When Ge Ye and Nalan Yanran announced that they had come to break off the engagement, the atmosphere throughout the Xiao Clan changed at once.
At first, Xiao Zhan had thought Nalan Yanran and Ge Ye had come to reminisce, and the atmosphere had been fairly cordial.
But the moment Ge Ye revealed their true purpose, Xiao Zhan's face fell.
The marriage between the Xiao Clan and the Nalan Family had been arranged years ago by Xiao Zhan's father, Xiao Lin, and the Nalan Family's patriarch, Nalan Jie.
Both men's words had carried the weight of gold and jade. Once spoken, not even a team of four horses could take them back.
Now, before the Xiao Clan had shown any intention of going back on the agreement, the bride's side had reneged first. For the bride's side to come to their door and break off an engagement was a crushing humiliation anywhere on the Dou Qi Continent.
Xiao Zhan slammed his palm down, and his overbearing Dou Qi shattered the chair beneath him.
Ge Ye's expression changed as well.
He could sense that Xiao Zhan's Dou Qi had become extraordinarily domineering. That aura hardly seemed to belong to a Da Dou Shi; it was more overbearing than even a Dou Ling's.
Ge Ye hurriedly said, "Clan Leader Xiao, please don't lose your temper. We can talk this through."
Before coming, Ge Ye had assumed that, with the Misty Cloud Sect behind him and his cultivation unquestionably higher than Xiao Zhan's, bringing a mere Xiao Clan to heel would be effortless.
But now, faced with Xiao Zhan's overwhelming presence, Ge Ye was the first to soften his stance and urge him to remain calm.
Xiao Zhan did not immediately attack Ge Ye, either. He was still quite composed.
Xiao Zhan asked, "Is the Nalan Family breaking off this engagement at the wish of your Misty Cloud Sect Master, or at the wish of the Nalan Family's old patriarch?"
Since they had already come to break off the engagement, he had to get the necessary answers.
If this was the Misty Cloud Sect Master's wish, wasn't the sect master meddling a little too much, even interfering in another family's private affairs? In that case, the fault lay with the Misty Cloud Sect.
But if this was Nalan Jie's wish, it was another matter entirely. That would mean the Nalan Family had gone back on its word, betrayed their trust, and decided the Xiao Clan was beneath them.
Ge Ye looked troubled, unable to give an answer right away.
At that moment, Nalan Yanran spoke.
"Uncle Xiao, this has nothing to do with my family. It was entirely my own decision, and my master supports me in breaking off the engagement."
Nalan Yanran also knew that, on the Dou Qi Continent, it was considered a betrayal of trust for the bride's family to break off an engagement. Unwilling to disgrace her family, she stepped forward to shoulder the responsibility herself.
Xiao Zhan looked at Nalan Yanran.
Nalan Yanran did indeed have the confidence to challenge him now. After all, she was the Misty Cloud Sect Master's personal disciple, and her cultivation had reached Three-Star Dou Zhe.
At her age, someone with that cultivation would rank among the finest of prodigies anywhere in the Jia Ma Empire.
So this was Nalan Yanran's own decision?
Xiao Zhan sneered. "You certainly have a mind of your own, Niece Nalan. Do you realize this marriage was arranged by your elders? Do you think it appropriate to come here so rashly today and break it off?"
Xiao Zhan could understand Nalan Yanran wanting to end the engagement.
After all, Xiao Yan's reputation outside the clan had been far from flattering these past few years. Besides, the Xiao Clan had declined, and its standing was now worlds apart from the Nalan Family's. They were no longer powers on the same level.
It was perfectly understandable that Nalan Yanran looked down on Xiao Yan, and breaking off the engagement was acceptable, too. But Nalan Yanran could not be the one to come. Having a junior do it was a slap in the face. Had one of the Nalan Family's elders come to discuss it with the Xiao Clan today, Xiao Zhan would not have been so angry.
Yet she had come to break off the engagement publicly, and she was even using the Misty Cloud Sect's influence to do it.
She was trampling the Xiao Clan's dignity into the dirt. Once word spread, what face would they have left?
