This Void Devouring Flame seems a bit strange

"So, this is what you mean?" Xiao Zhan looked at the three elders in front of him with an unhappy expression, "I can't take the money that Mr. Xu Yan gave me?"

"Yes, this is the opinion we unanimously agreed upon. According to clan rules, you cannot reject it even if you are the clan leader." The great elder was not at all flustered.

"Crack!" The teacup in Xiao Zhan's hand was crushed on the spot.

[Teacup: You are amazing, you are noble]

"Good, very good, very good! Last time you all agreed to advance the time for the competition, and today you brought up this again. Are you planning to jointly expel me, the clan leader, from the Xiao family next?"

"That won't happen, but if the Third Young Master loses in this family competition, it's hard to say."

"Hmph!" Xiao Zhan simply didn't bother to waste any more time talking to them. He just pushed the door open and walked out. The sound of the door colliding with the door frame already revealed his inner anger.

Xiao Zhan returned to his room and sat heavily on the chair. Fortunately, although the chair was made of wood, its texture was very hard, so it did not perform a "disintegration show" on the spot like the teacup.

"Ah..." Xiao Zhan let out a long sigh. Although Mr. Xu Yan cured Xiao Yan, the family competition was moved forward. Even if Xiao Yan was gifted, it would not be easy for him to reach the seventh level of fighting spirit again during this period.

"Knock, knock!" There was a sudden noise near the window. It sounded like some bird was pecking at the window, but when you listened carefully, the sound seemed a little strange.

"Hmm?" Xiao Zhan was attracted by the sound and found it was a little bird.

There was nothing special about the bird itself, it was just an ordinary house bird, but what surprised Xiao Zhan was that there was a storage ring in the bird's mouth. This was why the sound just now became strange.

Just when Xiao Zhan was puzzled, the bird loosened its beak, and the ring fell on the windowsill, then flew away into the sky.

"What's going on..." Xiao Zhan looked at the ring, full of doubts. It was not uncommon for birds to pick up these small things, but a precious item like a ring, even the lowest-grade one, would cost tens of thousands of gold coins, and ordinary people would not let it go. Moreover, if birds picked up such things, they would usually put them in the bird's nest. This situation where a bird took the ring and ran to the window and then left it behind was not in line with common sense no matter from which angle you looked at it.

Throw it away? It's worth tens of thousands of gold coins anyway. Sell it? But since it's a storage ring, there must be something inside.

Wait, what's inside? Xiao Zhan's eyes lit up. If there was something good inside, he could sell it and have money to help his son!

But what if this thing has an owner? Xiao Zhan immediately thought of this problem. He tried to use his soul power to sense the ring, but there was no soul mark on it. This made him feel relieved. If there was no soul mark, it proved that the ring was either ownerless or the original owner no longer needed it or had died.

Thinking of this, Xiao Zhan hurriedly tried to open the ring. Inside were two cards and a note with some words written on it.

"Hello, Mr. Xiao Zhan. I guess you've been troubled by financial problems recently, and I guess those elders must be doing something again, and it's probably related to me. So I used a little trick to give you some help. There are 100,000 gold coins in the card, and I heard that there will be something your son needs at this auction. You can use this money to try at the next auction. As for paying back the money, there's no need. I don't need this little money, Xu Yanliu."

When Xiao Zhan saw the last two words "Xu Yan", he suddenly realized that it seemed that Mr. Xu Yan had guessed his situation and used this trick to help him.

Xiao Zhan turned over the note and found another line of words.

"If you see this, burn the note. Of course, if you don't burn it, the note will catch fire in 5 minutes after someone sees it. Please be careful of the burn."

"Uh..." Xiao Zhan's face was dark. Was this a secret game? However, since the issue of hotness was mentioned, Xiao Zhan did not dare to neglect it and threw the note directly into the basin of charcoal fire. Sure enough, within a few minutes, black flames appeared on the edge of the note, burning the entire note, while the surrounding charcoal did not burn at all.

Just as the note was burning, Xuwu Tunyan, who was far away in Telan City, chuckled. Now that the money was in place, there was no need for him to interfere with Xiao Yan's auction and his contact with Ya Fei. He could just rest and relax for a while.

