"For this family annual meeting, Grandpa Huang Qide actually invited Elder Li from the Li Family, Li Mu, to come. It seems he's really put a lot of thought into it!" Huang Xiaolong thought to himself.
However, the intention behind Grandpa inviting Elder Li, Li Mu, might not be so simple.
As Huang Xiaolong made his way to the East Hall, he passed by guards and maids who, upon seeing him, all stopped in their tracks, "Young Master Xiao Long!"
Huang Xiaolong nodded in acknowledgement.
But as he walked past, Huang Xiaolong could feel the strange looks from the guards and maids behind him; probably, the news about Huang Wei intending to cripple both of Huang Xiaolong's hands during the annual meeting had reached their ears as well.
Huang Xiaolong arrived at the East Hall.
In the great hall, both Huang Peng and Su Yan were present.
"Dad, Mom," Huang Xiaolong said as he entered the great hall.
"Xiao Long, you're here." Su Yan asked Huang Xiaolong to sit next to her, then enquired, "The family annual meeting is tomorrow, how is your cultivation coming along?"
Huang Peng also stared intently at Huang Xiaolong.
Huang Xiaolong smiled, "Dad, Mom, don't worry. Tomorrow, I won't let you down."
Unexpectedly, just as Huang Xiaolong finished speaking, Su Yan excitedly said, "Xiao Long, have you broken through to the First Order Middle Stage?!" It seemed that Su Yan thought her son was referring to advancing to the First Order Middle Stage.
At that point, Huang Peng also laughed, "Good, son, you really haven't let your dad down!"
Upon hearing this, Huang Xiaolong let out a wry smile inwardly. Could it be that reaching the First Order Middle Stage before the annual meeting was the highest expectation his parents had for him?
"Dad, I heard from the guards that Elder Li, Li Mu, from the Li Family will also be attending this family annual meeting?" Huang Xiaolong shifted the topic to ask.
Huang Peng nodded, "I've heard about it too. Apart from Elder Li, he's also bringing his granddaughter, Li Lu, along."
"His granddaughter, Li Lu?" Huang Xiaolong was somewhat surprised, then joked, "Surely Elder Li isn't thinking of bringing his granddaughter over for a matchmaking visit?"
But then Huang Peng said, "Your grandfather and Elder Li probably have this in mind. After the family annual meeting, they plan to engage Huang Wei to Li Lu and thus connect the Huang Family and the Li Family by marriage!"
Huang Xiaolong was startled.
"I heard that Li Lu has an exceptional talent. Her Martial Soul is the Dark God Sword, one of the top-level Martial Souls among the ninth levels!" Su Yan continued.
A top-level Martial Soul among the ninth levels, the Dark God Sword!
Huang Xiaolong was taken aback; he hadn't expected that Li Mu's granddaughter, Li Lu, possessed the Martial Soul of the Dark God Sword.
In the Martial Soul World, Martial Souls are categorized in many ways, such as Beast Martial Souls, Artifact Souls, Plant Martial Souls, and some people even possess Natural Martial Souls, like thunder, wind, water, fire.
The Dark God Sword is a type of Artifact Soul.
Of course, most Martial Souls in the Martial Soul World are Beast Martial Souls, like Huang Wei's Three-eyed Black Tiger, Huang Qide's Six-winged Golden Monkey, and Huang Xiaolong's own Mutant Two-headed Snake.
A while later, Huang Xiaolong returned from the East Hall and continued to cultivate the Asura Technique.
The night slowly descended.
Huang Xiaolong had finished cultivating the Asura Technique and went to the back mountain, standing motionless on the mountaintop. But he wasn't cultivating, he was calmly gazing at the sea in the distance. Honestly, Huang Xiaolong had never taken Huang Wei seriously in his heart.
Huang Xiaolong released his Two-headed Snake Martial Soul, which hovered above his head behind him. Having reached the Third-stage Late Stage Peak, Huang Xiaolong felt the power of his Two-headed Snake Martial Soul more acutely than ever, a strength that only he could deeply comprehend.
"It seems that I need to find an opportunity to visit the Book Collection Pavilion to verify exactly what kind of Martial Soul I possess," Huang Xiaolong mused to himself.
However, one must reach the Fourth-stage to enter the Huang Family Manor's Book Collection Pavilion, so Huang Xiaolong needed to break through to the Fourth-stage as soon as possible.
The moonlight stretched Huang Xiaolong's small frame long and drawn out.
