How About We Spar?

In the Council Hall, everyone stood dumbfounded. Liu Ling in particular looked as though his eyes and jaw might drop off at any moment.

He had just said that the Xiao Household should produce a Qi Gathering Powder as well, only for Xiao Ni to immediately bring out more than three hundred. Their quality even seemed better than the ones refined by the Pill King, thoroughly startling him.

"You're an Alchemist?" Ge Ye asked after recovering himself, his throat somewhat dry.

What was going on? He had never heard of the little Xiao Household having an Alchemist. More than three hundred Qi Gathering Powders were worth at least two million Gold Coins. If they were auctioned off, they could probably fetch five or six million.

"Elder Ge Ye, how could a piece of trash like him possibly be an Alchemist? I'd say there's an eighty percent chance he stole these Qi Gathering Powders from some esteemed Alchemist!" Liu Ling guessed with complete conviction.

The fact that these Qi Gathering Powders were better than the Pill King's did not prove much. At most, it meant that this Alchemist was slightly superior to the Pill King at refining Qi Gathering Powder. This Alchemist could at most be at the peak of the fourth tier; there was no way he had reached the fifth tier.

"I'd lend you ten times the courage. Would you dare steal from one?" Xiao Ni narrowed his eyes, and his tone instantly turned icy.

"You..." Liu Ling was left speechless by Xiao Ni's retort. Embarrassment flooded his heart, and he wished he could kill Xiao Ni on the spot.

"Xiao Ni, I don't care where you got these Qi Gathering Powders, nor do I care whether your Xiao Household has been hiding some remarkable Alchemist. Today, I will still break off my engagement with Xiao Yan!" Nalan Yanran shot Liu Ling a sidelong glance, lowering her opinion of him considerably.

Was there something wrong with this guy's brain? The Xiao Household was merely an insignificant little clan. As the Xiao Household's second greatest trash, did Xiao Ni really have the nerve and ability to steal so many Qi Gathering Powders from an Alchemist?

"To be honest, I really want to kill you. But that would only bring unnecessary disaster upon the Xiao Household, so I can endure it." A cold smile rose at the corner of Xiao Yan's mouth, and his gaze became incomparably frigid. "Nalan Yanran, you should know how humiliating it is when the woman breaks off an engagement. Heh, my skin is thick, so it doesn't matter much to me. But my father is different. He is the head of a clan. If I agree to end the engagement with you today, how will he lead the Xiao Household in the future? How will he establish himself in Wutan City?"

Hearing Xiao Yan's words, Nalan Yanran frowned slightly. Her gaze drifted toward Xiao Zhan, who seemed to have aged greatly as he sat in the seat of honor, and a trace of guilt rose in her heart. She lightly bit her lip and pondered for a moment before softly saying, "What happened today was indeed somewhat rash of me. I can temporarily withdraw my demand to break off the engagement, but you must agree to one condition."

"What condition?" Xiao Yan asked with a frown.

"I can postpone this matter 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," Nalan Yanran said flatly.

She no longer wished to linger in the Xiao Household, nor did she want to waste any more words.

"Fine. We accept this agreement." Upon hearing Nalan Yanran's terms, fury flared in Xiao Zhan's eyes. Just as he was about to question her, Xiao Ni spoke first and agreed outright.

"Xiao Ni, don't mess around!" Xiao Zhan barked. He was about to tactfully reject Nalan Yanran's proposal when Xiao Yan stepped forward again.

"Father, let me decide this matter." Xiao Yan's expression was extremely resolute. Xiao Zhan hesitated briefly before finally nodding.

Xiao Yan knew that Xiao Ni would not set him up. Since Xiao Ni had voluntarily accepted Nalan Yanran's agreement for him, he must have been confident that Xiao Yan could surpass Nalan Yanran within three years.

