The night before the clan meeting, the old man and Chen Xiao had a conversation.
“My hope is that you can officially return to the Xiao family. Not as an outsider, but as a member of the Xiao family! You should understand what I mean. Your mother gave up her inheritance rights back then, but you now have the right to take them back. As long as you are willing to change your name when you are registered at the clan meeting... change it to Xiao Xiao.”
At that moment, the old patriarch patted Chen Xiao on the shoulder: "Xiao Qing is a descendant of Mingyue, with the best talent and the smartest among the younger generation. She likes you very much and you are engaged. As long as you are willing to formally join the Xiao family, within ten years, I will find a way to let you and her gradually take over the Xiao family's business and industries. Before I die, I will put you on the position of head of the Xiao family, and then... the future will be yours. Our Lingnan Xiao family has prospered because of Mingyue's grace, and now I am very willing to hand it back to Mingyue's descendants. As for you, you are a descendant of the eldest branch of my Xiao family, and I also hope that you..."
At this point, Old Master Xiao patted Chen Xiao on the shoulder: "You don't need to give me an answer now. You can decide for yourself at the sect meeting."
"
…………
The old man looked at Chen Xiao, who smiled calmly. His handsome face carried a nonchalant expression, and his eyes were clear and full of composure.
"Alright... since this is your choice. However, those from outside the clan have no right of inheritance." The old man pondered for a moment, then, "Then, today's clan meeting is considered complete..."
Just as he was about to turn around and announce the end of the ceremony, he suddenly heard a clear and loud voice coming from outside the ancestral hall. Despite the thick door panels, the voice clearly reached the ears of everyone inside the ancestral hall!
"Wait! It's not over yet!"
With that sound, the ancestral hall doors were pushed open, letting in the sunlight. In the sunlight streaming through the doorway, a girl stood there, slowly stepping across the threshold, as if she herself had been brought in by the sunlight…
Phoenix!
She walked in, slowly entering through the central aisle. She didn't walk fast, but every step she took was resolute!
Hundreds of eyes were fixed on the girl who had suddenly barged in. When they saw her face, almost everyone gasped at the same time, and some even exclaimed in surprise!
"Grandpa, it's not over yet! There's still one person missing from the list of those returning to the clan."
Phoenix pointed to her nose, a smile on her beautiful face: "Me!"
She slowly walked to the front, a faint smile on her face: "My name is Phoenix... Xiao Phoenix!"
Chapter 270 of the main text [Making a Scene at the Ancestral Hall]
When the phoenix suddenly burst into the ancestral hall, almost everyone reacted in the same way: first, they stared at the phoenix in surprise, amazed by its appearance, then they all turned to look at Xiao Qing sitting there, and then turned back to look at the phoenix.
Everyone's face showed the same surprise and astonishment.
Even Xiao Qing herself couldn't help but stand up and stare at this beautiful girl who was just as pretty as herself.
Phoenix had already walked up to Old Master Xiao and Chen Xiao. They were so surprised that no one in the ancestral hall stepped forward to stop her. At such an important clan gathering, there should have been people specifically responsible for maintaining order, but everyone was so amazed by Phoenix's appearance that they forgot to step forward.
Grandpa Xiao squinted at the young girl, his eyes clearly showing considerable shock. However, despite his age and worldly experience, he still tried his best to remain calm and composed: "Young lady, what did you just say?"
Phoenix's smile didn't fade at all. She even exchanged a glance with Xiao Qing. The moment their eyes met, Xiao Qing exclaimed "Ah!" and then covered his mouth tightly, looking somewhat panicked. Phoenix, on the other hand, nodded and smiled warmly with a hint of affection in her eyes.
Finally, she turned to look at Old Master Xiao: "Old Master, as I just said, I've come to request to return to my ancestral home. My name is Xiao Fenghuang."
As she spoke, she suddenly reached out and picked up the brush that Chen Xiao had dropped on the table. Holding it in her hand, she hesitated for a moment before writing down the Xiao family clan register on the table.
Old Master Xiao was startled and quickly said, "Wait, what are you doing!"
