Ignoring the uproar in the hall, Xiao Yan strode forward. He first bowed respectfully to Xiao Zhan, then turned to face Nalan Yanran. Drawing a deep breath, he asked calmly, "Miss Nalan, may I ask whether Old Master Nalan has agreed to your breaking off the engagement today?"
Unable to refute her, he could only bring the old master into it. This Xiao Yan was certainly no ordinary person.
Nalan Yanran rose gently and gazed at the young man before her, who should have become her husband. Her voice was soft and even. "Grandfather hasn't agreed, but this is my affair. It has nothing to do with him."
"Since the old master has said nothing, I hope you'll forgive us, but my father will not agree to your request either. The engagement was personally arranged by the old masters of both families. Until they declare it dissolved, no one dares break it. Otherwise, that would be an affront to a deceased elder! Surely no one in our clan would commit such an act of defiance?" Xiao Yan tilted his head slightly and stared at the three elders with a cold smile.
With Xiao Yan pinning such a damning charge on them, the three elders immediately fell silent. In their strictly governed clan, an accusation like that was enough to cost them their positions.
"You..." Cut off by Xiao Yan's sharp retort, Nalan Yanran froze. Her delicate face turned livid with anger, and she stamped her foot hard before drawing a breath. "So you're saying that because we mustn't dishonor our elders, and your grandfather Xiao Lin is already dead, this engagement can never be broken? I, Nalan Yanran, have to marry a scoundrel like you?"
"You... you... If you want to break it off, fine! Have Nalan Jie come and do it himself. I'd like to see how the Jia Ma Empire's Marshal Lionheart breaks his word to my Xiao Family!"
"My grandfather would naturally never break a promise, but I decide whom I marry. Xiao Yan, if you're a man, stop using a dead old man as a shield for your engagement!"
The spoiled temper Nalan Yanran had developed over years of pampering flared up as well. She stared at the young man before her with disgust. She had truly never expected Xiao Yan to use a dead man as his shield!
What did that make me? A backup?
Once he's had his fill of fun and found a woman more suitable than me, will he kick me aside?
The sight of Xiao Yan's expression left Nalan Yanran increasingly irritated, and she laid her cards directly on the table. "What will it take for you to dissolve the engagement? Is the compensation not enough? Fine, I can ask my teacher to give you three more portions of Qi Gathering Powder. And if you wish, I can also have you admitted to the Misty Cloud Sect to study advanced Dou Qi cultivation methods. Is that enough?"
As the tempting offers tumbled from the girl's mouth one after another, the three Xiao Family elders suddenly found their breathing quickening. The youths in the hall swallowed hard. Enter the Misty Cloud Sect to cultivate? Heavens, that was something countless people dreamed of...
After stating those terms, Nalan Yanran's eyes suddenly reddened, and tears slipped down her face.
Perhaps before meeting Xiao Yan, she had not been quite so resolute about ending the engagement. But from this moment onward, she would have no regrets even in death!
Left speechless by Nalan Yanran's words, unable to argue back, the young man before her suddenly began trembling violently. He slowly raised his head. His delicate, youthful face had twisted into something frighteningly savage...
Although he had endured mockery for three years, Xiao Yan still had a line that belonged to him alone. Nalan Yanran's lofty, charity-like gestures had stomped mercilessly on the last shred of dignity hidden in his heart.
Nalan Yanran stood firmly where she was, two trails of clear tears slowly flowing down her delicate face. She did not retreat in the slightest. The handsome young man beside her abruptly drew his longsword, his icy gaze fixed squarely on Xiao Yan.
"I... really want to kill you!" Words steeped in murderous intent escaped between his trembling teeth. Xiao Yan clenched his fists, flames of fury burning in his dark eyes.
"Judging by some of the things you've done,
you aren't worthy of Yanran!" the stern young man said flatly. "That is your freedom!" Nalan Yanran's eyes had grown utterly indifferent, and she gently used her hand to hold back the stern young man's sword for Xiao Yan.
"Yan'er, don't be disrespectful!" Seated at the head of the hall, Xiao Zhan was also startled by Xiao Yan's actions and hurriedly shouted a warning. The Xiao Family could not afford to offend the Misty Cloud Sect as it stood.
Clenching his fists tightly, Xiao Yan lowered his head slightly. A moment later, he gently raised it again, but the frightening savagery from before had already given way to calm...
Although he had suffered endless discrimination and mockery over those three years, those experiences had also forged in Xiao Yan a capacity for restraint far beyond that of ordinary people.
The Nalan Yanran standing before me is the darling of the Misty Cloud Sect. If I actually do anything to her now, I'll probably bring Father endless trouble!
Watching the young man before them rein in his emotions almost instantaneously, Ge Ye and Nalan Yanran suddenly felt a chill in their hearts...
If this brat remains a good-for-nothing forever, that's one thing. But if he ever truly gains power, he'll definitely be dangerous... Ge Ye thought gravely.
A cold smile tugged at Xiao Yan's lips. "Miss Nalan... you should know how humiliating it is on the Dou Qi Continent when the woman breaks off an engagement. Heh, I'm thick-skinned, so it doesn't matter much to me. But my father! He's the head of a clan. If he actually agrees to your request today, how is he supposed to lead the Xiao Family afterward? How is he supposed to hold his head up in Wutan City?"
"So my lifelong happiness is worth nothing more than your embarrassment? Your father's pride? Am I just a puppet for your Xiao Family to put on display? If I don't break off the engagement, will your Xiao Family rule the world? Will everyone bow down in admiration?" Nalan Yanran's words enraged Xiao Yan until his eyes seemed ready to split.
Looking at the young man's fury-filled face, Nalan Yanran frowned slightly. From the corner of her eye, she glanced at Xiao Zhan at the head of the hall, who suddenly seemed to have aged considerably, and felt a faint pang of guilt. She gently wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and bit her cherry-red lips. After a moment's thought, her lively eyes shifted slightly, and she suddenly said softly, "I admit I acted somewhat rashly today. For now, I can withdraw my request to dissolve the engagement. But I need you to agree to a challenge!"
"What challenge?" Xiao Yan asked with a frown.
"I can postpone today's request for three years. Three years from now, come to the Misty Cloud Sect and challenge me. If you lose, I'll dissolve the engagement publicly. By then, you should have undergone your clan's coming-of-age ceremony, so even if you lose, it won't be too humiliating for Uncle Xiao. Do you dare accept?" Nalan Yanran said evenly.
Heh, if I lose then, it certainly won't damage Father's reputation much further. But I may have to bear the disgrace of being a loser for the rest of my life! Xiao Yan laughed inwardly in grief and anger, his face filled with mockery.
"Our engagement was once perfectly legitimate. Have you never thought about who brought us, step by step, to where we are today, Xiao Yan? If a man can't shoulder even this much responsibility, how can he ever accomplish anything great?"
"Miss Nalan, you know perfectly well what condition Yan'er is in. What is he supposed to challenge you with? Do you find it amusing to humiliate him like this?" Xiao Zhan slammed his palm onto the table and rose in anger.
"Uncle Xiao, someone has to bear responsibility for dissolving an engagement. If I weren't trying to preserve your dignity, I would forcibly break it off right now! Then I'd announce it to everyone!"
At this point, Nalan Yanran had hardened her resolve. Turning to the silent Xiao Yan, she snapped coldly, "Since you refuse to let Uncle Xiao lose face, accept the challenge! Three years from now or right now-which will you choose?"
Before you continue