Breaking Off the Engagement?

"Damn Qin Feng! I, the princess, will tear you limb from limb!"

After returning to the foreign envoys' lodge, Princess Nanfeng was so furious she smashed everything in sight. She had never suffered such a grievance or humiliation in her entire life.

"I underestimated Qin Feng. I never thought he'd be so arrogant!"

Fang Chang was burning with anger too, but he did his best to keep his emotions in check.

He was reviewing the reasons for their failure...

He had assumed that since Qin Feng had even dared to dig out his own younger brother's Supreme Bone, he would have no hesitation about killing Zhu Tou when Zhu Tou came to provoke him.

It would have been even better if a few more scions of noble families had died. Then, once they returned, he could openly promote a few talented commoners, using one knife to kill another and framing Qin Feng, stirring up the noble families' hatred toward him.

But what he had never expected was that Qin Feng would hold back when he should have been arrogant, then go completely overboard when he shouldn't. He had even dared to kill a princess of the Great Xia delegation in broad daylight. It was beyond anything Fang Chang had anticipated.

"What do we do now?!"

Once Princess Nanfeng had calmed down, she asked what they should do next.

Ever since Qin Feng had revealed his complete form seven years ago, her father had been unable to sleep at night, afraid that Qin Feng would grow powerful enough to help the Yin Moon Dynasty destroy the Great Xia Royal Family.

So, besides weakening the noble families, her mission on this trip to the Yin Moon Dynasty was to seize the opportunity to kill Qin Feng and strengthen her standing in her father's eyes.

But Qin Feng rarely left the Moon God Palace. Whenever he did go out, those young ladies protected him, and the Moon God kept watch over him at all times. Killing him in the Yin Moon Dynasty was harder than climbing to heaven.

Fang Chang fell silent for a moment before saying, "I heard Qin Feng will take part in the Death Elimination Tournament."

"No!"

Princess Nanfeng rejected the idea without a moment's thought.

The Death Elimination Tournament would let them kill Qin Feng openly, and the Six Paths Imperial Sovereign would gladly agree to Student of Heaven's Son taking part, given the chance to weaken Great Xia.

But she had felt Qin Feng's strength firsthand that very day. It was terrifying—enough to leave anyone gasping for breath.

And besides, Qin Feng wouldn't be the only one competing. There would be countless other cultivators,

and every one of them would have to fight for their lives.

"We'll talk about the Death Elimination Tournament later!"

Fang Chang changed the subject. "Before I came to the Yin Moon Dynasty as an envoy, I left myself another card to play. I can drive a wedge between the Qin Lineage and Heavenly Heart City."

"You mean..."

Princess Nanfeng seemed to realize what he was getting at, and a knowing smile spread across her face.

Besides using Student of Heaven's Son to scheme against the noble families, Fang Chang had also been doing everything he could to sow discord between them. After seven years of plotting, cracks had already begun to appear between the families.

The Qin Lineage.

Lin Xin'er, the Little Princess of Heavenly Heart City, had brought a group of experts to pay a visit—or, more precisely, to break off her engagement to the Qin family.

Seven years ago, her father, Lin Hao, had betrothed her to Qin Hao entirely because Qin Hao possessed the Supreme Bone, his father was the head of the Qin Lineage, his mother was the former Holy Maiden of Mount Taibai Immortal, and his older brother had Emperor's Talent.

But now, Qin Hao's Supreme Bone had been dug out, his father had been stripped of his position as head of the family, and his older brother had defected to the Yin Moon Dynasty. In the seven years since, Qin Hao's cultivation had remained utterly ordinary.

By contrast, she was the Little Princess of Heavenly Heart City and had even become a Student of Heaven's Son. How could she willingly marry Qin Hao, a good-for-nothing?

After Fang Chang had spent so long deliberately planting the idea in her mind that a woman should take her happiness into her own hands and pursue the love she deserved, she finally acted on it.

Without informing her father, Lin Hao, she had brought a group of royal experts to the Qin family to break off the engagement.

"Break off the engagement?!"

