Chapter 13

Seeing Xiao Yan's words, as Xun'er nodded in agreement, Jiali Ao's lips twitched, his fists clenched until they creaked, and he glared fiercely at the calm young man before him.

Behind Jiali Ao, a group of subordinates, seeing their master's ugly expression, stepped forward very cleverly and tactfully, subtly surrounding the two, their gazes filled with ill intent.

In the depths of the market, there were also many people. Seeing the commotion here, they couldn't help but look over out of curiosity. Xiao Yan and Jiali Ao were both somewhat famous in U坦城 (Utan City). Xiao Yan was known for his reputation as a failure, while Jiali Ao was notorious for his promiscuous and irresponsible behavior. Although neither reputation was particularly good, they could still be considered minor celebrities.

Seeing the actions of the other party, Xiao Yan's eyebrows twitched. A playful smile appeared on his young face. He tilted his head slightly and whistled toward a part of the market.

Seeing Xiao Yan's actions, the crowd turned their heads curiously and saw the market guards, led by Captain Payne, charging over with a fierce momentum.

Payne, leading a large group of guards, ran over quickly. With a wave of his hand, his subordinates immediately surrounded Jiali Ao's group fiercely, creating a tense atmosphere between the two sides.

"Third Young Master, is there any problem?" Coming to stand behind Xiao Yan, Payne first glanced at Jiali Ao and his group, then asked with a respectful smile.

Xiao Yan smiled slightly, turned his head to look at the sullen-faced Jiali Ao, and said nonchalantly, "Young Master Jiali Ao, this market is the territory of the Xiao family. Do you intend to make a move here?"

Jiali Ao glanced at Payne with some apprehension, then turned to Xiao Yan and sneered, "Do you only rely on your family's power? If you were a man..."

"Do you want to say that if I were a man, I should have a fair fight with you?" Xiao Yan suddenly waved his hand, interrupting Jiali Ao with a smile.

Jiali Ao sneered and challenged, "That's right, do you dare?"

Looking at the provocative Jiali Ao, Xiao Yan seemed to sigh helplessly, rubbed his forehead, and after a moment, raised his head, shrugged slightly, and with an innocent and blameless look, said, "Young Master Jiali Ao, may I ask how old you are?"

Jiali Ao's lips twitched, and he remained silent with a dark face.

"Brother, you are twenty-one this year, how old am I? Fifteen! You actually want me, a child who hasn't even had my coming-of-age ceremony, to duel with you? Don't you think your request is rather embarrassing?" Xiao Yan sighed, his helpless expression making Xun'er beside him unable to hold back a smile.

"Ha ha."

Hearing the innocent words of the young man, some mercenaries and merchants in the depths of the market burst out laughing. Indeed, at Xiao Yan's current age, he was at most a naive young boy, while Jiali Ao was already an adult. This challenge was truly something that made people look down on him.

The mocking gazes around him were like a bucket of cold water, bringing Jiali Ao back to his senses. Xiao Yan's maturity and composure always made people overlook his age. Only after being reminded did Jiali Ao remember that the young man before him was only fifteen...

Biting his teeth fiercely, Jiali Ao glanced at the Xiao family guards standing behind Xiao Yan, knowing that he had no chance to teach him a lesson today. He could only shake his head resentfully and said with a sinister tone, "In another year, you will have your coming-of-age ceremony, right? Heh heh, I think you, a failure, will probably be sent to some remote place after the ceremony, and you won't even have the qualifications to enter Utan City. How pitiful."

Xiao Yan smiled slightly and shrugged nonchalantly.

His eyelids twitched. For some reason, whenever Jiali Ao saw the calm and composed look on the young man's face, he was filled with anger. You, a failure, why do you act so mysteriously and profound...

Suppressing the anger in his heart, Jiali Ao coldly snorted, waved his hand, and led his subordinates through the crowd.

"Oh, right..." Suddenly stopping, Jiali Ao seemed to remember something, turned his head, and sneered, "Young Master Xiao Yan, I heard that your family's engagement to the Nalan family's Nalan Yanran was forcibly dissolved? Heh heh, it's not a big deal. With your cultivation talent, you indeed don't match Miss Nalan. Ha ha..." After saying this, Jiali Ao laughed and left.

Xiao Yan glanced at the departing Jiali Ao with a somewhat sinister look, reached out, and grabbed Xun'er's hand, saying calmly, "Just a mad dog. If it bites you, do you want to bite back?"

"But he... was too much. Should we just let him go?" Xun'er frowned, somewhat indignant.

"Ha ha, there will be a chance..." Xiao Yan squinted his eyes and smiled, the coldness at the corner of his mouth making Payne beside him feel a chill. A lion that bites is not scary; what's scary is a lion that knows how to endure...

"Uncle Payne, thank you for your trouble." Xiao Yan turned and smiled kindly at Payne and his men, the somewhat sinister aura from before instantly turning into the youth's vigor and frankness.

Impressed by Xiao Yan's emotional control, Payne's smile became more genuine, filled with a deep respect. Regardless of Xiao Yan's cultivation talent, just this level of mental maturity would likely lead to great achievements in the future.

"Ha ha, Third Young Master, you're too kind. This is our Xiao family's territory; we can't let the Jiali family people act recklessly." Payne smiled, looked at Xiao Yan's curious gaze, and after bidding farewell, very consciously led his men away.

Watching Payne and his men leave, Xiao Yan turned, roughly ruffled Xun'er's long hair, and scolded, "You silly girl, a first-grade magic crystal made you so excited? Don't you know what kind of person he is? If you accept his things, he will immediately take advantage of you."

Pouting and smoothing out her disheveled hair, Xun'er shrugged helplessly, "If it's offered, why not take it?"

Xiao Yan rolled his eyes, somewhat exasperated, "That thing isn't valuable. Is it worth it? You are the Xiao family's prodigy..."

Xun'er wrinkled her cute nose, raised her wrist with a bracelet, and teased, "So, Xiao Yan, you've been paying attention to Xun'er all along."

Glaring at Xun'er, Xiao Yan pulled the girl's hand and walked toward some stalls in the market...

After passing several stalls, Xiao Yan finally stopped, bent down, and looked at a green crystal on the stall, still stained with some blood threads. He sighed in relief and smiled, "Finally found it."

His hand moved over the stall, just as he was about to pick up the magic crystal, his hand suddenly stiffened, a strange feeling surging in his heart...

Licking his lips, Xiao Yan still grabbed the magic crystal, then glanced around the stall as if it didn't matter...

A moment later, Xiao Yan's gaze fell on a black iron piece next to the magic crystal.

The black iron piece was very old, covered in rust and some unwashed yellow mud, looking like it had just been dug out of the ground.

"Hey, Little Yan, buy that black iron piece, it's a good thing..."

Just as Xiao Yan was puzzled by his strange feeling, the voice of Master Yao suddenly echoed in his mind.