Word Count: 3,460 Words
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Xiao Chen was like a man the times had left behind. His days consisted of secluded meditation and nothing else. Even the upper echelon of the Xiao Clan rarely caught a glimpse of him, and as long as the clan had not reached a true moment of life or death, he essentially would not take action.
Even now, he did not quite know how to face his older cousin. Fortunately, Xiao Yan had lived up to everyone's hopes and pulled the Xiao Clan back from the very edge of ruin.
This time, Xiao Yan's journey to the Gu Clan to marry Xun Er would also serve as a declaration to the entire world. The Xiao Clan, which had once dominated the Dou Qi Continent, had returned!
Of course, there was one person who absolutely had to hear the news. That person was Xiao Xuan, who had waited alone in the Heavenly Tomb for six thousand years.
To leave the Xiao Clan even a sliver of hope for restoration, the old ancestor had chosen to remain by himself in the Heavenly Tomb and wait for his descendants to arrive.
Six days inside the Heavenly Tomb equaled a single day in the outside world, which meant Xiao Xuan had endured a full six thousand years of that solitude. An ordinary person would have gone mad long ago. Yet he had borne all of it for a single wish. He wanted to see the Xiao Clan rise again one day and reclaim its former glory!
So when Xiao Yan decided to announce the Xiao Clan's return to the world, he also resolved to enter the Heavenly Tomb once more. He would deliver the news in person to the ancestor who had waited those six long millennia.
Naturally, the wedding was not the only reason for Xiao Yan's journey to the Gu Realm. He also meant to discuss several other matters with the Gu Clan in detail.
A marriage alliance between the Xiao and Gu Clans was, without question, an event the entire world would be watching. Both factions now stood among the foremost powers on the Dou Qi Continent.
…
Three days later, the day of Xiao Yan's wedding arrived.
Even Xiao Yan could not keep a little nervousness from stirring in his chest.
"What's this? Even our Little Clan Leader, the Ziwei Emperor Star come down to the mortal world, gets nervous?" Xiao Yu leaned against the doorframe with her arms folded and looked him over in his crimson wedding robes, then rolled her eyes in exasperation.
Xiao Yan shot her a look. "It's a wedding. Who wouldn't be nervous?"
"It's not even your first one," she fired back.
That much was true. When Xiao Xiao was born, he and Cai Lin had held a small ceremony, a private affair known only within the Xiao Clan.
Xiao Yan coughed twice. "That doesn't mean you just get used to it, all right?"
Xiao Yu studied him in his groom's robes. She could not quite name what she felt at the sight, though she had more or less grown used to it. After all, this was the second time she had seen him dressed this way.
Before the silence could settle, the door burst open behind her.
"Cousin Xiao Yan!"
A petite young woman swept past Xiao Yu as though she were not even there. Xiao Mei had a lovely, delicate face framed by soft dark hair, which made her wide, puppy-like eyes look even brighter. The moment those eyes found Xiao Yan, they lit up like a pair of little suns. She darted to his side, latched onto his arm with both hands, and hugged it tightly against herself.
"Cousin Xiao Yan looks so handsome today!" She beamed up at him with such open adoration that she practically glowed. "The most handsome groom on the whole Dou Qi Continent!"
"...Thank you, Xiao Mei." Soft, unmistakable warmth had swallowed his entire arm. Xiao Yan answered after a brief pause and reached over with his free hand to pat the top of her head. A barely audible sigh escaped him. The Xiao Clan's bloodline really was far too formidable.
He was no longer the green youth of years past. He had shared countless intimate moments with his wives. And yet Xiao Mei still managed to catch him off guard. She kept that dainty, petite frame of hers, almost like a porcelain doll's, which made the 'mountains' pressing mercilessly against his arm all the more absurd by contrast. They might not quite rival Cai Lin's, but they carried a formidable charm of their own.
Off to the side, Xiao Yu's eyebrow twitched. She had just opened her mouth to step in when Xiao Mei tilted her head with an air of perfect innocence, blinked those big eyes, and said sweetly, "You know, Cousin Xiao Yu and I don't even need a wedding. As long as Cousin Xiao Yan wants us by his side, that's more than enough." She paused, then turned a guileless smile straight at Xiao Yu. "Right, Cousin Xiao Yu?"
Xiao Yan choked. Xiao Yu froze beside him for one stunned heartbeat, then the blood rushed to her face and turned her cheeks as crimson as his wedding robes. "Xiao Mei! What kind of nonsense are you spouting at a time like this?!"
