The hall was deathly silent.

  Nalan Yanran's offer had left everyone breathless—three Qi Gathering Pills plus admission to the Yunlan Sect! Such terms could drive any family in Wutan City mad with desire.

  Yet Xiao Yan suddenly laughed.

  It was a soft laugh, but not at all what Nalan Yanran had expected. After her words, the boy before her began trembling violently. When he slowly raised his head, his delicate, youthful face was twisted into a terrifying mask of fury...

  Though he had endured three years of mockery, Xiao Yan still had his pride. Nalan Yanran's condescending, pitying offer had trampled upon the last shreds of his dignity.

  "Ah!" Startled by his ferocious expression, the girl hastily retreated a step. The handsome young man beside her immediately drew his sword, its cold tip pointed at Xiao Yan.

  "I... really want to kill you!" Xiao Yan's teeth chattered as he spat out these murderous words. His fists clenched, his dark eyes blazing with rage.

  "Yan'er! Don't be rude!" Alarmed by his son's outburst, Xiao Zhan shouted from the head seat. The Xiao family couldn't afford to offend the Yunlan Sect now.

  Xiao Yan's fists tightened until his knuckles turned white. He lowered his head briefly before raising it again—but all traces of his earlier fury had vanished, replaced by eerie calm.

  Three years of humiliation had forged in him a tolerance far beyond ordinary people.

  This Nalan Yanran was the Yunlan Sect's darling. If he acted rashly now, he would bring endless trouble upon his father. So he could only endure!

  Watching the boy suppress his emotions so completely, Ge Ye and Nalan Yanran felt an inexplicable chill...

  If this boy remains a cripple, it's fine. But if he ever regains his power... he'll be a dangerous man. Ge Ye thought grimly.

  "Xiao Yan, I don't know why my offer angered you so much," Nalan Yanran said after regaining her composure, "but... please annul the engagement."

  "Remember, my visit today was approved by my teacher—the leader of the Yunlan Sect herself!" She tilted her head slightly, her tone turning cold. "You can consider this coercion. But you must understand reality—there's no such thing as absolute fairness. Though I don't mean to boast, you know the gap between us. We..."

  "...have no future together."

  Hearing her godlike pronouncement, Xiao Yan's lips curled into a sneer. "Miss Nalan... surely you know what it means for a woman to break an engagement in the Dou Qi continent. I may be thick-skinned, but my father is the clan leader! If he agrees today, how will he command the Xiao family hereafter? How will he face Wutan City?"

  Nalan Yanran frowned at his rage. Glancing at Xiao Zhan—who suddenly seemed to have aged years—she bit her lip hesitantly before speaking in a softer tone:

  "Today's matter was indeed rash of me. I can temporarily withdraw my request... on one condition."

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  "What condition?" Xiao Yan asked coldly.

  "I'll delay this matter for three years. After that, come challenge me at the Yunlan Sect. If you lose, I'll publicly annul the engagement. By then, you'll have undergone your Coming of Age Ceremony, so even if you lose, it won't humiliate Uncle Xiao too badly. Do you dare accept?"

  Xiao Yan laughed bitterly. True, losing then wouldn't damage Father's reputation as much... but I'd bear the shame of defeat forever. How vicious!

  "Miss Nalan, you know Yan'er's condition! How could he challenge you? Is torturing him like this amusing?" Xiao Zhan slammed the table, rising in fury.

  "Uncle Xiao, someone must take responsibility for breaking the engagement! If not for your face, I'd annul it right now!" Having been repeatedly thwarted, Nalan Yanran lost patience and snapped at Xiao Yan: "If you don't want to shame your father, accept my terms! Three years or now—choose!"

  "Nalan Yanran, drop the act!" Xiao Yan finally erupted like a volcano. "You want to break it because you think a cripple like me isn't worthy of you, the heaven's favorite! Let me be blunt—apart from your looks, I see nothing remarkable about you! The Yunlan Sect is strong, but I'm still young. At twelve, I was already a Dou Practitioner. And you? What were you at twelve? True, I'm trash now. But since I could create miracles three years ago, who says I can't rise again?"

  His explosive retort stunned the entire hall. Who knew this usually silent boy could be so sharp-tongued?

  Nalan Yanran's pretty face turned livid, but she couldn't refute him. His past achievements were undeniable.

  "Miss Nalan, out of respect for Grandfather Nalan, let me advise you: Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—don't bully the young for being poor!"

  "Bravo!" Xiao Zhan's eyes shone as he applauded. "That's my son!"

  Humiliated before everyone, the spoiled Nalan Yanran saw red. "How dare you lecture me? Even if you were talented before, now you're just trash! Fine! I'll wait for you at the Yunlan Sect in three years! If you can defeat me then, I'll be your slave! But if you're still this pathetic, you'll hand over the annulment yourself!"

  Xiao Yan laughed coldly. "No need for three years. I have zero interest in you!"

  He turned abruptly, strode to the table, and began writing furiously.

  Ink settled, brush stopped.

  Xiao Yan suddenly drew a dagger from the table and slashed his left palm.

  A bloody handprint stained the paper crimson.

  Picking up this document, he threw it onto the table before Nalan Yanran with a crash.

  "Don't flatter yourself. This isn't your annulment—it's my letter divorcing you! From today, you, Nalan Yanran, have no connection to the Xiao family!"

  "You... you dare divorce me?" Staring at the bloodstained paper, Nalan Yanran's beautiful eyes widened in disbelief. With her beauty, talent, and background, she was being divorced by a cripple from a minor family?

  Xiao Yan turned to kneel before Xiao Zhan, kowtowing deeply. Though nominally he had expelled Nalan Yanran, the world would see it as her forcing the Xiao family's hand with her status. His father would bear the ridicule.

  Xiao Zhan smiled warmly. "I believe in my son. Mere rumors will shatter before reality."

  "Father, in three years, I'll cleanse this humiliation for you!" Eyes moist, Xiao Yan kowtowed again before striding out.

  Pausing beside Nalan Yanran, he icily declared:

  "Three years. I'll come for you."

  His elongated shadow stretched lonely across the floor as he departed.

  Nalan Yanran stared blankly at his retreating back, the divorce letter suddenly weighing like a mountain in her hand.

  "Since you've achieved your goal, please leave," Xiao Zhan said coldly, his fists clenched white under his sleeves.

  "Uncle Xiao, I apologize for today's events. You're welcome at the Nalan family anytime." Nalan Yanran bowed hastily before leaving with Ge Ye and the young man.

  "Take your Qi Gathering Powder too!" Xiao Zhan flung the jade box after them.

  As the trio reached the door, a serene yet cold voice rang out:

  "Miss Nalan, I hope you won't regret today's willfulness. And don't think the Yunlan Sect makes you invincible. This world is vast—there are many stronger than Yun Yun..."

  They froze, turning toward the purple-robed girl reading quietly in the corner.

  Sunlight enveloped her like a lotus untainted by worldly dust.

  Meeting their gazes, she looked up from her book—her beautiful eyes flickering with tiny golden flames.

  Ge Ye trembled violently, his aged face contorting in terror. Grabbing the confused Nalan Yanran and the youth, he practically dragged them out in panic.

  Most present gaped in bewilderment at their abrupt flight...