Chapter 190: A Conversation Between Father and Son

After the Three Year Agreement concluded, Xiao Zhan and his son Xiao Yan walked side by side on Misty Cloud Mountain; Xiao Yan looked at his father, wanting to speak but hesitating.

"What is it, Yan'er?" Xiao Zhan stopped his steps and looked at Xiao Yan with a warm smile.

"Father, can you do me a favor?" Xiao Yan said with some awkwardness; after all, what he wanted to do was not easy to voice!

However, he did not expect...

"You wouldn't be wanting me to help you get an introduction to that Sect Master Yun Yun of the Yunlan Sect, would you?" Xiao Zhan said with a look that was not quite a smile.

Xiao Yan widened his eyes, not expecting his thoughts to be exposed so easily.

"Are you wondering how I knew?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan nodded silently.

"Did you truly think I knew nothing about what happened in the Magical Beast Mountain Range back then?" Xiao Zhan laughed.

"Could it be that the clan had experts specifically following me?" Xiao Yan's tone carried disbelief.

He had not discovered any signs of being followed for such a long time, and then there was Teacher...

"No need to say more, there were indeed two Dou Huang experts following you the whole time." Just as Xiao Yan thought of Yao Lao, the latter's voice rang out in Xiao Yan's mind.

"Teacher, why didn't you tell me?" Xiao Yan felt a bit aggrieved; this way, he had been kept completely in the dark!

"Tell you?" Yao Lao said dismissively,

"What good would telling you do? Could you drive them away? Or would you just let yourself know you had a safety net and then feel free to stir up trouble?"

Yao Lao's rapid-fire questions left Xiao Yan speechless; indeed, since this matter was arranged by his father, it was likely something he could not change.

Life is like that thing; if you cannot resist, you naturally have to enjoy it!

"Eh? No, wait!" Xiao Yan seemed to have discovered a blind spot and looked at Xiao Zhan in surprise,

"Father, how could you send two Dou Huang experts to protect me? Wouldn't that violate the rules of the Xiao Clan?"

"You know they were Dou Huang?" Xiao Zhan was stunned for a moment, then realized, "It was that teacher of yours who told you again, right!"

However, Xiao Zhan did not dwell on this question, but instead answered Xiao Yan's confusion; he felt a sense of nostalgia and said earnestly: "Yan'er, you should be eighteen this year, right?"

Xiao Yan frowned, not understanding why his father would suddenly mention his age.

And Xiao Zhan continued:

"In fact, the sons of my Xiao Clan are qualified to know a part of the Xiao Clan's secrets after their sixteen-year-old Adult Ceremony."

"It is just that your situation was special back then, so we unanimously decided to keep this matter sealed from you until your Three Year Agreement was completed."

Xiao Yan's heart pounded; he had a premonition that his father's words would resolve many of the doubts he had held about the clan for years.

Xiao Yan was not a dull person; having lived in the Xiao Clan for over ten years, he had naturally noticed the anomalies of his own clan.

The first was the sparse population of the Xiao Clan's territory; there were not many Xiao clansmen, but there were certainly not few either—over the years, there were at least two or three thousand people.

However, the members within the Xiao Clan's territory were at most five or six hundred, and most of these were the elderly, weak, women, and children, whose strength was not high.

The true powerhouses in their prime like Xiao Zhan numbered only a little over a hundred, just enough to maintain the operation of the Xiao Clan.

Furthermore, the Xiao Clan's welfare system and various departments were quite perfect, and their strength was extremely formidable.

Back in Wutan City, Xiao Yan did not feel this too deeply, but when he went out to train, he discovered how shocking those cultivation conditions he had taken for granted were to the outside world.

There was also Xun Er's mysterious identity, as well as the wariness she faintly displayed toward the Xiao Clan, all of which troubled Xiao Yan.

These were only a portion of the problems; there were many things Xiao Yan did not understand, but now, it seemed they could all be answered.

Xiao Yan did not rush too much, just quietly waiting for Xiao Zhan's account, though Xiao Zhan did something else before that.

