Xiao Meng...? You're Not Crazy?

Xiao Meng suddenly charged out of the reception hall like a madman, catching everyone off guard. It took them a long while to recover, and they all looked at one another.

Quite a few Xiao Clan elders secretly smiled, believing Xiao Meng had been unable to bear the blow and had been driven mad by anger.

Xiao Zhan's body trembled, his eyes filled with boundless hatred. He had never imagined this marriage arrangement would drive his son insane.

"Clan... Clan Leader Xiao, look..." Ge Ye had no idea what to do either. After all, they had driven someone's son mad. This hatred could truly be called irreconcilable.

Xiao Zhan's face twisted viciously. How could he still care about the marriage now? All he wanted was to execute the culprit who had driven his son mad on the spot.

Xiao Yan was also consumed by raging fury, nearly losing his reason. But he understood that the Xiao Clan absolutely could not clash with the Cloudmist Sect right now, or the Xiao Clan might disappear from Wutan City. Yet asking him to easily forget the humiliation the Cloudmist Sect had inflicted upon the Xiao Clan was something he could never do, not even if he died ten thousand times.

Death was easy. Living on with humiliation was what was hard.

Xiao Yan rose to his feet and strode forward. He first respectfully bowed to Xiao Zhan, then turned to face Nalan Yanran. Taking a deep breath, he calmly asked, "Miss Nalan, when the two old masters arranged this marriage before birth, they did not consider the possibility that one side would have twins, did they?"

After speaking, Xiao Yan looked toward his father, seeking confirmation.

"That situation truly was not considered at the time." Xiao Zhan had regained some of his composure. Father and son were of one mind, and he understood what Xiao Yan intended to do.

"Since that situation was never considered, that means the two old masters never specifically designated whether the elder or younger twin was to fulfill the marriage agreement. Nor did they clearly state that the third son of my Xiao Clan was to fulfill it. That was merely something both sides subconsciously assumed. Am I wrong?" Xiao Yan said indifferently.

"That is indeed the case," Xiao Zhan said.

Xiao Xun'er, who had risen to her feet, trembled slightly, pain appearing on her face. From a woman's selfish perspective, she wanted to stop Xiao Yan. But she knew she could not, because Xiao Yan was not doing this for himself, but for his family, for his father.

For the sake of the clan, Xiao Yan was willing to take this humiliation upon himself. That was loyalty and righteousness. Such a loyal and righteous man made her heart ache, but beyond that, it made her heart tremble.

"Then what do you mean?" Nalan Yanran asked coldly.

"What I mean is... I will fulfill this marriage arrangement." Xiao Yan's expression was calm, his voice icy.

"I think this is the only solution. Why not agree to him? After all, what he says does make some sense," Ge Ye said softly into Nalan Yanran's ear.

Nalan Yanran raised a brow. Xiao Yan was right. When the two old masters had arranged the marriage before birth, they had indeed not considered the matter of twins. Having Xiao Yan inherit the arrangement was reasonable enough.

"Fine! That will do as well. But the outcome is still the same. In my eyes, you are no different from Xiao Meng. I still want to annul this marriage, and no one in your Xiao Clan can stop me," Nalan Yanran said expressionlessly.

The moment those words were spoken, the Xiao Clan was ruthlessly humiliated once again.

"You need not be angry either, because before me, you do not have the qualifications," Nalan Yanran said dismissively, curling her lips as if sensing the vicious aura emanating from Xiao Yan.

"Miss Nalan, the world is vast, and there are countless prodigies and geniuses. At most, you are merely among the middling tier. You are nothing exceptional. The reason you act so high and mighty is simply because you believe my Xiao Clan cannot compare to the Cloudmist Sect and think that a cripple like me is unworthy of the Cloudmist Sect's young sect master. But to put it bluntly, what are you without the Cloudmist Sect? A genius who has not yet matured can die at any time," Xiao Yan said calmly, suppressing the fury in his heart.

"Unfortunately, there is no 'what if.'"

The young man beside her could not even be bothered to raise his eyelids as he spoke carelessly. The favored sons of heaven should stand high above, revered by countless people, while trash could only wag their tails and beg for mercy, barely surviving.

"You're already in your twenties and only a five-star Dou Practitioner. You do not seem all that impressive either, Cloudmist Sect... genius!" Xiao Yan shot back.

"You..."

The young man flew into a rage and said viciously, "The Xiao Clan's great genius, I may only be a five-star Dou Practitioner, but crushing you would be easier than crushing a cockroach. Isn't that right?"

"I became a Dou Practitioner at twelve. How many stages of Dou Qi did you have when you were twelve? Yes, I am indeed crippled now, but can you be so certain that I, Xiao Yan, will never rise again? Can you be so certain that I cannot recreate the miracle of three years ago?" Xiao Yan stared directly at him without retreating in the slightest.

His words left everyone in the hall stunned. Who could have imagined that the boy who had remained silent all these years possessed such a forceful side?

The young man stood there blankly.