"Ow..." Xiao Mei let go of Xiao Yan's arm just long enough to rub the spot where Xiao Yu's knuckles had landed, her lower lip pushed out in a pout. "But it's true! And I'm not making it up either. The other day I heard Cousin Xiao Yu muttering to herself when she thought nobody was around. She said that if Cousin Xiao Yan ever just asked, she wouldn't hesitate for even a second..."
Whatever composure Xiao Yu had left snapped on the spot. Her blush deepened until it burned from her cheeks to the tips of her ears. She grabbed Xiao Mei by the collar with one hand, planted the other firmly against Xiao Yan's back, and shoved him toward the door.
"The auspicious hour is almost here! Quit standing around listening to this little gremlin and get going!"
"Wait—"
It was too late. Xiao Yu shoved him straight through the doorway, and the door banged shut behind him.
Xiao Mei's muffled voice carried through the wood almost at once. "Eh?! Cousin Xiao Yu, why are you dragging me back in here? I wanted to walk Cousin Xiao Yan to the ceremony!"
"Don't think for one second you're getting away with what you just said!"
"Eeep!"
Xiao Yan stood with his back against the closed door while the muffled commotion went on behind him. He shook his head with a wry, helpless smile, then let out a quiet sigh and looked at the scene before him.
Xiao Yan and the Xiao Clan were no longer the struggling, down-on-its-luck house they had once been. The entire Xiao Realm was draped in festive crimson. This was not only Xiao Yan's wedding day. It was also a celebration meant to sweep away the old decline and bring new fortune to the realm itself, a fresh start in every sense.
The Gu Clan had prepared just as grandly. Red lanterns and festive ornaments hung from every eave and archway, and a void passage had been opened directly from the Xiao Realm to Gu Sacred City.
The Gu Clan's precious daughter was getting married, and Gu Sacred City looked nothing like the place Xiao Yan had first visited. Crimson filled every street, and double-happiness characters covered every wall and doorway. Firecrackers popped without end, and laughter rolled from one end of the city to the other.
Naturally, there was no shortage of young men beating their chests and cursing the fact that they were not Xiao Yan.
"Hey, hey! Open up! Your Gu Clan's son-in-law is here!" Xiao Ning bellowed at the top of his lungs and pounded on the gates of Gu Sacred City.
When other men took a wife, they knocked on the bride's door. When Xiao Yan took a wife, he knocked on a city gate!
"Hey, hey, hey! Little Clan Leader Xiao Yan, if you think getting through this gate will be easy, think again!" Gu Xing, one of the Four Great Generals of the Black Submerged Army, laughed from the top of the wall.
"That's right! You want to carry off our Gu Clan's precious daughter? It won't be that simple! Show some sincerity first!" a young Gu Clan woman called out with a charming laugh.
Outside the gates stood a long line of Xiao Clan disciples carrying chest after chest of treasures.
Xiao Ning, the faithful 'lackey' at Xiao Yan's side, stepped forward and roared, "Today our Xiao Clan's Little Clan Leader Xiao Yan has come for his bride, so we won't waste any breath on you! One tier 8 pill that drew three-colored Pill Lightning, and one hundred tier 7 pills!"
He brought out a wooden box and opened it. A rich medicinal fragrance poured into the air at once.
A tier 8 pill that had drawn three-colored Pill Lightning, offered as nothing more than a token to get through the door. That alone showed just how wealthy Xiao Yan had become!
The fragrance had barely drifted outward before craving flashed through Gu Xing's eyes. Even a man who had already reached the initial Half-Saint level could not hide it.
"Xiao Yan, you're a Pill Guru. Shouldn't you at least bring out a tier 9 pill to broaden our horizons?" Gu Qing Yang, who had once lost to Xiao Yan, wore a sly grin as he looked down from the wall.
He certainly could not beat Xiao Yan in a fight anymore, but this was his one chance to get some 'revenge.'
Xiao Yan rolled his eyes at this fellow, who was so obviously using a public occasion to settle a private grudge. A tier 9 pill? You really have the nerve to ask. Even if Xiao Yan could refine one, it would take a long time, and gathering the ingredients would take time as well.
Second brother Xiao Li strode forward with a hearty laugh. "No tier 9 pills. But we'll throw in two more tier 8 pills that drew four-colored Pill Lightning."
High in the void, a group of Gu Clan elders watched the Dou Venerates and Half-Saints squabbling outside the gate like shoppers haggling over vegetables at a market. Wistful smiles crept across their faces.
