The Engagement Breakup Uproar (Part 2)

"By Uncle Xiao's reasoning, if the Xiao Family had been stronger than the Nalan Family, would Yanran have already died? Uncle Xiao is a Five-star Great Dou Shi, my grandfather is a Five-Star Dou Wang, and my master is even a Dou Huang. When have I ever threatened the Xiao Family?"

Everyone was stunned, and for a moment, no one could say a word!

That was right. Nalan Yanran had come today to discuss dissolving the engagement. She had not made it public beforehand, so it had not caused much damage to the Xiao Family's reputation.

Moreover, a Dou Wang or Dou Huang could have consigned the Xiao Family to oblivion with a mere gesture, yet this girl had not done so!

Instead, she had come to negotiate in good faith!

Not to mention that she was the pampered eldest young lady of the Nalan Family, one of the Three Beauties of the Holy City—even an ordinary woman would likely have been incapable of such restraint.

"My decision to break off the engagement has nothing to do with my family's power or my sect's strength. I only wish to ask Uncle Xiao one question. Xiao Yan and I were betrothed before birth. In these fourteen years, ever since Grandfather Xiao Lin passed away, whether it was Xiao Yan or Uncle Xiao, which one of you ever came to our door to bring up this matter?"

The entire Hall fell silent.

"Since you never brought it up, I remained a woman promised to another. My body was pure and innocent, yet from childhood, I was bound to the Xiao Family. Still, you never gave me a proper place. Is this how the Xiao Family conducts itself? Forget about a marriage alliance—based on the relationship between my grandfather and Grandfather Xiao Lin alone, which one of you has visited the Nalan Family in recent years?"

The entire Hall fell silent.

"You, Xiao Yan, began cultivating Dou Qi at four. At ten, you had reached the Ninth Stage Dou Qi, and at eleven, you became a Dou Zhe. You simply thought your talent was peerless and that I was unworthy of you. When you stood at your most glorious, you never came to find me. Then your Dou Qi vanished and you fell into the dust. Even at your lowest point, you still never came to find me. What am I in your eyes?"

The entire Hall fell silent.

"If I am not mistaken, you and this Miss Xiao Xun'er are not merely brother and sister, are you? What a devoted pair. I mean nothing else by it, but ask yourself—was that something a fiancé should do?"

"I, Nalan Yanran, came today to break off this engagement because I chose my own path. It has nothing to do with anyone else!"

Nalan Yanran's words rang like metal striking stone. For a time, not a single person in the Xiao Family could refute her.

Even Xiao Yan and Xiao Xun'er could not help flushing red.

When Xiao Xun'er was between four and six years old, Xiao Yan had sneaked into her room every night. Under the pretense of nourishing her bones and meridians, he had touched every inch of her body.

Had he been an ordinary person of the Dou Qi Continent, that would have been one thing. But Xiao Yan was an Earthling who had transmigrated from Earth. What he did was clearly no different from taking liberties with her—a lecherous old man sneaking into a little girl's room in the dead of night and feeling up her entire body, for three whole years!

And he had done all that while knowing full well that he had a fiancée.

Their character spoke for itself.

Perhaps, in his eyes, there had never been even the slightest place for Nalan Yanran.

After speaking, Nalan Yanran turned and glanced at Ge Ye beside her.

Ge Ye gave a bitter smile and hurriedly rose.

"Thank you for your understanding, Clan Leader Xiao." Nalan Yanran could throw a little tantrum and act on impulse, but adults still had to settle this matter in the end. "Clan Leader Xiao, the Sect Master knows that today's request is rather discourteous, so he specially instructed me to bring an item as an apology."

As he spoke, Ge Ye brushed the ring on his finger, and an ancient jade box with a green sheen appeared in his hand out of thin air...

He carefully opened the box, and an unusual fragrance immediately spread through the Hall. Anyone who smelled it felt their spirits lift.

The three elders curiously leaned forward. When they saw inside the jade box, their bodies jolted as they cried out, "A third-grade medicinal pill—Qi Gathering Powder?"

Within the ancient box lay a jade-green pill the size of a longan, quietly resting there. That alluring fragrance came from it.

On the Dou Qi Continent, the prerequisite to becoming a true Dou Zhe was condensing a Qi Vortex within one's body. Yet condensing a Qi Vortex had a considerable chance of failure. Once one failed, Ninth Stage Dou Qi would drop back to the eighth stage. Some particularly unlucky people might need to attempt it more than ten times before succeeding. Such repeated attempts, however, cost them their best years for cultivation and severely damaged their future prospects.

The effect of Qi Gathering Powder was to allow someone at the Ninth Stage Dou Qi to condense a Qi Vortex with a one hundred percent success rate!

Upon hearing the three elders' cries, the youths in the Hall widened their eyes. Pairs of burning gazes fixed firmly on the jade box in Ge Ye's hand.

"Hehe, this was personally refined by our sect's honorary elder, Lord Gu He. I assume you have all heard of his esteemed name?" Seeing the three elders lose their composure, Ge Ye could not help feeling sorry for the Xiao Family.

"This medicine was actually made by Pill King Gu He?" The three elders were deeply moved upon hearing this.

Pill King Gu He wielded enormous influence in the Jia Ma Empire. His pill-refining arts were unfathomable, and countless experts wished to curry favor with him, yet had no way to do so.

Not only were Gu He's pill-refining skills extraordinary, but his own strength had long since entered the Dou Wang realm, placing him among the Jia Ma Empire's ten greatest experts.

A Qi Gathering Powder that came from such a person's hand would likely be worth several times more than usual.

The three elders beamed as they stared at the Qi Gathering Powder in the jade box. If the clan obtained this pill, it might produce another young Dou Zhe.

Just as the three elders were privately considering how to get the pill for their grandsons, a young man's calm voice, suppressing his anger, suddenly rang out in the Hall.

"Elder Ge Ye, you should take the pill back. We may not agree to today's matter!"

The Hall fell abruptly silent. Every gaze immediately shifted toward Xiao Yan in the corner, who had raised his handsome face.

"Xiao Yan, what right do you have to speak here? Shut your mouth!" An elder's face darkened as he roared.

"Xiao Yan, step back. I know you feel bad, but we will make the decision here ourselves," another, older elder said calmly.

"Three Elders, if the one whose engagement was being broken today were your son or grandson, would you still say the same thing?" Xiao Yan slowly rose to his feet, a mocking smile on his lips as he asked.

"You..." The three elders froze. The hot-tempered Third Elder widened his eyes as Dou Qi slowly covered his body.

"Three Elders, Brother Xiao Yan is not wrong. He is the person directly involved, so you should not interfere." Xiao Xun'er's clear voice echoed calmly through the Hall.

The moment Xiao Xun'er spoke, Nalan Yanran looked over with a faint, knowing smile.

Pfft!

Many of the young people in the Hall burst out laughing.

Xiao Yan's fiancée had come to break off their engagement—what did Xiao Xun'er have to do with it? Yet this girl had insisted on inserting herself into the matter, making it seem as though a mistress were trying to steal a husband in front of his lawful wife.

Realizing this, Xiao Xun'er's face suddenly turned red. She sat back down sullenly and said nothing more.

In her heart, she also began to disapprove of some of Xiao Yan's actions. After all, Nalan Yanran's words had made Xiao Xun'er feel that Xiao Yan's behavior had indeed been somewhat improper.

After all, Xiao Xun'er was a woman too. To put it plainly, she and Nalan Yanran shared certain similarities.