Nalan Yanran Arrives

The people from the Misty Cloud Sect entered Wutan City, drawing murmurs from many passersby.

They were all curious about why people from the Misty Cloud Sect had come to Wutan City.

The Misty Cloud Sect stood in the northern Jia Ma Empire, only a few dozen li from the Jia Ma Imperial Capital. It held an exalted position within the empire as its foremost cultivation sect and a sacred ground for local martial cultivation.

Such a mighty power would never normally appear in a small place like Wutan City, so whispers were inevitable.

Among the Misty Cloud Sect's party, a young disciple named Chu Hong listened to the chatter around him. He could not help curling his lip. "People from small places really haven't seen the world. I hate coming to places like this."

Chu Hong was an inner disciple of the Misty Cloud Sect and enjoyed considerable status there. He was also one of Nalan Yanran's suitors; otherwise, he would never have accompanied her to Wutan City.

Feeling the gazes around him, Chu Hong grew irritated and grumbled a little, convinced that everyone in Wutan City was a country bumpkin. He truly could not understand why Senior Sister Nalan had to come in person for something as trivial as breaking off an engagement with the Xiao Clan.

That Xiao Clan really doesn't know how high the heavens are or how deep the earth is. Knowing the enormous gulf between their status and strength, shouldn't they have taken the initiative to dissolve this laughable engagement?

Hearing Chu Hong's complaints, Nalan Yanran said, "Chu Hong, I told you long ago that you didn't need to come. If you have complaints, you can go back to the Misty Cloud Sect right now."

Nalan Yanran was already in a foul mood. She had just fallen out with her family over breaking off the engagement with the Xiao Clan, and her grandfather had refused to let her come, no matter what.

She had come without permission this time, even asking her master, Yun Yun, for help so she could borrow the Misty Cloud Sect's influence.

Originally, Nalan Yanran had only wanted Deacon Ge Ye to accompany her, but Chu Hong had clung to her like a stubborn medicinal plaster, insisting on coming along.

Chu Hong was the son of an inner sect elder of the Misty Cloud Sect. His father enjoyed considerable prestige within the sect, so when he insisted on coming, Nalan Yanran could do nothing about it.

She had not expected him to start complaining the moment they entered the city.

After hearing Nalan Yanran's words, Deacon Ge Ye also spoke.

"Chu Hong, enough."

Ge Ye did not quite dare offend Chu Hong, but he had to speak up for Nalan Yanran as well, so he merely offered a quiet warning.

Chu Hong was pursuing Nalan Yanran and had tagged along precisely to win her favor. Naturally, he did not dare offend her now.

"Don't be angry, Senior Sister Nalan," Chu Hong said. "I was only making a few casual remarks. If you don't like hearing them, I'll stop. I'm here under the elder's orders to protect you, after all."

Listening to him, Ge Ye felt embarrassed on Chu Hong's behalf.

How can anyone have such thick skin? Chu Hong's cultivation isn't even as high as Nalan Yanran's. If danger really comes, who will be protecting whom?

But the brat had powerful backing. Ge Ye was only a deacon and could not afford to provoke him.

Nalan Yanran no longer wanted to listen to Chu Hong's nonsense. All she wanted now was to settle the engagement quickly, then return to the Misty Cloud Sect to cultivate.

So she said, "Enough nonsense. Let's hurry. The Xiao Residence is just ahead."

Nalan Yanran quickened her pace and hurried onward with Ge Ye.

Seeing this, Chu Hong followed again, clinging to her like a stubborn medicinal plaster.

At the same time, he secretly wondered what Xiao Yan of the Xiao Clan-the one betrothed to Senior Sister Nalan since before birth-was actually like.

A toad dreaming of eating swan flesh. Is Xiao Yan even worthy of marrying Senior Sister Nalan?

Today, Chu Hong wanted to see just what that toad from the Xiao Clan looked like. If the opportunity arose, he even wanted to teach this "romantic rival" a lesson himself.

