When You Ride a Tiger Home and Run Into...

"Phew~ Good thing I ran fast! That lousy rock shouldn't be expensive, right? Xun'er should be able to afford it... probably..."

Such a scene appeared on the street: an exceptionally handsome, fair-skinned pretty boy—scratch that, a young nobleman—was strolling down the road atop an azure tiger as large as a tractor...

"Whatever. At worst, I'll just ask Second Granduncle to refine them a pill when I get back~"

As the young man pondered quietly, he perfectly embodied the saying, "A gentleman is like jade upon the road, unmatched beneath the heavens." Countless women stopped to stare, even though he was straddling a third-tier giant feline!

Among them was a pink-clad girl with delicate features and beauty like summer lotus blossoms...

"Yanran, Yanran? Are you listening?"

An elderly man in white called out several times to the girl, who had become lost in staring.

"Ah, yes, Elder Ge, I'm listening. It's only the insignificant Xiao Clan. Just cancel the engagement already!"

Seeing that the massive creature had gone far away, the girl reluctantly withdrew her gaze. She became proud and cold once more, like a beautiful swan...

"Fourteen years already..."

Outside the city, in an unnamed meadow, an azure big cat lay quietly on the ground. Beside it, a boy who looked no older than thirteen or fourteen lay flat on his back, his hands behind his head...

"The strength of a peak Dou Di..."

The youth extended his right hand, as if trying to grasp the sun in the sky. He knew that if he wished, he could crush the entire continent in his palm...

"Mmm~ A Dou Di is fine, then. As an outstanding, well-rounded young man from the twenty-first century, I'll pass on conquering the world. You can tell just from hearing it that it isn't something humans should be doing..."

The young man's lofty aura instantly vanished. A moment ago, he had looked like an emperor with grand ambitions and the world in his grasp; in the blink of an eye, he became a salted fish flopping on a beach...

"Still, now that I think about it, even though I'm already a Dou Di, I should still walk the path of an alchemist."

The salted fish on the beach suddenly found a dream, because people were creatures afraid of loneliness. Gu Xia did not want to live alone for the rest of his life, so becoming an alchemist was one of his goals!

"Sigh, I wonder whether this crappy continent still has the ingredients needed to refine Emperor Pills..."

Becoming an alchemist was not difficult for Gu Xia, who possessed the cultivation of a Dou Di. What was difficult were the ingredients and pill formula needed to refine Emperor Pills...

"To become a top-tier alchemist, how can I go without Heavenly Flames? Decided! My next step will be finding some time to collect that whatever-lotus-whatever flame!"

With a goal in mind, the salted fish sprang up and dusted off his clothes. He flipped onto the big cat's back, while the cat rose as well, awaiting its master's command.

"Let's go, Little Flower. Time to go home and eat!"

Gu Xia gave the command enthusiastically. The tiger, infected by its master's mood, also let out a roar. It spread its four legs and took off running like a husky...

Meanwhile, over at the Xiao Clan, an important scene was playing out...

"Miss Nalan, for the sake of Old Master Nalan, Xiao Yan will offer you a few words of advice. Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river—never look down on a young man in poverty!" Xiao Yan's cold, resolute words made Nalan Yanran's delicate body tremble.

"Good! What a fine 'never look down on a young man in poverty'! My, Xiao Zhan's, son truly is extraordinary!" From the seat of honor, Xiao Zhan's eyes lit up. He slammed both palms heavily onto the table, splashing tea everywhere.

Gritting her teeth as she glared at the smirking youth before her, Nalan Yanran had been pampered all her life. When had she ever been lectured so harshly by someone her own age? Her head swam with anger, and her slightly childish voice turned shrill. "What right do you have to lecture me? Even if your talent once surpassed everyone else's, you are nothing but trash now! Fine! I, Nalan Yanran, will wait for the day you surpass me again. I will no longer bring up the matter of dissolving the engagement today. But three years from now, I'll be waiting for you at the Misty Cloud Sect.