During the following period of time, Xuwu Tunyan basically just wandered around, ate, and occasionally chatted with Yu Xiao and Galeya. Of course, during this period, Xuwu Tunyan also asked them to buy some expensive clothes, saying that they would be useful in the future.

Until one day, a knock on the door interrupted Xuwu Tunyan's abandoned life.

"What's the matter?" Xuwu Tunyan looked at the person in front of him. His clothes were the same as the people he saw at the Xiao family. He should be from the Xiao family. Could it be that they were trying to use some kind of beauty trap again?

"Mr. Xu Yan, today is the day of our Xiao family's family competition, so we specially invite you to come and observe." The Xiao family member said humbly.

"Oh? Then I have to go and take a look." Xuwu Tunyan's eyes lit up, and then he asked knowingly: "Can I take someone with me?"

"Of course... of course." How could the Xiao family member dare to say no? If he said no and offended the ruthless man in front of him who even pinched Galebiobapa and almost strangled Ge Ye to death in public, even if he had thirty lives, they would not be enough for him to kill.

"That's great." Void Devouring Flame turned around and shouted, "Girls, get your clothes ready and go watch the wonderful show!"

The Xiao family member looked embarrassed. In his eyes, such a major ceremony as the family competition was just an entertainment program? But he didn't dare to show any dissatisfaction and could only smile flatteringly.

"Mr. Xu Yan, please get in the car."

"Get in the car? That's too slow. You get in the car and go back by yourself. I have my own way." After Xuwu Tunyan finished speaking, the dark fighting spirit surged out of his whole body. These dark fighting spirits gradually combined and condensed from scattered, and then turned into a dark horse.

"Is this the legendary... Dou Qi turning into a horse?"

"That's right." Xuwu Tunyan smiled, "Xiaoxiao, Xiaoya, get on the horse!"

Jialeya and Yu Xiao climbed onto the horse's back. Just when the Xiao family member thought the horse would gallop forward, wings suddenly sprouted from the horse's back and it flew into the sky, leaving the Xiao family member staring stupidly at the gradually shrinking black shadow in the sky.

"Charge, Pegasus!" Void Devouring Flame laughed loudly, and the horse seemed to be sensed as well. It neighed long and flew towards Wutan City.

——Note: Pegasus is a horse with wings on its back that can fly in the sky in mythology, that is, "Pegasus". ——

Telan City was not far from Wutan City, so within a few minutes, they arrived at their destination - the Xiao family's martial arts training ground.

This is a huge training ground made of bluestone. Hundreds of young men from the Xiao family are here, making a lot of noise.

"Then, what is that?"

"What a majestic black horse, with wings!"

"Fool, how can a horse have wings? It must be some rare magical beast."

"It's Mr. Xu Yan!"

"Isn't that Yu Xiao?"

"The clothes she's wearing are so gorgeous..."

"Who is that girl?"

Void Devouring Flame's "special appearance" made the noise even louder.

It was also the first time that Yu Xiao had seen such a scene. In the past, she would only clean up and watch the fights from a distance. So she instinctively flinched, but a hand was placed on her shoulder.

"Don't be afraid." Void Swallowing Flame said calmly, "Now you are no longer a maid, but a spectator. You no longer need to rely on them."

Yu Xiao looked at Xuwu Tunyan's face and nodded: "Thank you."

"Let's go. I hope this competition can make me happy."

In the training ground, there stood a huge black stone tablet for testing. This kind of test tablet was very expensive, and only some powerful families were qualified to equip it. Next to the black stone tablet, there was still the indifferent tester from a year ago. The arrival of Void Devouring Flame and the noise of the Xiao family's children did not seem to affect him.

On the high platform on the left side of the training ground, some insiders of the family were sitting. In the center, there were the patriarch Xiao Zhan and three elders.

Inside the venue, the young boys and girls who were about to take the test were standing anxiously. Some of them who usually performed well did not look nervous, while some of them with average or low talents looked confused. After all, failing the test would mean that they would be sent to remote areas - although they didn't know it yet, which might be a good thing.

Xiao Zhan looked gloomily at the tribesmen with different expressions on the face, and sighed softly in his heart. Although he had bought spiritual liquid before, it could only play a supporting role after all.

Yan'er, can you get through this?