"Rise again?"

Nalan Yanran shook her head disdainfully. "Xiao Yan, even if you recover the talent you had three years ago, I, Nalan Yanran, still will not regard you highly. You will only ever be able to look up at me."

"So I advise you to annul this marriage agreement cleanly and stop humiliating yourself," Nalan Yanran sighed.

Xiao Yan did his utmost to suppress the anger in his heart and calmly asked, "Miss Nalan, may I ask whether today's matter of breaking off the engagement was Old Master Nalan's decision?"

A trace of disgust appeared between Nalan Yanran's brows as she replied impatiently, "Grandfather does not know about it, but I can make my own decisions regarding my own affairs."

"In that case, I am sorry, but I cannot give you that marriage contract. The people of my Xiao Clan are not unfilial children who dare to violate the agreements made by their deceased elders," Xiao Yan said.

"You..."

Nalan Yanran abruptly rose to her feet, her little face livid with fury. "Xiao Yan, what exactly will it take for you to agree to annul this marriage? If you think one Qi Gathering Powder is not enough, I can give you ten, a hundred. As long as you agree, I can even give you a high-grade Profound Rank martial technique!"

The moment those words were spoken, the elders seated beside Xiao Zhan began breathing rapidly, wishing Xiao Yan would agree immediately. "Xiao Yan..."

"As long as I, Xiao Zhan, am still alive, it is not your place to make decisions in this matter. If you think yourselves so capable, come spar with me. Only after winning will you have the right to speak," Xiao Zhan said furiously, making the elders look as though they had swallowed flies.

"Xiao Yan, I know you are unwilling to accept this. How about this?"

Ge Ye thought for a moment before saying, "You and Yanran are only fifteen now, still young. This marriage contract will not have much effect on either of you for the time being. But Yanran cannot possibly marry into your Xiao Clan. Since you are confident that you can rise again, then let us postpone the matter of annulling the engagement for three years. Three years from now, Yanran will wait for you at the Cloudmist Sect. If you can defeat her, Yanran will fulfill the marriage agreement. Otherwise, even if you are unwilling, the Cloudmist Sect will forcibly annul the agreement."

Ge Ye glanced at Xiao Yan, then looked at Nalan Yanran and asked, "Xiao Yan, Yanran, what do you think?"

"I agree. As long as he can defeat me three years from now, I, Nalan Yanran, will willingly submit to his command for the rest of my life," Nalan Yanran said after some thought.

"Xiao Yan, what about you?" Ge Ye looked at Xiao Yan with a smile. "You refuse to accept this, so my Cloudmist Sect is giving you an opportunity, lest others say we bully people. But if you insist on being unreasonable, my Cloudmist Sect can be unreasonable as well."

"I never said I would give you the marriage contract, but I also never said I had to shamelessly insist on marrying you."

Xiao Yan shook his head, then walked to the table and began writing furiously.

The ink fell, and the brush stopped. Black ink on white paper.

He bit his finger, leaving a glaring bloodprint.

Smack!

Xiao Yan heavily slammed the white paper covered in black writing and marked with his bloodprint onto the table beside Nalan Yanran.

"A letter of repudiation?"

Nalan Yanran was stunned for a moment, then her expression changed drastically. "Xiao Yan, you dare repudiate me?"

"From this day onward, you, Nalan Yanran, will have no further ties whatsoever with my Xiao Clan," Xiao Yan said indifferently.

"Boy, how presumptuous!" Ge Ye snatched the letter of repudiation from Nalan Yanran's hand. After reading it, he immediately flew into a rage. With this, where would the Cloudmist Sect's dignity remain?

"Elder Ge, all you wanted was to annul the marriage agreement. Now that it has been annulled, what more do you want?" Xiao Zhan shouted coldly.

Xiao Yan looked at Nalan Yanran and said, "There are no unfilial children in my Xiao Clan, so this is the best way to end the marriage between you and me."

Nalan Yanran: "?????"

If she had known she could do this, she would have written a letter of repudiation herself.

"If I write a letter of repudiation, you say the Cloudmist Sect's dignity has been damaged. Then where did your actions today leave the dignity of my Xiao Clan?"

Xiao Yan looked at Ge Ye. "Three years from now, I will visit the Cloudmist Sect. If I lose to Nalan Yanran then, the Cloudmist Sect's dignity will naturally be preserved. So there is no need for you to be so angry."

"Three years from now, I will reclaim double the humiliation your Cloudmist Sect has inflicted upon my Xiao Clan." Xiao Yan looked at Nalan Yanran.

"I'll be waiting!"

Nalan Yanran clenched her fists, her face full of hatred.

"Let's go!" Nalan Yanran did not want to remain in this place for even another moment. She feared she would not be able to stop herself from attacking Xiao Yan.

"Good riddance!" Xiao Zhan snorted coldly.

"Miss Nalan, do you have some urgent business? Why are you leaving in such a hurry?"

"Xiao Meng...? You're not crazy?"