Break off the engagement? No, I dumped your whole family!

At this moment.

You could hear a pin drop!

Everyone looked like a duck with its neck throttled, eyes wide, their faces twisted into expressions of having seen a ghost!

Not far away, Liu Mingxuan, who had maintained an elegant smile all along, convinced that victory was in his grasp, saw his smile freeze completely! His powerful perception as a Fifth-Stage Qi Sea Realm cultivator made him understand more clearly than anyone just how terrifying that pressure had been!

Standing behind Chen Tianhao, Chen Ruoxi covered her mouth tightly with her small hands, barely managing to keep from screaming out loud!

In her cold, beautiful eyes, unprecedented waves of shock were surging!

Is this...

The man I always thought was trash, a pathetic sycophant...

My fiancé?

Lin Yuan slowly withdrew his hand, and that terrifying pressure vanished into thin air.

Chen Yu slumped to the ground like a pile of mud, gasping violently, his eyes filled with nothing but endless terror as he looked at Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan picked up a wine glass from a waiter's tray nearby, took a light sip, and turned his indifferent gaze toward Chen Tianhao, who had already turned ashen-faced.

"Now, do you still think that I, Lin Yuan, am not worthy of your Chen Family?"

Silence.

Dead silence.

Chen Tianhao's lips trembled, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Just when everyone thought that Lin Yuan would take this opportunity to ruthlessly humiliate the Chen Family and force the marriage back into his own hands, Lin Yuan set down his glass and shifted the tone of the conversation.

"However..."

"I, Lin Yuan, have never cared for forcing things."

"Since the Patriarch of the Chen Family finds this marriage inappropriate, then let it be annulled."

He stood up and, looking down from above, spoke slowly in a tone that sounded like a final verdict:

"From this day forward, your Chen Family and my Lin Family have no further connection."

Having said that, he didn't even glance at anyone else. He turned around and walked away, heading straight for the corner he had already set his sights on.

He left behind a room full of petrified guests and Chen Tianhao, whose face flickered between green and white, as if he had been slapped in the face hundreds of times in front of everyone.

Chen Tianhao's face was ashen. Having been thoroughly humiliated, he dared not say another word.

He watched Lin Yuan's retreating figure, a flash of embarrassment crossing his eyes.

Liu Mingxuan stood where he was, his brows tightly locked as he pondered how Lin Yuan's strength could be so unfathomable.

The pressure from just a moment ago had made even him feel a sense of trepidation; this was definitely not a power that an ordinary playboy could possess.

Inside the banquet hall, the air seemed to have frozen solid.

Everyone was stunned by Lin Yuan's dominance and sighed at the total loss of face for the Chen Family.

Lin Mengyao chuckled and followed after Lin Yuan, as if everything that had just happened was merely an insignificant interlude.

In a corner of the banquet hall, Chen Ruoxi's heart was filled with a whirlwind of emotions.

She possessed an exceptionally high talent for Refining and held a natural admiration for the strong.

The scene of Lin Yuan suppressing Chen Yu with a casual wave of his hand, along with that pressure that had made her soul tremble, made her realize that this was by no means the power of an ordinary playboy.

The dissatisfaction and contempt she had felt toward him were gone, replaced by a deep curiosity and a complex, indescribable emotion.

Especially after seeing him suppress her own brother with a single blow...

In her heart, an inexplicable feeling had actually emerged.

After all, she was usually looked down upon by her father and mocked by her brother at home.

Yet, Chen Ruoxi had always been one to bottle up all her emotions deep inside.

Today's events actually made her feel as though Lin Yuan had stood up for her!

She watched Lin Yuan's retreating back, hesitating for a moment.

In the end, she gathered her courage, lifted her skirt, and hurried to catch up.

"Lin... Lin Yuan!"

She called out to him softly.

Lin Yuan's footsteps paused, and he slowly turned around.

He looked at the slightly disheveled woman before him, his brows furrowing almost imperceptibly.

"Something the matter?"

His voice still carried a hint of languor.

Chen Ruoxi ran up to him, panting slightly.

She looked up, her cold, clear eyes holding a trace of complex emotion.

"Thank you... for today at the banquet."

She said softly.

