Chapter Five Stormy Waves

  "It's not like I can't join the Xu family!" Xu Ziyuan said calmly.

  Rumor has it that Xu Ziyuan is willing to join his family, and Xu Haobo's heart is filled with joy. However, he worries that Xu Ziyuan will humiliate his fourth brother, causing him to feel embarrassed on the surface. Xu Ziyuan sees the embarrassment on Xu Haobo's face and naturally knows what he's thinking, and can't help but laugh in her heart. She thinks to herself that she only needs a good environment for cultivation, so she won't make things difficult for Xu Haobo. Even if she wants revenge, it will have to wait until she has the power to do so. However, on the surface, Xu Ziyuan can't reveal this and simply says:

  "What's in it for me if I join the Xu family? Besides, I don't want to be overly restricted."

  Xu Haobo heard that Xu Ziyuan didn't mention his fourth brother, and he was certain in his heart. A sincere smile appeared on his face as he said affectionately:

  "Master, as long as you are willing to join our Xu family, I can request the clan leader to give you a position of Guest Elder, enjoying all the treatment of an elder. And you only need to make some paper charms for the family every month."

  He said here, looked at Xu Ziyuan and said in a low voice: "Of course, after the master's cultivation is high in the future, if the family encounters danger, please ask the master to lend a hand. As for now, the family can still send out masters to protect you."

  Upon hearing Xu Haobo's words, Xu Ziyuan knew that he had already seen through her cultivation and couldn't help but secretly sigh at the low level of her own cultivation. However, she also saw that Xu Haobo held her in high regard and didn't place any restrictions on her. After a brief moment of contemplation, she nodded and said:

  "Alright!"

  Seeing Xu Ziyuan agree, Xu Haobo was overjoyed and hurriedly laughed loudly: "Let's go, Master, come with me to see the clan leader."

  Under the leadership of Xu Haobo, they walked into the courtyard and finally met the current master of the Xu family, Xu Haoran. At first, when Xu Haoran saw his second brother bringing in a teenage girl, he slightly furrowed his brow. However, after Xu Haobo explained what had happened, Xu Haoran's furrowed brow immediately relaxed, and a faint smile appeared on his face. His gaze towards Xu Ziyuan also softened significantly, but beneath the softness lay sharpness, his eyes scanning Xu Ziyuan like an invisible sword. Xu Ziyuan instantly felt like she was being stripped layer by layer under Xu Haoran's gaze, exposing herself completely to him without any concealment.

  This made Xu Ziyuan feel very uncomfortable, and while facing tremendous pressure, a wave of shame, anger, and helplessness also rose in her heart.

  "This is the difference in strength!"

  A fine layer of sweat seeped out on her forehead. With a "ding" sound, a drop of sweat fell from the tip of her nose and landed on the ground. Just as Xu Ziyuan was about to collapse under Xu Haoran's pressure, Xu Haoran withdrew his gaze that was sharp as a knife. Xu Ziyuan suddenly felt her body relax, and she couldn't help but sway slightly before regaining control over her body, her heart filled with alarm:

  "Is this the power of a master?"

  However, Xu Ziyuan was after all a person who had lived for two lifetimes. She only lost her composure for a few seconds before instantly regaining her calm. Xuhao Ran, who had been observing her, flashed a hint of admiration in his eyes. Then he shifted his gaze to Xuhao Bo, with an inquiring glint in his eyes that seemed to be asking if the young girl standing before him was really capable of refining talismans?

  Xu Haobo immediately understood the meaning of his brother, without any hesitation, and nodded firmly. Xu Haoran's heart was greatly settled, although he was surprised, but he was very happy. The girl in front of him was so young, as long as the family gave her enough support, she would grow up quickly. Just thinking about speaking, he heard a footsteps coming from outside the door, and when he looked up, Xu Haoran's mouth corner couldn't help but flash a bitter smile. The one who came in was none other than Lin Pinghai, the chief elder of the Xu family's Symbol Hall. This Lin Pinghai was not originally a member of the Xu family, but was a talent that Xu Haoran had spent great effort and money to recruit, and was currently the only person in the Xu family who could produce truly top-grade paper symbols. Xu Haobo could only barely produce top-grade paper symbols, with a quality that was somewhat inferior to true top-grade paper symbols, while Lin Pinghai was different, able to truly produce top-grade paper symbols. Therefore, although Xu Haobo was the master of the Symbol Hall, it was because he was the direct disciple of the Xu family. But within the Symbol Hall, the highest position belonged to Lin Pinghai, who was the only chief elder of the Xu family's Symbol Hall.

  In the Xu family, except for the hall master who must be a member of the Xu family, the highest position is held by the ancestral elder, followed by the elder, and then the guest elder. However, the ancestral elder and the elder are true members of the Xu family, regardless of whether you have the surname Xu or not. If one day you leave the Xu family, you will be viewed as a traitor to the family and will be hunted down by the entire family. Of course, as long as you do not betray the family, the position and benefits you receive within the family are also very great. However, the guest elder is different. The guest elder can leave the family they serve at any time, but their position and benefits within the family cannot be compared to those of the ancestral elder and the elder.