Before long, the three arrived at the Xiao Clan's gates.

Looking at the Xiao Residence before her, Nalan Yanran fell into a brief daze.

Her engagement to the Xiao Clan had been arranged by the elders of both families before she was even born. Back then, the Xiao Clan's forebear and her grandfather from the Nalan Family had been close, so they had pledged the unborn children to each other.

Later, however, the Nalan Family had soared while the Xiao Clan gradually declined, growing weaker by the day. The gulf in status and strength between the two families had only widened.

Although Nalan Yanran had known about this engagement since childhood, she had never visited the Xiao Clan or met Xiao Yan. This engagement had trapped her for more than a decade.

Nalan Yanran had never met Xiao Yan and wanted only to free herself from the engagement. That was why she had cultivated diligently, joined the Misty Cloud Sect, become the sect leader's most valued disciple, and risen to become the sect's senior sister.

Today, she could finally come and break off this engagement.

Even if every elder in her family opposed it, even if she had to borrow the Misty Cloud Sect's power to pressure the Xiao Clan, she would break off the engagement today.

Looking at the Xiao Residence, Chu Hong beside her could not resist sneering again.

"As expected of a family from a small place. I heard the Xiao Clan is one of Wutan City's three great clans, yet their gates don't even look as big as those of my residence. The countryside really is the countryside."

Chu Hong had been pampered since childhood, and a sense of superiority ran deep in his bones.

Neither Nalan Yanran nor Ge Ye paid him any attention. Ge Ye stepped forward and told the Xiao Clan's guard, "Ge Ye, deacon of the Misty Cloud Sect, accompanying Nalan Yanran of the Jia Ma Empire's Nalan Family, here to visit Clan Head Xiao Zhan of the Xiao Clan."

Seeing their Misty Cloud Sect robes and hearing them introduce themselves, the guard did not dare show the slightest neglect. He asked them to wait a moment while he went to announce their arrival.

Meanwhile, in the Xiao Clan's council hall,

Xiao Xuan was inspecting the progress Xiao Zhan and the others had made in their cultivation over the past few days.

After the Xiao Clan's elders had replaced their original low-grade cultivation methods with the traditional Xiao Clan methods Xiao Xuan had given them, Yao Chen had also refined quite a few pills for them to take over the past few days.

With the combined assistance of their cultivation methods, the Xiao Clan's Dou Di Bloodline, and the pills,

Xiao Zhan and the Xiao Clan's elders had all made leaps and bounds in cultivation, just like Xiao Yan.

Xiao Zhan was reporting their cultivation levels to the ancestor.

In these few days, Xiao Zhan himself had risen in one stretch from a three-star Da Dou Shi to the peak of Nine-Star Great Dou Master.

The Xiao Clan's Great Elder, Xiao Bing, had advanced from a nine-star Dou Shi to a six-star Da Dou Shi.

The third elder, Xiao Hai, had advanced from an eight-star Dou Shi to a five-star Da Dou Shi.

Nearly all the remaining elders had risen several stars, and almost all had broken through to the Da Dou Shi realm.

Such speed would have frightened people outside the clan to death.

Xiao Zhan in particular, as the clan head from the direct line, possessed a purer Dou Di Bloodline than these elders and had advanced the fastest.

He was now only one step away from entering the Dou Ling realm.

Everyone in the Xiao Clan was delighted.

Just as their joy reached its height, a Xiao Clan guard entered and informed Xiao Zhan that Ge Ye of the Misty Cloud Sect had come to visit.

Hearing that Ge Ye and Nalan Yanran had arrived, Xiao Zhan froze for a moment.

What are people from the Misty Cloud Sect doing here?

And Nalan Yanran-that girl from the Nalan Family? We've hardly had any contact before. Why has she suddenly come to visit?

Although puzzled, Xiao Zhan still ordered that they be shown in.

Xiao Xuan looked at Xiao Zhan and asked, "Who are Ge Ye and Nalan Yanran?"