As the night slowly receded and dawn brightened, Huang Xiaolong watched the sun slowly rise and murmured to himself, "The family clan gathering is finally about to start!"
The family clan gathering is finally about to start!
Huang Xiaolong flashed through the air, rushing back to Huang Family Manor, and then headed towards the East Hall Courtyard. Upon seeing Huang Xiaolong's arrival, Huang Peng and Su Yan didn't say much before leading him towards the front hall of Huang Family Manor.
The front hall of Huang Family Manor was twice as large as the Martial Arts Hall, large enough to accommodate a thousand people. In the center of the front hall was a Martial Arts Arena, surrounded by seats that were reserved for the Huang Family Manor's elders and stewards; other disciples could only stand in the open space behind the seats.
Not long after Huang Peng and Su Yan entered with Huang Xiaolong, many elders and stewards had already arrived in the Great Hall.
"Second Manor Master!"
"Second Manor Master!"
The elders, stewards, and disciples all greeted him in turn.
Huang Peng nodded and, with Su Yan, escorted Huang Xiaolong to the front row of seats on the right side in the front of the hall. Once Huang Xiaolong sat down, he felt a cold gaze on him, prompting him to look up, only to see Huang Wei sitting opposite him.
At that moment, the gaze of Huang Wei and Huang Xiaolong collided; Huang Wei's eyes were full of pride, looking down from above, provocative, and brimming with satisfaction.
Next to Huang Wei sat Huang Ming. Huang Ming still wore that deathly expressionless face, devoid of any emotion. Huang Peng did not greet him after sitting down. Ever since the incident at the North Hall, the two brothers had become like strangers, no longer speaking to each other.
Shortly after the arrival of the three, a hearty laughter sounded from outside the hall. Upon hearing the laugh, everyone stood up. Huang Xiaolong saw his grandfather, Huang Qide, coming in with a smile on his face. Beside the old man was a silver-haired, sprightly elder about the same age as his grandfather; Huang Xiaolong recognized him as Elder Li of the Li Family, with a cute, doe-eyed little girl trailing behind him with her hair tied in pigtails.
"Old Manor Master!"
"Elder Li!"
The crowd hurriedly paid their respects, followed by Huang Ming and Huang Peng who both stepped forward, "Father, Elder Li!"
"Grandfather, Elder Li," Huang Wei and Huang Xiaolong followed suit.
Huang Qide chuckled and nodded at everyone, then pointed at Huang Wei and said to Li Mu with a smile, "This is my grandson, Huang Wei." However, he only introduced Huang Wei and did not mention Huang Xiaolong.
Elder Li sized up Huang Wei with approval and said, "Very good, indeed. Qide, I've heard that your grandson became a First-stage Warrior in less than two months. When I advanced to First-stage, it took me over five months!"
Hearing this, Huang Qide laughed heartily and said, "Elder Li is too kind. I hope you'll offer him more guidance in the future."
"That, of course," Elder Li replied with a laugh.
A while later, everyone returned to their seats and settled down.
Then, the chief steward Chen Ying stood up and began his address for this year's meeting. After he completed the address, he looked towards Huang Qide and, upon receiving a nod of approval, he announced loudly, "Now, the annual meeting begins!"
As Chen Ying's voice fell, the Great Hall fell into silence.
According to the rules of past annual meetings, the disciples whose Martial Souls had awakened that year would ascend the stage first.
The crowd couldn't help but look towards Huang Wei, knowing that Huang Qide's main purpose for attending this year's meeting was likely centered around Huang Wei, who was destined to be the focus of the gathering.
"Huang Wei, go up there and show everyone the fruits of your hard work over the past five months, so that they can see your achievements!" Huang Qide encouraged his grandson with a smile and eyes full of support.
"Yes, grandfather," Huang Wei responded loudly, stood up, and then leapt onto the Martial Arts Arena in the center of the Great Hall.
Once on the arena, Huang Wei circulated his cultivation technique, releasing his Fighting Energy to its full extent. As Huang Wei released his Fighting Energy, his Tenth-level Martial Soul, the Three-eyed Black Tiger, appeared suspended in the air, emanating a not insignificant aura.
"First-stage Late-stage Peak!"
Feeling the aura of Huang Wei's Fighting Energy, the elders, stewards, and disciples of Huang Family Manor were all taken aback, causing a stir; after only five months of cultivating Fighting Energy, Huang Wei had actually reached the First-stage Late-stage Peak!