Divorce Letter

Ge Ye and Nalan Yanran froze. As they wondered what this meant, they saw Xiao Zhan carefully remove the stopper from the smooth jade vial.

As a breeze swept through the hall, a faint medicinal fragrance far superior to the Ju Qi San on the table spread throughout the reception hall.

Unlike the rich scent of Ju Qi San, which refreshed the mind, this medicinal fragrance was more subtle, seemingly there yet not there, as though it had melted into the wind. At first, it gave no noticeable sensation, but after a moment, everyone felt that merely breathing in the fragrance had set the Dou Qi within their bodies circulating.

Ge Ye and Nalan Yanran's eyes widened at once.

This was not a treasure a family like the Xiao Family could possess.

Compared to it, let alone ten or twenty Ju Qi San pills, even a hundred or a thousand of them would not equal the item in Xiao Zhan's jade vial.

Yet compared to this sudden treasure, Nalan Yanran cared more about her marriage.

"Why?"

The moment she heard Xiao Yan refuse, Nalan Yanran could no longer sit still. Could it be that he was the sort who liked to cling on endlessly?

Xiao Yan calmly asked, "Miss Nalan, may I ask whether Elder Nalan agreed to this matter of breaking off the engagement today?"

Nalan Yanran stood and gazed at the youth who should have become her husband. Her voice was soft and even. "Grandfather did not agree, but this is my affair. It has nothing to do with him."

"Since the old master has not spoken, then please forgive me, but my father will not agree to your request either. The engagement was arranged personally by the elders of both families. Since neither of them has spoken of dissolving it, no one dares break it off."

Xiao Yan spoke coldly.

"You..." Nalan Yanran was stunned by Xiao Yan cutting her off repeatedly, yet she could find no words to refute him. Her pretty face turned slightly livid with anger, and she stomped her foot hard.

She took a breath. The Young Miss temper she had developed from years of being indulged flared up, and she stared at the youth before her with disdain.

Irritated, she laid everything bare. "What exactly will it take for you to agree to dissolve the engagement? Do you think the compensation is too little? Fine. Forget Ju Qi San—even pills better than the one in your family can be produced by our Misty Cloud Sect!"

"Besides, if you are willing, I can even let you enter the Misty Cloud Sect to study profound Dou Qi techniques. How about it? Is that enough now?"

Nalan Yanran had thought Xiao Yan refused only because he found the offer too small. If so, she could simply give him more.

But what she did not know was that after she spoke, contrary to what she had expected, the youth before her suddenly began to tremble violently. He slowly raised his head, and in an instant, his black eyes tinged with red were filled with savagery.

After two years of silence, he had returned. Xiao Yan's talent had now come back. Though he had endured endless ridicule over those two years, he had made it through.

But Nalan Yanran's lofty, charity-like behavior had ruthlessly trampled upon the last remaining bottom line hidden in Xiao Yan's heart.

Nalan Yanran was startled by the savagery in Xiao Yan's eyes and took half a step back.

Ge Ye also sprang to his feet, for he sensed the Dou Qi fluctuations Xiao Yan was releasing.

This was... the aura of a Dou Zhe!

At the very least, a One-star Dou Zhe!

Wait, what was going on? Hadn't it long been rumored that Xiao Yan's cultivation had been stuck at the third stage of Dou Qi, unable to advance even an inch?

Why was he a Dou Zhe upon seeing him today?

Realizing that the situation was gradually exceeding expectations, Ge Ye hurriedly looked toward Nalan Yanran. But how could Nalan Yanran notice his signal now?

This was bad. Very bad.

As a steward of the Misty Cloud Sect, Ge Ye immediately sensed trouble.

Someone who could break through to become a Dou Zhe at such a young age even in an environment like the Xiao Family—how formidable would he become in the future?

Yet neither Nalan Yanran nor the young man following behind her noticed this.

That young man even drew his longsword, pointing its tip directly at Xiao Yan.

"Miss Nalan Yanran, you make it sound so easy."

"Xiao Yan, although I do not know why my actions have made you so furious, let us still dissolve the engagement!"

Nalan Yanran let out a soft breath and calmed herself from her earlier fright. Her expression darkened slightly as she spoke.

"Remember this: my coming to the Xiao Family was personally approved by my teacher, the sect master of the Misty Cloud Sect!"

Pursing her lips, Nalan Yanran tilted her head slightly and said helplessly, "You may take this as coercion, but you should understand that reality is like this. Nothing is absolutely fair."

"You still do not understand why I am so angry, Nalan Yanran."

Xiao Yan sneered. What he despised most was her attitude of looking down on others as though judging them from above.

"Miss Nalan, you should know how humiliating it is on the Dou Qi Continent when the woman breaks off an engagement. Heh, I have thick skin, so it does not matter much to me. But my father! He is the head of a clan. If he truly agreed to your request today, how could he lead the Xiao Family in the future? How could he continue to stand in Wutan City?"

"What happened today was indeed somewhat rash of Yanran. Today, I can temporarily withdraw my request to dissolve the engagement, but I need you to agree to one condition!"

"Speak."

"I can postpone today's request for three years. Three years from now, you will come to the Misty Cloud Sect and challenge me. If you lose, I will publicly dissolve the engagement. By then, you should have completed your family's coming-of-age ceremony, so even if you lose, Uncle Xiao will not be too greatly humiliated. Do you dare accept?"

"Why would I not dare?!"

Xiao Yan stirred his Dou Qi, and the aura belonging to a Dou Zhe instantly filled the entire reception hall.

Nalan Yanran's expression changed slightly. This did not match the information she had received. Wasn't Xiao Yan still stuck at the third stage of Dou Qi?

Or had the rumors been false?

"I first became a Dou Zhe at twelve. Then I was silent for two years, before spending another year becoming a Dou Zhe once more."

Xiao Yan's gaze burned, and his meaning needed no further explanation.

"Hmph. Then we shall speak again in three years. If you lose, hand over the engagement contract to me!"

"Heh. There is no need to wait three years. I have no interest in you either."

Xiao Yan sneered, then rapidly wrote on the table, drafting a Divorce Letter. He then drew a short blade, sliced open his palm, and left a bloody handprint upon the white paper.

Xiao Yan lightly pinched the document between his fingers and gave a cold laugh. As he passed before Nalan Yanran, he slammed it heavily onto the table.

"Do not think I, Xiao Yan, care so much about having some genius wife like you. This document is not an agreement to dissolve our engagement. It is proof that this young master is casting you out of the Xiao Family!"

"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Never mock a young man's poverty!"