'What? She is in the Middle Level of Essence Gathering Realm?'
As soon as Zhixian scanned the panel in front, he almost shouted out loud in surprise. He never thought that this little girl could already be in the Essence Gathering realm, that too in the middle level.
You know, in the entire Xiao family, only his Grandpa had that realm, and in the entire Mistwood City, only two others besides him were in it.
But now, he suddenly found out that such a young girl was the strongest in Mistwood City, so of course, he was surprised.
Not to mention, her Snow Jade Physique. He didn't know how far she could go after awakening that physique of hers.
'So, she does seem to have some incredible background, huh.'
Zhixian confirmed as he once again looked at Xiao Xue, this time in a new light.
A talented girl with rich potential and an impressive background was right in front of him.
Honestly, he was now kind of tempted to get this girl who was the childhood sweetheart of a protagonist.
Wouldn't he get all the benefits in that way?
'It's not like they are in a relationship or anything in the first place, and I might even gain some Antagonist points.'
The more he thought about it, the more it made sense, causing Zhixain to smile a little.
"Umm.... brother Zhixian. C-Can you not look at me like that? I feel a little uncomfortable."
It seemed Zhixian's strong gaze was too unrestrained, Xiao Xue couldn't help but remind him while fiddling with her hands nervously.
Then, as if she felt a little guilty, she lowered her voice a little and said,
"Brother Zhixian, I am sorry that I didn't understand the full situation. I didn't mean to blame you. If you feel offended, please forgive me."
She bowed while clasping her two hands, giving a standard Daoist salute to Zhixian.
"So be it... Don't worry about it. Just take it as a lesson. Sometimes, jumping to conclusions without knowing in full can cause misunderstandings."
Zhixian said while waving his hand at her respectful posture as if he didn't take her accusations to heart. And he also reflected a little on his weird thoughts earlier,
'What am I thinking? No matter what, she is a clan member and I shouldn't take her lightly or think of her as an object to conquer.'
Zhixian immediately curbed those restless thoughts that sprang up after awakening the system and finding out that he was in some kind of plot.
He was getting arrogant out of nowhere just because of the awakening of the System. This wasn't something he wanted.
His true identity now was Xiao Zhixian, a member of the Xiao family in Mistwood City, not someone from another world playing.
'This is my true reality.'
Zhixian reminded himself again and again, and quickly collected his thoughts.
Then, he looked at Xiao Xue with a serious look a Clan Brother should have and explained,
"Xue'er, what Xiao Chen did today was too much. He publicly shamed the entire First Class Sect without thinking about the consequences. And his father, instead of stopping him, helped him vent his hatred in the name of Heart Demon."
Zhixian stopped and said in a cold voice,
"Such irresponsible behavior. As a member of the Xiao family and even the Clan Leader, placing the entire family in danger for such a trivial matter? Do this father and son not care about our lives when spouting nonsense?"
Xiao Xue saw Zhixian's entire demeanor suddenly change as he coldly stated everything with intense hatred.
"B-but wasn't he publicly ridiculed? Brother Zhixian, although what he did was indeed wrong and thoughtless, when a man's dignity is trampled on, he will do everything to get it back. You also know that. It was all the fault of that Huang Yue. If not for that bitch... oh, I-I mean..."
"Enough!"
Xiao Xue realized she slipped up mentioning that hateful girl and was about to correct herself when Zhixian cut her off.
Then, without waiting for her to show surprise at such rude remarks, Zhixian directly looked at her deep brown eyes and asked,
"Xue'er, let me ask you something first. Do you think of yourself as a member of the Xiao family?"
The sudden, abrupt, but extremely offensive question from Zhixian made Xiao Xue stunned in her place.
"Of course, I am a member of the Xiao family. Brother Zhixian, although I respect you, you can't say such things to me like this."
It seemed those words hurt her deeply, as her voice turned cold with blame. After all, everyone knew she was adopted, not born into the Xiao family. By asking this, wasn't he treating her like an outsider?
How could he say that?
But seeing her cold look filled with anger, Zhixian didn't care but spoke sternly again.
"Then, as a member of the Xiao family, do you think what Xiao Chen did today was a good decision?"
He asked while looking at her through his piercing gaze, making her feel uncomfortable.
Xiao Xue didn't know why, but suddenly she felt his entire demeanor changed in a matter of seconds and the atmosphere around her suddenly became heavy.
It felt like she was standing in front of Elder Ruoyan, even though she was countless times stronger than Zhixian.
"A-ah, I-I didn't mean it like that."
Xiao Xue didn't know how to answer, so she stammered a little as the coldness from earlier melted rapidly like ice.
"Don't give me such an answer. Just answer me with yes or no. Do you think what Xiao Chen did today was a good decision?"
Zhixian asked again without letting her collect her thoughts.
"No! What he did was indeed wrong."
Finally, Xiao Xue couldn't withstand Zhixian's cold, questioning gaze and, under pressure, revealed her true thoughts. And honestly, she was also a little angry at Xiao Chen for being so stupid.
'Tsk, tsk, Xue'er, no matter how powerful you are in secret, aren't you just a little girl?'
Seeing her anxious look, Zhixian couldn't help but smile inwardly. However, on the outside, he still remained cold.