In the Council Hall, as Xiao Zhan roared his angry demands, the other young clan members could no longer sit still!
This was a slap in the face!
Breaking off the engagement was fine! But doing it in public was not!
The Misty Cloud Sect had gone far too far in bullying them!
Although Xiao Yan was not particularly well liked within the clan, he kept such a low profile that only a minority truly disliked him.
At this moment, most of the clan members were united in anger at the humiliation of their clan!
"This is outrageous!"
"Our Xiao Clan may not be some illustrious family, but we will not tolerate this kind of humiliation!"
Indignant curses rose one after another.
Xiao Zhan sat at the head of the hall with a dark expression, letting those below curse the Misty Cloud Sect without stopping them.
Their outrage needed an outlet!
Besides, they were saying exactly what he wanted to say!
Listening to the curses filling the hall, Ge Ye watched Xiao Zhan take another cup and begin drinking tea as though nothing else concerned him. His own expression began to sour.
As an esteemed Executive Elder of the Misty Cloud Sect, wherever he went within the Jia Ma Empire, he had always been honored as a distinguished guest and entertained with the utmost care. When had he ever endured such abuse?
Hmph!
I have observed every courtesy, yet you refuse to appreciate it!
In that case, do not blame me for showing you no consideration!
Suppressing his anger, Ge Ye feigned composure as he picked up another cup, took a light sip, and looked at Xiao Zhan with a faint, ambiguous smile.
"Clan Leader Xiao, the Sect Master is acting for Yanran's sake, and even more so for the future of the Misty Cloud Sect.
"I believe you are a sensible man, Clan Leader Xiao. Surely you would not disobey the Sect Master's command?"
Ge Ye placed particular emphasis on the words "Sect Master."
Those words did indeed make Xiao Zhan frown.
The younger clan members below, however, could not calm themselves.
Hearing Ge Ye's lofty, arrogant provocation only stoked the flames of their fury!
"So what if you're the Misty Cloud Sect? Does that mean you can act without shame? Even if our Xiao Clan took this matter all the way to the imperial capital, we would still be in the right!"
Ge Ye set down his teacup, his gaze turning utterly cold.
"Clan Leader Xiao, is this how you discipline your clan's children? Or do you truly intend to defy the Sect Master's command?"
In an instant, the atmosphere bristled with drawn swords and bent bows!
After a moment of silence, Xiao Zhan finally sighed and raised a hand, silencing the uproar below.
Things have come to this. We can only swallow this humiliation!
After all, how could our tiny Xiao Clan of Wutan City stand against a colossus like the Misty Cloud Sect?
Just then, a calm voice rang out, neither hurried nor slow.
"Father, please sit down and calm yourself. It isn't worth damaging your health over such a trifling matter."
Everyone was stunned.
They turned toward the voice and saw that Xiao Yan had stepped out from the back row at some point, a faint, almost imperceptible smile on his face.
Only then did they realize that, while they had spent all this time raging, the person directly concerned had yet to say a word!
But as they watched Xiao Yan rise, whether they normally liked him or not, they all hoped he would show some backbone and give the Misty Cloud Sect a thorough tongue-lashing!
Standing in the center of the Council Hall, Xiao Yan first nodded to Xiao Zhan, signaling for him to remain calm. Only then did he turn and look steadily at Ge Ye.
"Elder Ge Ye, a humble family like our Xiao Clan would naturally never dare defy the Sect Master's command."
Ge Ye raised an eyebrow. This boy understood the circumstances better than his father did.
Xiao Yan's words sent another wave of commotion through the crowd below.
"Just as expected, he's useless! They're bullying him right to his face, and he's still such a coward! He doesn't deserve to be a son of the Xiao Clan!"
Ge Ye, however, looked thoroughly satisfied. He was just about to offer a few polite remarks when Xiao Yan abruptly changed tack.
"We will certainly break off the engagement. After all, we cannot afford to offend the mighty Misty Cloud Sect.
"But now that things have reached this point, our Xiao Clan has already lost every shred of face.
"The question now is whether the Nalan Family still wants to keep theirs."
Ge Ye's expression changed slightly at those words.
"Boy, what do you mean?"