Lin Yuan chuckled lightly upon hearing this. His smile carried a hint of playfulness and a touch of confusion.

"You're thanking me?"

He countered.

Chen Ruoxi was taken aback, momentarily at a loss for words.

She had not expected this reaction from Lin Yuan.

She had originally assumed he would enjoy her gratitude or perhaps even use the opportunity to say something. But Lin Yuan's reaction was completely beyond her expectations.

She paused, struggling to steady her emotions.

"About the engagement..."

She spoke softly, attempting to explain something.

When Lin Yuan heard her mention the "engagement," his brows furrowed once again.

He assumed she still wanted to pester him, and a sense of impatience immediately welled up in his heart.

He casually pulled an ancient-looking booklet from his robes and tossed it to Chen Ruoxi.

"A small gift for you."

Lin Yuan said indifferently, his tone carrying a touch of unquestionable coldness. "Don't pester me anymore in the future. As for the engagement, I, Lin Yuan, keep my word; it is already annulled, and there is no room for negotiation."

Having said that, he ignored Chen Ruoxi and walked straight toward a quiet area in the corner of the banquet hall.

Chen Ruoxi stood frozen in place, looking at the unremarkable ancient book in her hands, which bore four large characters on the cover: Artisan's Diagram.

At first, she didn't think much of it, assuming it was just something Lin Yuan had used to dismiss her. But after she casually flipped through a few pages, her delicate body trembled violently, and the calm on her face was instantly replaced by fanaticism!

This was no scrap of paper!

This was clearly a supreme method of Refining that had never been circulated in the world!

The concepts and techniques recorded within it far exceeded everything she had ever known!

She felt as if she had opened a door to an entirely new world!

"This... how is this possible?!"

Chen Ruoxi's breathing became rapid.

Her heartbeat thundered like a drum, and her eyes shimmered with an expression of disbelief. She clutched the Artisan's Diagram tightly, as if she were holding the most precious treasure in the world.

How could a book that Lin Yuan tossed aside so casually be a supreme method of Refining?

Could it be that he also possessed exceptional talent in the path of Refining?

How is that possible!!!

Chen Ruoxi was shocked to the core.

She felt as if she had discovered some incredible secret!

Just as Chen Ruoxi was trembling with excitement while holding the Artisan's Diagram, a system notification rang out in Lin Yuan's mind.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully sending Chen Ruoxi away and maintaining your career of lying flat!]

[Reward obtained: Heaven-grade peak-tier Refining technique: Great Profound Treasure Refining Art!]

On the other side, Chen Ruoxi treated the book like a priceless treasure.

She didn't even care about finishing the banquet; she immediately returned to the Chen Family, locked herself away, and studied the Artisan's Diagram day and night.

Over the next few days.

Chen Ruoxi stayed indoors, immersing herself every day in the surprises brought to her by the Artisan's Diagram.

Her path of Refining advanced by leaps and bounds. In just a few short days, she had broken through several bottlenecks, reaching a realm that even the family elders could only look up to.

She felt her Refining skills improving at an unprecedented speed.

The problems that had once troubled her were solved with ease in the face of this ancient text. Her Refining techniques became more refined, and her understanding of materials reached an entirely new height.

However, the members of the Chen Family turned a blind eye to her progress.

Because Chen Yu had lost face in front of Lin Yuan, he had nowhere to vent his anger, so he took it all out on Chen Ruoxi.

"You waste! You still dare to come back! You've brought nothing but shame to the family!"

The more Chen Yu thought about it, the more irritated he became. He pointed at Chen Ruoxi's nose and cursed, "To think you still have the nerve to cozy up to him—are you still hung up on your old flame? Delusional! You think you can turn your life around by relying on that waste Lin Yuan? Keep dreaming!"

He sneered and mocked her, his words filled with malice.

"Ruoxi, you have disappointed me too much!" Chen Tianhao said coldly. "Do you think you can change anything by holding onto some tattered book? You are only bringing disgrace to the family!"

Her father, Chen Tianhao, was also extremely dissatisfied with her taking a book from Lin Yuan.

Chen Ruoxi did not defend herself; she simply endured it all in silence.

She treated the angry rebukes of her father and brother as nothing more than wind passing by her ears, immersing herself every day in the Artisan's Diagram!