"Qingxuan, didn't you say you had already broken off your engagement with that useless Xiao Chen and were going to be with me? Why haven't you destroyed this marriage contract?"
Just as Xiao Zhentian was about to speak, Xiao Lingtian suddenly cried out from the side, looking utterly bereft.
His eyes were filled with shock and loss.
Ye Qingxuan was actually returning the engagement contract to Xiao Zhentian.
Did that mean she no longer intended to break off the engagement?
Hadn't she spent all these years constantly saying how deeply she despised Xiao Chen and wanted to be with him? Why had she suddenly changed her mind?
The moment these words came out, quite a few people in the crowd cast contemptuous looks at Xiao Lingtian.
As the younger brother, Xiao Lingtian actually wanted to steal his elder brother's fiancée. What had the world come to?
There were really people capable of such beastly deeds?
No wonder Xiao Chen had been forced to leave Zhenbei King Manor. Who could endure having a brother like that?
"Xiao Lingtian, please show some respect. I am Xiao Chen's fiancée, your future sister-in-law. For you to speak like this is truly unreasonable!"
Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan merely gave Xiao Lingtian a cold glance and spoke expressionlessly.
Breaking off her engagement with Xiao Chen? For the past few years, that had indeed been what she wanted.
But after witnessing Xiao Chen's terrifying talent in the Sword Dao, she had changed her mind.
Xiao Lingtian's talent was strong, and he could be called an unparalleled Heavenly Prodigy Rank.
Yet before a Peerless Sword Immortal in the making like Xiao Chen, he was hardly worth mentioning.
Besides, Xiao Chen had only just broken off the engagement with her, yet he had already hooked up with a woman even more beautiful than she was. She could not accept that. She had to win Xiao Chen back!
"Hahaha... Unreasonable? Ye Qingxuan, I loved you so much that I didn't hesitate to beat that useless Xiao Chen half to death just to help you break off the engagement, and this is how you treat me?"
Xiao Lingtian's eyes were dim as he spoke with a bitter laugh.
The crowd below was stunned once more.
For the sake of a woman, he had beaten the elder brother who had saved his life half to death? Was that something a human could do?
"Lingtian, you really injured your brother? You..."
Wen Wanrong could hardly believe what she had heard, staring at Xiao Lingtian in shock.
So everything her eldest son had said before was true. Xiao Lingtian had truly injured him.
How laughable. She had even thought her eldest son was lying and believed his character to be vile.
Now it seemed she had been utterly, catastrophically wrong!
Xiao Lingtian's eyes were likewise full of astonishment as he looked at Xiao Lingtian in disbelief.
The youngest son whom he had always believed to be upright and honest had actually lied to them?
"Hahaha, yes, I'm a bad person. I'm despicable and shameless..."
Xiao Lingtian looked as though he had gone mad.
"Lingtian, you..."
Xiao Zhentian had intended to sternly rebuke him, but when he saw his youngest son's utterly despondent appearance, he could not bear to criticize him. He forcibly swallowed the rest of his words.
Seeing Xiao Lingtian's pale face, Wen Wanrong could not help but feel heartache as well. She comforted him gently, "Child, don't be sad. Mother believes you didn't do it on purpose. You like Qingxuan, so Mother will talk to your brother and have him give this engagement to you! He's the elder brother. He should agree!"
She had indeed initially felt that her youngest son's actions were somewhat excessive.
But on further thought, what was wrong with loving someone? Didn't this simply prove that her youngest son loved deeply and was a devoted man?
As for Xiao Chen, although making him give up the engagement would be somewhat unfair to him, he was the elder brother after all. He had greater endurance and was more sensible. She believed he would understand. They could not let brothers turn against each other over a woman, could they?
"Qingxuan should have belonged to me in the first place. Xiao Chen is a Heaven-Jealous One. How is he worthy of Qingxuan?"
Xiao Lingtian gritted his teeth.
Xiao Zhentian glanced at Xiao Lingtian but said nothing.
His youngest son was still young. If he had taken the wrong path for a moment, they could simply teach him slowly.
As for Ye Qingxuan, he would personally ask the Xia Emperor to bestow the marriage. He believed the Xia Emperor would grant him this favor.
Seeing this scene, the people below felt chills run through their bodies.
The Zhenbei King and his wife treated their two sons as differently as heaven and earth.
Not only had the younger son seduced his elder brother's future wife, he had even seriously injured his elder brother while the latter's cultivation had yet to recover. Yet the Zhenbei King and his wife did not utter a single harsh word. Instead, they even wanted the elder son to give up his engagement to fulfill the younger brother. No one could endure something like that!
"Heh, the Zhenbei King and his wife are far too biased. They simply don't treat Xiao Chen as a person at all. No wonder Xiao Chen wanted to sever ties with that family!"
"Exactly. The younger brother committed such a beastly act, yet rather than stopping him sternly, his parents want the eldest son to make a sacrifice instead. It's utterly absurd!"
"Alas, I heard Xiao Chen and the Ninth Princess were childhood sweethearts, and Xiao Chen loved her deeply. Now the Zhenbei King has torn apart a pair of lovers with brute force. Who knows how heartbroken he must be! Is Xiao Lingtian his son, while Xiao Chen is not? With such favoritism, he is utterly unworthy of being a father!"
Some people spoke up for justice, unable to stop themselves from whispering.
They had originally believed that Xiao Chen had left Zhenbei King Manor because he was rebellious and morally corrupt.
