind.

Xiao Ding wore a smile, but his mind turned to diligent cultivation; at sixteen he was only a four-star Fighter, which really wasn't enough.

After chatting with Xiao Ding and Xiao Yan for a while, Xiao Li returned to his room.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the surging momentum from his recent sparring with Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan had lived two lives, his soul power extremely strong; Xiao Li was no different—since transmigrating fourteen years ago and becoming Xiao Yan's second brother, he had displayed extraordinary soul strength, such as keen intellect and photographic memory.

Xiao Li never expected that he wouldn't transmigrate to the ancient eight clans or to Zhongzhou, but instead ended up as the righteous yet ruthless Xiao Li from the original story.

For the family, for his brothers, the ruthless Xiao Li willingly swallowed the Life-Devouring Pill.

Gazing at the proud Xiao Yan outside the window, Xiao Li's eyes flickered with hesitation; his younger brother had outpaced peers since childhood, fostering arrogance and complacency—perhaps letting Yao Lao temper him for three years would be good.

Later, when the Soul Heavenly Emperor becomes emperor and enacts a blood sacrifice on the Battle Qi Continent, still needing Xiao Yan to suppress it, Xiao Li asks himself, even with foreknowledge, he dares not guarantee he can become an Emperor.

Letting Xiao Yan develop on his own is the best choice; arbitrarily altering his development is unreasonable.

"Ah, it's tough on you, little Yan; endure these three years, and I'll surely compensate you." Xiao Li smacked his lips twice, his eyes gleaming with schadenfreude at his younger brother's future misfortune.

Xiao Li placed his packed clothes into the storage ring his father Xiao Zhan had given him, preparing to set out for training on a chosen day.

The family's resources indeed affected Xiao Li's cultivation; it took him four years to rise from one-star to nine-star Fighter, whereas in the original story Xiao Yan achieved it in just over a year—truly unimpressive.

Even though the clan recognized his talent and gave him everything they could, it amounted at most to some low-grade pills and herbs.

The Xiao Clan had fallen on hard times, with many members, and now another equally talented Xiao Yan had appeared; resources would naturally be even more strained, so it's better to leave for training sooner.

He just didn't know whether his father would consent to let him go training.

In Xiao Zhan's bedroom

Xiao Li clasped his hands in salute and loudly said, "Father."

Xiao Zhan set down his book, "It's Li'er, what's the matter? If you need resources, I'll get some for you in a few days."

Speaking of resources, Xiao Zhan hesitated a bit, but still promised.

Xiao Li saw this, his heart warmed, "It's not for cultivation resources; I want to go out for training, for shutting oneself away only leads to mediocrity."

"What? No, you're still too young; if you reached your elder brother's age I'd agree, but not now." Xiao Zhan firmly refused, "What kind of joke is this? Letting my most talented son go out for training is too dangerous—absolutely not."

"Li'er, if you go out for training you must bring a Master; our Xiao Clan has fallen, and Masters are already the backbone of the clan—how could we easily spare one as your guard?" Xiao Zhan frowned, his tone rather desolate.

Since Xiao Lin died from severe injuries, the Xiao Clan could no longer stay even in the capital of the Jia Ma Empire, fleeing in disgrace to Wutan City.

In Wutan City there are also the Jia Lie and Ao Ba families; the Xiao Clan, as outsiders, faces considerable exclusion, and if we were to dispatch even elder-level Masters…

As for Fighters, with Xiao Li's current strength, it's unclear who would be protecting whom.

Xiao Li fell silent; the outside world is indeed dangerous, but that's not a reason for him to stay put in the clan.

Thinking of his warm elder brother Xiao Ding, his mischievous younger brother Xiao Yan, and his father Xiao Zhan who always considers him, Xiao Li couldn't help but strive.

The threat of the Soul Hall looms near; not to mention the Soul Hall's massive entity, even the Jia Ma Empire's Cloud Mist Sect could bring the Xiao Clan the shame of a broken engagement.

"Father, I understand." Xiao Li suddenly smiled, turned, and left.

Xiao Zhan watched Xiao Li's retreating back, shaking his head slightly, his stern face full of helplessness; among his three sons, only the eldest Xiao Ding is steady, the other two are no easy lamps.

……

Late night, the moon hung high.

Xiao Li had written his farewell letter; a true man should go achieve unparalleled feats—how could he be frightened by a little danger? Face-to-face goodbyes with father and brothers would be too sentimental; better to send a straightforward letter.

He gently closed the door; a long spear planted in the ground in the courtyard caught Xiao Li's attention.

Between flickering electric lights, the spear's shaft shone with overwhelming dominance, eight feet long, purplish-black, with a faint purplish-black fish swimming up and down upon it—truly imposing.

A note hung at the spear's butt; Xiao Li looked up and saw it was his father Xiao Zhan's handwriting.

"My son Xiao Li, I know your ambition reaches the heavens; as father I know I cannot stop you, this thunder-scale spear was left by the old clan chief, and there is also a thunder-attribute battle technique; when you go out, remember……"

The note was several hundred words long; Xiao Li read it all, his eyes brimming with hot tears.

Carefully storing the note in his storage ring, Xiao Li bowed deeply toward his father Xiao Zhan's bedroom.

"Father, thank you."

After a long while, having completed his rites, Xiao Li lifted his foot and stepped out of the Xiao Clan's gate.

Hiding in the shadows, Xiao Zhan felt lost, "Sorry Li'er, I originally wanted to secretly protect you for a time, but as clan chief I can't free myself—don't blame father……"

Xiao Zhan turned; the moonlight was rather bleak.

"Xiao Yan, why are you still awake so late?"

Just as he turned, Xiao Zhan saw Xiao Yan walking out of the house.

Xiao Yan's sneaky figure paused, then he stiffly turned his head to look at Xiao Zhan.

"Father, father, I just want to go to the toilet, really, the toilet, hehe." Xiao Yan gave an embarrassed laugh, "I can't exactly tell Father I'm going to Xun'er's room to give her a massage."

Xiao Zhan's mouth twitched, his eyes even more helpless, "Go quickly and come back."

After saying that, Xiao Zhan didn't bother correcting Xiao Yan's mistaken direction to the toilet, merely shaking his head and sighing to himself.

"You lot, if only Ding'er were half as sensible, the Xiao Clan's chieftainship should still go to Ding'er, sigh."

Inside, Xiao Ding, who was drafting a plan to become mercenary corps leader in two years, sneezed.

"Strange, it's not even cold now."

(End of chapter)