68: Returning home in glory, the Xiao family is shocked

On the Emei Golden Summit, the sea of clouds surged.

The biting mountain wind made people's clothes flap, but it couldn't disperse the subtle solemnity that enveloped the Emei Sect.

Cloud Mirage, dressed in Emei robes, stood gracefully by the edge of the Self-Sacrifice Cliff, looking down at the unpredictable sea of clouds below her feet.

Her beautiful face was gloomy, and what burned within her at this moment was uncontrollable rage and… deep humiliation!

A letter of divorce!

Moreover, it was personally delivered by her fiancé, Xiao Huohuo, whom she had long regarded as a good-for-nothing, right in front of the entire Xiangyang City!

How absurd!

How ridiculous!

Who was Cloud Mirage?

She was the most favored Disciple of Sect Head Master Abbess Jingxuan of the Emei Sect! She was the recognized Heavenly Maiden of the entire Great Song Martial Forest!

And what about Xiao Huohuo?

He was merely an abandoned son of a declining Family in Xiangyang City, a good-for-nothing who couldn't even maintain a third-rate Martial Artist cultivation!

A good-for-nothing dared to divorce her?!

This was simply the most ludicrous and malicious joke she had ever heard in her life!

“Xiao Huohuo…”

Cloud Mirage bit her pearly teeth, squeezing out these three words from between them, each word seemingly steeped in bone-chilling coldness.

All the humiliation stemmed from the day her Family sent someone to deliver a message, saying that Xiao Huohuo had publicly posted the letter of divorce on the Yun Family's main gate, and even issued that extremely arrogant challenge!

“One month from now, on the Emei Golden Summit, I, Xiao Huohuo, challenge Cloud Mirage to a battle here!”

“Heh.”

Cloud Mirage let out a disdainful sneer.

Just you?

A good-for-nothing whose cultivation had regressed and who had become an ordinary person, dares to fight me?

Are you tired of living?!

“Junior Sister.”

Behind her, a soft call came.

It was her Senior Sister, Ding Minjun.

“In three days, it will be the one-month deadline Xiao Huohuo spoke of.” Ding Minjun's face also held a hint of mockery, “Master has already spoken; this matter is for you to handle yourself.”

“It's nothing but the crazy ravings of a clown; Junior Sister doesn't need to take it to heart.”

“Senior Sister is right.” Cloud Mirage slowly nodded, a murderous intent flashing through her icy eyes.

“If he wants to die, I will grant him his wish.”

“In three days, I will personally return the humiliation he brought upon me and my Emei Sect a hundredfold!”

In her opinion, this was not a battle at all.

But rather… a one-sided crushing!

She wanted the entire Great Song Martial Forest to see what a miserable end awaited those who offended her, Cloud Mirage, and the Emei Sect!

…

Xiangyang City, Xiao Family Mansion.

Outside the mansion gate, two guards in exquisite armor stood ramrod straight, their eyes sharp as eagles, no longer showing any of their former laziness or arrogance.

They were elite Disciples personally selected from the Family by Xiao Family Clan Chief Xiao Zhan.

Just then.

A figure slowly approached from the end of the long street.

The newcomer was dressed in black and red brocade, his posture tall and straight like a pine tree, his steps neither hurried nor slow, yet each step seemed to land on a profound rhythm, possessing the Aura of a Grandmaster, deep and unmoving like a towering peak.

He had changed.

That handsome face, which still carried a hint of childishness, now had distinct features, and his eyes, deep as the starry sky, flickered with what seemed like lightning when they opened and closed, making people dare not look directly.

That power and confidence emanating from his very bones simply could not be concealed!

“Th-Third Young Master?!”

The guards at the gate were startled when they saw the newcomer, then their eyes burst with incredible joy and… deep reverence!

They rubbed their eyes, hardly daring to believe it!

Was this… was this still the Xiao Family good-for-nothing whom they had looked down upon and who had been ridiculed by the entire Xiangyang City for three years?!

This temperament, this Aura!

Even the Clan Chief, he probably couldn't compare!

“Open the gate.”

Xiao Huohuo spoke indifferently, his voice not loud, but carrying an undeniable authority.

“Yes! Yes! Third Young Master! You… you're back!”

