In a spacious room where the air moved with a gentle, natural rhythm, a young figure sat cross-legged, seemingly in meditation.
His figure was clad in elegant white robes that drape gracefully over his form, his calm expression illuminated by the soft glow of the sky, exuding both tranquility and quiet strength.
And accentuating his image was the swirling vortex of spiritual energy, faintly visible around his entire body.
'Swish!'
Suddenly, Xiao Zhixian opened his eyes from his meditation as all the spiritual energy around was directly absorbed into his body.
'Hah... finally the peak of Qi Gathering Realm. The Marrow Cleansing pill is indeed awesome. It directly raised my talent to High Level.'
Zhixian was in a good mood as he got up from the futon and stretched a bit.
'But now I am out of all the Qi Gathering Pills and Marrow Cleansing Pills. And I have no spirit stones left.'
For this promotion, Zhixian really did everything as even going as far as asking his grandfather for spirit stones.
Of course, he also gave him five of his Ethereal Spirit Pills by making random excuses. If the old man could increase his realm a bit, that would be good for him too.
'Sigh... I am really poor. Let's hope that today, I can gain something. I heard that guy was released from prison yesterday.'
Zhixian thought with glee while going outside, only to see a maid standing respectfully.
After seeing his appearance, the maid hurriedly lowered her head and said,
"Young Master, Grand Elder has ordered you to come to the hall as soon as your meditation session is over."
"Oh? Then, let's go. Is it time for the appointment of the Clan Leader?"
Zhixian asked while walking with brisk steps filled with newfound confidence.
And he was indeed more confident today than a week ago, as his strength had increased dramatically.
"Yes, young master. The invitation has been sent and the ceremony will start shortly."
The maid replied with a soft voice.
"That's good. Then, you can return to your work, I will go by myself."
Zhixian smiled and nodded at the girl amiably and made his way forward.
The distance between his courtyard and the Grand Hall of the Xiao family wasn't that far. So, it didn't take long for him to arrive at the location.
And as soon as he appeared, he saw a large number of crowds rushing around, excited chatter filling the air as servants hurried to and fro.
The decorations, trays of fine delicacies, and festive mood weren't less than the Grand Elder's birthday celebrations.
However, he also saw that many of them were gossiping around as if they were looking forward to another good show today.
He even saw a few members from the Ling and Huang families who were weirdly absent during the birthday celebration a week ago.
'These bastards must be making some plans.'
Zhixian thought while scanning everyone with his eyes.
It was well known in Mistwood City that the Xiao and Huang families were close.
However, in such a joyous occasion, only one member was present that day, that too Huang Yue, who came to cancel the engagement.
He didn't believe they didn't know about that. Now, seeing both Ling and Huang's family members together, he had to become cautious.
"Haha... I thought, who came? It turned out to be Nephew Zhixian."
And just when he passed by the door of the hall, a middle-aged man saw his figure and immediately came forward with a smile.
The person in front looked tall and robust with a strong aura of the Early stage of the Essence Gathering Realm.
"Haha... rather than Nephew, why don't you call him Clan Leader now? Our youngest clan leader in the Mistwood City."
Before Zhixian could reply though, another person from the side laughed and joked while sipping a drink from a cup in his hand.
Surprisingly, the aura around this guy was also at the early stage of the Essence Gathering Realm.
"Clan Leader Huang, Clan Leader Ling. It seems you two arrived early."
Zhixian didn't care about their talk and swiftly gave both of them a standard Daoist salute.
"Yeah, humble and not arrogant. You indeed have the quality to become the Clan Leader."
Seeing Zhixian not being swayed by emotion, Huang Zhenyu nodded in approval. Then, as if remembering something, he suddenly showed an awkward smile and apologized,
"I have to apologize for what happened a week ago. That brat Huang Yue didn't know why, but she suddenly wanted to cancel the engagement. Before I could stop her, it was too late."
Huang Zhenyu showed a bitter expression and sighed heavily,
"Sigh... young people nowadays are too impulsive. They don't understand the consequences of their action. I have to ask her to apologize to the Xiao family when she returns from the Crimson Blade Sect."
"What is clan leader Huang saying? Isn't it just a little skirmish between the younger generation? There is no need to involve yourself with this."
Before Xiao Zhixian could reply though, Clan Leader Ling Yun suddenly butt in. Then, he looked at Zhixian and said with a smile,
"Besides, not all the outcomes were bad, as the Xiao family is fortunate enough to get such a young Clan Leader precisely because of it. Haha... Don't you think so, Nephew Zhixian?"
He asked while laughing a little, as if feeling funny that such a young person could be a clan leader.
Zhixian could see the sarcasm oozing from his ugly face. Well, at least he found it ugly with that fake smile.
Nevertheless, Zhixian wasn't someone to back down when faced with sarcasm.
So, he also suddenly smiled at Ling Yun, as if unbothered by his rude behavior.
"What Clan Leader Ling said was indeed right. It is really fortunate for my Xiao family to have such a young clan leader."
Xiao Zhixian said as if he were proud to be the youngest clan leader, causing both Huang Zhenyu and Ling Yun to twitch the corner of their mouth.
But Zhixian didn't stop and continued with a dramatic sigh,
"Sigh... after all, the arrogant adults of Mistwood City have nothing better to do than offend others, so I, the younger generation, must step in to save the day. Honestly, they really have no shame and are too stupid."