Battle Through the Heavens: He marries Xun'er, but she refuses to consummate the marriage!

Chapter 196 My father, was he captured by your ancient clan?

"I……"

Gu Fei's abrupt question seemed to carry a special sense of pressure for Xiao Yan, who had just lied.

In an instant, Xiao Yan's nervousness was written all over his face.

Seeing Xiao Yan hesitate, the old hands in Gu Nanhai could naturally tell that Xiao Yan had been lying.

"Xiao Yan, have you thought this through? You really don't have any special ancient jade?"

There was a hint of displeasure in Gu Nanhai's voice.

It carried an invisible pressure from a Dou Sheng, so strong that even Yao Chen, who had recovered to the strength of a Dou Zun, felt terrified.

"Little Yanzi, I remember when you left the Xiao family, the Grand Elder seemed to have given you a family head's inheritance jade tablet..."

"Perhaps the ancient jade that the ancestors of the ancient clan spoke of is that very thing!"

While Xiao Yan was still hesitating, Yao Chen, as his teacher, worried that something might happen to Xiao Yan, so he gave the answer on Xiao Yan's behalf.

Because he knew the power of the ancient race, and if he deceived the ancient race's Battle Saint, there was no guarantee what the ancient race would do next.

It is clearly safer to admit it voluntarily than to be discovered by the ancient tribes.

"Seniors, this jade is merely an heirloom of our Xiao family patriarch; it's quite ordinary. It shouldn't be what you're looking for!"

Xiao Yan understood that Yao Lao was worried about him. Now that things had come to this point, there was no way to hide it anymore. A piece of emerald green jade appeared in his hand, and in the center of the jade, a point of light was slowly moving around.

Xiao Yan carefully stroked the jade piece. Every time he saw the light spot in the jade piece was still there, he would breathe a sigh of relief, because that light spot was the soul imprint left by his father.

If Xiao Zhan were to die, the wandering light would dissipate. However, the soul light left by Xiao Zhan is still strong, indicating that he is not in danger of death.

"Ancient jade, it really is ancient jade!"

"Haha, I never expected that this ancient jade would actually be in the hands of this branch of the Xiao clan!"

Upon seeing the jade piece that Xiao Yan took out, Gu Nanhai and the others immediately showed excitement on their faces.

"Xiao Yan, hand over this jade piece to my ancient clan. Name your price!"

Gu Nanhai did not directly attempt to seize it, but instead proposed a trade to Xiao Yan.

"No, only with this can I know if my father is still alive! I absolutely cannot give it to anyone else!"

Upon hearing Gu Nanhai's words, Xiao Yan shook his head in refusal almost without hesitation and tightly gripped the ancient jade in his hand.

"Young man, don't be ungrateful!"

Upon seeing this, the elderly men beside Gu Nanhai immediately showed displeasure, their voices filled with a threatening tone.

The ancient tribe had been eyeing the ancient jade of the Xiao tribe for many years.

This time, the Xiao clan took the initiative to deliver the ancient jade to their doorstep, so how could they let it go so easily?

"What? This ancient clan, which has always had a good reputation on the mainland, is trying to rob us by force?"

At this moment, threatened by the elder of the ancient clan, Xiao Yan actually gritted his teeth and retorted.

"Little Yanzi!"

No sooner had Xiao Yan finished speaking than Yao Chen shouted, "How dare you be so rude!"

For a Dou Zong to dare to directly confront a Dou Sheng is an incredibly suicidal act.

Fortunately, it was an ancient clan. If it had been any other powerful force, Xiao Yan would probably have been smashed into a pile of minced meat by now.

"teacher!"

Reprimanded by Yao Chen, Xiao Yan's eyes turned red, and a strong sense of resentment welled up within him.

"Ugh!"

Yao Chen sighed.

He felt sorry for Xiao Yan.

What's most endearing about this apprentice is his unyielding spirit—never bowing down to the strong and refusing to admit defeat.

Unfortunately, today they are facing an ancient clan that they, master and disciple, will find difficult to defeat.

If they truly angered the ancient clan, the master and his disciples would likely find it difficult to leave this mountain today.

With the strength of the ancient clan, if they killed the three of them, who in the world would dare to utter a single word of criticism?

"Little Yanzi, since your father is safe and sound and should be fine for the time being, why don't we lend this ancient jade to a few seniors for them to study today..."

Yao Chen gently persuaded Xiao Yan, not wanting him to die at such a young age.

"But... this proves that my father is still alive..." Xiao Yan understood his teacher's good intentions, but that was his nature. If he lost the ancient jade today, he would rather die.

"If all you're considering is your father's soul imprint, then it's very simple!"

"I will simply extract your father's soul imprint from the ancient jade!"

Inside the pavilion, Gu Fei silently observed everything before speaking again.

As the soft words fell, Gu Fei's immense soul power surged forth from between his brows.

It then flowed directly into the jade piece that Xiao Yan was tightly clutching in his hand.

Within the jade piece, the wandering point of light was quickly drawn out by Gu Fei's soul power.

Then Gu Fei embedded it back into a piece of ordinary white jade.

"Such terrifying soul power... It's probably at the Great Perfection of the Heavenly Realm, right?"

"This child is probably not even thirty years old yet, he's practically a prodigy!"

At this moment, Yao Chen, who had recovered his strength, truly felt the pressure of Gu Fei's soul. He was extremely surprised. Such a prodigy was something that even the Yao Clan, famous for its alchemy, had never seen before.

"Not bad, Gu Fei really knows how to do things!"

Seeing this, Gu Nanhai and the others were full of admiration.

Now, Xiao Yan's previous reason for refusing to hand over the ancient jade has been blocked.

"Young man of the Xiao family, I'll say it again: as long as you hand over the jade piece, you can name whatever conditions you want!"

Gu Nanhai's gaze was fixed on Xiao Yan, waiting for him to make his final decision.

If Xiao Yan refuses again this time, they won't have the patience.

"This junior is willing to hand over the jade piece!"

Xiao Yan glanced at Gu Fei, who had just transferred his father's soul imprint.

There seemed to be some gratitude in his eyes, because this gave him a way out.

"However, seniors, could you please tell me the origin of this jade piece?"

As Xiao Yan handed over the jade piece, he suddenly asked a question.

"this……"

Gu Nanhai took the jade piece, hesitated slightly, then shook his head and said, "This matter is of great importance; knowing it won't do you any good!"

"Do you have any other requests?"

"I haven't decided yet!"

Xiao Yan's thoughts were in complete disarray at the moment.

Seeing how much these ancient clan elders cared about this jade piece, Xiao Yan began to suspect that his father's disappearance might be related to this ancient jade.

"Could it be that my father's disappearance was the work of the ancient tribe?"

A guess began to form in Xiao Yan's mind.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

I promised to add an extra chapter, but it's a little late. Thank you all for your support!

(End of this chapter)