Chapter 44: Xiao Wu's Background

When Xiao Han initially said he wanted to take Xiao Wu as a disciple, he only intended for him to be a Registered Disciple; of course, if Xiao Wu's performance met Xiao Han's requirements, then there would be no objection to him becoming a full disciple.

Never did he expect that when Shitou was preparing to go to the Central Plains with Xiao Han, he would take out that Jade Pendant which could represent Xiao Wu's background.

According to what Shitou said, when he first found Xiao Wu, it was a very foggy day, and he was named because of this.

At that time, Shitou had searched all around, but he did not discover the presence of anyone else.

And the swaddling clothes on the infant Xiao Wu at that time were decorated magnificently and were of great value, clearly indicating an extraordinary status.

On the continent, this kind of situation is also very common.

In such cases, it is generally because the child's clan has provoked a very powerful enemy, and the elders would then throw the infant away at some location and guide passersby to discover them, in order to pass on the clan's bloodline.

The only thing on the infant Xiao Wu that could represent his identity was a Jade Pendant with a complex pattern and the character "Xiao" on it.

Back then, Shitou chose to hand this Jade Pendant to Xiao Han precisely in the hope of being able to use his power to find Xiao Wu's clansmen.

And the moment Xiao Han saw the Jade Pendant, he immediately determined Xiao Wu's background—he was indeed a Descendant of the Xiao Clan.

Aside from that "Xiao" character, it was the patterns on the Jade Pendant that made Xiao Han conclude it at a glance.

Because Xiao Han himself also had a Jade Pendant with similar patterns. The meaning represented by this Jade Pendant was the status of a Core Disciple of the Xiao Clan.

This was also a point that made Xiao Han feel fortunate.

Because, with the decline of the Xiao Clan and the constant forgetting of their heritage, many things had already been gradually forgotten by the Xiao clansmen in terms of their original significance.

For example, the existence of that Tuoshe Ancient God Jade. If not for the appearance of Xiao Han, everyone would only treat it as an ordinary token of the Clan Leader.

And this pattern was the same.

In Xiao Han's era, ordinary Xiao Clan disciples only possessed a simple metal Xiao Character Token.

And only the Core Disciples of the Xiao Clan would possess such a Jade Pendant.

The front was engraved with the character "Xiao," and the back was the pattern.

But now, this type of pattern seems to have been simplified after Xiao Han's time because it was too cumbersome and very troublesome to produce.

It can be said that those who can recognize this pattern now are all elders at the level of the Xiao Clan Ancestors; there are no more than five such people in the entire Xiao Clan.

The reason Xiao Han was able to notice this pattern was that he had once suspected it might be the Xiao Clan Totem and had carefully checked relevant records, only to find nothing.

Although the material of the Jade Pendant was completely different, the patterns were exactly the same, which made Xiao Han develop a great deal of interest.

Back then, Xiao Han specifically went to ask Xiao Zhan in person whether there had been any missing persons among the Core Disciples of the Xiao Clan of his generation.

The answer received was no; all members registered in the records could be traced.

Even for the former Xiao Han, in the absence of confirmation of his death, his status in the Clan Genealogy remained as missing, not dead.

And apart from that, all the core members were basically dead, and the only two remaining core members were staying safely within the clan.

Since that was the case, the truth was self-evident.

Xiao Wu was a Clan Heir of another branch of the Xiao Clan, and also a core member.

This made Xiao Han somewhat excited for a moment; he had originally thought the Xiao Clan was the only remaining seedling.

Now there was actually a surprise.

However, what followed was a sense of gravity; Xiao Wu had actually been abandoned in the wilderness, which meant that the Xiao clansmen of that branch were likely in grave danger.

This also strengthened Xiao Han's conviction to increase his efforts in searching for other branches of the Xiao Clan.

Since Xiao Wu's branch could be passed down, it did not rule out the existence of other surviving branches.

Even though he did not hold much hope for this, Xiao Han still arranged for people to keep an eye out for relevant news.

And Xiao Wu, who possessed the Xiao Clan bloodline, was naturally Xiao Han's best successor.