As soon as he spoke, the old man swiftly reached out to grab Phoenix's wrist. His movements were incredibly fast, employing a grappling technique from the Xiao family's boxing style with unparalleled skill and lightning-fast speed! But when he made his move, he only managed to grab a handful of air!
This attempt failed; Phoenix's hand had somehow slipped past Old Master Xiao's grasp, and a slight smile appeared on her face. The tip of the brush had already touched the paper, and a drop of thick ink spread across the snow-white surface.
The old man was somewhat shocked and angry. How could the Xiao family's genealogy be written so casually?
Without hesitation, he let out a "Yi" sound, changed his grabbing motion into a palm strike, and pushed towards Phoenix's shoulder. The old man still didn't use his full strength, after all, he was only doing so because the other party was just a young girl.
However, the Phoenix's strength was far beyond what an ordinary martial artist like Old Master Xiao could handle.
As the palm struck, Phoenix chuckled and suddenly flashed like a ghost, leaving only a blur as she landed beside Old Master Xiao!
The entire audience erupted in uproar!
If this girl was a martial arts prodigy, her dodging movements just now were simply inhuman! And Old Master Xiao, standing next to her, narrowed his eyes to almost nothing, his gaze filled with shrewdness!
With Old Master Xiao's experience, he immediately saw through the girl's movements as she dodged his attacks—not only were they incredibly fast, but more importantly… her feet hadn't moved!
His feet didn't move, yet his body "floated" away! Therefore, this was definitely not a dodge using any martial arts or combat techniques, but rather...
Could she be a ghost?!
Phoenix made a graceful turn, using the pen in her right hand as a pivot. With a swift movement, she wrote the character "Xiao" on the paper, the ink flowing freely, the strokes rounded and powerful, displaying considerable structural skill. Clearly, it was far superior to the two scribbles Chen Xiao had just written.
Seeing that the phoenix had already written the first stroke of the character "凤" (phoenix) with a turn of its brush, Old Master Xiao became somewhat anxious. How could such a clan gathering be treated so lightly? In his anxiety, he made another move, this time with all his might. He swung his dragon-headed staff and quickly pointed it at the book on the table, shouting, "Wait a minute!"
The dragon-headed cane tapped the register on the table. The old man's martial arts skills were unparalleled, and the force of the cane was astonishing. A gust of wind shot past, but Phoenix just smiled lightly. With a twist of her wrist, the brush was already caught on the old man's dragon-headed cane. With a snap, the brush and the cane broke off at the same time. A flush suddenly flashed across the old man's face. He took a deep breath and took two steps back. With a crack, a blue brick on the ground shattered!
Phoenix remained calm and composed. She glanced at the broken brush in her hand, smiled gently, extended her right index finger, dipped it in the inkstone, and quickly wrote the complete character "凤" (phoenix).
At this point, the old man didn't even need to speak. Many of the hundreds of Xiao family members in the ancestral hall who were in the front row reacted. Some shouted angrily, some exclaimed in surprise, and dozens of people jumped out in an instant!
Surprisingly, most of them were not young people, but rather middle-aged! Some of them were clearly highly skilled martial artists with considerable experience in martial arts.
In an instant, dozens of figures rushed towards Phoenix, fists and palms flying everywhere. Various grappling and subduing techniques from the Xiao family martial arts came one after another. Several well-known martial arts masters from the south attacked this smiling, beautiful girl together...
But then she saw Phoenix standing there, watching dozens of figures rush towards her. She just smiled slightly, her arched eyebrows furrowing slightly, which only added to her playful appearance. Suddenly, she slammed her hand on the table, shaking the inkstone. A splash of ink spread out, turning into dozens of drops of ink.
Amidst the chaos of figures, a series of muffled groans were heard. The dozens of fierce figures that had pounced forward were suddenly sent flying backward, their momentum even faster than when they pounced. Then came a series of crashing sounds as many chairs in the front row were overturned, and dozens of martial arts experts lay sprawled on the ground.
At this moment, Phoenix swiftly pressed his ink-dipped index finger onto the paper, completing the character "凰" in one stroke!
"I'm sorry, uncles and elders." Phoenix stood there with a smile, took out a handkerchief and gently wiped her fingers.
Throughout the entire process, Chen Xiao didn't move an inch. He just stood there, staring at Phoenix in disbelief.