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After a long silence, Xiao Dongcheng finally spoke again: "Sigh, after so many years, our Xiao Clan has finally produced a Dou Wang powerhouse again. I truly do not wish for even you to meet with an accident, do you understand, Xiao Lin?"
Xiao Dongcheng's tone carried a sense of deep helplessness.
However, the information revealed in his words was actually quite subtle!
Xiao Lin, of course, picked up on it immediately.
After all, having awakened his past memories, he possessed knowledge of his previous life. He knew perfectly well that the former Xiao Clan had once possessed powerhouses far beyond the Dou Wang level.
The predecessor of the Xiao Clan was, after all, the Xiao Clan of the Eight Ancient Clans!
Never mind a Dou Wang, during the peak of the Xiao Clan, Dou Sheng powerhouses were a dime a dozen. A realm like Dou Wang probably wouldn't even have been qualified to guard the front gates of the Xiao Clan back then!
Of course, that was the Xiao Clan of the past, not the current Xiao Clan.
Although the two shared the same origin, the members of the current Xiao Clan had long since lost the Dou Di bloodline in their bodies. In the period when the original story began, the Clan Leader at the time, Xiao Zhan, had absolutely no understanding of his family's history.
The current Clan Leader, Xiao Dongcheng, was different; he clearly still knew a little bit about the Xiao Clan's past. Even if he didn't know as far back as the ancient Xiao Clan era, he likely knew that the Xiao Clan was once much stronger than it was now.
After the ancient Xiao Clan declined, even if they no longer had Dou Sheng or Dou Zun powerhouses, they should have at least left behind some Dou Zong and Dou Huang level experts.
Yet, by the present day, if Xiao Lin were removed from the picture, the strongest member of the Xiao Clan would only be a Dou Ling. By the time the original plot starts, there would only be Xiao Zhan, a Da Dou Shi, to hold down the fort.
Comparing the two eras, the decline was nothing short of tragic!
But why did the Xiao Clan wither to such an extent? There was clearly a reason behind this.
After all, in the original story, even without the Dou Di bloodline, the resources accumulated by the Xiao Clan over countless years should have made it easy for them to hold a place in the Central Plains.
Why was the Xiao Clan currently forced to hide away in the Jia Ma Empire? Obviously, there was a "black hand" behind the scenes causing the Xiao Clan's decline!
Xiao Lin, possessing his past memories, naturally knew exactly who that big black hand was.
As the current Clan Leader, Xiao Dongcheng might not know as much as Xiao Lin, but he certainly knew some secrets that the current members of the Xiao Clan were unaware of. This could be seen from his words just now and his current expression.
Therefore, after a moment of thought, Xiao Lin spoke.
"Clan Leader, it seems there is more to your words than you are saying. If there is something on your mind, you might as well speak plainly. I will carefully reconsider my upcoming travels."
Beneath Xiao Lin's calm face, a look of confusion surfaced at just the right moment. He wanted to know exactly what secrets regarding the Xiao Clan were hidden in Xiao Dongcheng's heart.
Don't misunderstand; Xiao Lin had no other motives.
He simply wanted to use the secrets known by Xiao Dongcheng to verify his own suspicions.
After all, if the facts were not as he imagined, wouldn't his years of hiding make him look like a clown? To put it bluntly, Xiao Lin wanted to confirm whether his choice to follow the "low-profile path" was actually the correct one.
You should know that if Xiao Lin chose not to stay low-key and instead directly exposed his strength, it would be no exaggeration to say the entire Jia Ma Empire would come to revere the Xiao Clan!
It wouldn't be like it is now, where the Xiao Clan only holds a certain level of status within the empire. As Xiao Lin's words fell, Clan Leader Xiao Dongcheng fell into a fierce internal conflict.
According to the dying wishes of the previous generation's Clan Leader, he should take all the secrets of the Xiao Clan to his grave and never inform the next generation. After all, the past glory of the Xiao Clan had completely vanished.
Now, they were just an ordinary family in the Jia Ma Empire!
The Central Plains was a past they could no longer return to. He didn't want the descendants of the Xiao Clan to continue pining for a glory that was out of reach.
But Xiao Lin was special!
In this era where the Xiao Clan had declined so significantly, he had actually managed to break through to the Dou Wang realm!
Furthermore, Xiao Dongcheng knew that Xiao Lin was likely hiding something; he was definitely not as simple as the One-Star Dou Wang level he showed on the surface.
Xiao Dongcheng had become completely certain of this when Xiao Lin returned from his last secret realm trip and handed over resources worth five or six times the entire clan's foundation at the time. Xiao Lin carried a great secret!
To be honest, even if Xiao Lin revealed the strength of a Dou Huang right now, Xiao Dongcheng probably wouldn't be that surprised. He had already made his own estimates.
At the same time, Xiao Lin's personality his love for hiding his true abilities was what made Xiao Dongcheng waver in his resolve to take the clan secrets to his grave. In truth, Xiao Dongcheng wasn't afraid of Xiao Lin being low-key; he was afraid of Xiao Lin being too high-profile!
Looking at various secrets from the Xiao Clan's past, being high-profile had clearly not been a good thing for their descendants. Therefore, since both his strength and personality perfectly matched his wishes, Clan Leader Xiao Dongcheng appeared so conflicted at this moment.
On one hand, he wanted to follow the last wishes of the previous Clan Leader and let the secrets be buried with his generation. On the other hand, knowing the former glory of the clan and seeing someone like Xiao Lin who had the potential to lead them back to greatness.
He naturally wanted to inform him.
Watching the incredibly torn Xiao Dongcheng, Xiao Lin did not rush him, simply waiting quietly. It was perhaps Xiao Lin's "calm in the face of a collapsing mountain" demeanor that finally pushed Xiao Dongcheng to make a decision.
"Ancestors above, your unfilial descendant Xiao Dongcheng cannot fulfill your final command today. Xiao Lin is someone who can lead the Xiao Clan toward a revival; there are some secrets I can no longer hide from him!"
After leading Xiao Lin into the Xiao Clan Ancestral Hall, Xiao Dongcheng immediately knelt and kowtowed to apologize to the ancestors. Xiao Lin also respectfully offered a stick of incense to the various ancestors of the Xiao Clan.
Afterward, Xiao Dongcheng stood up and looked at Xiao Lin with a solemn expression. He looked at this outstanding descendant who had made him break the command left by the previous Clan Leaders!
Facing Xiao Dongcheng's scrutiny, Xiao Lin remained calm and composed.
This caused Xiao Dongcheng to nod secretly in approval.
Then, Xiao Dongcheng took out a thick book from the Ancestral Hall and handed it to Xiao Lin.
"Xiao Lin, I know you want to know the secrets of the Xiao Clan. Before I tell them to you, take a look at this first."
As Clan Leader Xiao Dongcheng spoke, Xiao Lin took the book being offered to him.
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