# Chapter 4: Wedding Procession
Liu Yun City was the smallest city in the Cang Feng Empire, so small that it wasn't even suitable to be called a city—a town might be a more appropriate term. Not only was Liu Yun City the smallest in area, it was also the most remote in location. Its population, economy, and overall Profound Force level ranked at the very bottom of the entire Cang Feng Empire. The residents of Liu Yun City often sarcastically called it a forgotten corner of the Tian Xuan Continent. The Xiao Sect, an entity that was utterly insignificant in the Cang Feng Empire, was a genuine giant within Liu Yun City.
Today, Liu Yun City was exceptionally lively, and the reason was naturally the grand wedding of Xiao Che and Xia Qingyue. No one would care if Xiao Che were just getting married, but Xia Qingyue's marriage was an event significant enough to shake the entire city.
The Xia Family was not a pure profound cultivation family; they had been merchants for generations. While their wealth was nothing special in the whole Cang Feng Empire, it was absolutely second to none in Liu Yun City. However, this by no means indicated the Xia Family was weak in power. With such vast wealth, they could naturally afford to hire many experts to protect their assets. The current family head, Xia Hongyi, had a son and a daughter: Xia Yuanba and Xia Qingyue. Both children had no interest in business whatsoever, instead focusing on profound cultivation. Xia Hongyi never opposed this and let them be. After Xia Qingyue displayed talent that shook Liu Yun City, he had even less reason to stop her. In fact, because of Xia Qingyue's astonishing talent, the major families of Liu Yun City frequently made gestures of goodwill... After all, Xia Qingyue was widely recognized as someone who might one day reach the Earth Xuan Realm, or even the Heavenly Xuan Realm. When that day came, the Xia Family would dominate Liu Yun City not only in wealth but also in strength.
Yet such a Xia Family would give away the brightest jewel of the entire city in marriage to a hopeless piece of trash like Xiao Che—this caused countless people to sigh in regret... and of course, even more were filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred.
Since the Xia Family was marrying off a daughter, the occasion would naturally not be shabby. The moment Xiao Che stepped out the door, he saw a ridiculously long red carpet laid out at the entrance. This red carpet began at the Xiao Family's main gate and extended in a winding path toward the Xia Family. The distance between the Xia and Xiao families wasn't too far, but it definitely wasn't close either—at least ten miles or so. That meant this red carpet was at least ten miles long... Besides the Xia Family, no other family in Liu Yun City could make such an astonishing display.
As soon as Xiao Che's wedding procession appeared, the streets of Liu Yun City immediately became lively. Crowds of onlookers lined both sides of the streets, and as the procession moved forward, various whispers reached Xiao Che's ears.
"Look! That's Xiao Che, the grandson of the Xiao Family's Fifth Elder Xiao Lie. I heard he was born with a crippled profound vein and can never break through to Initial Xuan Level 1 in this lifetime."
"Oh, it's my first time seeing him."
"It's normal you haven't seen him. With such an awesome grandfather but being trash himself, would you still have the face to go out often? Sigh, that Xia Qingyue is marrying such a person—the heavens must be blind!"
"I heard his father Xiao Ying and Xia Hongyi were sworn brothers. When Xia Qingyue was born, she almost didn't survive. Only because Xiao Ying expended a great deal of profound force to save her did she live. Xia Hongyi then promised that when Xia Qingyue turned sixteen, she would marry Xiao Ying's son as a wife. Not long after, Xiao Ying was assassinated. Because his profound force was heavily depleted, he couldn't resist and died on the spot. Xia Hongyi was even more guilt-ridden... Now that Xia Qingyue is sixteen, even though Xiao Ying's son is a good-for-nothing, Xia Hongyi is a man of deep loyalty and would never go back on his promise. Otherwise, how could this guy possibly marry Xia Qingyue?"
"Sigh! Xia Qingyue is the pearl of our Liu Yun City. If you stripped away Xiao Che's identity as the grandson of the Xiao Sect's Fifth Elder, he wouldn't even be worth a lump of mud. I'm a hundred times better than him! This world is so unfair!"
"The goddess of my dreams is marrying such a waste—I'm so unwilling I want to die!"
Sitting on horseback, Xiao Che's eyes were like deep pools—bright and profound, with a refined and elegant bearing. He wore a bright red wedding robe, and his long hair flowed behind him, exuding an air of ethereal grace. As the various voices of discussion and gazes of envy, unwillingness, mockery, resentment, admiration, and contempt focused on him, he seemed completely unaware. A faint, carefree smile remained on his face, causing not a few girls to stare at him with dazed, distracted eyes.
Although Xiao Che's profound force was utter garbage, his appearance was definitely not lacking—he even surpassed Xiao Yulong in that regard. Moreover, since he rarely went out and had low profound strength, he looked quite frail and fair... a perfect pretty boy!
Thus, even if countless talented youths gnashed their teeth in resentment and jealousy toward Xiao Che, they had to admit in their hearts that, purely in terms of appearance, this Xiao Che did seem to match Xia Qingyue.
"I thought Xiao Che would be riding in a sedan chair today, but instead he's on horseback. And his demeanor and expression... doesn't match the rumors at all."
"Hmph! He's a piece of trash looked down on by everyone, but today he's marrying the pearl of our Liu Yun City, Xia Qingyue. Of course he's going to be as smug as possible! Why would he be afraid to show his face?" a voice said hatefully.
"I heard that the young masters of the Yuwen Family and the son of the city lord have been chasing Xia Qingyue relentlessly. Do you think they might try to crash the wedding?"
