I greet the Elders and ask what the reason of their visit is.
They remain silent for a while.
The Grand Elder drops his tea on a stool in front of him.
"How have you been Ximen Yeong?" He asks me with a little smile.
"Fine, thank you for asking Grand Elder." I respond with a little bow of the head.
He looks at me as if scanning me.
He picks up his tea again.
"Entry phase of the Early Peak huh?" He says as he sips his tea.
The other Elders along with Ximen Hong were surprised.
"What could you be talking about Grand Elder?" Ximen Jong asks as he sits up.
"Of course I couldn't hide my level from a Grand Master." I say to myself.
I don't intentionally hide my level, the Phantom Technique is a very secretive technique so as one of it's features it always tries to hide every presence, including my level.
I heave a sigh as I turn off that feature, making my level more visible to those who could gauge it.
"Ooohhh, now that I look closely he really is in the Early Peak realm." The Third Elder says squinting his eyes and sitting up.
"What!?" Ximen Jong exclaims, looking confused.
"It is always good to see the upcoming generation of our Clan with good talent." The Grand Elder says as he drops his tea and begins stroking his beard.
"Thank you very much Grand Elder." I respond with a slight bow of the head.
"Yes yes, but I have a question, if you don't mind I hope you can quench this old man's curiosity" He says with a smile.
What does this old man want to know now?
"Of course Grand Elder, I would try to satisfy your curiosity." I reply.
"That would be good." He says.
"Well, it is known to everyone that you are an illegitimate son of the Patriarch, along with the fact that you had no Martial Arts even at the age of fifteen as you had not opened your dantian.
What I would like to know is how you somehow managed to open your dantian after all this years." He asks.
Of course he would want to know.
And he's not just asking for the sake of it, his trying to sort for any form of information that could be beneficial to him.
"I came upon a lucky encounter." I say to him.
"A lucky encounter huh? And what was this lucky encounter?" He asks.
"Meeting my Master." I reply.
"Sorry I'm using you for this lie Master, please forgive me." I quickly pray inside me as I place my hands together.
As I mention meeting my Master, the other three became more keen to listening, especially Ximen Jong.
"I see, so this Master of yours helped you open your dantian and taught you cultivation techniques huh?" He questions me.
"Yes Grand Elder." I respond.
"Hmmm, well may I meet this Master of yours?" He asks.
"Unfortunatly that would not be possible." I reply to him.
"Do you take us for a joke?" The Fourth Elder snaps at me.
I glare at him.
"The only reason your head is still on your body is because there are some other people who would pose a problem to me here." I say to him in my thoughts as I heave a sigh.
"Calm down Fourth Elder." The Grand Elder says.
"What do you mean by that Ximen Yeong, and be careful of your reply." He says as he picks up his cup of tea.
"Well, unfortunately, this great Master of mine is late, may her soul Rest In Peace." I say with my eyes closed as I put my hands together as if offering a prayer.
"You must have a death wish." The Third Elder says with an annoyed look.
"So what you are saying is, you met your Master, she helped you open your dantian, she helped you with some cultivation techniques and resources and then died?" The Grand Elder questions me, his voice sounding annoyed.
The Fourth Elder looked like he wanted to lunge at me.
"No Grand Elder. My Master had already long passed away before I met her.
I only came across her Martial Arts Manual and some pills by chance." I say to the Grand Elder.
"I see? and how did you chance upon her legacy." The Grand Elder asks.
"I was taking a hike to strengthen my leg muscles when I tripped and fell.
Rolling down I found myself at the entrance of a cave. The clouds were heavy so I took shelter in the cave and that was how I found her." I narrate some cliche made up story to him.
"Hmmmm, may I see this Martial Arts Manual?" The Grand Elder asks.
"I burnt it." I reply to him.
"This son of a..." Ximen Jong hadn't finished cursing when the Fourth Elder dashed at me grabbing me by the neck and raising me off the ground.
"Do we look like fools to you?" The Fourth Elder says as he holds me up.
"You, definitely look like a fool and I promise to not let the world continue to host a fool like you." I say to him in my thoughts.
Hold it in David, if you counter, there is no turning back.
"That should be enough now Fourth Elder." The Grand Elder says.
"But Grand..."
"That is enough Ximen Bo." The Grand Elder says with a glare cutting off the Fourth Elder.
Ximen Bo let's me go dropping me to the ground.
He returns to his seat.
I sit there on the ground holding my neck and coughing a little.
I give a glare at Ximen Bo, I was holding back my killing intent.
"All four of you, I will remember this embarrassment." I say to myself as I try to get up.
"Ximen Yeong!" The Grand Elder calls out to me.
"As you know, the Clan is highly sensitive right now due to the incident that happened of late, and with your actions so far you have been deemed a suspect on the murder of Ximen Lao." He states.
"You would be coming with us, and I advise you follow us quietly." He says as he gives a cunning smile.