A Promise with Xun'er

At the sight of the tiny Golden Flame burning in the girl's eyes, Ge Ye's body jolted violently. Terror instantly covered his aged face. His withered hands hurriedly grabbed the bewildered Nalan Yanran and the young man beside her, quietly retreating a step. At that instant, all the Dou Qi in his body surged forth, wrapping him in a jade-green Dou Qi Gauze Robe as he shielded Nalan Yanran and the other young man behind him.

Seeing Ge Ye's actions, everyone in the hall aside from a select few stared in utter astonishment...

Nalan Chaoge was also slightly stunned, but he did not retreat. Instead, he walked straight toward Xun'er, who was seated to one side.

"Miss Xun'er, you truly possess astonishing talent. Perhaps your background is extraordinary as well. Just as you said, the Dou Qi Continent is vast, and there are many things that neither you nor your family can resolve. Otherwise, you would not have appeared here. Am I right?"

"Who are you..." Xun'er's exquisite face froze slightly.

"Who I am is not important. What matters is that I want to ask you this: if this sort of arranged marriage happened to you, what would you do? If your father arranged a marriage for you, and it was not with Brother Xiao Yan, whom you see day and night, what would you do?"

As an outsider, one could naturally lecture others. But once one was caught up in the situation oneself, one's actions might not be any better than those of the people one had mocked.

"I would like you to take back those words and apologize to my sister. Nalan Yanran did nothing wrong!" Nalan Chaoge's words were forceful and aggressive.

It was as though he did not care in the slightest about the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame blazing brilliantly in Xun'er's eyes.

"Impossible!" Xun'er's stubborn face was filled with fighting spirit, as though she would strike without mercy if Nalan Chaoge took another step forward. Of course, if she had not been wary of the power behind Nalan Chaoge, she would have attacked long ago.

She did not need to worry about such things, but she had no choice but to consider the trouble it might bring Brother Xiao Yan.

"Then how about we make a bet? If your father betroths you to someone else, I'd like to see what Miss Xun'er would do. Of course, Miss Xun'er is so sensible and righteous that she would certainly respect her father's arrangements, right?"

"You... Of course. I will respect my father's arrangements. I won't go back on my word like certain people!" Xun'er said through gritted lips.

"Good!" A smile curled across Nalan Chaoge's lips. "We'll see. I hope Miss Xun'er remembers what you said today. Perhaps one day, we might even have an arranged marriage ourselves. Oh, of course, 'arranged marriage' may not be the right term. Let's call it 'the word of a matchmaker and the command of one's parents' instead!"

After speaking, Nalan Chaoge gave Xun'er and the Xiao Family no time to react. He winked at Nalan Yanran and Ge Ye, and the group fled the Xiao Family as though they were running for their lives.

What nonsense—how could they not run?

Xun'er was the true cheat character of the entire Dou Qi Continent. At such a young age, she already possessed a Subordinate Fire of the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame. She barely needed to cultivate, yet her strength rose at an absurd pace.

She had only just been at the Ninth Stage Dou Qi, yet less than a year later she was already a Six-star Dou Zhe. Moreover, while others did not know, Nalan Chaoge knew clearly that Xun'er had a Dou Huang bodyguard by her side, and a four- or five-star Dou Huang at that. She could swagger across the entire Jia Ma Empire!

Given Xun'er's temperament, after he had insulted Xiao Yan like that, she might really dare to ambush him on the road and wipe him out.

Honestly, Nalan Chaoge truly did not want to provoke Gu Xun'er.

Once a woman fell for a man, her intelligence would plummet straight to zero!

Wutan City was a small city on the border of the Jia Ma Empire. After leaving the Xiao Family, Nalan Yanran had wanted to catch up with Nalan Chaoge, but he did not pause in the slightest. He dragged the others away at high speed and plunged into the Magical Beast Forest without stopping.

After traveling farther still, Nalan Chaoge finally let out a heavy breath.

"Xiao Ge, what are we..." Nalan Yanran looked at Nalan Chaoge in confusion.

