At this moment, a mysterious book floated in the depths of Xiao Hao’s mind. It was called the Dao Scripture, and it was the very thing that had brought Xiao Hao from Earth to this world.
Moreover, a soul was unexpectedly hidden within the Dao Scripture. It was this soul that had just spoken to Xiao Hao!
"Dao Scripture Spirit, is this for real?"
Xiao Hao’s face was alight with excitement.
"Of course, it’s real!"
the Dao Scripture Spirit replied.
The next moment, it relayed information about the Heaven-Devouring Martial Soul to Xiao Hao.
It turned out the Heaven-Devouring Martial Soul was not the most useless Martial Soul. On the contrary, it was incredibly heaven-defying, possessing the ability to evolve continuously.
Upon its initial Awakening, it was just an inconspicuous black snake. But as long as it constantly devoured other Martial Souls, it could evolve step by step, transforming into the most powerful Martial Soul in all the All Heavens and Myriad Realms.
When that time came, let alone Xiao Yu’s Snow Phoenix Martial Soul, even the legendary King Level Martial Souls would be nothing but a joke before it!
With it, Xiao Hao’s rise was all but guaranteed!
’So my awakened Martial Soul is this heaven-defying,’ Xiao Hao thought. ’But even if I try to explain it to everyone now, they definitely won’t believe me. Only by increasing my strength can I make them believe.’
"Hao’er, don’t be discouraged. Your Comprehension is so heaven-defying that even if your Martial Soul is a bit lacking, you will definitely achieve great things in the future!"
Xiao Chen walked up to Xiao Hao and comforted him.
"Second Uncle, don’t bother comforting him. This piece of trash will never have his day!"
Xiao Yu jeered.
"Xiao Yu, don’t celebrate too soon! I’ll still be able to defeat you in this year’s family tournament!"
Xiao Hao snorted coldly.
"Enough, Xiao Hao! Stop embarrassing yourself here. A piece of trash like you is no longer qualified to be my granddaughter’s opponent."
On the main platform, Old Sir Xiao spoke with a grim expression.
Xiao Hao was a member of the Xiao Family in name, but he was not of their blood. Naturally, Old Sir Xiao was more partial to his own granddaughter, Xiao Yu.
This was especially true now that Xiao Yu had awakened the Snow Phoenix Martial Soul while Xiao Hao was a good-for-nothing. He despised Xiao Hao even more now.
"Old Sir, I can understand you favoring your own granddaughter. However, if my mother hadn’t intervened to stop the beast tide back then, the Xiao Family would have ceased to exist long ago.
My request now is simple: please return the things my mother left for me!"
Xiao Hao said.
"Hmph! A good-for-nothing like you wants to get those things back? Wasting them on you would be an utter sacrilege."
Old Sir Xiao sneered.
"Father, you promised Hao’er that you would return his mother’s belongings to him after his Martial Soul Awakening. How can you go back on your word?"
Xiao Chen’s body trembled, unable to believe what he was hearing.
Thirteen years ago, a terrifying beast tide erupted from the Demon Beast Mountain Range outside Celestial Water City, nearly destroying the entire city.
It was Xiao Hao’s mother who had intervened to stop the beast tide, saving the Xiao Family.
Afterward, Xiao Hao’s mother entrusted the then-three-year-old Xiao Hao to the Xiao Family’s care, leaving some items behind for him.
However, because Xiao Hao was too young at the time, Old Sir Xiao decided to temporarily hold onto those items for him, promising to return them all after his Martial Soul Awakening.
But now, Old Sir Xiao was publicly breaking his promise, leaving even Xiao Chen in disbelief.
"Insolence! You traitorous son, how dare you question me! It seems you no longer wish to be the Patriarch."
Old Sir Xiao’s face turned ashen as he sharply reprimanded Xiao Chen.
"Second Brother, you’ve gone too far. Hurry up and apologize to Father."
Xiao Yang said, pushing Xiao Chen’s shoulder.
"I’ve done nothing wrong. Those things should be returned to Hao’er! Without his mother, our Xiao Family would have been annihilated long ago."
Xiao Chen said, his eyes bloodshot.
Even he had never imagined his father could be such an ungrateful person.
"Fine. Very fine. I hereby announce that from this moment on, you are stripped of your position as Patriarch. Your older brother will assume the role. Now take this piece of trash and get out of my sight."
Old Sir Xiao laughed, his face contorted with fury.
He was the true power in the Xiao Family. If he could make Xiao Chen the Patriarch, he could naturally take the position back at any time.
"Wait! My adoptive father has made countless contributions to the Xiao Family over the years and even suffered grievous injuries for it! How can you treat him like this?"
Xiao Hao roared, clenching his fists so tightly his nails dug into his palms.
His adoptive father had given so, so much for the Xiao Family over the years.
Of the five Spirit Stone Mines the Xiao Family owned, four had been secured by his adoptive father!
In the process of fighting for those Spirit Stone Mines, his adoptive father’s Dantian had even been severely damaged, causing his Cultivation to plummet.
And now, at the slightest disagreement, Old Sir Xiao was stripping his adoptive father of the Patriarch position. It was truly disheartening.
"Insolence! You piece of trash, this is not your place to speak! Say one more word, and I’ll have your limbs broken and have you thrown into the Celestial Prison!"