Elder Gu Nanhai, who had once fought alongside Xiao Yan, chuckled warmly. "Hehehe, the Gu Clan hasn't been this lively in a very long time."
"Ever since that business with the Shi Clan, the mood in the clan has been nothing but gloom. A happy occasion like this to lift everyone's spirits can only be good," said an elder named Gu Yang, a 5-star Dou Saint, nodding in agreement.
"Sigh. Back then, this old man was truly blind. Fortunately, it did not lead to a grave mistake." Elder Tong Xuan shook his head with a bitter smile. His strength now fell far short of Xiao Yan's.
"Xiao Yan chose to come to the Gu Clan at this particular time. I suspect he's here for more than simply marrying Xun Er." Gu Nanhai narrowed his eyes slightly and watched Xiao Yan in his red groom's robes.
The Medicinal Ceremony would begin in less than a month, and Xiao Yan was among those invited. With what had befallen the Shi Clan and the Ling Clan on top of that, fear had spread to every corner of the Dou Qi Continent.
Under Xiao Yan's pill offensive, even Gu Qing Yang soon gave in. He raised both hands in surrender and had the gates thrown open to welcome the 'foreign invaders' into the city.
The whole avenue instantly filled with the Gu Clan's descendant citizens. They lined both sides of the road to welcome the procession, and red petals and paper flowers flew into the air from every direction.
With the gates wide open, Xiao Yan led the Xiao Clan party inside, ready to 'carry off the beauty.'
As he led his procession deeper into Gu Sacred City, Gu Hua, Second General of the Black Submerged Army, strolled over with a smile that immediately put Xiao Yan on guard.
Xiao Yan eyed that grinning, scheming face and asked, "What now? Don't tell me the pills weren't enough."
"Hehehe, that's not it. Ordinary folk like us can be sent off with pills easily enough. But... some people aren't quite so easy to deal with."
The moment Gu Hua finished speaking, Gu Qing Yang and the others who knew what was coming wore the unmistakable look of people settling in to watch a show.
Xiao Yan and his group stared at Gu Hua, clearly unsure what he meant.
Gu Hua pointed ahead. "Some love rivals you'll have to handle yourself."
Xiao Yan looked where he pointed and found a huge arena standing squarely in the middle of the road. Gu Yao stood on top of it with a spear in hand, wearing the face of a man who had already made his peace with death.
Gu Qing Yang's voice reached him through a quiet sound transmission. "Ahem. Go easy on him. Gu Yao is a pitiful child."
Xiao Yan shrugged helplessly at the sight. Gu Yao really was a pitiful child. By now, he had probably turned Xiao Yan into an inner demon buried deep in his heart.
Since Xiao Yan now counted as half a Gu Clan member, there was nothing wrong with helping one of the clan's younger generation break free of an inner demon. It was just that the method would most likely mean giving him another thorough beating.
"Xiao Yan! Fight me again!"
Back when Xiao Yan was still a Dou Emperor, Ling Ying had warned him to watch out for Gu Yao, the most stubborn person in the clan.
"It's my wedding day, so I really shouldn't be getting rough," Xiao Yan said. "But some things need settling, and making certain people give up for good is only right."
Still dressed in his groom's attire, he took a single step and appeared on the arena.
Gu Yao had only just stepped into the Half-Saint stage, so Xiao Yan felt no pressure at all. The gap between them could no longer be called large. It was a chasm that could never be crossed.
"Make your move," Xiao Yan said calmly, glancing at him. "Missing the auspicious hour would be bad luck."
The outcome needed no explanation. Xiao Yan deliberately suppressed his cultivation and left his Spiritual Strength untouched, relying only on his physical power and his control over flame. Even so, he defeated Gu Yao without the slightest suspense. A light flick of his finger sent a thin thread of Heavenly Flame streaking out. It struck Gu Yao and launched him clean off the arena. One move was all it took.
"Hahaha! I'm far beneath you. Xun Er can only be happy with you. Thank you for the lesson!" Gu Yao laughed loudly once he landed, and there was a strange, unmistakable relief in it. Beaten in one move by an opponent who had held back his cultivation, he finally let go completely, understanding with total clarity that he was not worthy of Xun Er.
If the gap had been small, he might have felt jealous. If it had been large, he might have felt envy. But when the gap stretched so far that he could not even see the other side, only admiration remained.