Nalan Yanran, who had been watching coldly as though none of this concerned her, finally knitted her brows and turned her gaze toward Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan stared at Ge Ye and said unhurriedly:
"It's simple. There are two ways to resolve today's matter.
"First, the engagement ends, but it ends with me, Xiao Yan, presenting Miss Nalan with a letter of repudiation.
"To put it in terms Elder Ge can understand, heh, it's called casting off a wife!"
The words "casting off a wife" exploded like a thunderclap!
Everyone was shocked!
Then, immediately afterward, cheers erupted!
"Well said, Xiao Yan! This isn't breaking off an engagement! Our Xiao Clan is casting her off!"
"Hmph! So what if she's the future Sect Master of the Misty Cloud Sect? Our Xiao Clan is still casting her off!"
Nalan Yanran's and Ge Ye's faces instantly turned livid!
The future Sect Master of the Misty Cloud Sect, a favored daughter of heaven, was to be cast off by a useless boy with only sixth-stage Dou Power?
What an unparalleled disgrace!
Neither the Nalan Family nor the Misty Cloud Sect could possibly accept such an outcome!
It would sound utterly shameful!
As though he had not noticed Nalan Yanran's murderous glare, Xiao Yan continued, "And afterward, I'll send someone to the imperial capital to put up a hundred notices and thoroughly publicize this entire affair, from beginning to end!
"Elder Ge, I guarantee that those hundred notices will contain no embellishments whatsoever. Every word will be an objective account!
"Losing face, right? Our Xiao Clan has already lost ours, so we might as well spread that humiliation across the entire country!"
Ge Ye's expression darkened completely.
He truly had not expected this seemingly harmless youth to harbor such vicious intentions!
If the boy really made such a spectacle of it, never mind the damage to the reputations of the Misty Cloud Sect and the Nalan Family-the most crucial point was that his own tenure as an elder would be over!
Nalan Yanran trembled all over with rage!
Clenching her teeth, she stared at Xiao Yan and forced a few words through them:
"You... shameless!"
Xiao Yan smiled, his smile positively sunny and radiant.
"Miss Nalan, thank you for the compliment. You're too kind!"
Looking at Xiao Yan's hateful smiling face, Nalan Yanran felt blood rush to her head. Unable to maintain her reason any longer, she moved to stand in a fury!
Ge Ye stopped her.
There is still room to turn this around!
The boy just said there were two ways to resolve this!
Forcing a smile, Ge Ye said, "Xiao Yan, I recall you saying there were two possible solutions. What is the other one?"
Xiao Yan smiled faintly. "You want to preserve your dignity, Elder Ge? That's simple enough. Pay compensation!"
The word "compensation" immediately sent another uproar through the hall!
"That brat Xiao Yan! I thought he had some backbone! So he just wanted a little compensation? Pah! Doesn't the Xiao Clan's honor matter more than his measly compensation? What a useless wretch! How could he even say that?"
Ge Ye, however, smiled in relief.
Compensation?
Nothing could be simpler!
We had planned to offer compensation in the first place.
We simply intended to bring it up at the end, as though bestowing charity.
Judging by the present circumstances, we have no choice but to pay first.
Besides, the original plan was to start with one pill of Qi Gathering Powder.
If the Xiao Clan was dissatisfied, we would increase it to three. That ought to satisfy their appetite.
Now, however, Ge Ye no longer dared haggle. He said directly, "Xiao Yan, compensation is easy to arrange. Our Misty Cloud Sect is willing to offer three pills of Qi Gathering Powder in exchange for a peaceful resolution. What do you think?"
At the mention of three pills of Qi Gathering Powder, the voices below immediately fell silent!
That was Qi Gathering Powder!
Qi Gathering Powder, which guaranteed that a person could form a Dou Qi Vortex and advance to Dou Zhe!
Someone swallowed, and most of those present fell silent.
In all fairness, that was no small offer!
Even Xiao Zhan looked at Xiao Yan with an unreadable expression, saying nothing.
Everyone turned to Xiao Yan!
The choice now lay in Xiao Yan's hands!
Sweeping his gaze over the seated Xiao Clan youths, Xiao Yan remained silent for a moment before raising his head with a faint smile.
He held up three fingers.
"Thirty pills."
Before you continue