"What the fuck just happened?"
"Hey, look at his aura. He seems to be already in the Peak Qi Gathering Realm?"
"But... isn't his talent mediocre? What the hell is happening with the Xiao family?"
One Xiao Chen was already surprising enough, and now another one has appeared that is even stronger.
Of course, the crowd was surprised.
Even Huang Zhenyu and Ling Yun's faces became solemn after seeing the Zhixian's realm.
Unlike the crowd, they could clearly feel that he was on the verge of breaking through to the next realm. Not to mention his impressive use of sword technique.
'It seems the Xiao family is hiding its strength.'
Both of them had the same thought as they watched Zhixian punch Xiao Chen's chest, causing him to splurt another mouthful of blood.
"Zhixian? When did his power increase so much?"
However, what neither of them knew was that even Xiao Baizhen was surprised after seeing his sudden strength, as he couldn't help but mumble unconsciously.
He couldn't understand when his grandson had become so strong.
'Did he encounter some opportunities?'
The Grand Elder suddenly thought of the five Ethereal Spirit Pills given by Xiao Zhixian a week ago.
'But still, his talent is so low that it's impossible to increase his realm like this. Also, how can he use Thunder Fang Strike too?'
Xiao Baizhen was so confused that he now felt he had neglected his clan far too much.
He had no idea there was another Early-Level Earth Grade technique in their Xiao family—and two of them had even mastered it to such an extent.
Although he wanted to get to the bottom of it, for now, he reined in his surprise as he saw Xiao Heng getting angrier.
'Heh... serves you right. Didn't you stop me before? Let me do the same to you.'
The Grand Elder thought, readying himself for his possible outburst.
...
"Ugh... You bastard. You're clearly attacking sneakily again."
While the crowd and Elders were surprised by the sudden reversal in the arena, Xiao Chen clutched his chest, breathing heavily as he pointed his finger at Xiao Zhixian, cursing.
"Hah... you... Don't you know how to fight fair? What kind of Clan Leader fights like this?"
"If you have the guts, fight me fairly."
"Cough... cough..."
The more he talked, the angrier he got, as he basically began to cough loudly in rage.
That punch just now was really heavy—his chest felt suffocated, and he was having difficulty regulating his Qi smoothly.
So, he couldn't even use his Peak Qi Gathering Realm to fight now.
As Xiao Chen's words filled with anger echoed through the audience, they too felt that Zhixian had done him dirty.
Although there was no lack of deceit and trickery in this cultivation world, at least in front of the public, people tended to be fair to save face.
But this Zhixian was clearly the opposite.
"Heh... you, Xiao Chen, indeed have a loud mouth."
However, did Zhixian care what they thought? Of course not.
Instead, he suddenly smiled inexplicably while looking at his hateful eyes and replied slyly,
"But you forgot one thing, Xiao Chen... A daring young man is indeed commendable, but one must also have the strength to back it up."
His voice was loud and filled with sarcasm, as those were the exact sentences told to him by Xiao Heng.
Sure enough, after hearing his words, Xiao Heng's face grew even darker, while Xiao Chen was furious.
But Zhixian didn't care and continued,
"And what sneak attack are you even talking about? Are you seriously that blind—or just plain stupid?"
He mocked,
"Xiao Chen, don't forget. This is a fight to show whether I have enough talent and power to become the Clan Leader of the Xiao Family, not to see if I can beat you fairly or not."
"Or, do you really think I have time to waste on you? Why play around when I can beat you black and blue this easily?"
Zhixian harrumphed, while his tone grew colder and colder, as if he were furious.
Even the air around him stirred restlessly as he locked eyes on this so-called protagonist, pinched his chin between his fingers, and coldly mocked,
"Fair? Heh... what a sweet delusion you live in, Xiao Chen. In this world of cultivation, there never was such a thing as fairness."
He lightly slapped his face in an insulting manner, causing Xiao Chen's eyes to blaze with hatred.
"Otherwise, do you really think that if it had been any other Xiao clan member who dared to insult a First Class Sect that day, they'd get off with just seven days in prison?"
"Otherwise, isn't it also fair for Huang Yue to cancel the engagement with someone who's a waste?"
"You..."
"Isn't it also fair to slap that bastard in the face when he dared to embarrass the Grand Elder in full view of the public?"
The more Zhixian talked, the colder his aura became, as everyone in the entire hall could feel his rising anger. Even the air around him grew heavy, thick with a chilling intensity that made it hard to breathe.
"Shut up, Zhixian! Do you still take me as an Elder?"
Xiao Heng, who had been holding back his anger from earlier, finally couldn't endure such an insult to both his son and himself.
So, he unconsciously released his Essence Forging Realm pressure toward Zhixian, intending to force him to release Xiao Chen from his grasp.
However, this time, before Xiao Baizhen could intervene, a deafening shout, filled with icy fury, suddenly echoed through the hall, followed by the brandishing of a sword.
"You shut up, bastard!"
"Clang!"
"Swish!"
Suddenly, a blinding streak of sword light shot through the entire hall, heading straight for Xiao Heng.
And to the shock of everyone, it cleaved through the heavy aura bearing down on him as if it were nothing, splitting it in half with a single, brutal slash, before continuing relentlessly toward its target.
Seeing such a sudden attack, Xiao Heng hurriedly dodged to the side in time, only to see that the spot where he had just stood was cleaved in half cleanly by the pure sword energy.
"Bang!"
The sheer power shattered everything, including the chair and decorations around. Fortunately, since Xiao Heng was alone, no one was hurt.
"You..."
However, the shock from such a display of power was overwhelming, as Xiao Heng, the Grand Elder, the Elders, and the crowd stared at Zhixian in the center, eyes wide, watching him stand tall with the sword in his hand, sizzling with intense energy.
'What the...'
Even Xiao Chen stood numb beside him, realizing he couldn't withstand that power if Zhixian aimed it at him.
Now he suddenly realized that all that talk of fair fight and sneak attack was bullshit.
This guy was clearly far stronger than him.
"Listen up, Xiao Clan members."
The deafening silence in the entire hall was once again broken by the cold shout of Zhixian as he scanned every single member of the Xiao Clan with his eyes and declared in a ruthless voice,
"From today on, I, Xiao Zhixian, am the Clan Leader of the Xiao Family. So, if anybody shows any disrespect to me and my decision, you better wish you could take that sword of mine."
He said, pointing at the devastated area ahead, then finally turned his head to Xiao Heng and the two elders and asked in a cold voice,
"Who agrees, who doesn't?"