Old Sir Xiao said, his face devoid of expression.
"Patriarch, you are injured. You are indeed no longer suited to serve in this position!"
"The Grand Elder succeeding as Patriarch is what everyone wants!"
"For the good of the family, you should step down and yield the position!"
The various Xiao Family Elders chimed in with their agreement.
’What a bunch of ungrateful bastards!’
Xiao Hao was so furious he could have ground his teeth to dust.
His adoptive father had sacrificed so much for the Xiao Family, yet not a single person was speaking up for him.
How cold and pragmatic these people were!
"Older Brother, I can yield the position of Patriarch to you, but I hope you will all honor the promise from back then and allow the Xiao Family to continue protecting Hao’er!"
Xiao Chen said through gritted teeth.
Although he was filled with rage and disappointment at his father’s actions, he could only compromise for Xiao Hao’s sake!
After all, Xiao Hao had awakened the lowest-grade Martial Soul; in the future, he would be only slightly stronger than an ordinary person at best.
And this world was exceedingly dangerous. Without the Xiao Family’s protection, it would be very difficult for him to survive.
"Rest assured, Second Brother! Once I inherit the Patriarch’s seat, I will certainly keep my promise! Now, hurry up and get out of here with this piece of trash. Don’t let him affect the other tests."
Xiao Yang waved his hand dismissively, looking extremely impatient.
"Hao’er, let’s go back for now."
Xiao Chen immediately led Xiao Hao away from the Martial Arts Arena.
A short while later, they returned to their residence.
"Hao’er, I’m sorry. Your adoptive father is useless. I couldn’t even protect your mother’s belongings."
Xiao Chen said, his expression filled with immense guilt.
"Adoptive Father, this isn’t your fault. They are the ones who are too ungrateful. But one day, I will take back everything that belongs to me."
Xiao Hao said, clenching his fist.
"Hao’er, I’ve offended many people over the years. It would be very dangerous if I were to take you and leave the Xiao Family. No matter how wronged you feel, we can only stay with the Xiao Family for now."
Xiao Chen sighed.
"Mm. The day I have the strength to protect you, Adoptive Father, is the day we leave this hellhole."
Xiao Hao nodded, then immediately entered his room to cultivate.
Right now, he desperately craved power so that he could leave the Xiao Family as soon as possible.
BUZZ!
The next moment, he summoned his Heaven-Devouring Martial Soul and activated the Energy-Introducing Technique his adoptive father had taught him, beginning to devour the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi!
"Fuck! This devouring speed is way too insane!"
Xiao Hao’s eyes went wide, and he couldn’t help but curse out loud.
Although his Heaven-Devouring Martial Soul was just a black snake the size of an earthworm, when it opened its mouth, it grew to the size of a washbasin! Like a whale sucking in water, it instantly inhaled all the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi in the entire room.
Although he had never seen a Golden Martial Soul, he was certain that this devouring speed was far more terrifying than any of theirs!
Even the legendary King Level Martial Souls might not be able to compare.
At this moment, he finally understood the meaning behind the two words, ’Heaven-Devouring’!
’Open my Qi Sea!’
Xiao Hao’s entire face flushed red as he began to convert the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi into True Qi, carving out a Qi Sea within his Dantian.
One day later, a Qi Sea had formed within Xiao Hao’s Dantian.
This meant he had successfully stepped into the Yellow Realm First Layer!
However, Xiao Hao did not stop cultivating, but continued to devour the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.
On the third day, his Cultivation finally broke through again, and he stepped into the Yellow Realm Second Layer.
"Haha! It only took me three days to reach the Yellow Realm Second Layer! Who can possibly match this cultivation speed?"
Xiao Hao exclaimed, his face alight with excitement. It felt like he was in a dream.
As far as he knew, even for a Martial Artist like his adoptive father, who had awakened a Nine-Star Bronze Martial Soul, it would take at least two years to reach the Yellow Realm Second Layer without the help of Elixirs. Yet, he had done it in just three days.
This kind of cultivation speed was probably unmatched by anyone in the entire Great Li Dynasty.
And his Heaven-Devouring Martial Soul was currently only a One-Star Bronze Martial Soul, yet it already provided such an astonishing cultivation speed.
If it evolved into an even High Level Martial Soul one day, just how heaven-defying would his cultivation speed become?
"Patriarch, Xiao Yang had too much to drink today and let something slip. The reason Xiao Yu was able to awaken the Snow Phoenix Martial Soul is most likely because she was wearing that necklace. Old Sir Xiao gave it to her as early as ten years ago."
Just then, Xiao Hao suddenly heard someone in Xiao Chen’s room speak, their voice filled with righteous indignation.
The speaker was the Xiao Family’s Fifth Elder, Xiao Ming, who was also Xiao Chen’s only confidant.
Even though Xiao Chen had been stripped of his position as Patriarch, he remained unfailingly loyal, risking danger to come and report this to him in secret.
"Damn it! How could my father do this? That necklace was left for Hao’er by his mother! He actually gave it directly to Xiao Yu? Could it be that he never intended to return those things to Hao’er from the very beginning?"
Xiao Chen said, gritting his teeth in fury.
"What? Xiao Yu was able to awaken the Snow Phoenix Martial Soul because she was wearing my mother’s necklace? Fuck! I have to get it back."
Xiao Hao was utterly enraged.