As the saying goes, charity begins at home; even if Xiao Wu and he were separated by who knows how many generations, it is naturally best to hand the inheritance to one of his own.

However, despite having already confirmed Xiao Wu's identity, Xiao Han still had no intention of showing his cards to him.

Otherwise...

"Xiao Wu, you are my long-lost clansman!"

Xiao Wu: "..."

"We are the descendants of the Dou Emperor; you must struggle for the rest of your life for the resurgence of the Xiao Clan!"

"Get lost!"

After all, Xiao Wu was too young and might suddenly be unable to accept such a sudden event. It would be better to do as the Xiao Clan did: wait until after the fifteen-year-old Adult Ceremony to slowly open up certain secrets to him.

Just let nature take its course; Xiao Han did not believe that he would be able to let that little guy run away when the time came.

Just kidding!

With his talent, reaching the Dou Ling realm at fifteen would be the limit; could he really break out of the Langya Pavilion, where Dou Zongs and Dou Zuns are everywhere and Dou Wangs and Dou Huangs are as common as dirt?

If he, a Dou Sheng powerhouse and Pavilion Master of Langya, couldn't handle that, he would take Xiao Wu's surname.

Of course, now is not the time to think about these things.

Xiao Han is currently preparing for the many affairs of the Langya Pavilion after his seclusion.

Yi Huang and Ye Jianxin are beginning to handle the aftermath in front of him.

"Alright, is there anything else to settle?" Ye Jianxin asked with a helpless expression.

He clearly wanted to go into seclusion too; couldn't these mundane matters be left to Vice Pavilion Master Yi Huang? That person is the recognized big sister of the Langya Pavilion!

Handling these trivial matters should be a piece of cake for her.

"Alright, get lost!" Xiao Han flicked his hand, looking completely dismissive.

As expected, there is no love left. With a wife, he doesn't even care about his brothers in his heart, right? Wives are like limbs, and brothers are like rags, is that it?

Ye Jianxin looked at Xiao Han with a resentful expression; that look almost disgusted Xiao Han enough to make him take action directly. Afterward, he walked out of the study with thick resentment.

"Huang'er," when Xiao Han turned to Yi Huang, his tone softened quite a bit.

"Is there something?" Yi Huang smiled gently.

Watching the interaction between her husband and his brother, she only felt that the tightness in her chest from recently had eased quite a bit.

"I hope you can pay attention to news regarding Exotic Fire," Xiao Han said with a solemn expression.

"What's wrong? Haven't we been keeping an eye on news about Exotic Fire all along?" Yi Huang asked, looking puzzled.

"I hope you can find those Exotic Fires that already have masters."

"What do you mean?" At first she was a bit bewildered, but soon Yi Huang covered her mouth and said in shock:

"You aren't thinking of targeting those inherited Exotic Fires, are you?"

"No..." Upon hearing this, Xiao Han knew Yi Huang had misunderstood.

He corrected her, "I mean finding the second flame of those Exotic Fires."

Although Exotic Fire is born of heaven and earth, each type requires a unique environment and takes thousands upon thousands of years to potentially form; they are extremely difficult to produce and even harder to capture.

But at the same time, this also means that as long as there is a similar environment, there is a chance for the same type of Exotic Fire to be born.

Although Xiao Han knew this speculation was very crazy, if it succeeded, it would mean the possibility of possessing more Exotic Fires.

Even if it wasn't one of those world-destroying divine objects ranked in the top three, having any would be enough.

Xiao Han knew exactly what kind of Cultivation Method his future descendant would practice, and how he would stop at nothing to obtain Exotic Fire.

If it weren't for his immense personal fortune, he might have lived a mediocre life.

Collecting a little in advance would at least lighten his burden somewhat; besides, when it comes to things like Exotic Fire, the more the better.

There are plenty of people who want to obtain Exotic Fire; if not for certain reasons that prevent him from fusing with Exotic Fire, he might also be very covetous.

And even if they were just used as decorations, the prestige of the entire faction would instantly be raised by a significant margin.