Awakened: The Spirit King!

The Royal Family, the Ancient Bai Clan, and their affiliate indeed didn't have the strength to force the Xie Manor to do anything.

However, that statement was valid only if the Ancient Xie Clan backs them up!

Xie Yong scowled down into the wine cup, his thoughts drifting to a time far back in time, and he ended up chuckling after remembering the tasteful past that ended up as an unpleasant memory.

He raised his head and peered at his eldest child.

"Before setting out for the north and enlisting in the army, I have cut my ties with the Ancient Xie Clan. You know why. The right minister has a cold disposition and an even icier heart. According to his character, he might've requested grandfather to remove my name from the ancestral tablet the second I left home, holding a newborn you and your mother in my arms.

What makes you think the Ancient Xie Clan will support us when we are in danger after all this time?"

More than two decades ago, the right minister tried to force his youngest son, Xie Yong, into a marriage. Unlike the right minister's first and second son and three daughters, Xie Yong refused to become his pawn. Xie Yong had already married Lady Shen, and they already had a child. He was willing to die over divorcing her. The right minister kicked up a fuss, and Xie Yong didn't back down either.

The two fought, nearly destroying the Sacred ground of the Clan. When they used the forbidden spiritual technique of the Xie Family to deal a finishing blow to each other, Patriarch Xie appeared between them and neutralized their attacks. Then, he smacked their heads, giving them an earful. His lecture lasted for three hours.

However, the right minister didn't reconcile with Xie Yong and told him to leave behind everything and get lost if he couldn't be filial to him. Xie Yong was as stubborn as his father. Without saying a word to him, he packed up his bag in the middle of the night, picked up his wife and newborn child, and left home for a new beginning.

That day, the right minister lost his most remarkable child, who went on to become the Lord of Clouds!

Xie Yong started from nothing, but because he was hot-tempered, willing to take risks, and had the strength to back it up, he climbed up the ranks of the northern army, which respected the fearless and disdained the cowardly and became the supreme north commander in merely 7 seven years.

This achievement became his basis for becoming a city lord!

After becoming the Lord of Cloud, he came across his father many times, but each time, they treated each other like strangers.

It wasn't without reasons that he believed he didn't have anything to do with the Ancient Xie Family now.

"My cold-blooded grandfather isn't the patriarch; my great grandfather is, and last time I met him, he treated me like his own and talked about you a lot. After seeing how much he misses you and how he greatly regrets not doing more that day, I can say that he is the miserable victim of your fight with the right minister.

He presides over every matter of the Ancient Xie Clan, and he had never thought about abandoning us. Every year, we get 1/3rd of our army expenses from the Xie Family. Even the unwanted child you picked up from the snow can see that Patriarch Xie favors us. Maybe he is blaming himself wrongfully to this day.

I am sorry to say this, father, but It wasn't without reason that mother used to say you've blindfolded yourself. The road is big, but why are you insisting on believing it is just a narrow path? Not just your name, but even my and Xie Yang's name was on the Ancestral Tablet. That shows Great Grandfather is willing to become our backing.

We just need to have a bigger heart and be the first to say the word. Once we shake hands with them, who would dare snatch what's ours?!"

Hearing his words, Xie Yong flicked a melon seed in his mouth and looked out the window; his gaze seemed to piece through ten thousand clouds and uncountable miles to stare at an elderly person sitting atop the heavenly wall of the forbidden city.

"Grandfather hasn't changed one bit. He still has the habit of being too meddlesome."

What Xie Tong said after careful consideration made sense to Xie Yang, and he pondered over his words.

The royal family ruled half the mortal realm, but that was only on the surface.

Although the emperor was the strongest and most important person in the empire, he wasn't the wisest, and he had shown his weakness to the officials by taking no actions against the left and the right ministers and indulging in lust.

The two ministers had been overstepping their boundaries in recent years, which led to many feeling dissatisfied with them, yet as if the emperor was blind to their actions, he didn't reprimand them, much less try to mend their ways.

He couldn't make a move against them.

After all, the pillars of the empire were behind both of the ministers.

The left minister was the empress's grandfather, and the right minister was the father of Xie Yong and the son of the patriarch of the Ancient Xie Clan, which shared deep ties with two of the three sects acting as the pillars of the empire.