"Yan'er, may I ask your teacher to appear for a meeting?" Xiao Zhan asked in a calm tone.

Xiao Yan's expression tightened, thinking this was a showdown. Before Xiao Yan could react, Yao Lao drifted out from the Storage Ring on his own.

"I wonder what business Clan Leader Xiao has with this old man?" Yao Lao's expression was serious; the reason he took the initiative to appear was that he knew Xiao Zhan already understood his way of existence.

Moreover, he could also be certain that Xiao Zhan would not do anything detrimental to him; otherwise, he could have just acted forcefully instead of taking the initiative to ask him to appear.

"First, Zhan would like to express gratitude to the old gentleman on behalf of Yan'er; without the old gentleman's guidance, I fear Yan'er would have had a much longer road to walk." Xiao Zhan cupped his hands in a salute.

Xiao Zhan's gratitude was sincere, even though he was also aware that Yao Lao had been, and perhaps still was, suspected of using Xiao Yan.

But one cannot judge a person by what they think, but by what they do. Yao Lao had not done anything detrimental to Xiao Yan, and had even been doing his best to help Xiao Yan grow.

Even when the former extracted Xiao Yan's Dou Qi, it indirectly tempered Xiao Yan's will and laid a good foundation for him.

The grace of teaching, no matter where, must be respected.

"Clan Leader Xiao, no need for such formalities; this is merely fate between this old man and little Yanzi." Yao Lao said indifferently, his tone not very good.

He always felt that he had been dragged onto a pirate ship by the Xiao Clan; in front of the Xiao Clan, his little secrets seemed not to have been hidden, and for a moment, he felt a bit irritable in his heart.

"There are still some things that perhaps my Xiao Clan should explain to Venerable Yao in advance." Xiao Zhan calmly uttered earth-shattering words.

"How did you know this old man's identity?"

Yao Lao's expression was no longer indifferent; his aura erupted, shocking even Xiao Yan, who was pressed by that massive aura and unable to move.

However, Xiao Zhan merely waved his sleeve, and that powerful aura dissipated into nothingness.

"As expected of the continent's number one Alchemist; even if it is only Soul Power, it still possesses strength no less than a High-level Dou Zong." Xiao Zhan commented with an expressionless face.

And Yao Lao was also stunned by this move Xiao Zhan suddenly displayed, re-evaluating this seemingly ordinary Clan Leader.

Looking at Yao Lao's still unfriendly gaze, Xiao Zhan felt he should take the initiative to explain:

"Venerable Yao, no need to worry; your Bone Chilling Flame is a signature, so it is not impossible for my Xiao Clan to recognize it."

Yao Lao's expression froze; he had actually forgotten this point.

The rarity of Exotic Fire is beyond doubt, and the Bone Chilling Flame had naturally entered the eyes of experts in the Central Plains and even the continent along with his rise to fame.

It could be said that the Bone Chilling Flame was entirely Venerable Yao's ID card.

And Yao Lao had not used the Bone Chilling Flame less for refining pills and fighting enemies in these few years, so being recognized was only a matter of time.

Originally, with Yao Lao's caution, he would not have made such a low-level mistake.

It was just that in Yao Lao's subconscious, the Jia Ma Empire was merely a remote, small country; if they could know about Exotic Fire, it would be a stroke of luck, so how could they possibly distinguish which kind of Exotic Fire it was?

Then, Yao Lao felt a bit unscrupulous, and as a result...

He overturned his cart in front of his own disciple's clan!

However, Yao Lao still took a deep look at Xiao Zhan; while the Bone Chilling Flame was indeed proof of the Venerable, he, this Venerable, only had the greatest fame in the Central Plains.

He certainly did not believe his reputation could have spread so far to such a small country in the northwest. The reason behind this was worth deep reflection!

"I wonder what matter Clan Leader Xiao wishes to tell this old man?" Yao Lao consciously changed the subject.

"This must begin with the origins of my Xiao Clan."

Xiao Zhan, just like Xiao Han back then, entered a mode of reminiscing about history.