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**
The funeral of the Old Clan Leader, Xiao Dongcheng, was handled very discreetly by the Xiao Clan, exactly as he had requested before his passing.
Furthermore, although the members of the Xiao Clan were deeply saddened before and after the Old Clan Leader's departure, it actually had no impact on the development of the Xiao Clan.
After all, he had stepped down from the position of Clan Leader many years ago. The development and management of all aspects of the Xiao Clan were the responsibility of the high-level members, led by the current Clan Leader, Xiao Lin.
Therefore, after the Old Clan Leader's death, because the Xiao Clan handled it so quietly, only a few factions with good relations with the Xiao Clan sent representatives to offer their condolences.
In addition, Xiao Lin took the final words left by the Old Clan Leader to heart.
In reality, the current Xiao Clan was indeed developing a bit too rapidly.
This was especially true after Yun Shan learned of Xiao Lin's true strength and Hai Bodong of the Mittel Clan went missing. Presently, the Xiao Clan's development showed a faint trend of surpassing the Mittel Clan.
However, one must remember that Hai Bodong of the Mittel Clan was only missing, and Xiao Lin's publicly exposed cultivation was merely Five-Star Dou Wang.
This caused the Xiao Clan's growth to become somewhat distorted.
To the point that the corruption and decadence within the Xiao Clan, which Xiao Lin had swept away early on, had begun to sprout again over the last two years.
Quite a few clan members whom Xiao Lin didn't pay much attention to had begun to act like overbearing tyrants. Moreover, a small portion of the Xiao Clan's high-level members were involved in crimes such as corruption and harboring criminals.
When Xiao Lin discovered this, he flew into a thunderous rage!
Several high-level clan members were even punished according to the Xiao Clan's rules!
In view of this, Xiao Lin urgently reined in the Xiao Clan, which had been developing in the wrong direction. One could only say that it was fortunate the Old Clan Leader gave that reminder before his passing, allowing Xiao Lin to notice that something was wrong.
Say what you will, although the Old Clan Leader's strength was not exceptional, he had managed the Xiao Clan for so many years after all; his vision was still sharp. While Xiao Lin, the current Clan Leader, was "blinded by the game," the old man was able to soberly see through the situation.
It must be said, having an elder at home is like having a treasure!
Unfortunately, the man had passed away.
However, after Xiao Lin realized that the Xiao Clan's development was starting to go awry, he strictly followed the Old Clan Leader's last words and let the Xiao Clan enter a phase of low-profile development.
This caused the unfavorable rumors regarding the Xiao Clan that had begun to emerge to vanish before they could ferment. In this way, under Xiao Lin's secret maneuvers, the Xiao Clan returned to the position a Dou Wang level clan ought to hold.
They were faintly a step stronger than the Nalan Clan and the Mu Clan, but weaker than the Mittel Clan. At the same time, Xiao Lin also asked Yun Shan to temporarily stop the Yun Lan Sect from secretly supporting the Xiao Clan's expansion.
Regarding this, although Yun Shan felt a bit surprised, since it was Xiao Lin's wish, he did not oppose it. After this series of maneuvers, the reins of the Xiao Clan's development were once again held firmly in Xiao Lin's hands.
Thus, following the passing of the Old Clan Leader Xiao Dongcheng, the Xiao Clan developed quietly for a year.
This year was also a very peaceful one.
Xiao Lin himself had a large amount of time to invest in his cultivation. As for his silly son Xiao Zhan and his dear daughter-in-law Yang Xiyue, they spent roughly half their time at the Xiao Clan and the other half at the Yun Lan Sect.
Xiao Zhan's cultivation had already broken through to Two-Star Dou Ling.
As for Yang Xiyue.
After she married into the Xiao Clan and learned some of the clan's secrets, she was naturally allowed to switch to an Earth Grade Cultivation Technique and also learned Earth Grade Dou Techniques.
Therefore, she had now broken through from her previous Three-Star Da Dou Shi cultivation to Seven-Star, catching up to the realm Xiao Zhan held at the beginning of the original story's plot.
Furthermore, the remnant soul of Yao Lao within the ring on Yang Xiyue's finger still showed no signs of waking up. However, as time passed, Yao Lao's remnant soul had become slightly more solid.
The reason for this was also related to Yang Xiyue.
It wasn't that Yao Lao's remnant soul had recovered to the point where it would automatically drain the Dou Qi within Yang Xiyue's body; rather, the current remnant soul would absorb a tiny fraction of the Dou Qi she cultivated every time she practiced!
To give an example: if Yang Xiyue absorbed 100 units of Dou Qi during each cultivation session, 1 unit would be absorbed by Yao Lao to help restore his remnant soul. Because the amount of Dou Qi being absorbed was so minuscule, Yang Xiyue hadn't noticed it herself.
Xiao Lin had only discovered this by chance once when he went to observe Yao Lao's condition and found Yang Xiyue in the middle of her cultivation.
This caused Xiao Lin to inevitably change his original plan.
Initially, Xiao Lin felt that Yao Lao's remnant soul in the ring wouldn't affect his daughter-in-law, so he wasn't in a hurry to take the ring from her.
Now, although the soul hadn't truly harmed Yang Xiyue yet, it had begun to impact her cultivation speed. Thus, Xiao Lin had to step in and take the ring housing Yao Lao's remnant soul earlier than expected.
On this day, just as the couple, Xiao Zhan and Yang Xiyue, returned from the Yun Lan Sect, Xiao Lin immediately called them over.
"Father! x2"
The two individuals walking into the hall shouted in unison.
Having been married into the Xiao Clan for so long, Yang Xiyue addressed him very naturally. At the same time, the bashfulness she felt when meeting her sweetheart's elder had long since vanished.
Now, Yang Xiyue was poised and comfortable in front of her father-in-law, Xiao Lin.
This made it clear that she had completely integrated into the Xiao Clan.
Looking at the silly son and dear daughter-in-law walking in, Xiao Lin nodded with a smile.
"You're back? Sit!"
As Xiao Lin spoke, the couple didn't stand on ceremony and sat directly in the seats below him.
"Father, you called us over the moment we got back. Is there something going on?"
A year's time had allowed them to emerge from the grief of the Old Clan Leader's passing. Facing his son's inquiry, Xiao Lin ignored him and instead turned his gaze toward his daughter-in-law.
"You are just here incidentally. The one I'm mainly looking for is Xiyue."
Xiao Lin showed no politeness toward his silly son.
Sure enough, as soon as Xiao Lin spoke, a look of "embarrassment" appeared on Xiao Zhan's face.
This old man of his was giving him less and less face!
Yang Xiyue, on the other hand, covered her mouth and giggled from the side. She loved this kind of family atmosphere. The Yang Clan of her past had been the same way.
This was likely one of the reasons she was able to blend into the Xiao Clan so quickly.
"Father, what is the purpose of you looking for me?"
After a light laugh, Yang Xiyue looked at her father-in-law with a face full of confusion.
Xiao Lin first took a sip of tea, then slowly began: "Strictly speaking, Xiyue, I am looking for you because of the ring in your hand!"
Xiao Lin didn't hide anything or beat around the bush; he went straight to the point.
**
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