The explorer association was once the subsidiary of the Ancient Bai Clan. However, the person leading it climbed up the ranks of spiritual cultivators and became a spirit lord. Even after gaining power, he didn't drift away from his origin and remained loyal to the Ancient Bai Clan.

Thus, it led to the Ancient Bai Clan gaining immense resources, an extensive and valuable information network, and most importantly, strengthening their position in the court.

Still, they didn't gain the upper hand against the Xie Clan or the Royal Family.

The Emperor was the strongest existence in the empire.

If they angered him too much, he might just give him a middle finger to all his worries and do his best to destroy them.

Meanwhile, The Ancient Xie Clan was close to two Ancient Sects, and thus, the Ancient Bai Clan, which didn't even have the entirety of the Explorer Association as its backing, couldn't offend them too. Otherwise, they will give them an excellent reason to teach them a lesson. Then, they will not only lose what they put in their mouth but also what was in their hands and on their bodies.

The Xie Manor was related to the Ancient Xie Family by blood as Xie Yong was the grandson of Patriarch Xie and son of the right minister.

Thus, as long as he publicly recognized the Patriarch as his grandfather, he will gain the status of a second-generation member of the Ancient Xie Clan!

When that happens, If someone were to make a move to usurp his land and the army led by his eldest son, the Patriarch of the Ancient Xie Clan will most likely not remain silent, meaning neither the royal family, the empress family, nor the families and organizations of the empire would be able to force Xie Yong and Xie Tong to do something they didn't like actively.

They will also have to erase all evidence of their involvement with trying to assassinate Xie Yang. Otherwise, if the Ancient Xie Family were to investigate and find evidence that they were involved, the Ancient Xie Family would have good reasons to ask the emperor for justice in board daylight while sneaking attacks on them and encroaching their territories at nighttime!

"Father, have you considered it?" Xie Tong asked.

Xie Yong replied, "When we've no other choice, I will think about it."

Xie Yang tapped his fingers on the table and said, "With the passage of time, people's heart changes. Father, if you don't grab this opportunity today, it might not be there when you are ready to hold it."

"Can you see this wife? My two sons dislike the way I am handling things right now, and now they are grouping up to force me to make a decision. What choice does this helpless father have but to listen to them? Otherwise, I'm afraid there will be no one to care for me in old age." The Lord sighed loudly.

The two sons laughed at their father's pathetic acting.

Xie Yong eyed his eldest son, "How long are you going to stay at home this home?"

Xie Tong replied, "Not long. By sunrise, I will be back in the army camp."

"Have you stopped being delusional?" Xie Yong questioned with an impassive gaze.

"It was never my delusion! I've already found my treasure. I even have proof of my treasure's existence. Look, here it is!" Xie Tong showed the picture of a pristine white woman with two bumps on her head and wings with silver scales on her back to his father and brother.

Xie Yang saw her and thought that she was beautiful enough to enter the list of the top hundred beauties of the spirit world.

"What nonsense are you spouting? Do you not realize who she is?!" When Xie Yong saw the woman in the picture, his eyes widened, and he slammed the table, breaking it into two halves.

"I do! She is the Holy Priestess of the Outsiders and also my treasure, who saves my life more than three times! That's why I am going to make her my bride soon!"

Xie Tong created a bigger fire with his words.

Xie Yang realized that Xie Tong was only playing with him back in the corridor! He wasn't unsure about the existence of his treasure. Rather, he was certain that it existed! Though, Xie Yang laughed after understanding that his brother had fooled him into believing that his treasure was a thing and not a snake-woman!

A raging fire burned inside the heart of Xie Yong, an extreme patriot of the Glorious Sun Empire.

"You little bastard! How dare you think about marrying the enemy's princess. You've learned to keep secrets, learned to scold your father, but how dare you try to anger me to death! I will break your legs to teach you a lesson."

Xie Yong almost flipped the table as he pounced at Xie Tong with a hammer made of spiritual energy.

Xie Yang has never seen this father of his so angry.

He had nothing to do with it.

He stayed seated, watching his eldest brother and father jump all over the room like two monkeys.

"I'm sorry, but I need them to kidnap my wife! See you soon, father. The next time I return home, it will be with your daughter-in-law." While saying this, Xie Tong activated his spatial technique and disappeared into thin air.

Just then, the door to the room opened, and in came Xie Ye.