Qin Tian's expression darkened in an instant. He nearly lost control of the primordial fury within him.

For a noble family, face mattered more than anything. And to have the woman's side come to their door to end the engagement was a blatant slap in the Qin family's face.

If word got out, how could the Qin family ever hold its head high among the noble families again?

Besides, his son Qin Hao wasn't truly a good-for-nothing. He had only endured and sacrificed for the sake of making the Qin family stronger.

"That's right. I'm breaking off the engagement!"

Lin Xin'er wasn't the least bit afraid.

In the past, Heavenly Heart City alone might have had reason to fear the Qin family's strength. But now she was a Student of Heaven's Son, with the imperial clan backing her. With both forces behind her, she had no reason to fear the Qin family.

"Impudent!"

Qin Tian slammed his palm on the table and rose to his feet. An overwhelming aura surged from him.

"Not good!"

The royal experts' expressions changed sharply. They hurriedly shielded Lin Xin'er behind them.

But Qin Tian was far too powerful. Even together, they could barely hold him back.

"What do we do now?!"

A trace of panic crossed Lin Xin'er's face. She clearly hadn't considered that things might come to this.

Just then—

A youthful yet resolute voice rang out. "Father, can I decide my own marriage?"

Everyone turned toward the hall's entrance and saw a young man with sharp brows and bright eyes. He stood tall and straight, his muscles bulging, already beginning to take on the traits of a Fierce Beast. His eyes held a resolve beyond anything an ordinary person could imagine.

It was Qin Hao. He was twelve years old that year.

Clearly, he had grown a great deal over the past seven years. Most of all, when faced with the broken engagement, his composure never wavered.

"Hao'er, what brings you here?!"

Qin Tian withdrew his pressure, unable to hide the look of pain on his face.

Both his sons had suffered cruel fates. His eldest had shouldered the family's infamy and struck out alone in a foreign land. His younger son had endured the pain of his body and the unimaginable hardships of his daily cultivation. Now the woman's family had come to break off his engagement and humiliate him.

And as their father, he could do nothing.

Qin Hao looked Lin Xin'er straight in the eye and said calmly, "I remember my big brother telling me something when I was little: 'Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Don't bully a young man for being poor.' I may be a cripple now, but that doesn't mean I can't rise again."

"Is that so?"

The scene just now had frightened Lin Xin'er. She forced herself to stay calm and said, "Fine. Let's meet in the imperial capital in three years. If you lose, you'll dissolve the engagement in public. How about that?"

"Why make it so complicated if you want to end the engagement?"

Qin Hao strode straight to the table and briskly wrote out a letter of repudiation.

"You—you dare to divorce me?!"

Lin Xin'er's eyes widened in disbelief. She seriously wondered whether she was still dreaming.

In Qin Hao's current situation, with no one in the family caring for him, he actually had the nerve to repudiate her, the Little Princess of Heavenly Heart City?

Didn't he know that his only value to the Qin family was his engagement to her, the Little Princess of Heavenly Heart City?

"See you in the imperial capital in three years!"

Qin Hao's eyes shone with determination. He feared no challenge.

"Hao'er!"

Qin Tian was so moved that tears streamed down his face. He knew that his second son's heart of invincibility had taken shape. Now, he only needed to break through the ruins and rise again to reclaim his place among the Supreme.

He couldn't help thinking of his eldest son, Qin Feng, too. He wondered if anyone was bullying him out there on his own.

The Moon God Palace.

"Keep the music playing! Keep dancing!"

Qin Feng felt none of the pressure of the college entrance exams. He was busy teaching the young ladies to dance in ancient-style costumes.

Just then—

One of the young ladies brought him a piece of intelligence about his younger brother's engagement being broken off.

"Pfft—she broke off the engagement?!"

Qin Feng nearly spat blood. This plot was way too damn familiar.

But hadn't he already dug out his second brother's Supreme Bone? How had the broken-engagement trope shown up again? Were they stacking buffs or something?!

And when had he ever said, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Don't bully a young man for being poor"? What he'd actually said was, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Let the dead rest in peace"—wasn't it...?