Liu Ruyan had clearly not considered this possibility.
She only felt utterly refreshed from head to toe after breaking off her engagement with Qin Anlan.
At that moment, she was already immersed in the sudden joy.
Aside from being a little more handsome than Senior Brother Ye Qingyun, having a slightly better family background than Senior Brother Ye, and possessing slightly greater talent and cultivation than Senior Brother Ye—
He was nothing in every other regard.
Everything Qin Anlan had was merely because he had been born into the right womb.
Whether in bearing or temperament, he was not even one-tenth as good as Senior Brother Ye Qingyun.
A lickspittle was destined to remain a lickspittle.
In the end, he would still be left with nothing.
Qin Anlan simply stood there quietly without saying much.
Just then, a system notification suddenly sounded in his mind.
"Ding! It has been detected that the host has had his engagement broken off. System mission activated."
"Mission: Reclaim everything given to the Liu Family, strip Liu Ruyan of her Spiritual Root, Spiritual Bone, and Spiritual Blood, and, before the many forces of the Heavenly Flame Empire, forcefully destroy the entire Liu Family."
"Mission reward unknown. If the mission fails, the host will forever bear the label of lickspittle."
The system mission had come at precisely the right time.
It also suited Qin Anlan's intentions.
At last, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Qin Anlan's lips.
Since Qin Anlan had agreed to break off the engagement, Liu Ruyan had achieved her goal as well.
In high spirits, she turned and prepared to leave.
"Since Miss Liu wishes to break off the engagement, then please return in full all the gifts this Young Lord gave you in the past."
Just then, Qin Anlan's cold and ruthless voice rang out once more.
It brought Liu Ruyan's departing footsteps to a halt.
Take back the gifts he had given before?
Liu Ruyan's expression turned ugly to the extreme.
Family, who understood this?
This lickspittle actually wanted to take back the gifts he had given.
Qin Anlan really was harboring evil intentions.
All those things he had given her in the past had merely been a means to win her over.
Qin Anlan's ultimate goal had still been to obtain Liu Ruyan's body.
After failing to get her, Qin Anlan had flown into a rage out of humiliation and wanted to take back everything he had given her.
What a disgusting man!
He was a thoroughly disgusting man.
Liu Ruyan's expression had become ugly to the extreme.
The way she looked at Qin Anlan was filled with contempt.
"This storage ring contains everything you gave me. I'm returning it all to you now."
"From this day onward, neither of us owes the other anything."
Liu Ruyan pulled off the storage ring on her hand and expressionlessly tossed it at Qin Anlan's feet.
Qin Anlan could not even be bothered to give those things a proper glance.
Compared to the many precious items Qin Anlan had given Liu Ruyan—
What Liu Ruyan had thrown out was merely a drop in the ocean, not worth mentioning.
"I recall giving you far more than this. Where are the two Heaven-Seizing Fortune Pills that could alter one's aptitude?"
"Where is the blood of the seventh-rank divine beast, Fire Phoenix?"
"Where is the Bone-Severing Finger, the treasured artifact of Divine Marquis of Zhenguo's Estate?"
"And where is the Heavenly Firmament Academy disciple slot?"
As Qin Anlan's words rang out, Liu Ruyan's expression grew increasingly ugly, turning ashen.
Everything Qin Anlan had mentioned had long since been used by Liu Ruyan.
The Fortune Pills had been used by the Liu Family's two ancestors yesterday, successfully helping both of them break through to the Emperor Realm.
The blood of the seventh-rank divine beast Fire Phoenix had long been exchanged with Liu Ruyan's own blood.
It was precisely because she possessed Fire Phoenix's blood that Liu Ruyan had forged her current Phoenix Flame Divine Body.
As for the Bone-Severing Finger, the treasured artifact of Divine Marquis of Zhenguo's Estate, it had already been refined by Liu Ruyan, allowing her to cultivate a Spiritual Root.
With these two great foundations, Liu Ruyan's future path of cultivation would be smooth and level, free of any bottlenecks.
She might even advance by leaps and bounds, traveling a thousand miles in a day.