"Clan leader, the time is almost up, why hasn't Xiao Yan arrived yet?" The second elder beside Xiao Zhan asked with a frown.

Xiao Zhan glanced at him and said, "It's not time yet, why are you in such a hurry? How come the Second Elder doesn't even have this much willpower?"

Choked by Xiao Zhan's words, the Second Elder's face looked a little ugly, and he said sinisterly: "Even if you bid for him to buy the foundation-building spirit liquid, it is impossible for him to reach the seventh stage of fighting spirit within a year! Don't expect any miracle to happen."

Hearing this, Xiao Zhan's face became angry. He was also feeling annoyed now. This guy was really talking about things that were not related to the topic!

Just as he was about to spit back, another voice interrupted him.

"Mr. Xiao Zhan, how are you?" Xuwu Tunyan rode on his horse and slowly landed in front of him and the three elders.

"Mr. Xu...Mr. Xu Yan!" The anger on Xiao Zhan's face immediately subsided. "Didn't I send a car? Did they disrespect you? I will punish them severely!"

"No." Xuwu Tunyan waved his hand, "I just like to come here in my own way. I don't think it has caused you any trouble, right?"

"No, no, what's the matter?" Xiao Zhan breathed a sigh of relief. If any tribesman offended him without knowing what was good for him, no matter it was out of kindness or reason, he would definitely punish that person.

"Hello, Patriarch." Yu Xiao stepped forward and bowed. Yu Xiao has always been grateful to the benefactor who took him in.

"Hello, Patriarch Xiao." Galiya also knew that the person in front of him was Xiao Zhan, the patriarch of the Xiao family, and bowed slightly.

"Who is this?" Xiao Zhan was a little confused.

"My name is Galea."

"Galeya? Are you from the Galie family?" Xiao Zhan's face looked a little strange. After all, the Galie family and the Xiao family have always been incompatible.

"I am no longer a member of the Gale family. Now I am just a follower of Mr. Xu Yan." Galeya replied.

"She's not a follower. She's just following me temporarily. When she's strong enough, I'll let her go to Canaan College." Void Tunyan added.

"I see." Xiao Zhan didn't intend to ask any further. Judging from Galiya's tone, she didn't seem to like the Galiya family.

The three elders next to them were a little embarrassed because Xuwu Tunyan and the two women had not looked at them directly since the beginning, but they did not dare to say a word.

"Why don't you move the chair over here?" Xiao Zhan shouted to the guard beside him.

"No need for that. I have a seat, and it's exclusive." Xuwu Tunyan said with a smile.

Pegasus's whole body began to change again. Void Devouring Flame injected more fighting spirit into it, making it bigger. Its shape was also gradually changing. The original winged horse on its back gradually began to "soften" and then took shape again, turning into a giant dragon.

As Void Devouring Flame's mind moved, the giant dragon slowly rose into the air and hovered motionlessly in the air. Its claws opened, forming a platform that was just enough for the three of them to sit on.

"I call this [Nidhoggr], what do you think, cool, right?" Void Devouring Flame looked at the black dragon and said to Xiao and Galiya with a smile.

——Author's Note: Nidhogg, a black dragon (or snake in some accounts) that gnawed the roots of the World Tree in Norse mythology, is considered the culprit that caused Ragnarok. ——

"What a strange name." Galea couldn't help but complain.

"This is a name that exists in a certain legend. I can tell you about it when I have a chance. Let's watch the show first."

"Okay." Galea looked towards the square in the distance. Because he was at a high place, his vision was wider, so Galea quickly noticed that two shadows were slowly walking towards him on the path at the end of the square.

The two men walked leisurely, and did not seem to be hastened by the important day of today.

Looking at the faint smile on the face of the black-shirted boy in the distance, Xiao Zhan breathed a sigh of relief for some reason.

Looking at Xiao Yan who was walking side by side with Xun'er, all the young men in the field showed a hint of jealousy on their faces. In the Xiao family, the only person who could be so close to Xun'er was probably this famous loser.

At the edge of the square, Xiao Ning, who was surrounded by a large group of younger brothers, stared at Xiao Yan, and the anger in his eyes was obvious.

"You little bastard, let's see if you still have the nerve to be with Xun'er after today." After cursing softly, Xiao Ning sneered.