Chapter Twelve: Excellent Disciples

  The clan leader, Xia Feilong, furrowed his brow and looked at Xia Guqiu. The moment the third elder, Xia Changhe, opened his mouth to speak, he suddenly remembered that there was another direct descendant of the Xia family, Xia Yan. Although Xia Yan was the son of a demoness, he was after all the son of Xia Dongsheng, who had made many contributions to the Xia family.

  Xia Yan's status in the Xia family was much lower than that of ordinary collateral descendants. Even those collateral descendants didn't take Xia Yan seriously, and many people within the family didn't consider Xia Yan as a member of the Xia family at all. Otherwise, the servants and maids wouldn't have dared to speak harshly to Xia Yan.

  Xia Changhe's words were heard clearly by everyone present, and many people also guessed who the forty-fourth person Xia Changhe was talking about. In the crowd, there was a murmur of discussion.

  "Hmph, Xia Dongsheng is the son of Xia Fu, my own brother. Xia Dongsheng's son, Xia Yan, I regard as my own grandson, and he's not dead yet! Xia Guqiu, I ask you, did you include Xia Yan in your count? Among the 42 family juniors who have arrived for the selection, there is no Xia Yan, and the 43rd person you mentioned who didn't arrive is Xia Mofei. Hmph, what do you take me for? In your eyes, am I still the Third Elder Xia Changhe?" By the end of his words, Xia Changhe's voice suddenly rose, sternly interrogating. The heavy oppressive atmosphere made Xia Guqiu's breath catch in his throat.

  Actually, Xia Changhe was so furious because of Xia Guqiu's attitude. Xia Yan hadn't opened up his body's martial arts meridians, and it was obvious that he wouldn't be able to participate in this selection. This point, Xia Changhe was also very clear about. However, Xia Guqiu actually directly ignored Xia Yan, which really infuriated him. At the same time, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly - if Xia Yan had achieved something in his cultivation, even if he only had half of his father's talent, he wouldn't be looked down upon by other members of the clan like this.

  Xia Lei and his father could not ignore him either!

  Xia Guqiu was interrogated by Xia Changhe and couldn't help but tremble, he didn't expect Xia Changhe to be so angry, actually bringing up family matters in front of so many outsiders. Although Xia Yan's affairs were not a secret in Yushui City, now mentioning it would undoubtedly make the Wang and Xi families as well as those scholars laugh!

  Xia Guqiu looked at the clan leader and the elder, his face somewhat embarrassed. The clan leader Xia Feilong glared at him fiercely, as if also blaming him for being too presumptuous.

  "Unexpectedly, the three elders Xia Changhe is so supportive of Xia Yan!"

  "Yes, Xia Yan... after all, Xia Yan is the son of Xia Dongsheng... I heard that Xia Yan has been cultivating for a whole ten years and still hasn't opened up one meridian, he's notoriously known as the number one good-for-nothing in the Xia family..."

  "Xia Yan's mother was a demoness from the Dark Continent..."

  The Xia family's sons and younger brothers whispered among themselves!

  "Hmph!" The elder Xia Lei fiercely swept his sleeve and let out a cold snort.

  "Heh heh, Clan Leader, esteemed elders. Although I, Xi Zijian, am an outsider here, I also know that Xia Yan will not be participating in this selection of outstanding young masters of the Xia family. I think we should begin the selection now, or else it'll soon be noon!"

  Xizi Jing is the representative of Xijia Pai.

  "That's right, that's right! That Xia Yan child, I've also heard of him. Alas, what a pity, he can't cultivate after all. However, his father Xia Dongsheng is indeed a cultivation genius, if not for the unexpected event in the Forest of Sin, he would have definitely become a Spiritual Master in the future and strengthened the Xia family." Wang Lan also stood up, saying this as if he was celebrating or gloating, but anyway, he couldn't possibly truly wish that Xia Dongsheng hadn't had an accident.

  Wang Lan is a representative of the Wang family. These two people see that the Xia family is so discordant, and they naturally rejoice in their hearts. However, as guests, they should also stand up and say a few words at the right time.

  Everyone from the Xie and Wang families spoke up, as did some of the other prominent figures in Yushui City.

