Chapter : 17 : Xiao Clan's Meeting ( Part : 1 ) :
Location : Northern Region Of The Sky Star Continent : The Great Desert Land :
About a thousand years ago there was a time which was called the great cultivation period .
Altho not much is known about this period it is considered by most of the current scholars and cultivators a time when the cultivation world was at its highest peak .
It is said that during this time there were multiple Dou Saints who walked the continent something unbelievable to the present cultivation world .
And the stories remaining from that era suggested that there were cultivators stronger than Dou Saints who commanded the highest respect in the cultivation world .
However no other information is known about them hence they were given the title of being the mythical stage cultivators .
During that time conflicts between various powerful forces of the cultivation world were common .
But it was also the time when the continent had reached its greatest peak of innovation and advancements .
However what happened next becomes blurry as a period of confusion begins .
It was a period from which almost no documents or information survived to the modern day .
And the few that did survive speak of a chaotic time .
The times span of this near complete eraser of history is termed by many scholars as the - " Chaos Century " .
As said earlier not much documents or information are found about this century but most of the scholars have agreed on the fact that it was after this chaotic century that the great era of cultivation ended .
After much decades of exploration many scholars and cultivators have found some clues regarding this era .
What they found was that during this chaotic century there was a great downfall in the cultivation world .
For some reason the ancient cultivation sects , clans and kingdoms fell one after another to the point where even history forgot them .
And those who did not fall immediately either became to weak that they eventually scattered away or survived but lost their ancient foundations .
Why did they fall ? No one knows for sure .
At first most scholars believed that it was the internal fighting between powerhouses that led to the end of the era .
However as more and more evidences found this theory was questioned .
As evidences of major land changing battles were found in the ancient ruins , the scholars and cultivators discovered remains and information about some demonic beings who were certainly not from this cultivation world .
So many suggested another theory that during this Chaos century - demons from other worlds entered the Sky Star Continent and a battle with them lead to the end of that great cultivation era .
But no one can be certain of the reason behind the fall of the great cultivation era as the information found were too little to come to any solid conclusion .
Today many of the remains of this ancient power houses can be found in forms of various dungeon all around the cultivation world .
This places are not only hubs of information but treasures as well .
This ruins hold the last remaining knowledge and the treasures of this great time attracting many cultivators to try their luck .
And the great desert present at the northern part of the Sky Star continent is considered one of the places where such dungeons can be found .
Each year many cultivators try their luck in this great wasteland hoping to find a dungeon and take away its treasures .
But most of them have been unsuccessful and some even meet their demise in this endeavour .
The great desert is a place full of dangerous magical beasts and demi human tribes .
The relationship between the demi humans and the humans have never been considered good .
While some places exist where both of them live together peacefully .
But in most of the continent the relationship between the demi humans and humans are of anamosity and distrust .
So whenever the human cultivators crosses into their lands for treasure and dungeon adventures this leads to conflict with the ruling demi human tribes in the region .
" Another dead end ? " - at this moment in an unknown location of the great desert it can be seen that a human cultivator is looking at a blocked road in front of him while holding a map .
He wore a mud colour dress with his face hidden behind a brown scarf .
If anyone were to notice behind the man they would see there were multiple magical beasts of various sizes laying motionless on the ground .
And many other beast were looking at him from a distance but to afraid to come closer .
" Sigh ! This old maps are really tricky . I need to find more information before coming back once again. " - with that he turned around and flew away from the area in an astonishing speed .
Location Change : Glory City : Xiao Family Estate : Meeting Hall :
At this moment the meeting Hall of the Xiao clan was full of people including all the elders and important members of the clan .
All of them were now waiting for the clan head and the first and the second elder to arrive so that they can start the meeting .
And it did not take long for them to arrive .
As the door of the meeting hall opened the clan head Xiao Fang was the first to enter the room followed by the first elder Xiao Lin and the second elder Xiao Peng .
After taking their respective seats at the high platform it was the clan head Xiao Fang who spoke first .
" Thank you all for coming on such a short notice . " - Xiao Fang said as he started the conversation .
" Oh ! No need to thank us for something like this it's our duty . "
" Yes ! yes ! it's only natural for us to come when the clan head call for us in need . "
At this moment some elders sitting on the edge of the room spoke up clearly trying to gain a good impression with the clan head .
" I am glad that all of you think that way . " - Xiao Fang was about to speak more when .
" With all due respect clan head some of us here have something better to do then waste our time on such meetings so if you have something important to say please say it quickly . " - the impatient 4th elder who always had a problem to pick with the clan head Xiao Fang spoke up .
Just before getting the notice he was actually going to train his grandson in a cultivation technique that would help him with his semi - berserk state .
