He Can't Even Refine a Third-Tier Pill, and You Want Me to Marry Him?

After Jiang Yuan and Xuan Kongzi arrived in the inner hall, Xuan Kongzi asked him to sit down and rest.

Then he took a Healing Pill from his Storage Ring and handed it over. "Take this pill first. Leaving your injuries untreated for too long won't do you any good."

Jiang Yuan accepted the pill without standing on ceremony, popped it into his mouth, and swallowed.

The moment the pill reached his stomach, a warm current quickly spread through his body, noticeably easing his pain.

Xuan Kongzi sat down beside him. After a brief silence, he said, "I've already heard about your marriage arrangement with Cao Ying."

Jiang Yuan looked up at him but said nothing, waiting for him to finish.

Xuan Kongzi continued, "Since your families agreed to this engagement years ago, it should be honored. As her teacher, I won't stand for her breaking her word."

His tone was firm, making his stance on the matter perfectly clear.

"I've already sent someone to fetch Cao Ying. Once she arrives, we'll discuss this face-to-face."

After saying his piece, Xuan Kongzi glanced at Jiang Yuan. Seeing that his injuries seemed to be improving, he said nothing more.

Jiang Yuan nodded without saying much either, then simply closed his eyes and began cultivating.

He had to wait anyway, so he might as well use the time to see just how powerful the Dou Di Bloodline was.

With his eyes closed, Jiang Yuan circulated the Dou Qi in his body according to the cultivation method in the original owner's memories. Yet the instant he began, he froze.

When the original owner cultivated, moving Dou Qi through his meridians had been like trudging through a swamp—slow and exhausting.

Now, however, the speed at which he cultivated Dou Qi was downright absurd.

With every circulation cycle, the Dou Qi in his body grew noticeably stronger. This rate of improvement had once been beyond his wildest dreams.

Jiang Yuan was utterly stunned. Holy shit, is this what the Dou Di Bloodline can do?

This cultivation speed is faster than riding a rocket!

Time ticked by, and Jiang Yuan no longer spared a thought for anything else, immersing himself completely in cultivation.

About half an hour later, Jiang Yuan slowly opened his eyes and examined the state of his body.

What he discovered left him dumbfounded.

Half an hour. One-Star Dou Emperor.

The original owner had spent years cultivating and only reached Dou Ling, yet he had shot straight to Dou Emperor in half an hour?

What's more, he could clearly sense that his Dou Qi was far more potent than that of an ordinary One-Star Dou Emperor. With the Dou Di Bloodline's enhancement, the quality of his Dou Qi surpassed that of others at the same realm by an incalculable margin.

Jiang Yuan took a deep breath, struggling to suppress his excitement.

With the Dou Di Bloodline, my cultivation speed has increased more than a hundredfold!

And this is only the beginning. The system said I was guaranteed to reach Dou Di, so my cultivation will only get faster from here.

While Jiang Yuan savored the joy of his breakthrough, Cao Ying sat at a table in another room in the Pill Tower, her displeasure plain on her face.

Song Qing stood before her, looking somewhat awkward.

"Do you realize how rash you were today?" Cao Ying asked reproachfully. "Even if I truly can't accept my engagement to Jiang Yuan, you shouldn't have attacked him outright."

Song Qing hurried to explain, "I just couldn't stomach it. What right does a useless nobody like him have to cling to that engagement? Is he even worthy of you?"

His fists tightened as he continued, "Besides, I was thinking of you. I wanted him to realize he was out of his depth and back off."

"You were thinking of him? Were you thinking of me or yourself? You know the answer."

Her words left Song Qing speechless. He opened his mouth but could find no way to argue.

Cao Ying continued, "You injured him. My teacher is bound to look into it. Who's going to bear the punishment when it comes?"

After a moment of silence, Song Qing finally said, "I'm sorry. I went too far."

"But I really couldn't stand it. With your talent and status, being tied to an ordinary disciple is just too unfair to you."

Cao Ying said nothing, only frowning slightly.

Indeed, she felt the same way.

She was now the foremost member of the Pill Tower's younger generation, a genius capable of refining seventh-tier pills whose name was renowned throughout the Central Plains.

Yet Jiang Yuan, the man she was engaged to, was merely an ordinary Pill Tower disciple who couldn't even refine a Third-Tier Pill.

With such a gulf between them, how could she willingly accept this engagement?

But Song Qing had been far too reckless in attacking him, turning what should have been a simple matter into a complicated mess.

Just then, a knock sounded at the door, followed by a maid's voice.

"Senior Sister Cao Ying, Elder Xuan Kongzi would like you to come see him."

Cao Ying paused. "My teacher wants to see me? What about?"

The maid outside replied, "Elder Xuan Kongzi has already brought Young Master Jiang Yuan to the inner hall. He seems to want to discuss the engagement with you."

Cao Ying's expression darkened at the news.

He brought Jiang Yuan to the inner hall?

To think my teacher would actually intervene in person!

And if he wanted her to come discuss the engagement, his intentions were already clear: he wanted her to honor it.

A powerful wave of resentment surged through Cao Ying, and her fingers unconsciously curled into fists.

Why is my teacher so determined to push me into this nightmare?

An ordinary disciple, a useless nobody who can't even refine a Third-Tier Pill—what right does he have to marry me?

She was Cao Ying, a genius capable of refining seventh-tier pills, the brightest star of the Pill Tower's younger generation. In the future, she might even become an eighth-tier alchemist, or a ninth-tier one.

Making her marry someone like that would be nothing short of ruining her future.

Song Qing's expression also changed when he heard the news. "Elder Xuan Kongzi wants you to honor the engagement?"

Cao Ying didn't answer, but her expression said it all.

Song Qing grew anxious. "How can that be acceptable? You and he don't even belong in the same world. How could Elder Xuan Kongzi arrange something like this?"

"Enough. I'll handle this myself. You should leave."

Song Qing wanted to say more, but after seeing Cao Ying's expression, he swallowed his words, nodded, and left the room.

After Song Qing left, Cao Ying remained seated in silence for a long time, a cold look gradually creeping across her face.

No matter what her teacher thought, she would never accept this engagement.

Marry a useless nobody who couldn't even refine a Third-Tier Pill? Absolutely not!