Unfortunately, how could Nalan Yanran think of any of that now? She had achieved success at a young age, and her cultivation placed her at the forefront of her peers.
She simply thought that if she disliked something, she should get rid of it. With someone backing her, she had nothing to fear, even when facing Xiao Zhan.
Nalan Yanran saw nothing inappropriate about it.
She continued without regard for anyone else. "Uncle Xiao, this isn't a question of whether it's appropriate. We both know the truth. Leaving aside the fact that Xiao Yan and I have never even met while growing up and don't know each other at all,
"our identities, standing, and strength are on completely different levels now. The gulf between us is too vast, like the difference between a fish and a dragon. What meaning would such a marriage have?
"Even if I didn't come to break off the engagement today, forcing this marriage through would benefit neither Xiao Yan nor me. We might as well take this opportunity to end the engagement. It would be better for both the Nalan Family and the Xiao Clan."
Nalan Yanran was blunt by nature, and she spoke frankly now.
Though she was unwilling to admit it, the fundamental reason was that the Xiao Clan was weak now. Coupled with the loss of Xiao Yan's talent, this made Nalan Yanran feel that the gap between them was simply too great.
Nalan Yanran's voice rang through the Xiao Clan's hall. With those words, she had thoroughly slapped the clan in the face.
Yet after hearing her words, Xun'er, who had been sitting beside Xiao Yan all this time, could not help letting out a laugh.
Xun'er had not intended to laugh, but she simply could not hold it back.
Because Xun'er knew that the Xiao Clan of today was no longer the Xiao Clan of the past.
With the return of their ancestor Xiao Xuan, the Xiao Clan's influence and Xiao Yan's potential were now far beyond anything someone from a backwater like Nalan Yanran could imagine.
Unfortunately, Nalan Yanran knew nothing of this and still believed the Xiao Clan was weak.
Xun'er herself liked Xiao Yan, but she also knew that he had been betrothed before he was even born.
That had troubled Xun'er. Since Xiao Yan already had an engagement, if the girl betrothed to Brother Xiao Yan came knocking, even their bond as childhood sweethearts might not be enough to stand against that marriage contract.
But Xun'er had never imagined that Nalan Yanran, the fiancée who had given her the greatest headache, would come of her own accord today to break off the engagement.
For Xun'er, this was wonderful news.
So how could Xun'er not laugh after hearing Nalan Yanran's words?
Nalan Yanran turned to Xun'er and asked, "What are you laughing at?"
Xun'er did not indulge her. She met Nalan Yanran's gaze and spoke up for Xiao Yan.
Xun'er said, "I'm laughing at how you gaze at the sky from the bottom of a well. A frog at the bottom of a well knows nothing of the vastness of heaven and earth. You look down on Brother Xiao Yan, but how could you know that you truly do belong to different worlds?
"You look down on the Xiao Clan, yet you have no idea how glorious it once was."
Xun'er had laid her cards on the table, directly calling out Nalan Yanran's shortsightedness.
Nalan Yanran had never expected a junior of the Xiao Clan to dare speak to her with such arrogance.
Nalan Yanran was furious.
She was, after all, the Misty Cloud Sect Master's personal disciple. No one even in the Misty Cloud Sect dared speak to her that way, much less someone from the insignificant Xiao Clan of Wutan City.
Nalan Yanran snapped, "Who do you think you are? How dare you speak to me like that?"
Ge Ye also addressed Xiao Zhan. "Clan Leader Xiao, aren't the juniors of your Xiao Clan a little too lacking in discipline?"
Xiao Zhan said nothing.
Xun'er belonged to the Gu Clan. Strictly speaking, she was not under his authority.
Sure enough, as Ge Ye and Nalan Yanran rebuked Xun'er, Ling Ying appeared behind her.
Ling Ying unleashed his Dou Emperor aura, instantly cowing Ge Ye.
Ge Ye's face drained of color in shock.
Nalan Yanran went deathly pale as well.
"A... a Dou Emperor?"
Before you continue