"It's better to be cautious. The Xiao Family is nothing to fear now, but that Xun'er... you saw her too. She is no ordinary person. My actions have already angered her. I'm afraid she'll retaliate!"

Nalan Chaoge dropped onto the ground and panted heavily. After their frantic sprint, even Nalan Chaoge, who possessed the strength of a Dou Master, could not help feeling uneasy.

He believed that girl Xun'er absolutely wanted to kill him!

Damn it, offending Xiao Yan in this world really was the stupidest thing possible!

Glancing at Nalan Yanran, who stood beside him with a worried expression, Nalan Chaoge felt warmth in his heart. Still, everything he had done was worth it!

"This little brother is..." Ge Ye looked at Nalan Yanran, then at Nalan Chaoge, somewhat confused.

"Uncle Ge, this is my younger brother, Nalan Chaoge. Chaoge, this is Uncle Ge Ye from our Cloud Mist Sect, and this is my senior brother, Yun Feng!"

Nalan Yanran introduced them.

The group exchanged pleasantries for a while and told one another about their experiences.

When Nalan Chaoge mentioned that he could cultivate again, Nalan Yanran was so excited that she nearly jumped up. She pulled Nalan Chaoge into a tight embrace.

"That's wonderful, Xiao Ge! I'll return to the Cloud Mist Sect right away and ask my master to accept you as his disciple too. Don't worry. Three years from now, as long as you train hard, defeating Xiao Yan shouldn't be a problem. Even if Xiao Yan can cultivate again, there's absolutely no way he can—"

"Sis! I don't plan to join the Cloud Mist Sect. Thank you!" Nalan Chaoge interrupted Nalan Yanran.

"Why?"

"Uh, well... It's like this. I heard that Canaan Academy is recruiting students, so I plan to head to the Black Corner Region and make a name for myself. Only by going through slaughter can I strengthen myself!" Nalan Chaoge said with an awkward laugh.

"Canaan Academy? Does Grandfather know you're going to the academy? Oh, right, Xiao Ge, now that you can cultivate again, how did you get all the way here? And what is your current cultivation level? How could you be so careless as to make some Three-Year Pact with Xiao Yan? Do you know that Xiao Yan used to be a genius? Once his talent recovers, you..."

"I... well..." What Nalan Chaoge hated most was being asked about his cultivation level. How was he supposed to explain it? In just over a month, he had gone from being trash to becoming a Dou Master in one leap. Who would believe that? "Uh, I've only just entered the Dou Zhe rank!"

He could not hide it anyway, so Nalan Chaoge could only "tell the truth."

"A Dou Zhe!"

The three of them were all startled upon hearing that Nalan Chaoge was actually a Dou Zhe.

When they looked at Nalan Chaoge again, Ge Ye and Yun Feng both wore astonished expressions. That old fellow Nalan Jie was truly lucky. It seemed the Nalan Family was about to rise.

"Uh, perhaps it's because of the effects of the Fifth-order Magical Beast, the Fiery Poison Seal Python, that Grandfather got for me. Oh, right, and the medicinal pills Pill King Gu He gave me!"

So that was it! Even so, such cultivation talent was still monstrous! Ge Ye gave a bitter smile. No wonder this boy had dared to challenge the Xiao Family's genius.

A thirteen-year-old Dou Zhe—this little fellow's cultivation talent was even a notch greater than Nalan Yanran's. The only question was how far that Fiery Poison Seal Python could support him.

"Kid, I admire the courage you showed just now. A man should act like a man. How about joining the Cloud Mist Sect with me? That boy from the Xiao Family is not as simple as you think! His gaze is deep, and his bearing is steady. If I'm not mistaken, he may have already recovered his cultivation talent!"

Ge Ye looked at Nalan Chaoge with fondness.

"Thank you, Uncle Ge, but I've already made up my mind. I'm going to Canaan Academy!"

Truthfully, Nalan Chaoge had a very good impression of Ge Ye. He had traveled thousands of miles with Nalan Yanran to annul the engagement, and later accompanied her to the Mo Family's birthday celebration. Strictly speaking, he could be considered Nalan Yanran's bodyguard.