Heavenly Firmament Academy was one of the Heavenly Flame Empire's top powers, only slightly inferior to Divine Marquis of Zhenguo's Estate.
Its requirements for accepting disciples were exceptionally harsh.
Given Liu Ruyan's talent and strength, she originally had no qualifications whatsoever to enter Heavenly Firmament Academy.
It was Qin Anlan who had used his connections to secure a slot for Liu Ruyan.
In three years, the reason the Liu Family had risen from an insignificant minor force to a second-rate Lineage—
Could be entirely attributed to the assistance of Qin Anlan and Divine Marquis of Zhenguo's Estate.
They wanted to burn the bridge after crossing the river and remove the ladder after climbing onto the roof.
How could it be that easy?
"Why have you stopped talking? Or are you left speechless?"
"You... I..."
Liu Ruyan stammered, having no idea what to say.
The items had already been used by her and the Liu Family. It was impossible to return them all.
"Qin Anlan, don't you love me?"
"The one I like is Senior Brother Ye Qingyun, and the only person I will marry is Senior Brother Ye Qingyun."
"If you love someone, you should let them live well and fulfill their wishes. If you truly love me, then fulfill my wish to be with Senior Brother Ye Qingyun."
Liu Ruyan still showed no remorse, speaking those words with complete righteousness.
Yet the moment Liu Ruyan said those words, Qin Anlan's figure flashed.
At some unknown moment, he had already appeared before Liu Ruyan.
He looked down at her expressionlessly.
"What did you say?"
"I didn't hear you clearly. Sorry for the trouble, say it again."
Qin Anlan's words carried undisguised killing intent.
The sudden change startled Liu Ruyan badly.
After taking a deep breath and regaining her composure, she still held her head high and shamelessly said, "I said..."
Slap!
Before Liu Ruyan could say anything else—
A crisp slap rang out.
The tremendous force sent Liu Ruyan flying.
Liu Ruyan spun once through the air before crashing headfirst into the ground, landing face-first in the dirt.
Bang!
Another dull thud rang out.
After hitting the ground, Liu Ruyan was instantly reduced to a miserable state.
There were even obvious traces of blood at the corner of her lips.
A distinct handprint had appeared on her formerly fair cheek.
"You... you actually dared to hit me?"
Liu Ruyan raised her head, her eyes wide with fury and disbelief.
Was this still that lickspittle who used to scamper after her, endlessly groveling at her feet?
The stinging pain on her cheek left Liu Ruyan feeling utterly incredulous.
Tu Xiu, who stood beside Qin Anlan, was already secretly overjoyed.
His Young Lord had finally risen.
When dealing with this kind of shameless woman, he should slap her hard.
Saying that if you loved someone, you should let them go. That you should fulfill their wishes.
It was all fucking dogshit.
It would have been one thing if this shameless woman simply did not want to stay with Young Lord.
But she had taken and consumed all manner of things from Young Lord, while her entire family had been sucking Young Lord's blood.
After fattening themselves up, they had the nerve to tell Young Lord to let go willingly.
He had seen shameless people before, but never anyone as brazen and thick-skinned as Liu Ruyan.
"I already said it. If you want to settle things cleanly, it's simple. Return everything this Young Lord invested in you, principal and interest included."
A faint sneer appeared on Qin Anlan's lips, though he was also somewhat astonished inwardly.
He had only used one slap, without much force behind it.
An ordinary mortal body should not have been able to withstand it.
He had no idea how many good things Liu Ruyan had eaten from him for her body to be this tough.
The fact that Liu Ruyan had survived meant she should thank Qin Anlan for his help.
No!
She should thank the original owner, that lickspittle Qin Anlan.
"Hit me? Qin Anlan, you actually dared to hit me!"
"If you don't give me an explanation today, I, Liu Ruyan, will never let this go."
That damned lickspittle actually dared to hit her.
Unable to have her, he had flown into a rage out of humiliation.
With Qin Anlan's petty bearing, he was not even worthy of carrying shoes for her Senior Disciple Brother Ye Qingyun.
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