  Standing among the 42 direct descendants of the Xia family, Xia Zixing wore a long green dress, her lovely face clouded with gloom, her eyebrows furrowed, and her heart unable to calm down for a long time. She could never forget the innocent and happy memories of her childhood with Xia Yan as siblings. Seeing how coldly the clan members treated Xia Yan, Xia Zixing was also extremely distressed, but she, being the daughter of the clan leader, couldn't change anything either.

  She is a daughter, if she hadn't decided long ago that she would never leave the Xia family in her life, she wouldn't be able to enter the Xia family's ancestral hall, Wudang, for cultivation. In other words, even if she gets married in the future, she must let her partner join the Xia family by marriage, and cannot marry into his family.

  "Alright, the selection has officially begun!" Xia Fei Long's face was solemn, his golden fur coat shining brightly in the sunlight. The crowd of famous people and the Shi and Wang families fell silent as soon as Xia Fei Long spoke up, his voice overpowering all others.

  Thousands of family members around also fell silent. The entire square suddenly became quiet.

  The old man Xia Lei flipped his dead fish eyes, swept Xia Changhe with a glance, and then sat down in his own position with a heavy cold hum.

  "Xia Guqiu, you go and host this selection of outstanding young family members!" Xia Feilong said to Xia Guqiu with a expressionless face.

  Xia Guqiu hastily bowed and retreated quickly.

  The family selects the strongest five members every three years, and these five will soon compete with the excellent children of the Xi and Wang families. Because there are only five places for the three families to participate in the entrance examination of the Violet Leaf Academy, only five people can finally go to the entrance examination of the Violet Leaf Academy among the 15 children of the three families.

  ………………

  "What did you say?"

  Xia Yan, who was hurrying to the Xia family's courtyard, suddenly heard someone calling him and naturally stopped in his tracks, looking over in the direction of the sound.

  "Has the summer flight selection already begun? Why are you still here?" Xia Yan asked in surprise.

  Xia Mo Fei was relatively talented among the many children in the Xia family. Moreover, Xia Mo Fei was one of the few people in the Xia family who got along with Xia Yan, at least Xia Mo Fei had never ridiculed Xia Yan.

  "Alas, I suddenly contracted an illness, so I won't be able to participate in this assessment. Now, I'm heading to the square to watch them select. Since I couldn't participate personally, I also can't miss the opportunity to watch!" Xia Mo Fei let out a sigh, his face gloomy.

  Xia Yan noticed that Xia Mo Fei's complexion was indeed somewhat pale, and his spirit seemed poor. This year, Xia Mo Fei is also fifteen years old, if he misses this selection, he will have no chance to participate in the entrance examination of Zǐyè Academy.

  Xia Mo glanced at Xia Yan with a bitter smile and said: "Xia Yan, where have you been? Why are you in such a state?"

  At this moment, Xia Yan's clothes were tattered and worn out. Although Xia Yan usually wore plain green shirts with many wrinkles, they were always clean. When Xia Mo saw Xia Yan's outfit, he knew where Xia Yan must have gone, so he asked casually.

  "Oh, I've been cultivating in Yushui Mountain for a while now." Xia Yan said directly without hiding anything.

  When Xia Yan said he was going to cultivate, Xia Mo flew his lips and he also knew that Xia Yan had been cultivating for ten years without any progress but never gave up. Xia Yan's spirit made him admire, but in his eyes, it was too stubborn.

  "This selection has already begun, I don't have time to go back and change into clean clothes, so I can only..." Xia Yan smiled lightly, he knew what Xia Mo Fei meant by pursing his lips, but he wasn't planning on explaining anything either.

  Besides, it won't be long before the selection is over and some people will know that I was right to insist on cultivating. Xia Yan's eyes flashed, and he excitedly clenched his fists. This time, everyone in the Xia family will be shocked!

  "What, you're going to participate in this selection?" Xia Mo Fei's mouth was agape and his eyes were wide with surprise. The illness on his face seemed to have weakened a bit. He never thought that Xia Yan would participate in the selection of outstanding young masters in the family. Xia Yan had been practicing for ten years but hadn't even opened up one martial vein, which was something that even three-year-olds in Yu Shui City knew about. But now, Xia Yan was going to participate in the selection of outstanding young masters in the family?