Breaking Off the Engagement

The moon hung like a jade disk, and stars glittered across the sky.

Yu Tianjiao lay atop the canopy of a towering tree in the back hills of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. A blade of foxtail grass dangled from his mouth, and a faint excitement glittered in his eyes.

Tomorrow, he would be able to resume cultivating Soul Power normally. The Soul Power he had accumulated through three years of cultivation would be returned to him day by day as he trained.

When that happened, he would need only a year to cover the ground that had once taken him six!

"Tianjiao, still thinking about the test?"

An aged voice sounded gently beside him.

Yu Tianjiao didn't need to turn around to know it was the man who cared for him most in the whole family: the clan leader of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, Yu Yuanzhen.

"Old man, I've put you through a lot these past three years."

Yu Tianjiao stood up and spoke with a trace of apology.

Back then, he had crossed over into this world as an infant and nearly knocked the old man unconscious when he landed on him.

Yu Yuanzhen had already been a Titled Douluo at the time. On top of that, he possessed the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, a top-tier Beast Martial Soul that greatly enhanced its wielder's physical attributes. Getting headbutted by a tiny, cherubic baby had truly been beyond belief.

Thinking the child and he were fated to meet, Yu Yuanzhen had taken him back to the clan. Though he had named him after his grandsons, Yu Tianheng and Yu Tianxin, he had in truth raised him as his own son.

So while outsiders assumed Yu Tianjiao was Yu Tianheng and Yu Tianxin's younger brother, everyone in the clan knew the truth: Yu Tianjiao was Yu Yuanzhen's adopted son, the younger brothers' uncle, and the younger brother of Yu Tianheng's father and Yu Xiaogang.

In any case, Yu Tianjiao was the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's Third Young Master.

It was just that the family's seniority was a little muddled.

Besides, Yu Tianjiao didn't want to put on airs as an elder in front of people his own age. So he simply treated his four older brothers, whose seniority was just as muddled, as they each saw fit. At home, he was Yu Tianheng and Yu Tianxin's uncle; outside, he was their younger brother.

As for Yu Xiaogang, who had long since left the clan, the family had invited him back to examine Yu Tianjiao when his Soul Power began to regress. But the truth was plain: that good-for-nothing "Grandmaster," who had cobbled together the theories of the sages by relying on other people's work and ended up with the fraudulent "Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul," had been completely helpless.

He hadn't even solved the problem with his own Martial Soul. How could he possibly solve Yu Tianjiao's?

"Child, anyone would feel awful in your situation. But you insisted that you'd sealed your own Soul Power, and kept talking about how, once your three-year agreement was up, the Dragon King would return. You were always saying things just to comfort us."

Yu Yuanzhen looked helplessly at the boy he had raised as his youngest son. The child was so sensible that it broke his heart.

"Don't you always say I'm a divine child who fell from the heavens?"

Yu Tianjiao replied with a beaming smile.

"That's right. Even now, I still believe it. It's just that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect may no longer be willing to wait for you. I raised you with my own hands, so of course I believe what you said about the three-year agreement, but on their side..."

Yu Yuanzhen sighed, his voice tinged with helplessness.

"It's fine. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has treated me decently these past three years. It was Rongrong who offered to wait for me, so I'd still like to hear what she thinks.

"Besides, even if our families can't become in-laws, their cooperation should still go ahead. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect needs powerful Soul Masters to protect it, and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan needs a top-tier support like them at its back. Only then can we stand undefeated."

Yu Tianjiao waved a hand, not particularly concerned.

Compared with Ning Rongrong, he was far more interested in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect as a whole.

Besides, after spending these past few years together, he had long since seen through that little girl.

Once he regained his strength, she'd regret it.

But by then, getting back together with him wouldn't be so easy. The system might be the Xiao Yan Life Simulator, but he wasn't actually Xiao Yan.

Ning Rongrong was pretty, had the right background, and was talented. He could take her as a maid and train her properly.

