A genius-is that all?

Seeing his cheerful, confident youngest daughter, Xiao Zhan smiled gently. "Yan'er..."

This and that, and so on and so forth.

What he talked about was really just the matter of her coming-of-age ceremony.

Xiao Yan was fourteen now, and her coming-of-age ceremony would take place at fifteen.

If she had not reached Seventh Stage Dou Qi by then, she would lose the clan's favor and be assigned to manage one of the Xiao Clan's businesses.

If she was "sent away," her time for cultivation would also shrink drastically.

These were the Xiao Clan's rules. Even as the clan leader's daughter, Xiao Yan had no special privileges.

Frankly, Xiao Yan had no objection to becoming a manager.

After all, her status was what it was. No matter what happened, she would still stand a cut above those mercenary Dou Zhe who grew wild like weeds, and her life would be far better than her previous one. At worst, people would laugh at her a little.

Besides, she might not even be "sent away." Defeating a seventh-stage clan member would let her stay in the Main Clan.

But her dad could not let it go. He worried all day long, blaming himself for failing to take good care of Xiao Yan and having to send a young girl like her out to suffer. It made her feel rather guilty.

More than anything, though, she was touched.

So Xiao Yan repeatedly assured her dad that she would pass the coming-of-age assessment.

Xiao Zhan, however, had no idea what she was thinking. Seeing her striving so hard only made him feel guiltier.

If Yan'er hadn't lost her talent, she would probably be a Dou Zhe by now... no, a Dou Shi, wouldn't she?

After all, cultivating through the Dou Qi stages was much harder than cultivating as a Dou Zhe!

Yan'er could have become a Dou Shi at fourteen, with a chance of becoming a Dou Huang expert in the future. A brilliant future would have awaited her.

Alas, fate made fools of people...

"All right, Yan'er, it's getting late. Get some rest! We have honored guests visiting tomorrow, so mind your manners."

With a soft sigh, Xiao Zhan patted Xiao Yan's shoulder, gave her that reminder, and turned to leave.

"Honored guests..." Xiao Yan sank into thought.

An honored guest connected to me... probably that fiancé I've never met, Nalan Yan?

Nalan Yan-a handsome male companion. Not a bad name.

Besides, she had heard that Nalan Yan was the Misty Cloud Sect's head disciple. Unfortunately, Xiao Yan had little interest in him.

Judging a gentleman's heart with a petty person's suspicions, Xiao Yan reckoned he was most likely coming to break off their engagement.

Why not call it divorcing his wife? Because the two families had only arranged a betrothal.

Still, this fiancé had waited until three years after she lost her talent before coming. He had maintained appearances longer than those companions she used to play with.

In that case, she would return the courtesy and preserve his dignity too.

Especially since she had no power, influence, or strength, and the Nalan Family was more powerful than the Xiao Clan.

Their elders had arranged the engagement, and she shared no affection with her fiancé. Who knew what sort of person that Nalan Yan was?

If Nalan Yan was a wastrel, marrying him would probably mean suffering, with no one to stand up for her if she was bullied.

If Nalan Yan was a gentleman, someone like her who was "marrying above her station" would still be unable to hold her head high in the Nalan Family.

Whether she could live a good life would depend entirely on that fiancé's character.

Entrusting the rest of her life to a man she had never met-how was that any different from gambling?

She had no desire to become a "pampered wife," trapped in the rear courtyard for life, tending to her husband and raising children. Nor did she want to work like an ox or a horse for another family.

So she might as well stay in the Xiao Clan and be a dutiful daughter to her dad.

Marriage had never been part of her plans in the first place.

Even if her talent had not disappeared, she would have found a way to end this engagement.

Now, she only needed to step down using the foothold the other party offered, saving herself plenty of effort.

Otherwise, this engagement would have been far from easy to break.

Of course, beyond ending the engagement smoothly, she also had to take care to preserve the Xiao Clan's dignity as much as possible.

Although... having someone come to their door to break off an engagement would inevitably be humiliating.

Never mind. I'll play it by ear tomorrow. Xiao Yan felt she understood the ways of the world and possessed a little emotional intelligence.

Besides, since the elders of both families had arranged this engagement back then, their relationship surely could not have been bad.

She figured that even if the other party wanted to end the engagement, he would not embarrass the Xiao Clan too badly.

With that thought, Xiao Yan relaxed. She cultivated for a while longer before washing up and going to bed.

The next day.

Steward Mo woke Xiao Yan. After a quick wash, she changed into a plain dress and accompanied him to the main hall.

The Xiao Clan's main hall was still quite imposing. Although the clan had declined since Xiao Yan's grandfather Xiao Lin passed away, it had once been "wealthy."

As she entered, Xiao Yan unobtrusively scanned everyone in the hall.

The clan leader and three elders sat at the head of the hall. Below them on their left sat senior clan members who held some influence and possessed respectable cultivation.

The outstanding members of the younger generation sat obediently around them.

Three strangers sat on the other side: an old man and a little boy and girl... ahem, a young man and a young woman.

The old man was a Seven-Star Great Dou Master, and the young man was probably her fiancé, Nalan Yan. As for the young woman... she could not figure out what her situation was.

The young man and woman wore matching moon-white robes.

The young man looked a few years older than Xiao Yan. His handsome face and upright figure made him quite attractive.

Of course, the most important detail was the three gold stars embroidered on his chest.

They represented the young man's strength: Three-Star Dou Zhe!

Becoming a Three-Star Dou Zhe at around sixteen or seventeen showed that his cultivation talent was quite... ordinary.

(In the original novel, Nalan Yanran was three years older than Xiao Yan, so the same three-year age difference is used here.)

Not "quite extraordinary," but "quite ordinary."

At least, to the Xiao Yan of the past, his talent honestly amounted to little more than that.

After all, he was sixteen or seventeen, yet only a Three-Star Dou Zhe.

Moreover, this Nalan Yan was the Misty Cloud Sect's head disciple and had no shortage of cultivation resources.

That meant either he had only recently become a Dou Zhe, or...

His progress had actually slowed after becoming a Dou Zhe compared with the Dou Qi stages?

During the Dou Qi stages, the meridians were fragile, making it impossible to use any medicinal pills. A failed breakthrough could even cause one's cultivation to fall.

Thus, for the vast majority of people, the time spent in the Dou Qi stages was definitely longer than the journey from Dou Zhe to Dou Shi.

And as the Misty Cloud Sect's head disciple, Nalan Yan must have had Qi Gathering Powder when he broke through to Dou Zhe. Yet despite being three years older than her, he was only a Three-Star Dou Zhe...

Had her talent not disappeared, Xiao Yan felt she could have pinned this head disciple of the Misty Cloud Sect to the ground with one hand and ground him into the dirt.

The Misty Cloud Sect's head disciple-is that all? He probably only got that position because the Misty Cloud Sect had its eye on his grandfather Nalan Jie's status as the Lionheart Marshal, didn't he?

Of course, that was only an "if." There were things Xiao Yan could only think to herself.

Today, he was an "honored guest," so she could not neglect her manners.

Never mind. Once the engagement is broken off, whatever happens to Nalan Yan will have nothing much to do with me.

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