To everyone's surprise, Xiao Yan did not step down after defeating Gu Yao. Instead, he looked toward one particular spot in the crowd and smiled faintly. "My friend from the Lei Clan, surely you didn't sneak in here just to congratulate me?"
The words had barely left his mouth when Gu Qing Yang and the others snapped their heads toward the spot Xiao Yan was watching.
"You're Lei Dong!" Gu Zhen cried out, clearly recognizing the man hiding in the crowd.
"Lei Dong? The Lei Clan's young clan leader?"
"What's the Lei Clan's young clan leader doing here?"
Xiao Yan had picked the man out easily enough, but he had not known his name. At the sound of it, a strange expression crossed his face.
He had once heard that the Lei Clan's young clan leader had sought a marriage with the Gu Clan, shortly before Xiao Yan's earlier visit to enter the Heavenly Tomb. Because Xiao Yan had soundly defeated Gu Qing Yang back then, the Gu Clan had ultimately turned the proposal down.
That young clan leader was Lei Dong! He was the man hiding in the crowd now, the only one whose face showed open hostility.
Gu Qing Yang's voice reached him through another quiet sound transmission. "Lei Dong is the most dazzling genius the Lei Clan has produced in hundreds of years. He once stayed in the Lightning Demon Pool of the Lei Realm for five full years. That beats the record Lei Clan Head Lei Ying set in his youth by a whole year. The entire Lei Clan poured its resources into him, of course, but there's no question about his talent or his ability. Word is the Lei Clan is already grooming him as their next Clan Head."
"He's the strongest of the younger generation in the Dou God Clans. Not counting you and Xun Er, of course."
"The strongest?" Xiao Yan gave Gu Qing Yang a sidelong look.
Gu Qing Yang caught the odd look and nodded with a bitter smile. "Yeah. I can't beat him. His strength and talent are both above mine. He carries the Lei Clan's Grade 9 Dou God Bloodline, so his bloodline is a little higher than mine, too."
That gave even Xiao Yan a moment of genuine surprise. He remembered all too well how grueling his fight with Gu Qing Yang had been. Part of that came from his own lower cultivation back then, but there was no denying that Gu Qing Yang was extremely strong.
A man who could defeat Gu Qing Yang and make him openly admit to being weaker had to be formidable indeed.
"Lei Dong of the Lei Clan? Don't tell me he's here to steal the bride!"
Lei Dong's appearance set the whole street buzzing, with talk flying in every direction. After all, spectators never complained when a show got bigger. Plenty of people had already sat down to crack melon seeds, hoping for a proper bride-stealing drama!
Xiao Yan kept his calm smile. "As the saying goes, a visitor is a guest. Since Brother Lei Dong is eager for a beating, come on up. Don't worry, I'll hold back. I won't take your life."
Lei Dong's brows pulled sharply together. He licked his lips, and threads of black lightning flickered through his eyes. He had not planned to fight, but after Xiao Yan provoked him so openly, backing down was no longer possible.
Eldest brother Xiao Ding checked the time. "Xiao Yan, the auspicious hour is almost here."
"Don't worry, Big Brother. One move won't take long."
Xiao Yan's arrogant words drew a flurry of lively expressions from the Black Submerged Army soldiers present. Lei Dong's name rang loud among the younger generation of the Dou God Clans. His cultivation was frightening, and his combat strength was outrageous.
Lei Dong almost never lost against anyone at his own level, yet Xiao Yan had just said he would beat him in a single move. Plainly, Xiao Yan did not take Lei Dong seriously at all.
"Brother-in-law Xiao Yan, flatten that Lei Dong!"
"Brother-in-law Xiao Yan!!"
Lei Dong gave a cold snort and appeared on the arena directly in front of Xiao Yan. Black lightning burst violently from his body and coiled around him like countless crackling electric serpents. An extraordinarily violent aura rolled outward, and quite a few people in the crowd visibly paled.
'I wonder how Xiao Yan will deal with that...'
Gu Qing Yang and the others stared at the black lightning wrapped around Lei Dong. They had lost to him before precisely because they could do nothing against that Black Demon Lightning. Its offensive power was enormous, and on contact their defenses had crumbled before accomplishing much of anything.
'Black Demon Lightning, huh...'
Xiao Yan studied the familiar black arcs dancing over Lei Dong's body, and genuine surprise flickered in his eyes. He had not expected this fellow to be able to control Black Demon Lightning. That meant his combat strength was certainly not weak. No wonder he had beaten Gu Qing Yang and the others.
Still, none of it seemed very intimidating to Xiao Yan.