Xiao Lie looked at Li Hao's corpse on the ground, then at the unremarkable rusty iron spear in Xiao Chen's hand, and his pupils suddenly contracted.
Li Hao, who was in the early stage of the Golden Core realm, was instantly killed in one move?
This level of strength is several times more terrifying than Xiao Chen's peak years back then!
His previously tense face instantly broke into a smile brighter than a chrysanthemum. He strode down from the main seat, grabbed Xiao Chen's arm, and spoke with such warmth that it was as if his previous cold indifference was just an illusion: "Xiao Chen! My good son! You're finally back!"
“You don’t know,” Xiao Lie pounded his chest, his eyes even reddening slightly, “These past years, while you’ve been away from home, I haven’t missed you for a single day! I dream about you chasing after me when you were little, begging for candied hawthorns! Back then… back then, sending you away was out of necessity! Those blind fools in the clan were making a fuss, and it hurt my heart as your father!”
The Third Elder, standing nearby, quickly joined in, stroking his goatee and laughing, "That's right! Little Chen, you are the future hope of our Xiao family! I said back then that you had the potential to be a dragon or a phoenix, and I was right! Look how powerful you are now, you took down that brat Li Hao in one move, you really brought honor to our Xiao family!"
The previously weasel-faced Li Er bowed and scraped, saying, "Young Master Xiao Chen is exceptionally talented and promising at such a young age! I was blind before, please forgive me! From now on, whatever you say goes east, I will never dare to go west!"
A group of people surrounded Xiao Chen, chattering flattering words, completely forgetting the indifference and abandonment they had shown him back then, as if they were all genuinely concerned for him and hoping for his return—"family members."
Xiao Chen pulled his arm away from Xiao Lie's grasp, his eyes calm, and he didn't reply.
Seeing this, Li Batian dared not mention the revenge for killing his son. His fat face twitched, and he forced a smile: "Young friend Xiao Chen is indeed a hero among young men! It was my unfilial son who offended you and deserved to die! He deserved to die! In the future, if you ever need anything, my Li family will do our best to help you!"
The head of the Su family quickly nudged Su Wanqing beside him and said with a smile, "Xiaoqing, quickly greet Xiao Chen. Your sister and Xiao Chen were childhood sweethearts. Now that Xiao Chen is back, you should get to know each other better."
Su Qing's face was pale, her head was lowered, and her voice was barely audible: "Xiao... Xiao Chen."
Xiao Chen glanced at her indifferently, without saying a word.
Just then, the news that Xiao Chen had instantly killed Li Hao spread like wildfire from the Xiao family gates to every corner of Tianfeng City.
"What? Xiao Chen killed Li Hao in one move? Li Hao was only at the early stage of the Golden Core realm!"
"My God! Wasn't he crippled? How did he become so strong?"
"I heard he's been gaining experience outside all these years; it seems he's had an incredible stroke of luck!"
"The world of Tianfeng City is about to change! With Xiao Chen in the Xiao family, they're likely to surpass the other three major families!"
The discussion was in full swing, with everyone marveling at Xiao Chen's powerful return.
Inside the Xiao family hall, seeing Xiao Chen's cold expression, the Third Elder quickly approached again, feigning heartbreak: "Little Chen, I heard the other day that someone tried to ambush you in the wilderness? Who was that blind bastard? Tell us, our Xiao family will not tolerate this! No matter who it is, even if it's the Heavenly King himself, we will drag him out and tear him to pieces to avenge you!"
He patted his chest, spitting as he spoke, eager to lead his men to raid the enemy's stronghold immediately.
Xiao Lie quickly chimed in, his face full of concern: "Yes, yes, yes! Xiao Chen, who dared to do this? Tell your father quickly, and I'll stand up for you! Although our Xiao family isn't what it used to be, we're still more than capable of protecting our children!"
A group of people stared at Xiao Chen expectantly, waiting for him to reveal his enemies so that they could use "revenge" as an excuse to completely bind him to the Xiao family.
Xiao Chen's gaze slowly shifted to Su Qing, whose face was growing paler and paler.
He only gave me a look, without saying a word.
Xiao Lie and the Third Elder reacted instantly, turning sharply to look at the Su family father and daughter with unfriendly eyes.
"Clan Chief Su!" the Third Elder roared, "Could it be that your Su family was the one who abducted and killed my Xiao Chen back then?!"
The Su family patriarch's expression changed drastically, and he quickly waved his hands, saying, "Nonsense! Absolutely not! Third Elder, don't make false accusations!"
"If it wasn't you, then who was it?" Xiao Lie's face darkened. "Xiao Chen was clearly looking at Wan Qing just now! Clan Chief Su, you must give our Xiao family an explanation for this!"
"I...we didn't!" Su Qing was on the verge of tears, her voice trembling. "Xiao Chen, you have to believe us, it wasn't us..."
"Not you? Then why was Xiao Chen looking at you?" The Third Elder pressed on, "I think it was your Su family who were afraid Xiao Chen would recover, so they killed him! Their intentions are despicable!"
"You're talking nonsense!" The Su family patriarch was both angry and anxious. "The Xiao family shouldn't push their luck!"
"This is outrageous! You killed members of my Xiao family, and you still dare to say we're going too far?"
"Who killed your people? You're making false accusations!"
In an instant, the Xiao family members started arguing with the Su family father and daughter. They talked back and forth, spittle flying everywhere. The two families, who had been on good terms just a moment ago, turned red-faced in the blink of an eye, looking like a pack of wild dogs fighting over food.
Li Batian huddled to the side, watching this farcical "dog-eat-dog" scene, secretly relieved that he hadn't fought back, otherwise the Li family would be the ones being besieged now.
Xiao Chen stood still, coldly watching the chaos before him, a barely perceptible smile curving his lips.
That's really... interesting.
They used to discard him like trash, but now that they see him as useful, they fawn over him in every way; for the sake of profit, they can turn their backs on their former allies and break off relations.
This is his former family, and his former "childhood sweetheart".
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