But now, seeing the Zhenbei King and his wife's outrageous favoritism, they would have made the same choice as Xiao Chen.
"Well, Xiao Lingtian, it hasn't even been that long since we last met. Why are you speaking ill of me behind my back again?"
At that moment, a slightly mocking voice rang out from nearby. A youth dressed in snow-white robes, with a battered sword on his back, slowly walked out of the crowd.
Beside the youth stood an incomparably beautiful young woman, like a fairy descending into the mortal world, and a slovenly old man carrying a wine gourd and reeking of alcohol.
"Xiao Chen? Why is he here?"
"He's carrying a sword on his back. Has he really become a sword cultivator?"
"Who is that woman beside him? She's far too beautiful! She's even three parts more beautiful than the Ninth Princess!"
The crowd turned their heads and immediately erupted in cries of surprise.
When many people saw Lin Qingxian beside Xiao Chen, a flash of amazement passed through their eyes. They had never seen such an exquisitely beautiful woman in their lives. She simply did not seem like someone of this mortal world.
As it happened, Xiao Chen had originally come to Barren North City with Chou Wantian and Lin Qingxian to buy food. He had not expected to encounter Xiao Lingtian cursing him. Naturally, he could not tolerate that.
Xiao Zhentian and the others were slightly startled when they saw Xiao Chen. Yet when they sensed the sharp, piercing Sword Qi around him, delight immediately appeared in their eyes.
A sword cultivator!
Xiao Chen had truly become a sword cultivator!
Moreover, judging from the intensity of the Sword Qi around Xiao Chen, the Sword Dao talent he possessed was absolutely terrifying.
When Zhang Mohu saw Xiao Chen, however, resentment and killing intent flashed through his eyes.
He secretly stirred the blood and vitality throughout his body, intending to kill Xiao Chen before Xiao Zhentian could react. Even if Xiao Zhentian sought revenge afterward, he no longer cared. The hatred of having his son killed had to be avenged!
"Xiao Chen, you useless trash, you still dare show yourself? I'll kill you!"
But Xiao Lingtian, consumed by fury, struck before Zhang Mohu could. The instant he saw Xiao Chen, his eyes turned red. He leaped into the air and smashed a fist viciously toward Xiao Chen.
A terrifying aura instantly erupted. Xiao Lingtian shot forward like an arrow released from the bowstring.
His fist wind was razor-sharp!
Killing intent surged to the heavens!
He had used his full strength in this punch and was certain of victory. He simply did not believe Xiao Chen could have killed Zhang Youzhi.
In his view, some expert from Sword Immortal Academy must have secretly helped Xiao Chen at the time. Otherwise, how could Xiao Chen, having only just recovered his cultivation, possibly kill Zhang Youzhi?
Zhang Youzhi was someone even he could not kill!
"Damn, Xiao Lingtian actually launched a sneak attack?"
"That punch is terrifying. Even if Xiao Chen is a sword cultivator, he probably can't withstand it, right?"
"Definitely not. Sword cultivators don't have particularly strong bodies. If he doesn't have time to draw his sword, Xiao Chen is probably done for!"
The crowd immediately cried out in alarm.
A sword cultivator's combat strength was all concentrated in a single sword, while their physical body was not powerful. Xiao Lingtian, on the other hand, was a martial artist with a terrifying physique. With this punch, Xiao Chen might lose his life on the spot.
"Lingtian, stop at once!"
"Wait!"
Just as Xiao Zhentian was about to intervene, Zhang Qitian beside him reached out and stopped him.
"Senior, what do you mean by this?"
"Little friend Xiao Chen's body seems unusual. Xiao Lingtian cannot hurt him!"
At these words, a strange glint flashed through Xiao Zhentian's eyes as he turned to look at Xiao Chen.
After observing carefully, he discovered that apart from the threads of sharp Sword Qi surrounding Xiao Chen, Xiao Chen's blood and vitality were also extraordinarily vigorous. He did not resemble a sword cultivator with an ordinary physical body at all.
The strength of his body was even far greater than that of some martial artists who had trained their physiques bitterly for years.
What was going on?
"Die! Take my Tyrant Fist!"
In an instant, Xiao Lingtian had arrived before Xiao Chen, his fist smashing viciously toward Xiao Chen's head.
He was supremely confident that Xiao Chen could never withstand this punch and would be beaten to death on the spot.
Xiao Lingtian glanced at Xiao Chen, wanting to see even a trace of fear on his face. Yet he found Xiao Chen completely calm, with even the faintest hint of mockery at the corner of his lips.
A trace of doubt immediately arose in his eyes.
What was going on?
Yet just as he was racking his brains without finding an answer, Xiao Chen did not draw his sword. He simply threw a punch.
If it had been another sword cultivator, Xiao Lingtian might truly have ambushed them to death. But Xiao Chen possessed the Martial God Physique, and the strength of his body was equally monstrous. He had nothing to fear!
A sneer of contempt appeared on Xiao Lingtian's face.
You're a sword cultivator, yet instead of drawing your sword, you want to compete with me in physical strength? You're simply courting death!
Yet under Xiao Lingtian's astonished gaze, Xiao Chen's fist moved later yet arrived first, slamming directly into his chest.
"This... how is this possible?"
An indescribably terrifying force instantly pierced through Xiao Lingtian's body. Blood suddenly spilled from his mouth as he was hurled backward, crashing away with disbelief filling his eyes.
Before you continue