  Today, Lin Pinghai heard that Xu Haobo brought a very young girl to see the master of the house, and it was said that the girl could produce top-grade paper symbols. He immediately became restless and rushed to the council hall. As soon as he entered the council hall, his eyes fell on Xu Ziyuan. This was unavoidable, since there was only one young girl standing in the entire council hall. Seeing that the girl in front of him was only fifteen or sixteen years old, with a cultivation level of only the Qi Refining stage, Lin Pinghai's face fell, and his gaze became extremely cold and distant, even filled with anger and mockery. He coldly shouted:

  "Whose daughter are you? How dare you come here to deceive the master of the house! Do you think the Xu family has no one?" As he spoke, he took two more steps forward and stood in front of Xu Ziyuan, pointing at her nose with his finger, assuming a stern demeanor, and shouted rudely:

  "You're still young and yet you don't study well, how dare you deceive the head of the Xu family? Don't you know how to write the character for 'death'?"

  As soon as Lin Pinghai finished speaking, the people in the hall had different expressions. Xu Haoran's expression showed a hint of anticipation, he also wanted to see Xu Ziyu's true abilities, and whether Xu Ziyu could really refine a top-grade paper symbol. After all, hearing is believing, but seeing is believing. On the other hand, Xu Haobo's face revealed an expression of helplessness. He knew that Lin Pinghai was always proud because he was the number one in the family when it came to symbol crafting, and sometimes he wouldn't even give his elder brother any face. In his heart, he also knew that symbol crafting was a profound subject, let alone Lin Pinghai, even he himself didn't believe that this girl could refine a top-grade paper symbol at first. Now, Lin Pinghai clearly didn't believe Xu Ziyu could refine a top-grade paper symbol either, and what's more, his words were very harsh, not giving Xu Ziyu any face at all. Xu Haobo didn't want to lose this treasure because of Lin Pinghai. However, he also knew that once Lin Pinghai got serious, no one would be given any face. So, on his face, only an expression of helplessness could be revealed. Moreover, in his heart, there was a desire to see Lin Pinghai's expression after Xu Ziyu showed off her skills, and thinking about how Lin Pinghai had been arrogant towards him in the past, he felt a little bit of schadenfreude.

  At this time, Xu Ziyuan was not clear about Lin Pinghai's identity, but she could be sure in her heart that the person in front of her must be a symbol maker, and his level should not be low, otherwise he would not dare to question himself like this. However, his tone made Xu Ziyuan unhappy, very unhappy, extremely unhappy! Anyone who was scolded with their nose pointed at them would feel uncomfortable, let alone Xu Ziyuan, who didn't want to be the guest elder of the Xu family, so she had some anger in her heart. She took a step to the side, dodged Lin Pinghai, completely ignoring his existence, and looked up at Xu Haoran with a pair of beautiful eyes, revealing a clear meaning:

  "Who is this? Can you people from the Xu family just shout at guests in the hall of discussion?"

  Xu Haoran, of course, immediately understood the meaning in Xu Ziyuan's eyes and couldn't help but reveal a hint of embarrassment on his face. He also reevaluated Xu Ziyuan in his mind. He didn't expect that at such a young age, Xu Ziyuan could grasp the situation so skillfully, completely ignoring Lin Pinghai who was scolding her, and instead looked at him with her eyes. If Xu Ziyuan had explained or gotten angry when Lin Pinghai scolded her, it would have weakened her momentum. However, by simply looking over at him, she shifted the problem to himself in an instant, not only without losing face but also with a hint of pride. As a result, Xu Haoran couldn't help but speak up and say:

  "Lin Gongfeng, this..."

  "Head of the clan, don't be deceived by her! Watch how I expose her!"

  Lin Pinghai was indeed not giving face to Xu Haoran, cutting off Xu Haoran's words and staring at Xu Ziyuan with a furious and arrogant expression. To say that he usually wasn't someone who didn't know the depth of things, he wouldn't have interrupted the clan leader's half-finished words like this. He was also being provoked by Xu Ziyuan's actions earlier, who was he? The most powerful seal master in the Xu family, yet now being ignored by a little girl, did he feel that his attitude was bad? Did he need to be polite to someone who dared to deceive the clan leader? Moreover, he thought that this was also for the benefit of the family, not only was there no guilt, but he should also have merit. Thinking about how after exposing Xu Ziyuan's tricks later, the clan leader would show a grateful and ashamed expression, his heart couldn't help but rise with a hint of pride.

  Xu Haoran was suddenly choked back by Lin Pinghai, and he couldn't help but feel a little depressed in his heart. He also disliked Lin Pinghai's behavior, but in his heart, he didn't want to offend Lin Pinghai after all. Since he hadn't seen Xu Ziyuan's skills before, he shifted his gaze towards Xu Ziyuan instead.