Xiao Yan fell silent. He had always been fairly confident in himself, but before this powerful man of sensitive status who could so easily see through him, he felt a sense of helplessness.
Whenever Liuli was by his side, she would praise his heaven-defying talent, saying he had the potential to become a great emperor. Even their meeting had come about because the girl had taken notice of his talent. Yet those had all been mere verbal praises. Xiao Yan himself remained utterly lost when it came to the road ahead.
He had been born into a second-rate clan in the Jia Ma Empire, a bottom-tier existence on the Dou Qi Continent. He simply could not compare to the broad horizons and resources possessed by those geniuses born into top-tier clans or factions. Had he not met Old Yao and Liuli, he would now be no more than a young prodigy with some renown in the Jia Ma Empire, and would never have risen to become someone capable of dominating a corner of the Northwest Region.
"I'm not saying this to discourage you." Seeing the dejection between Xiao Yan's brows, Gongsun Lin sighed softly and spoke with some melancholy. "I understand that girl is deeply in love with you. Her mind is pure, but she has never been wrong about people. If the two of you truly love each other, I will not oppose it. But you also know her current status, and you know that she is destined to stand atop the continent and lead the Sword Clan for at least several hundred years. If you cannot display strength or status comparable to hers, then not only the people of the Sword Clan—even outsiders—will inevitably spread gossip and raise objections. You may not care while you are both young