"If you have the ability, then show me just how far you can rise!..." "Don't think I care that much about some genius wife like you. This document is not an agreement to dissolve our engagement—it is a letter of divorce from this young master, expelling you from the Xiao Clan! From this day onward, you, Nalan Yanran, will have nothing whatsoever to do with my Xiao Clan! You are not worthy of marrying me!"

"You... you!" Nalan Yanran was so furious at the stubborn youth before her that she could not speak. Her beautiful eyes were filled with disbelief. She truly had not expected this trash to dare divorce her! Who was she? Xiao Yan was nothing but trash! How could he possibly dare do such a thing?!

"Could this be your excuse for breaking up with me~"

Just as the crowd was about to come to blows, an untimely singing voice suddenly drifted in from outside. That one lyric instantly turned the tense atmosphere strange, and everyone looked toward its owner at the door.

"Uh... don't look at me. Please continue. I'm just passing through..."

The handsome youth riding a tiger, written as Gu Xia but read as goofball, felt a little unnerved beneath everyone's stares. So he decided to hold his head high and calmly accept their attention. He climbed down from the tiger's back, walked over to Xiao Xun'er, and whispered a sentence into Xun'er's ear that everyone could hear...

"Hey, little sis Xun'er. Lend your big brother some money for food..."

Xiao Xun'er: "..."

"Don't just stay silent. Uncle gave all the money to you and not a single coin to me. Your big brother hasn't even eaten breakfast today, and there are guests at home now. You wouldn't let your brother starve to death, would you?!"

"Brother Xia, it's not that Xun'er doesn't want to lend you any. Xun'er really didn't bring any money. How about borrowing some from that young miss over there?"

Xiao Xun'er's big sparkling eyes suddenly rolled, and she spoke in a pitiful tone. She even pointed at a certain eldest daughter of the Misty Cloud Sect, who was standing nearby and staring at Gu Xia...

"Wouldn't that be inappropriate? That young couple just broke up..."

Gu Xia hesitated somewhat. Though he did not remember much of the story of Battle Through the Heavens, he still had a strong impression of this famous scene. If he was not mistaken, that girl sneaking glances at him was the legendary Nalan Yanran...

Grrr...

A not-so-loud growl of hunger suddenly echoed through the entire hall. Even with Gu Xia's thick skin, he could not keep up the act anymore. Left with no choice, he gritted his teeth and walked toward that woman...

"What do you want?!"

Seeing someone approach so menacingly, Ge Ye instinctively stepped in front of Nalan Yanran. He wanted to use his cultivation to force Gu Xia back...

"Move aside..."

Gu Xia looked at the old man who had suddenly jumped out and waved his hand in annoyance. Then, before everyone's stunned eyes, Elder Ge went biu~ flying through the air and went "splat" against the wall...

"You... you... What do you want?"

Nalan Yanran watched as the "powerful" Elder Ge was casually sent flying by the handsome youth before her. As a mere Dou Zhe, she could only retreat again and again as that man approached. All the pride in her eyes had been crushed to pieces. His power filled her with despair...

"..."

Gu Xia said nothing. He simply advanced step by step. Nalan Yanran kept backing away until her back hit a pillar, leaving her nowhere to retreat.

"Don't come any closer!"

With no way out, Nalan Yanran could only watch as the youth continued closing in on her...

At last, Gu Xia arrived before Nalan Yanran. Only the distance of a fist remained between them. Gu Xia suddenly and domineeringly slapped one hand against the pillar beside Nalan Yanran's right ear...

Nalan Yanran stared at that handsome face drawing closer and closer, at the domineering way he had trapped her against the wall. What she felt was not fear, but a racing heart!

Her heart was beating so fast. This was the first time she had ever felt her heart move! It was even more intense than the first time she had seen him on the street...

Following a girl's instincts, Nalan Yanran closed her beautiful eyes. She waited expectantly for the sacred moment to come!

"Beautiful lady, could you lend me some money..."

As the youth spoke, the entire hall once again fell into deathly silence... They could even hear the wind blowing...