Ever since he had transmigrated into the world of Battle Through the Heavens, Xiao Ze had changed many developments in the plot.
Including Xiao Xun'er before him—he had already won her over.
She felt nothing at all about the matter between Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran.
She only saw him as an ordinary older cousin within the family, nothing special.
"Come on, Brother Xiao Ze. Let's go see what happened. Oh, right, Brother Xiao Ze—when we have time another day, spar with Xun'er again. Xun'er has been training hard these past few days."
"Right now, Xun'er has already advanced to the level of a Dou Zhe."
"The next time we fight, maybe Xun'er's strength will surprise you."
As Xiao Xun'er spoke, every smile and frown of hers was utterly captivating.
It was difficult to see such a smile on the face of such a cold and aloof young girl.
Xiao Ze merely smiled and said nothing.
If Xiao Xun'er knew that his current strength had already entered the Dou Shi realm...
What kind of reaction would she have?
The Xiao Family's main hall was exceptionally lively at the moment, while Xiao Yan sat in one of the lowest seats.
When he saw Xiao Ze and Xiao Xun'er approaching, he waved at them.
Xiao Ze walked over and took his seat.
Looking at the scene before him, Xiao Ze knew perfectly well what would happen next.
While he was talking with Xiao Yan, the girl who had just entered the hall immediately noticed him.
Was that Xiao Yan, the one who had been engaged to her since childhood?
She had heard that for three consecutive years, he had remained at the third stage of Dou Qi. Such trash was utterly unqualified to become her future husband.
She, Nalan Yanran, would not marry trash.
The person truly worthy of her could not be weaker than she was, at the very least.
And recently, she had heard that Xiao Ze of the Xiao Family—the Xiao Family's Fourth Young Master—had experienced a meteoric rise in his Dou Qi cultivation.
He had gone from the first stage of Dou Qi to the level of a Dou Zhe?
Such astonishing talent left Nalan Yanran deeply puzzled.
Her gaze turned toward him as she muttered to herself.
"So... that is Xiao Ze? Sure enough, whether in appearance or temperament, he is far superior to that Xiao Yan."
"I heard that this Xiao Yan had been notorious since childhood and even peeped at his cousin while she bathed. Someone like him has no right to be my husband."
"Xiao Ze, on the other hand, is such a young Dou Zhe. He truly has some potential."
As Nalan Yanran thought this,
her gaze toward Xiao Ze carried a hint of admiration.
But this was not the time to think about such things. She had come to the Xiao Family today to handle something.
So she looked at Ge Ye beside her and said,
"Uncle Xiao, it has been a long time since Yanran last came to visit. This is Qi Gathering Powder. It can help cultivators at the ninth stage of Dou Qi form a Dou Qi vortex with a one hundred percent success rate and advance to the Dou Zhe realm."
"It is a Fourth-Grade Medicinal Pill, and it was personally refined by Master Gu He."
"What? It was personally refined by Pill King Gu He?"
The moment Nalan Yanran's words fell, the hall immediately erupted into a commotion of shocked discussion.
Pill King Gu He was the greatest alchemist in the Jia Ma Empire.
Xiao Zhan was stunned for a moment.
He had not expected his future daughter-in-law to be so generous, bringing such a precious gift just for a visit.
Just as Xiao Zhan was feeling excited, he noticed that Nalan Yanran's expression had suddenly turned cold.
Nalan Yanran said, "Uncle Xiao, Yanran actually came today to ask something of you. If you agree, I am willing to give this Qi Gathering Powder to Xiao Yan for his future advancement."
"Nalan niece, please speak."
A bad feeling suddenly rose in Xiao Zhan's heart. The thing he feared most had still happened.
Nalan Yanran said,
"Uncle Xiao, although our grandfathers arranged an engagement between Xiao Yan and me when we were young because we were close in age, we have no emotional foundation after all these years. To make me marry someone I barely even know, honestly, I am unwilling."
"Besides, Xiao Yan's strength has been declining all these years."
"To be frank, there is basically no possibility between us. It would be better to simply call off this engagement."
"A public annulment? Tsk, tsk. How embarrassing." Quite a few people in the family who enjoyed watching the spectacle and usually disliked Xiao Yan gloated from the side.
Even several elders secretly mocked Xiao Zhan at this moment.
As the clan leader, his own son had been publicly rejected in marriage. How could he still have the face to lead the Xiao Family and remain its patriarch in the future?
Xiao Ze sat in his seat.
He knew very well what scene and lines would come next.
"Miss Nalan, for the sake of our grandfathers, Xiao Yan advises you with one sentence: thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Do not look down on the poor young man."
The classic scene replayed itself, while Xiao Ze sat nearby and quietly watched the show.
Then he saw Xiao Yan write a letter of divorce, make the Three-Year Agreement with Nalan Yanran, and turn to leave the main hall.
Xiao Zhan slapped the table.
A gratified smile immediately appeared on his face.
"Good! As expected of my son, Xiao Zhan's son. You have spirit."
Nalan Yanran had not expected that her attempt to annul the engagement would cause such a huge uproar in the Xiao Family.
Nor had she expected Xiao Yan's reaction to be so intense.
The situation became extremely ugly for a time, and even Xiao Zhan's face had turned livid.
