The internal strife within the Celestial Master Mansion coincided with unrest throughout the Great Tang.

Both the east and the north were engulfed in great chaos.

Seniors such as Supreme Elder Li Song of the Celestial Master Mansion and Abbot Liaoyuan of Bodhi Temple perished.

Conversely, young powerhouses rose to fame.

Apart from Tang Xiaotang, who was essentially displaying the momentum of becoming the next Celestial Master, the most eye-catching new-generation powerhouses were Chu Yu from Suzhou and the Xiao Family Siblings from Longwai.

Chu Yu had long been famous, so he could be set aside for now.

The Xiao Family Siblings, however, shone brilliantly, exceeding many people's expectations.

In the earlier battle in the Western Regions, the Xiao Clan from outside Long (region) suffered severe casualties, and most of its upper echelons were wiped out.

Not only the ancestors and Elders, but nearly the entire middle generation of parents had also been killed or wounded.

The person who ultimately took over as the new Clan Chief was the Xiao Family's eldest legitimate grandson, Xiao Hang.

Luckily, this expert, who had previously been the Xiao Family's youngest master of the Upper Three Heavens, was still alive, barely able to maintain the clan's facade.

But with too many masters lost, the Xiao Clan's strength was severely damaged, and masters of the Upper Three Heavens were few and far between.

No wonder Li Xuan had a backup plan and set his sights on the Xiao Clan from outside Long (region).

The Xiao Clan was currently experiencing one of the rarest moments of crisis in its history, and those who filled the void in the high ranks were two very controversial figures:

a pair of siblings,

namely Xiao Chunhui and Xiao Xueting.

Current reports suggested that they were half-siblings with Xiao Hang, sharing the same father.

However, Xiao Chunhui and Xiao Xueting were children from a concubine.

Only after the battle in the Western Regions did these two step onto the public stage.

Although clues gathered by Li Xuan over the years indicated that the two had indeed existed before the Western Regions battle, unrecognized by the Xiao Clan, there were still many debates about their identities.

Previously, it was the new Clan Chief, Xiao Hang, who, against many opinions, accepted these half-siblings.

This time, Xiao Hang personally stayed in the Longwai ancestral land, while Xiao Chunhui and Xiao Xueting accompanied the royal expedition to the East Sea, and both stunned the world.

The Xiao Clan from outside Long (region) gained two new masters of the Upper Three Realms.

Xiao Xueting even broke her eldest brother Xiao Hang's record, becoming the youngest Seventh Heavenly Layer master in the Xiao Clan from outside Long (region) today.

After the Demon chaos in the East Sea was mostly stabilized, Xiao Xueting suddenly made a long-distance assault over thousands of miles, rushing to aid the battle in the Land of Wu and Yue.

It was her sudden attack, in collaboration with Chu Yu, that foiled Prince Wu's escape and led to his immediate demise.

Among the younger generation of the Xiao Family, the emergence of three Upper Three Heavens masters in a short period of time caught everyone's attention.

It was like witnessing a beacon of revival and prosperity after a calamity on the ruins of a collapsed building.

Although the current Surge of Heavenly and Earthly Spiritual Qi benefits Cultivators, it was still remarkable to see such a cluster of young top-tier masters. Previously, other than the specially situated Tang Imperial Court, only the Celestial Master Mansion had produced Xu Yuanzhen, Li Zhengxuan, and Tang Xiaotang in succession.

And now, the Xiao Clan from outside Long (region) was added to that list.

Thus, although Xiao Chunhui and Xiao Xueting were not ranked second and third respectively in seniority within their generation, most people now placed them alongside Xiao Hang, leading to the nicknames Eldest Brother, Second Brother, and Third Miss of the Xiao Family.

However, given the current state of the Xiao Clan from outside Long (region), they now carried an additional air of mystery.

The debate over the origins of the siblings Xiao Chunhui and Xiao Xueting persisted.

On the other hand, many speculated what role Her Majesty the Empress of the Tang Imperial Court had been playing in all this.

Lei Jun scrutinized the intelligence gathered by Li Xuan.

One detail caught his attention.

The identity of Xiao Chunhui and Xiao Xueting's mother was a mystery.

Despite Li Xuan's extensive investigations, the identity and background of the concubine mother of the Xiao Family siblings were still unknown.

Struck by a familiar sense of déjà vu, Lei Jun reminisced about some of the novels he had read on Blue Star before he transmigrated, inevitably a bit gossip-hungry.

He shook his head slightly, reeling in his wandering thoughts, and continued to delve into the other information recorded in the iron booklet.

To jest that the Xiao Family siblings had a story was a bit of teasing.

But it was indeed true that both Xiao Chunhui and Xiao Xueting had distinctive characteristics in their cultivation.

The Xiao Clan from outside Long (region), one of the Five Clans and Seven Families, is known for its Confucian legacy.

Like his elder half-brother Xiao Hang, Xiao Chunhui was also a Great Scholar of the Seventh Heavenly Layer.

However, what drew attention to Xiao Chunhui was that it seemed he was born with an Innate deficient constitution.

Even the Xiao Clan's resources could not make up for it with Acquired means.

His cultivation path was almost purely focused on the Spiritual Soul and was extremely radical.

Reaching the Seventh Layer of Heaven Realm under such circumstances was already legendary.

During the Demon disturbance in the East Sea, he made everyone take notice.

His sister Xiao Xueting, on the other hand, was very healthy.

But for the Xiao Clan from outside Long (region), known for its Confucian legacy, this might have been a bit too healthy.

Xiao Xueting was not a Confucian Practitioner.

Instead, she followed the path of Martial Tao.

A Martial Warrior. She wielded a sword.

Yet she was vastly different from the Scholarly Swordsmen of Confucian Classical Studies.

This again surprised many.

However, considering her and Xiao Chunhui's background, it seemed not so unexpected, and everyone guessed there might be other reasons.

After rushing back and forth between the East Sea and the Land of Wu and Yue, wielding a sword that stirred lands near and far, Xiao Xueting's fame had surpassed even her elder brother Xiao Chunhui's.

「Soon, Lei Jun met this woman on Dragon Tiger Mountain.」

She had a stunning and refined beauty, yet she wore the armor of a Military General. Even so, she outshone all other women currently on Dragon Tiger Mountain, except for Tang Xiaotang and Zhang Jingzhen.

The Empress was to come personally to Dragon Tiger Mountain.

Xiao Xueting arrived ahead of time to prepare the way for her.

Yuan Mobai and Shangguan Ning received her, accompanied by Lei Jun, Zhang Jingzhen, Lin Shan, and Fang Jian.

After everyone was seated, the young female general sat with a formal bearing, "Her Majesty is expected to ascend the mountain in seven days."

Yuan Mobai smiled warmly, speaking smoothly, "Our Sect is well-prepared, ready to welcome Her Majesty's royal visit."

Xiao Xueting responded, "That could not be better. I will stay on the mountain for the next few days with all of you, awaiting Her Majesty the Empress's arrival. Please forgive any disturbance I may cause."

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