The once-glorious Xiao Clan gradually declined after losing Xiao Xuan.
The mysterious Hun Clan, too, had been forced to hide deep within the continent to preserve its strength after an internal opposition faction seized power.
A hundred years later, with the continent's greatest powers fallen in battle, some formerly weak factions saw the Xiao Clan's decline and stirred restlessly, seizing every opportunity to suppress them.
They seized the Xiao Clan's territories and plundered its resources, forcing its members to flee in every direction.
To preserve the embers of their lineage, the Xiao Clan had no choice but to scatter its members across the continent.
The Northwest Continent, the Jia Ma Empire.
Xiao Lin, a Dou Wang, was ambushed while relocating his entire family.
Enemies poured in from all sides like phantoms, their dark aura shrouding the entire party.
Xiao Lin fought with all his might, the radiance of Dou Qi blazing around him,
Yet the enemies were numerous and formidable, and most of the branch clan died valiantly in the brutal battle.
With the few clansmen who remained, Xiao Lin fought his way out of the encirclement at the risk of his life and fled to Wutan City.
They were utterly exhausted, their eyes filled with grief and fury over the loss of their loved ones and home.
But their weakness left them no choice but to endure.
Inside a residence in Wutan City.
Xiao Yan, Xiao Zhan's son, a boy who had once possessed extraordinary talent, was silently gazing out the window.
He recalled his days in the clan, when everyone had hailed him as a genius and his Dou Qi cultivation had marched triumphantly onward, rising rapidly from Dou Zhe.
Yet, for some unknown reason, his Dou Qi had suddenly begun draining away, and his cultivation had fallen all the way from Dou Zhe to Dou Qi Third Stage.
This sudden calamity had made him the object of his clansmen's ridicule,
The praise of the past had turned into bitter mockery, and their expectations into disappointment and contempt.
Inside the Xiao Clan's main hall, the atmosphere was tense and oppressive.
Sunlight streamed through the carved window frames onto the cold stone floor, yet it could not dispel the tension and unease hanging in the air.
Nalan Yanran of the Misty Cloud Sect,
Accompanied by Elder Ge Ye, stepped into this place to which she had once been bound by a thousand tangled threads.
Nalan Yanran wore a flowing white robe, its sleeves fluttering, her exquisite face marked by a trace of aloof, lofty disdain.
There was not a shred of warmth in her eyes, only determination and finality.
Elder Ge Ye wore a long gray robe,
His expression stern, a powerful aura radiating from him and proclaiming the might of the Misty Cloud Sect.
The members of the Xiao Clan had gathered in the hall, their expressions grave.
Xiao Yan, the once-gifted boy now shunned after losing all his Dou Qi, stood in a corner of the hall, his fists clenched and his gaze fixed fiercely on the arrogant Nalan Yanran.
Nalan Yanran swept her gaze across the Xiao Clan members, lifted her chin slightly, and said in a cool voice:
"Clan Leader Xiao, Elder Ge Ye and I have come today regarding my marriage to Xiao Yan."
Xiao Zhan, the Xiao Clan's leader, wore a dark expression as he forcibly suppressed his fury and said:
"Miss Nalan, is there any room left to discuss this?"
Nalan Yanran gave a cold laugh:
"Discuss? Xiao Yan is now nothing but a worthless Dou Qi Third Stage weakling. I, Nalan Yanran, am the heaven-favored daughter of the Misty Cloud Sect. How could I lower myself to marry him? This engagement must be broken!"
At those words, everyone in the Xiao Clan was filled with fury.
Xiao Yan's father, Xiao Zhan, trembled with rage:
"Nalan Yanran, how dare you humiliate my son like this!"
Nalan Yanran glanced disdainfully at Xiao Zhan and said:
"Uncle Xiao Zhan, it is the truth. I refuse to let this marriage ruin my future."
Xiao Yan could endure no more. He abruptly stepped forward, glaring at Nalan Yanran as he shouted:
"Nalan Yanran, do you think I, Xiao Yan, care a whit for this marriage? You humiliate me today, but one day I will make you regret it!"
Nalan Yanran smiled contemptuously:
"You? A worthless Dou Qi Third Stage weakling?"
Xiao Yan's eyes instantly became bloodshot. Through gritted teeth, he said each word distinctly:
"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west. Do not scorn a young man for being poor!"
With that, he abruptly drew a dagger, cut his finger, and wrote furiously on a sheet of paper.
Blood stained the paper red as he wrote a letter repudiating his wife.
"Nalan Yanran, today you are not breaking our engagement. I, Xiao Yan, am casting you off!"
Xiao Yan flung the blood-written letter at Nalan Yanran. The bloodstained sheet drifted through the air, like his shattered dignity and boundless fury.
Nalan Yanran's expression changed. She had never expected Xiao Yan to be so resolute.
Seeing this, Elder Ge Ye snorted coldly:
"Xiao Yan, you are courting death! You dare treat Miss Yanran this way? The Misty Cloud Sect will not let you off!"
Xiao Yan lifted his head without a trace of fear:
"So what if it is the Misty Cloud Sect? I, Xiao Yan, am not afraid!"
The Xiao Clan's hall fell deathly silent. Only Xiao Yan's steadfast gaze and faintly trembling body betrayed the turmoil within him.
Nalan Yanran put away the blood-written letter and said coldly:
"Xiao Yan, you had better watch yourself."
With that, she turned and left with Elder Ge Ye.
After they left, tears welled in Xiao Yan's eyes.
But he quickly wiped them away and rose to his feet, his eyes filled with resolve:
"For today's humiliation, I, Xiao Yan, will repay you twofold!"
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