Nalan Yanran said, "Uncle Xiao, Yanran was rash this time. Please accept this Qi Gathering Powder as a small compensation."
Xiao Zhan replied,
"Nalan niece, you heard what Yan'er said just now. Since he refuses to accept it, then forget it."
"You may be a fine daughter-in-law, but you and the Xiao Family are not on the same path. Let us consider the engagement settled, then. Take care. We will not see you out."
After Nalan Yanran walked out of the main hall,
she did not hurry to leave.
Although the annulment had not gone as smoothly as she had imagined,
and many unexpected developments had occurred,
it did not matter to Nalan Yanran.
No matter what, she had to annul the engagement.
Xiao Yan simply was not worthy of her.
But now, the person who truly made Nalan Yanran curious and interested was Xiao Ze.
The Xiao Family's Fourth Young Master.
And Xiao Yan's younger brother.
When she saw Xiao Ze and Xiao Xun'er walk out of the hall together,
Nalan Yanran looked at him and said,
"Xiao Ze, I heard that you advanced to the Dou Zhe realm some time ago. Is that true?"
Toward the Nalan Yanran before him,
Xiao Ze did not feel any particular disgust or hostility.
After all, she was only a teenage girl at this point.
Ultimately, her method of annulling the engagement had been wrong, but there was nothing inherently wrong with the annulment itself.
Besides, Nalan Yanran's reputation online had undergone a reversal over the years.
A woman with no emotional foundation with you, who had neither betrayed nor cheated on you,
called off the engagement, compensated you several times over, guaranteed your admission to Tsinghua University, and gave you luxury cars and villas.
A good woman like that was truly one of a kind.
Nalan Yanran looked at him and said,
"Xiao Ze, I am currently a three-star Dou Zhe. You should have only just advanced to the Dou Zhe realm, right? It is fine. I can hold back and will not hurt you."
"Why don't we spar? To be honest, I am quite interested in you!"
"Although you used to be just like Xiao Yan, with talent even worse than his, and remained at the first stage of Dou Qi for many years,"
"you managed to build up your strength and suddenly advance to the Dou Zhe realm in barely over a month."
"Even with the various profound Dou Techniques, cultivation methods, and resources available to me in the Misty Cloud Sect, I could not achieve such cultivation speed. Yet you accomplished it so easily."
"I truly am curious!"
"What exactly did you do during this time to undergo such an enormous transformation?"
"I really want to test myself against you."
Nalan Yanran looked at Xiao Ze as she spoke.
Xiao Ze chose to accept.
At the same time, he saw the mission details on the System Panel.
[Current Mission: Accept Nalan Yanran's challenge and reveal the strength of a Dou Shi.] [Reward: Flight Dou Technique, Purple Cloud Wings.] [Accept mission? Please choose.]
Regarding the mission released by the System Panel,
Xiao Ze did not hesitate. He accepted it.
"Alright!"
"Since Sister-in-law Nalan is interested, then let us have a match."
When she heard what Xiao Ze called her, Nalan Yanran immediately froze before quickly saying,
"Who are you calling your sister-in-law? Do not spout nonsense. I was not before, I am not now, and I never will be!"
"Xiao Yan and I only had an engagement. Now that he has written a letter of divorce, I have nothing to do with him anymore."
Nalan Yanran drew the longsword at her waist and began circulating her Dou Qi.
She possessed the strength of a three-star Dou Zhe.
At her age, such strength was indeed impressive.
She was worthy of being the future successor and next sect leader of the Misty Cloud Sect.
But what Nalan Yanran had not expected was that when Xiao Ze released his Dou Qi,
the intensity of his power far exceeded her expectations.
Could that be the power of a one-star Dou Shi?
Nalan Yanran's expression instantly froze.
She thought she had sensed it incorrectly.
Elder Ge Ye beside her also found it utterly unbelievable.
"This boy from the Xiao Family actually has the strength of a one-star Dou Shi? He is even far stronger than Xiao Yan was three years ago?"
"This... could it be that my old eyes are failing me? Did I see wrong?" Ge Ye said in shock.
Nalan Yanran looked stunned. Before she could say anything else, Xiao Ze had already launched the first attack.
In less than a single exchange, Nalan Yanran was defeated on the spot.
She crashed to the ground in a miserable state!
After all, she only had the strength of a three-star Dou Zhe.
Xiao Ze, on the other hand, had already reached the level of a one-star Dou Shi.
The gap between their realms was immeasurable.
Naturally, she was no match for Xiao Ze.
The instant Nalan Yanran was defeated, Xiao Xun'er beside them also froze in surprise.
"When did Brother Xiao Ze advance to the Dou Shi realm? Wasn't he only a Dou Zhe the last time?"
The moment Nalan Yanran was defeated, Xiao Ze's gaze and attention fell upon the System Panel before him.
He had completed the mission and obtained the reward.
[Current Mission: Accept Nalan Yanran's challenge and reveal the strength of a one-star Dou Shi.] [Mission Reward: Flight Dou Technique, Purple Cloud Wings.] [Reward issued.]
As Xiao Ze looked at the reward obtained from the system, the corners of his lips slowly curved upward in satisfaction.
But Nalan Yanran before him was filled with shock.
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