“Yun Xiao, let me ask you a question that may be impolite.” Yun Che looked at Yun Xiao and said seriously, “When you meet your seventh sister, do you usually meet in private like this?”

"Ah..." Yun Xiao was caught off guard by the question, and his face showed embarrassment, followed by a gloomy look. He sighed and said, "You can see that the Tianxia family looks down on me, and my seventh sister is the only princess of the Tianxia family, the most noble pearl of the entire elf family. They think that I am not worthy of my seventh sister at all. If my seventh sister really gets together with me, it will even ruin the reputation of their entire family. At first, they strongly opposed it, but my seventh sister's temperament is also relatively tough, so they later strictly forbade contact between me and my seventh sister. It became increasingly difficult for my seventh sister and I to meet. In the past year, we have only met secretly three times, and each time we had to stay at least fifty miles away from the city to avoid being discovered... In less than three months, it will be the 100th anniversary ceremony of the Little Demon Queen's reign. The twelve guardian families are all busy with this. My seventh sister and I finally found an opportunity to meet, but I didn't expect..."

Yun Che raised his hand to support his chin, and said while thinking: “Besides the two of you, did anyone else know about your meeting with Seventh Sister... or saw it?”

"No, definitely not." Yun Xiao shook his head with certainty: "I would never dare to let anyone know, because not only the Tianxia family, but even my own family, do not look favorably upon me and my Seventh Sister, and even ridicule us behind our backs. Even if I don't care about myself, I have to care about my Seventh Sister, and I will definitely not let anyone know. My Seventh Sister will definitely not tell anyone else."

“You and Seventh Sister were attacked, and the enemy kept doing a complete cover-up. Their goal was also very clear, so they were obviously well prepared.” Yun Che said slowly: “If they hadn’t known in advance that you would meet in that place, they wouldn’t have prepared so thoroughly… Since you are so sure that only the two of you know about this, then the biggest possibility is… when you were transmitting sound to Seventh Sister, someone nearby heard it. Just like when you transmitted sound to Seventh Sister, her Sixth Brother heard it.”

"Ah?" Yun Xiao was startled, then shook his head even more vigorously: "This is even more impossible. When I transmitted the sound, I was in my own courtyard, so it shouldn't be heard by others. Even if someone really heard it quietly, it could only be someone from our Yun family... Our Yun family has never had any major grudges with the Tianxia family, and in our current depressed state, we definitely don't want to offend any family, so how could we do such a thing. And although the three men in black all hid their profound skills, if they practiced the profound skills of our Yun family, I could still easily recognize them."

“…” Yun Che nodded, and remained silent for a moment, as if thinking about something. Then he said in a relaxed manner, “Maybe… Forget it, let’s not think about it for now. The Tianxia family must be more concerned about it than we are. Let them investigate.”

"However, my bigger question is... Yun Xiao, although the Yun family is currently in serious decline, it was at least once prosperous and is still one of the Twelve Guardian Families. And you are at least nominally the young master of the Yun family. In terms of family background and status, you and Seventh Sister are clearly a perfect match. Oh, no! You should be one point higher than Seventh Sister. Even if your father is not the head of the family, but an ordinary elder, they would not oppose it so violently... or even raise it to the issue of family honor."

Yun Xiao’s face suddenly froze.

Yun Che glanced at Yun Xiao’s expression and continued, “Also, even your Yun family’s attitude towards you is a little too unusual. Just like Yun Hao before, he was not only disrespectful to you, but also used mockery and humiliation everywhere. But from the look on your face, it seems that you have become accustomed to this kind of treatment… Putting aside your status as the young master of the family, at least your grandfather is still the head of the Mu family. You should not have fallen into this situation in the Yun family… Is there any hidden reason behind this?”

Yun Xiao paused, lowered his head, and a look of deep bitterness appeared on his face.

Yun Che smiled apologetically: "I seem to have asked a question that I shouldn't have asked... Sorry, please don't take it to heart."

“No,” Yun Xiao shook his head slowly. When he raised his head, his face was calm enough. “Anyone would find my usual situation strange. In fact, almost everyone in Monster King City knows all the rumors about me. Brother Yun, you saved my life and treated me as a friend. There is no need for me to hide anything from you. The reason why everyone dislikes me is because... because since I was a child, I have always been called a ‘bastard’ in the eyes of others.”

Yun Che glanced sideways: "What do you mean?"

Yun Xiao laughed bitterly: "The Yun family is proud of the unique Xuan Gang power, which was also the core ability that made it the best of the twelve guardian families. But the Xuan Gang mark on my arm has never lit up. Even after my Xuan Li reached the Tian Xuan realm, I still couldn't awaken the Xuan Gang."

"In the Yun family, as long as the power of blood is used to guide, the Xuan Gang mark on the arm can light up at the age of five. Then, according to the color of the Xuan Gang mark, their talent and whether they need to be cultivated can be judged. After the Xuanli reaches the Tianxuan realm, the Xuan Gang will awaken and can be summoned from then on. This is the blood power of the Yun family. As long as there is Yun family blood, there will be Xuan Gang power... There has never been an exception."

“But I never had it. And this clearly proves that I don’t have the blood of the Yun family… In the eyes of the Yun family, the entire Demon King City, and even the Illusory Demon Realm, this is an ironclad proof.”