"Nalan Yanran, the only reason you want to break off the engagement is because you think that trash like me, Xiao Yan, am unworthy of a favored daughter of heaven like you. To put it harshly, aside from your looks, there is nothing else about you that this young master thinks much of. The Misty Cloud Sect is indeed powerful, but I am still young. I have plenty of time. I had already become a Dou Zhe at the age of twelve. What about you? When you were twelve, Nalan Yanran, what Duan of Dou Qi had you reached? That's right, I am indeed trash now. But since I was able to create a miracle three years ago, what makes you think I cannot rise again in the years to come?" Xiao Yan advanced step by step toward Nalan Yanran, his expression cold and solemn. His forceful speech left everyone present stunned, while Xiao Ni, Xiao Xun'er, and Xiao Zhan revealed gratified smiles.

Nalan Yanran parted her lips. Though Xiao Yan's words had angered her until her face turned livid, she could not refute him. She could only force down the rage filling her chest for the time being.

"Nalan Yanran, for the sake of Old Master Nalan, Xiao Yan offers you a few words of advice: thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Never look down on the poor young!" Xiao Yan spoke with overwhelming force, a sharp chill flashing in his eyes. Nalan Yanran's delicate body trembled involuntarily.

"Good, good! What a 'never look down on the poor young'! My Xiao Zhan's son is indeed extraordinary!" In the seat of honor, Xiao Zhan's eyes became much clearer and brighter. His palm slammed onto the table, making the teacups shake as tea splashed all over the floor.

"What right do you have to lecture me? No matter how astounding your talent was in the past, you are nothing but trash now. Fine, don't you want to surpass me? Then I want to see how you plan to defeat me three years from now!" Nalan Yanran's voice was shrill. She had been pampered since childhood; when had she ever been lectured like this by someone her own age?

Looking at Nalan Yanran's livid face, Xiao Yan sneered. "There's no need to wait three years. I truly have no interest in you at all."

With that, Xiao Yan quickly walked to the table and wrote a passage at the fastest speed possible. He then used the short sword on the table to cut open his palm, leaving a glaring bloody print upon the white paper.

"Don't think I, Xiao Yan, care so much about a so-called genius wife like you. This is not an agreement to dissolve our engagement. It is a certificate of repudiation, declaring that this young master is casting you out of the Xiao Household! From this day forward, you, Nalan Yanran, will have nothing whatsoever to do with my Xiao Household!" Xiao Yan coldly displayed the repudiation letter before Nalan Yanran, whose eyes instantly widened to their limit.

"You... you dare repudiate me?" Nalan Yanran stomped her feet in fury.

"After watching the show for so long, my bones are getting a little itchy." At that moment, Xiao Ni cracked his neck and finally rose from his seat, putting away those Qi Gathering Powders. "Miss Nalan, you seem quite hot-tempered. How about... we spar?"

At those words, Xiao Xun'er, Xiao Yan, Xiao Zhan, and the two elders all stirred inwardly, then pretended to watch the show with concern.

Their understanding of Xiao Ni's level was not entirely the same, but they all had great confidence in him. Forget Nalan Yanran; even if Xiao Ni fought that Five-Star Dou Practitioner youth, he might not necessarily lose.

"You want to spar with me?" Nalan Yanran let out a disdainful sneer.

"That's right. I want to spar with you. If I win, the terms of our agreement will need some adjustments."

"Fine. Then let's go outside and fight." Though she had no idea what madness Xiao Ni was up to now, since he wanted to serve as a target for her to vent her anger on, Nalan Yanran naturally would not miss this opportunity.

She refused to believe that a mere Seventh Duan of Dou Qi like Xiao Ni could possibly turn the heavens upside down.

"There's no need to go outside. We'll fight right here." Xiao Ni walked to the center and raised a hand in invitation.

He was now a Seven-Star Dou Practitioner, while Nalan Yanran was only a Three-Star Dou Practitioner. Even if she teamed up with that Liu Ling against him, he could still handle them with ease.