"Give it a rest! Xiao Che is nothing, but his grandfather is Xiao Lie, the number one expert in Liu Yun City. Even the city lord has to yield to him. His son is dead, and this is his only grandson. He'll protect him to the bone. If anyone causes trouble, Xiao Lie will fly into a rage! Who would dare to court that kind of trouble? Besides, this isn't a forced marriage. Anyone who stirs up trouble will also provoke the entire Xia Family. I bet those young masters are all locked up tight at home right now."
The wedding procession moved at a leisurely pace, taking nearly an hour and a half to cover the ten-mile distance.
"Brother-in-law!!"
As soon as they neared the Xia Family's main gate, a rough shout rang out, and a tall, burly figure quickly ran toward Xiao Che. This person didn't look very old, but he was at least two meters tall, with a body as sturdy as a bull. The ground even shook faintly as he ran. Xiao Che watched him approach, swallowed hard, and widened his eyes. "Yuanba! It's been less than a month since we last met, and you've grown this much taller again!"
This man—or more accurately, this boy—was Xia Qingyue's younger brother, Xia Yuanba. He was fifteen years old this year... That's right, only fifteen! But just looking at his physique, no one would ever guess that he had just turned fifteen! Over two meters tall... Xiao Che, sitting on horseback, only reached level with his chin. He weighed over 350 jin. But Xia Yuanba's weight was by no means flabby—his muscles bulged high and had a faint, dark metallic luster, concealing quite astonishing power. His profound force was only at Initial Xuan Realm Level 4, which was slightly above average, but he possessed immense strength. He could hold his own even against someone at Initial Xuan Level 6.
Xia Yuanba was Xiao Che's only close friend. He had been calling Xiao Che "brother-in-law" since childhood, and they grew up playing together. Before the age of eight, Xia Yuanba was thin and dark and often bullied. After turning eight, it was as if he had taken the wrong medicine—his height and weight skyrocketed, his appetite and strength became increasingly astonishing, and now at fifteen... if you looked only at his face, you could still catch a hint of childishness, but his physique was at the monster level!
Hearing Xiao Che's words, Xia Yuanba scratched his head and said sheepishly, "This... I can't help it. Dad keeps telling me to lose weight, but making me go hungry is worse than killing me."
"... Xiao Che was speechless. Only fifteen years old and already like this—what would he be like as an adult? Unimaginable!
Xiao Che had witnessed Xia Yuanba's appetite many times. It was a good thing he was born into the Xia Family. If he were born into an ordinary family, he would probably have eaten them into bankruptcy.
"Hehe, Brother-in-law, today you officially become my brother-in-law," Xia Yuanba said with a simple, honest smile. He was very happy that his sister was marrying Xiao Che and had been looking forward to this day. In his view, with such an amazing sister as his wife, no one would ever dare look down on Xiao Che again.
"Hurry in. Sister is already ready." With that, Xia Yuanba slapped his forehead. "Oh right, I'll go open the main gate."
With that, Xia Yuanba ran toward the Xia Family's main gate, looking like a moving mountain of flesh as he ran.
The wedding procession entered the Xia Family. As soon as he passed through the gate, Xiao Che saw Xia Hongyi looking at him with a smile. He quickly dismounted, walked up to Xia Hongyi, and bowed respectfully. "Uncle Xia."
"Heh, at a time like this, are you still calling me uncle?" Xia Hongyi said with a warm smile. He was not tall, and being middle-aged, he had put on some weight. His overall appearance even seemed somewhat simple and honest, but no one in Liu Yun City dared to underestimate him.
Xiao Che composed himself and bowed again respectfully. "Father-in-law."
He had always held great respect for Xia Hongyi. Because he was his father's sworn brother. Growing up, he had endured countless scornful looks, but Xia Hongyi had always treated him with care. Even though his profound vein was crippled from birth, Xia Hongyi did not break the promise he had made with his father, and when Xia Qingyue turned sixteen, he proactively gave her in marriage to Xiao Che.
"Heh, good!" Xia Hongyi nodded and reached out to pat Xiao Che on the shoulder. "Che'er, from today onward, I entrust Qingyue to you. You may not be a great hero, nor a man of power and influence, but just because you are Xiao Ying's son, I can rest assured in giving my daughter to you. Your father, Xiao Ying, was brilliantly talented and deeply loyal. Becoming his sworn brother is the thing I regret least in my life. You are Xiao Ying's son. Even if your profound vein is damaged, I absolutely refuse to believe that you will be an ordinary man in the future."
"Take good care of my daughter. As for all those rumors and gossip, let them be."
Xiao Che's eyes flickered, then he nodded slowly and firmly. "Father-in-law, rest assured. Though I am looked down upon by others now, a hidden dragon in the abyss will surely have its day of awakening. When that time comes, I will make all those who look down on me, and all those who mock the Xia Family for finding a useless son-in-law, shut their mouths."
Xia Hongyi was momentarily stunned... The Xiao Che he knew had always been gentle and mild-tempered, often inadvertently revealing a sense of inferiority. But now, he was speaking such bold words to him, with sharp eyes, a calm demeanor, and a gaze so deep that he felt he could not see through it... Completely different from his former weak posture.
"Good!" Xia Hongyi nodded and patted Xiao Che's shoulder again. "I believe that Xiao Ying's son will never remain ordinary. I will wait to see the day the hidden dragon rises from the abyss. Alright, Qingyue is already prepared. Go."