The guards dared not delay, scrambling to pull open the two vermilion gates, their posture extremely humble.

What a joke!

They had heard that those who dared to gossip and kick the Third Young Master when he was down had basically been thrown out of the Xiao Family by the Clan Chief with swift and decisive measures, their legs broken!

Although they didn't know exactly what had happened, they knew one thing—

They couldn't afford to provoke the current Third Young Master!

Absolutely couldn't afford to provoke him!

Xiao Huohuo stepped into the long-departed Family gate, his Divine Sense slightly moving, and everything inside the mansion came into view.

The next instant, he appeared inside the Xiao Family's main hall.

Inside the hall, Xiao Family Clan Chief Xiao Zhan, and a group of Xiao Family Elders, were still discussing how to deal with the situation three days later.

The moment they saw Xiao Huohuo appear, everyone trembled!

Excitement!

Uncontrollable excitement!

“Huohuo! My good grandson! You're finally back!”

Xiao Zhan's eyes were filled with tears, and he rushed forward in one stride, grabbing Xiao Huohuo's arm, looking him up and down, his cloudy old eyes filled with relief and pride.

“Good! So good! Hahaha!”

“Huohuo, quickly tell Grandpa, what did you learn at the Immortal Sect… oh no, with the Senior? How is your cultivation now?” an Elder asked impatiently, rubbing his hands.

Everyone's gaze was fixed on Xiao Huohuo.

Xiao Huohuo said nothing more.

He simply glanced calmly at everyone present, then slowly spoke, his voice not loud, but seemingly carrying a magical power that made his words come true, clearly echoing in everyone's ears.

“The current me, alone, can suppress the Great Song Martial Forest.”

“Even if the Eastern Heretic, Western Venom, Southern Emperor, Northern Beggar, and Central Divine, the Five Supremes, all appeared together, they would be nothing more than chickens and dogs, easily extinguished with a flick of a finger.”

“On Mount Emei in three days, Cloud Mirage will not be my opponent.”

What?!

Silence!

A deathly silence!

Inside the entire main hall, a pin drop could be heard!

Everyone seemed to be under a spell, their eyes wide, their mouths agape enough to fit a fist, staring blankly at Xiao Huohuo!

One person, suppressing the Great Song Martial Forest?!

The Five Supremes, extinguished with a flick of a finger?!

This… this was madness?!

After a brief, deathly silence, the hall erupted into chaos!

“Huohuo, you… you're not joking, are you?”

“This… this is a bit too much…”

Excited as they were, Xiao Huohuo's words were simply too shocking, making it difficult for them to accept them at once.

Just then, a Third Uncle, who had always been at odds with Xiao Huohuo's father, stepped forward, a hint of barely concealed doubt on his face, and coughed, saying:

“Huohuo, it's not that Third Uncle doesn't believe you. It's just that the Five Supremes have been famous for decades, and they are all top figures among Grandmasters. For you to say they can be extinguished with a flick of a finger… isn't that a bit exaggerated? After all, you've only been a Disciple for less than a month.”

His words echoed the thoughts of everyone present.

Xiao Huohuo's lips curved into a faint, indifferent arc upon hearing this.

He was too lazy to explain.

The best way to deal with doubt has never been through words.

But rather… strength!

Boom—!

A terrifying Spiritual Pressure, indescribable in words, suddenly erupted from his body!

That was not the Aura of a Martial Artist, but a higher-level Spiritual Pressure belonging to a cultivator!

Foundation Establishment Seventh Layer!

Even though he had deliberately restrained 90% of his power, that terrifying Spiritual Pressure still instantly turned everyone present ashen!

“Thump!”

“Thump! Thump!”

The Third Uncle, being the first to bear the brunt, his legs went weak, and he directly collapsed onto the ground, his face as pale as paper!

The other Elders, including Clan Chief Xiao Zhan, also felt as if they were being crushed by an invisible giant mountain, finding it difficult to breathe, their bones “creaking” all over, their legs trembling uncontrollably. Had they not resisted with all their might, they would have long since followed in the Third Uncle's footsteps and knelt on the spot!

“This… this is!”

Xiao Zhan remembered that the little girl back then in the Xiao Family was also like this!