"But tomorrow is your birthday..."

Yu Yuanzhen watched Yu Tianjiao's carefree manner, but couldn't help feeling a pang in his heart.

In his eyes, even if Yu Tianjiao never made another bit of progress in his life, he would still be his adopted son.

As long as the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was willing to honor the engagement, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan would continue to stand with them. At worst, they could assign Yu Tianjiao a guard squad led by a Soul Douluo.

"Heh, I'm actually kind of curious. Tomorrow will be the first day after the Three-Year Agreement ends, and it's my birthday too. Is she really going to come here tomorrow and break off the engagement?"

Yu Tianjiao said with a carefree grin.

His so-called birthday was the day he had arrived in Douluo Continent and headbutted Yu Yuanzhen.

Seeing him react like that, Yu Yuanzhen assumed he was still forcing himself to keep calm, when in truth he must be hurting badly. He couldn't help feeling sorry for the sensible boy.

Little did he know, Yu Tianjiao was already itching to shout, "Don't Bully the Young and Poor!"

"Fine. Get some rest early. Maybe Ning Rongrong will just come to celebrate your birth—"

Yu Yuanzhen started to reassure him, but the words caught in his throat before he could finish.

Even he didn't believe what he was saying!

"Mm. You should get some rest too, old man. You're getting on in years, and staying up late isn't good for you."

Yu Tianjiao said with a smile.

"Brat, I'm a Titled Douluo, at least. What's one night without sleep?"

Yu Yuanzhen replied with an exasperated chuckle.

The next day.

Ning Rongrong, the young sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, visited the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan accompanied by the sect's Grand Elder, Sword Douluo Chen Xin.

When Yu Tianjiao, who had cultivated Soul Power all night, arrived at the ceremonial hall, only six people were inside.

Yu Yuanzhen, Yu Luomian, and an unnamed son of each of theirs, along with Sword Douluo Chen Xin, who looked like an immortal in his flowing white robes and stood tall and straight, and Yu Tianjiao's fiancée, Ning Rongrong.

There was an empty seat beside Ning Rongrong, reserved for him.

Though Ning Rongrong was only twelve, cultivating Soul Power seemed to come with a growth-spurt effect. The girl already stood five foot three.

Setting aside her Demon Pill personality, she was indeed a lovely young woman, with a pretty face, an elegant white dress, and the refined air of someone born into a distinguished family.

Yu Tianjiao first bowed to Chen Xin, the powerful Titled Douluo, then walked over and plopped down beside Ning Rongrong.

Sensing that Yu Tianjiao's Soul Power was still as weak as ever, the last glimmer of hope in Ning Rongrong's eyes faded completely.

Three years had passed, and her Tianjiao brother was still...

"Now that Tianjiao is here, there's no need to beat around the bush. Let's get straight to the point."

Three years had passed, yet Tianjiao's Soul Power hadn't recovered. It had actually regressed all the way to rank three.

Rongrong needed a powerful Soul Master who could protect her. Tianjiao could no longer do that.

Therefore, I hope to dissolve the engagement between them.

Sword Douluo Chen Xin rose to his feet and spoke expressionlessly.

Beside him, Ning Rongrong lowered her head and bit her lip, a conflicted look appearing in her eyes.

Though her Tianjiao brother was now an ordinary person, his Soul Power stuck at rank three with no hope of progress, the dazzling impression he had made when they first met still came back to her often.

But neither her father nor her two grandfathers wanted her to give her feelings to a boy with no future. And... she herself didn't want to watch the once powerful, charming boy fall further and further behind her.

They were destined to become people from two different worlds.

They were no longer suited to be together.

Even if he had once been the bright moon she'd admired most.

She only hoped he wouldn't cling to her over this. If he did, she would be very disappointed in him.

She had already decided that, once the engagement was settled, she would go out and clear her head. She had found out about a place called Shrek Academy. Supposedly, it only accepted monsters, which sounded like it would be a lot of fun!