Do Not Despise a Poor Young Girl, Nalan Yanran

In the end, Xiao Yan chose to wait and see how the elders of the family would handle this.

After listening to Ge Ye's final words, Lin Shuiyao slowly rose to her feet.

In the silent hall, her tall figure and outstanding temperament immediately drew many gazes the moment she stood.

"Nalan Jie, Old Master Nalan was arrogant his entire life. Who would've thought there'd come a day when he'd be led around by the nose?"

Though Lin Shuiyao hadn't intervened, she understood the situation clearly.

Among the visitors, only Nalan Yanran was from the Nalan Clan. Throughout the entire conversation, they spoke only of the Yunlan Sect and didn't mention the Nalan Clan at all.

Clearly, this was something the Yunlan Sect's leader had approved.

After a slight sigh, Lin Shuiyao looked at Ge Ye. "The Yunlan Sect has its rules, and the Xiao Clan has its own rules."

"If the Yunlan Sect's leader wishes to break her promise and doesn't want her disciple to fulfill the marriage agreement, then simply dissolve it. Acting so coyly only tarnishes the Yunlan Sect's reputation."

"What..." Ge Ye froze. They had traveled all this way, not only changing their purpose but adding conditions as well, yet they were being asked to dissolve the engagement?

Nalan Yanran also looked at Lin Shuiyao in astonishment. This woman seemed to be Xiao Yan's mother. Didn't she know how tempting those conditions had been?

Lin Shuiyao smiled faintly. "Yun Yun knows very well that the disciple she accepted is only a Three-Star Dou Zhe now, utterly unworthy of my son."

"So she can only think of ways to recruit my son into the Yunlan Sect and slow his cultivation, so that her disciple won't appear too inferior."

"But she's miscalculated! With my son's talent in reaching the Dou Zhe realm before even turning ten, those in the Jia Ma Empire who wish to marry into our family are as numerous as carp crossing a river. Since the Yunlan Sect is so grand and its rules so great, the Xiao Clan won't force the matter."

Lin Shuiyao wasn't a fortune teller and had no idea what Yun Yun was truly thinking. Yet she had sent people to the Xiao Clan to pull something like this. If Lin Shuiyao felt no resentment at all, she would hardly deserve to be called a mother.

Thus, in her words, the Yun Yun she had never met became an incomparably vile and malicious bitch.

Nalan Yanran had diligently cultivated under Yun Yun for years. Her heart had only just begun to stir today, yet her goodwill was treated like utter trash, and even her teacher was insulted alongside her. Her delicate body trembled with anger.

"Even if Xiao Yan's talent is unmatched in the Jia Ma Empire, and I am indeed somewhat inferior, I have the Yunlan Sect behind me. I can constantly enjoy cultivation resources Xiao Yan could never imagine."

"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river—do not despise a poor young girl!" Nalan Yanran raised her snow-white chin confidently. For someone as weak as her to surpass Xiao Yan was merely a matter of time.

Xiao Yan looked at Nalan Yanran strangely. Was she stealing his lines?

Seeing Nalan Yanran putting on such a convincing performance, Lin Shuiyao giggled. Her ample curves quivered slightly, and her dislike for the girl lessened somewhat.

"What are you laughing at?" Nalan Yanran asked in confusion, her willow brows knitting slightly.

Lin Shuiyao explained with a soft laugh, "You've heard the story of the ugly duckling becoming a white swan plenty of times, haven't you? But the ugly duckling can become a swan only because it was a swan from the start."

After thinking for a moment, Nalan Yanran understood. Lin Shuiyao was saying that no matter what, she couldn't change the fact that her talent was inferior to Xiao Yan's!

Looking at Nalan Yanran's livid little face, Xiao Yan stood up. "I have no interest whatsoever in a noble-born fiancée like you."

He swiftly wrote a letter of repudiation, then walked to the center of the hall and flicked his finger. The paper slowly drifted before Nalan Yanran.

Raising her hand to catch the formal letter of repudiation, Nalan Yanran's bright eyes widened. She could hardly believe it. "Y-you dare repudiate me?!"

Clenching her silver teeth, Nalan Yanran angrily drew her sword. Her blade shot forth with a piercing whistle, the pale green sword leaving a green arc in the empty air.

Ge Ye and the young man beside him both brightened at the sight, only for astonishment to quickly appear on their faces.

Nalan Yanran truly deserved to be the future leader of the Yunlan Sect. Her speed in mastering Dou Techniques was far beyond that of ordinary disciples.

Watching Nalan Yanran attack him directly, Xiao Yan showed no panic despite the sword aimed at him.

Just as the blade sliced through the air and was about to pierce his body, Xiao Yan's fingers shot out like lightning and firmly pinched the blade, stopping it before him.

Then, Xiao Yan twisted the sword more than one hundred eighty degrees between his fingers. Nalan Yanran's wrist ached, and she instinctively released her weapon.

After taking the sword, Xiao Yan casually hurled it back at Nalan Yanran.

Seeing the cold-glinting sword streak toward her, Nalan Yanran's face drained of color, and she let out a cry.

Ge Ye tensed up completely and rushed before Nalan Yanran. His hands curled sharply like eagle claws as green Dou Qi surged rapidly around them, emitting fine, sharp sword energy.

"The Xiao Clan isn't a place for you to run wild. Step back."

Xiao Yan moved, instantly turning into a black shadow. His simple, direct fist, without the slightest flourish, smashed toward Ge Ye.

Bang!

Fist and claw collided, two powerful forces crashing together. Ge Ye was immediately forced back a step, his face filled with shock.

He could sense that Xiao Yan hadn't used even a trace of Dou Qi. His physical strength alone made it difficult for Ge Ye, a Seven-Star Great Dou Master, to contend with him.

That alone was enough to show just how terrifying this Xiao Clan genius truly was!

Xiao Yan showed no pride. His expression remained calm and unruffled. The Medicine Spirit Sacred Body had allowed him to completely absorb the medicinal power of the eighth-grade Primordial Origin Pill.

Even with physical strength alone, he stood among the best at the Great Dou Master level.

With a clang, the sword fully returned to its sheath, jolting everyone who had been stunned by Xiao Yan's strength back to their senses.

Subconsciously touching the hilt, Nalan Yanran calmed herself from the fright. Her lively eyes turned slightly as she pursed her lips and said:

"I came to the Xiao Clan this time with the personal approval of my teacher, Yun Yun, the leader of the Yunlan Sect. You may take this as coercion."

"If you want me to acknowledge this letter of repudiation, then three years from now, you must come to the Yunlan Sect and challenge me!"

"If you lose after three years, I will publicly dissolve the engagement and give you the chance to choose a new partner. But if you can defeat me then, I, Nalan Yanran, will be your servant for the rest of my life. You may do whatever you wish with me!"

What a vicious woman! The young women of the Xiao Clan looked at Xiao Yan with sympathy.

If he lost to Nalan Yanran at the Yunlan Sect and was then cast aside, it would be practically announcing it to the entire Jia Ma Empire. Who would choose someone who had suffered such humiliation?

Lin Shuiyao said coldly, "Take your things and leave. Go back and tell Yun Yun to train her disciple properly, so the difference in strength won't be too great when the time comes."

After storing the box in his Storage Ring, Ge Ye saw Dou Qi wings emerge behind Lin Shuiyao. He hurriedly fled the Xiao Clan with the young man and Nalan Yanran as though escaping for his life.

[The matter of dissolving the engagement had ended. Lin Shuiyao comforted you. Nalan Yanran was indeed somewhat willful and spoiled, but she was also foolishly adorable, wagering the rest of her life.]