Breaking Off the Engagement

The next morning.

Not long after Xiao Feng had finished washing up, Steward Mo arrived at the courtyard where he was staying. By order of the clan leader, he brought him to the reception hall.

The reception hall was spacious inside, already crowded with dozens of people. Most were influential members of the Xiao Family, along with some outstanding disciples.

Xiao Zhan sat in the central seat of honor. The three figures seated to his left were the Xiao Family's Three Great Elders, while the three figures on his right were presumably the distinguished guests Steward Mo had mentioned.

The white-robed elder at their head had narrow eyes and a perpetually smiling expression as he chatted amiably with Xiao Zhan.

A silver crescent moon was embroidered on his chest, surrounded by seven small stars, signifying that his cultivation had reached the Seven Star Great Dou Shi realm—two stars higher than Xiao Zhan's.

Beside the white-robed elder sat a young man and woman. The man appeared to be around twenty, handsome and upright in bearing, with five golden stars embroidered on his chest, marking him as a Five Star Dou Zhe.

However, the one who truly drew attention was the White-robed Maiden, who appeared to be around Xiao Feng's age.

She was exceptionally beautiful, even more so than Xiao Mei. Looking across the entire Xiao Family, only Xiao Xun'er could rival her.

Three small golden stars were embroidered on the girl's already well-developed chest, indicating that she was a Three Star Dou Zhe.

Xiao Feng's arrival also drew everyone's attention, and the White-robed Maiden's gaze toward him seemed somewhat complicated.

"Father, Three Elders."

After withdrawing his gaze from the White-robed Maiden, Xiao Feng cupped his hands and bowed to Xiao Zhan and the others.

"Feng'er, you're finally here. Come, sit down!"

Seeing his outstandingly handsome and imposing son arrive, Xiao Zhan hurriedly stopped speaking with the guests and smiled as he beckoned him over.

Xiao Feng smiled and nodded, then walked over and took the empty seat beside the Three Great Elders.

After taking his seat, Xiao Feng swept his gaze around the hall and soon noticed Xiao Xun'er and Xiao Yan sitting in the corner. He smiled and nodded at them.

"Cousin Xun'er, my brother's fiancée isn't inferior to you in looks or temperament~"

Xiao Yan first gave Xiao Feng a slight nod in response, then teased, "And my future sister-in-law is the young sect leader of the Misty Cloud Sect. Don't you feel a mountain of pressure?"

"If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute!"

Xiao Xun'er, who had been flipping through a book, paused slightly and shot Xiao Yan an irritated glare.

Although Xiao Yan looked very much like Xiao Feng, Xiao Xun'er held no fondness for him.

Normally, with a Dou Emperor expert serving as her bodyguard, Xiao Xun'er would never have needed to worry about anyone breaking into her bedroom.

However, Ling Ying had happened to leave that night on business—searching for fragments of the Tou She Ancient God Jade—and the child flame of the Golden Emperor Burning Flame within Xiao Xun'er had been restless, leaving her weak all over and completely unable to resist.

Had Xiao Feng not stopped Xiao Yan in time, Xiao Xun'er might have been taken advantage of by him.

Especially after Xiao Yan had later peeked at Cousin Xiao Yu bathing and been chased by the furious, humiliated Xiao Yu for most of the day, Xiao Xun'er became even more convinced that he was a lecher.

Xiao Xun'er only spoke to Xiao Yan on ordinary days out of consideration for Xiao Feng. Otherwise, she would never have given Xiao Yan a pleasant look!

Although Xiao Xun'er did not regard Nalan Yanran as a threat at all, she was still Xiao Feng's official fiancée. Her innate advantage was simply too great.

At that moment, Xiao Xun'er dearly wished she could dig Xiao Feng's already dead grandfather out of his grave and whip his corpse.

You old fool, why did you have to play around with that betrothal by prenatal agreement nonsense?

Just as Xiao Xun'er gritted her teeth in anger, the white-robed elder finally revealed the true purpose of their visit under Nalan Yanran's urging gaze.

"Cough, cough!"

The white-robed elder coughed twice, then cupped his hands toward Xiao Zhan. "Clan Leader Xiao, to be honest, we have come to your esteemed residence today to ask for a favor."

"..."

Xiao Zhan was slightly taken aback, then smiled. "Please speak, Mister Ge Ye. So long as it is within the Xiao Family's capabilities, we certainly will not refuse."

"Presumably, Clan Leader Xiao has already guessed that this is Miss Nalan Yanran, the young sect leader of our Misty Cloud Sect."

"How true that girls change as they grow! Niece Nalan, when Uncle Xiao last saw you, you were only a three-year-old child. Who would have thought you would grow into such a lovely young lady? I almost didn't recognize you."

Clearly very satisfied with Nalan Yanran as his future daughter-in-law, Xiao Zhan praised her with a beaming smile. "A few years ago, I heard that Sect Leader Yun of the Misty Cloud Sect had taken you as a Personal Disciple. Niece, you truly have exceptional talent!"

"You flatter me, Uncle Xiao. Yanran was merely lucky."

Nalan Yanran smiled awkwardly, finding Xiao Zhan's enthusiasm somewhat overwhelming. She secretly tugged at Elder Ge Ye's sleeve.

"Clan Leader Xiao, the matter I seek today concerns Yanran, and it was personally instructed by the sect leader."

Elder Ge Ye paused halfway through his words before continuing, "The sect leader has very high expectations for Yanran and is grooming her entirely as the next sect leader.

"Our Misty Cloud Sect has a rule that before a sect leader's successor formally becomes sect leader, they cannot devote too much energy to matters between men and women.

"Therefore, after learning that Yanran and the Xiao Family still had a betrothal by prenatal agreement, the sect leader ho... hopes Clan Leader Xiao will agree to dissolve this engagement."

!!!

The smile on Xiao Zhan's face instantly froze, and the jade teacup in his hand turned into a handful of powder.

The entire reception hall fell silent. Then, everyone fixed Ge Ye and the others with furious stares.

Unlike Xiao Yan, Xiao Feng had been exceptionally sensible since childhood. Not only was he incredibly gifted in cultivation, but he also respected his elders and cared for the young.

Every so often, Xiao Feng would hold a cultivation forum, gathering the younger generation of the clan to discuss the various problems they encountered in their cultivation.

During these forums, Xiao Feng would share his cultivation insights without reservation while carefully helping other clansmen resolve the problems they encountered in their practice.

Moreover, Xiao Feng was gentle and amiable in his dealings with others. In all these years, he had lost his temper fewer than ten times in total.

Most of those occasions had been because someone bullied Xiao Yan, so his prestige and standing within the Xiao Family were extremely high.

In the eyes of the Xiao Family, Xiao Feng was a once-in-a-century prodigy. Yet Nalan Yanran had come to break off their engagement—this was simply an insult to the entire Xiao Family!

Looking at Xiao Zhan's face, dark as still water, Nalan Yanran did not dare meet his eyes. She wished she could bury her head in her chest as she nervously twisted the hem of her clothes with her fingers.

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