Yun Che: “…”

"The news that I didn't have the Xuan Gang Seal was spread by someone in my fifth year, and it became known to the whole city. Later, when I was in the Tianxuan realm and couldn't summon the Xuan Gang, it was even more widely publicized. During that time, the whole Demon King City was rumored that I was not my parents' son... and the worst thing was that when I was young, my parents brought me back from the Tianxuan Continent... The Demon King and the Little Demon King both died at the hands of people from the Tianxuan Continent, and the Demon King Seal and the Samsara Mirror were also lost due to the invasion of the Tianxuan Continent. The Demon King City has always hated the Tianxuan Continent. Wherever I go, this 'bastard from the Tianxuan Continent' will be looked down upon, despised, and even insulted and hated..."

Yun Xiao did not continue. Yun Che listened silently. He could feel how Yun Xiao had come through these years… Before he was sixteen, he had always been ridiculed and despised by others because of his crippled profound veins. And Yun Xiao was even more miserable than him. What he had to endure was much heavier than what he had endured…

Therefore, he understood very well what Yun Xiao’s state of mind must have been like over the years... Both of them were people who were teased by fate.

There was no reason for the Illusory Demon Realm not to hate the Profound Sky Continent. How could Yun Xiao, who was most likely from the Profound Sky Continent, be welcomed by the people here...even if he was the young master of the Yun Family. And how could a family in the world be willing to marry its only princess to such a person? It was not just a question of status, but also involved the family's reputation and dignity...

Perhaps, if it weren’t for the Yun family, the matter of Yun Xiao’s bloodline could have been kept secret, but it was the Yun family... Xuan Gang was irrefutable evidence.

“Your parents…are they good to you?” Yun Che asked slowly.

“My parents are very good to me.” Yun Xiao nodded gently, with warmth in his eyes. “Because of Xuan Gang, even I myself deeply doubted my bloodline, but my parents said that I was their biological son. In the face of overwhelming doubts, they never admitted it, and they loved me in every way since I was a child, and never let me suffer any grievances. Otherwise, with the hatred of Demon King City towards Tianxuan Continent, I might not be able to live to this day.”

“So, for the sake of your parents, you practiced desperately, and were willing to silently endure all the criticism and unfair treatment, and never resisted?” Yun Che said.

Number Seven Under Heaven said that Yun Xiao had never received many resources since he was a child, but with his ordinary qualifications and scarce resources, he had cultivated to the half-step Tyrant Profound Realm at the age of 22! This was already the highest level of achievement among the Seven Profound Heaven Realm nations, even surpassing Feng Xiluo, who was once known as the number one young person in the Seven Profound Heaven Realm nations!

It's conceivable how hard he has worked in his cultivation over the years...or even desperately.

“Yes.” Yun Xiao nodded gently, gritted his teeth and said, “I am the grandson of the Demon King, the son of Yun Qinghong and Mu Yurou… I will never embarrass them, let alone cause them trouble. In the future, if I really encounter a difficult situation, I will use my strength to protect my parents even if it costs me my life!”

At this point, he noticed that Yun Che's eyes looked a little strange. His expression froze, and he asked anxiously, "Brother Yun, will you look down on me because of this?"

“Of course not.” Yun Che shook his head without any hesitation: “On the contrary, I admire you even more. In fact… I really should be grateful to you.”

"Ah? Thank me?" Yun Xiao was stunned.

“Haha,” Yun Che smiled casually, “Put your hand on Yun Xiao’s shoulder. Yun Xiao, after meeting Senior Yun, how about we become sworn brothers?”

“Ah…Ahhhh?” Yun Xiao opened his mouth wide, a look of disbelief: “Become…become sworn brothers? Me, me, me…me and…Brother Yun?”

“Yes.” Yun Che smiled and said, “Well, it’s indeed a bit abrupt for me to say this all of a sudden. If you don’t want to, forget it.”

“No, no, no, no… No, no, no!” Yun Xiao waved his hands quickly, stuttering with excitement: “This, this… Big Brother Yun is so powerful, and I… You’ve seen and heard it, I can’t… How can someone like me be worthy of Big Brother Yun…”

“So, you also think that you are not worthy of Seventh Sister?” Yun Che interrupted him.

"I……"

“Don’t underestimate yourself.” Yun Che patted his shoulder, his eyes firm and sincere: “You are worthy of Seventh Sister, worthy of the status of Young Master of the Yun Family, and even more worthy of being sworn brothers with me. Over the years, you have been silently shouldering many things alone. After becoming sworn brothers, we will naturally share the difficulties. I will fight everything with you. If you want to be with Seventh Sister, I will help you work hard. If you want to protect your parents, I will protect them with you. If someone bullies you or your parents again... I will take back the old and new debts for you!”

Yun Xiao's eyes were turbulent, and his emotions could not calm down for a long time. He had grown up and lived under the strange gazes of others every day. He seemed to have a noble status, but not to mention the sons of other families, even the servants of the Yun family were unwilling to get close to him. Yun Che's words and firm eyes had undoubtedly had a huge impact on his heart. As soon as he opened his mouth, his voice became choked: "Brother Yun, I..."

Yun Che knew that it was the first day that Yun Xiao and he had met each other. Anyone would find it hard to digest these words. He smiled and said, “Take me to see Senior Yun first. We can talk about the rest later.”

——————————————