But due to this sudden clan meeting he had to postpone his plans and come as quickly as possible .
So he was in no mood to listen to small talks .
' Shameful ! trying to use flattery . ' - Xiao Fu looked at the elders who just spoke before him in disdain as he hated such people who only knows how to flatter the strong .
Seeing Xiao Fu's glare on them both of the elders sat down instantly deciding not to speak anymore during the meeting .
This incident however brought an sudden awkward silence in room .
" Cough ! Cough ! Let's get back to the point . " - the first elder Xiao Lin spoke up breaking the awkward atmosphere in the room .
" Yes just as I was saying today we are gathered here for important reason and that is to discuss about the Zhau clan . " - Xiao Fang said his voice carried an unusual seriousness that even someone like Xiao Fu felt .
But as soon as the name of the Zhau clan was uttered a mix of reaction between confusion and surprise filled the room .
For many new elders they didn't know why the clan head would speak of a small clan like the Zhau clan .
Many of them didn't even recognise the Zhau clan name at first and some only knew of them as a small clan at the outskirts of the Yu Shan Kingdom .
But the reaction of the more experienced and knowledgeable elders like Xiao Fu and Xiao Mei were different .
These group of elders weren't new to the clan's hierarchy and knew a lot about it's history .
So they knew that the matter with the Zhau clan wasn't so simple .
And it all started with a verbal promise .
It was at the time of the previous clan head that Xiao Fang's father was a prominent elder of the Xiao clan.
Once he went on a deeply secret mission to explore a dungeon in the northern regions of the Yu Shan Kingdom before any other clan can .
But was critically injured on his way back .
It was at that time that he meet the then Zhau clan head who allowed him to rest and recover in the Zhau clan estate.
And apparently it was at that time that both of them became good friends .
A few days before his departure the then clan head of Zhau clan asked Xiao Fang's father that he would like to prepare a engagement for their descendants as a continuation of the friendship that has formed between them and in extension between their clans .
At first Xiao Fang's father was reluctant to agree on any such thing but seeing that the other party helped him he at last agreed .
But only on the condition that both of their descendants must have strong cultivation talent if they are to be engaged in the future .
Afterwards Xiao Fang's father came home and told everyone about this news which was immediately frowned upon by many of the clan .
But the one who was most angered and disappointed by this was none other than Xiao Fang himself .
He repeatedly clashed with his father on the matter and this damaged their relationship ever after .
But what made these situation even more confusing was the ambiguity of the promise and the condition surrounding it .
The fact is that Xiao Fang's father only stated that he made that promise and some details of the situation surrounding his friendship with then Zhau clan's head.
But he refused to talk more than that .
And soon after returning home he became extremely isolated taking long breaks with excuse that he needed time and concentration to regain is cultivation strength and heal properly from the injuries .
However within a few years hesuccumbed to his injuries .
But before his passing he insisted on engaging Xiao Yun and Zhau Xuan as both had shown great cultivation talents by then .
In this cultivation world promises especially done by ansestors are taken very seriously and it is frowned upon if they are broken without major reasons .
Moreover in this case Xiao Xuan was indeed a cultivation genius and so was Xiao Yun .
So it meet the condition of the engagement put forward by Xiao Fang's father that both of them must have strong cultivation talents to be engaged .
So there should be no reason why this engagement cannot happen and the Zhau clan had already send a lot of message regarding this to the Xiao clan asking them to full fill the promise by engaging both Xiao Yun and Zhau Xuan .
This made the situation even more complex for Xiao Fang who wanted to cancel this engagement promise all together .
After all while the Zhau clan did helped his father in need and he is grateful for that and will help the other side by paying them enough respect and rewarding them with treasures .
But what does it have to do with his daughter ?
And how can her future be decided just because of a promise made by two old people .
Till now this was a concern that had been coming to him almost everyday .
He wanted to cancel the engagement promise but he needed needed a valid reason to do so after all the name of the Xiao clan will be tarnished if he broke a promise made by his own father .
It was at that time that a news reached to him that the Young Master of the Zhau clan - Zhau Xuan had suddenly regressed in his cultivation .
This brought an opportunity he couldn't ignore as he finally had the reason to cancel the engagement promise .
But before he could do anything he needed to discuss this matter with the important members of the clan .
So as soon as possible he called this clan meeting to discuss the future plan .
Soon those who knew the situation in formed the others who didn't know about this matter and the current situation .
It was then that finally Xiao Fang started speaking .
" Everyone I want to formally cancel the engagement promise between by daughter Xiao Yun and the current young master of Zhau clan Zhau Xuan " - Xiao Fang said as he looked at everyone present .
" So what are your thoughts on the matter . "
To Be Continued .