The Uproar Over Breaking Off the Engagement

A moment later, Hai Bodong spoke again:

"Brother Nalan, I won't waste any more breath. As for your granddaughter Nalan Yanran breaking off the engagement, just leave it to me!"

"After all, your granddaughter isn't a child anymore. She has her own thoughts and ideas."

"If you, as her elder, keep forcing her to do things she doesn't want to do..."

"Then in the end, things may very well backfire!"

Although Nalan Jie had been furious at first upon hearing that Nalan Yanran, that little girl, had dared to defy him and secretly go to Wutan City to break off the engagement,

if things truly went as Hai Bodong said, it would not be a bad solution for everyone involved.

Thus, after his brief fit of anger,

and considering that a veteran Dou Emperor-level powerhouse like Hai Bodong was willing to act as Nalan Yanran's intermediary,

Nalan Jie reluctantly agreed to the matter.

However, since his family had invited Ice Emperor Hai Bodong to step in, even though Nalan Yanran had said

that Hai Bodong had not asked for any compensation,

if the Nalan Family truly gave him nothing in return, then if word of this spread in the future, it would make Nalan Jie, as the clan leader, seem thoughtless.

Therefore, before his departure, Nalan Jie personally took out an item from his family estate's collection:

the Seven Illusory Azure Spirit Saliva, which possessed miraculous soul-nourishing effects, and presented it to Hai Bodong as a gift.

Hai Bodong did not say much in response.

After briefly declining out of courtesy, he gladly accepted the fairly valuable gift.

After all, as far as he knew, not only did he currently have no spiritual item with the miraculous ability to restore soul power,

even the entire Miter Auction House had not collected such a spiritual item in a very long time.

Since Hai Bodong did not wish to waste time,

he directly had Nalan Yanran abandon the Misty Cloud Sect group that had originally been prepared to travel with her to Wutan City.

Then, Hai Bodong summoned his Dou Qi Wings and flew toward the Xiao Family of Wutan City with Nalan Yanran in his arms.

With the formidable travel speed granted by Dou Qi Wings, by that afternoon,

after quietly passing through the checkpoints set up before the city gates, Hai Bodong and Nalan Yanran

arrived in the territory where the Xiao Family of Wutan City resided.

"Stop! Who are you people? Don't you know this is the territory of the Xiao Family of Wutan City?!"

Faced with the rude shouting of those ignorant youngsters standing before the Xiao Family's gates,

the ever-proud Hai Bodong had no intention of explaining himself. He immediately said:

"I am Ice Emperor Hai Bodong, and the person beside me is Nalan Yanran, the young sect master of the Misty Cloud Sect."

"We have come to Xiao Mansion today to discuss an important matter with your Xiao Family clan leader, Xiao Zhan!"

"You lot... hurry to the inner residence and report this matter to your clan leader Xiao Zhan!"

The young Xiao Family disciples guarding the gate

had never heard the name of an old-generation figure like Ice Emperor Hai Bodong, who had vanished from public view long ago.

But upon hearing that one of the visitors was the young sect master of the Misty Cloud Sect,

they immediately echoed in unison:

"Please wait for a moment in the reception hall of our Xiao Family's inner residence, Senior Ice Emperor and Young Sect Master Nalan. We will report this matter to Clan Leader Xiao Zhan at once!"

Hearing this, Hai Bodong said no more. He then gestured for Nalan Yanran beside him to speak. "Lead the way!"

Meanwhile, inside Xiao Mansion,

within a secluded room,

a young man sat cross-legged on his bed with his eyes closed, his hands forming an unusual seal before him.

His chest rose and fell gently with the rhythm of his body. With every breath, he formed a rather perfect cycle for cultivating Dou Qi.

As the aura within the young man's body circulated, faint white streams of air continuously

entered through his mouth and nostrils,

nourishing the bones throughout his body

and the muscle tissue in every part of it.

Yet the young man, who was cultivating with his eyes closed,

was, as always,

completely unaware that

the surface of the ancient black ring on his finger

was also flickering with an eerie glimmer,

before gradually falling silent once more.

A moment later, the young man in the room began his first breathing cycle of the day, drawing in the free-floating Dou Qi energy between heaven and earth.

"Phew..."

After slowly exhaling a breath of foul air, the cross-legged young man abruptly snapped open his eyes.

A faint white gleam then flashed through his pitch-black pupils.

It was Dou Qi that his body had just absorbed

but had yet to fully refine.

"Damn it! Again?!"

"The Dou Qi I worked so hard to cultivate is disappearing again!"

After sinking his consciousness inward once more and briefly examining the condition inside his body,

the young man's face suddenly twisted in fury as he cursed in a somewhat shrill voice.

After venting for a while, he began moving his body around in his room.

After all, with only three stages of Dou Qi,

he was not capable of ignoring fatigue.

Just then, a somewhat elderly voice suddenly came from outside the young man's room:

"Young Master Third, the clan leader requests your presence in the hall!"

"He says distinguished guests have arrived!"

The reason the young man named Xiao Yan was called Young Master Third was because he ranked third among his siblings.

He had two older brothers above him.

However, while Xiao Yan was still very young,

they had already left home to gain experience.

Only near the end of each year would they occasionally return home to visit their younger brother Xiao Yan.

"Oh! All right, I understand!"

The young man casually answered, then began straightening his clothes as he walked out of the room.

He then smiled at an elderly man in green robes outside and said, "Let's go, Steward Mo!"

Looking at the young man's still somewhat youthful face, the elderly man in green robes nodded kindly.

He then turned and led Xiao Yan

toward the reception hall.

Following the old steward surnamed Mo, Xiao Yan passed through the rear courtyard of Xiao Mansion.

The two walked straight to the entrance of the Xiao Family's reception hall.

Then Steward Mo, who was walking in front, respectfully knocked on the doors before the two gently pushed them open and entered.

At that moment, the reception hall

was filled with a large number of Xiao Family members.

After Xiao Yan entered the hall and swept his gaze over the room,

he saw that seated at the highest positions were his father, Xiao Family clan leader Xiao Zhan, and three Xiao Family Elders wearing ingratiating expressions.

Below them to their left sat several elders of the Xiao Family who held considerable influence and were not weak in strength.

As for the others in the hall, they were all outstanding younger members of the family.

Finally, Xiao Yan noticed that there were two strangers in the reception hall whom he had never seen before.

These two strangers must be the distinguished guests Father mentioned, Xiao Yan thought.

After briefly glancing at Hai Bodong and Nalan Yanran, Xiao Yan did not linger.

He continued forward at a brisk pace and respectfully bowed to Xiao Zhan and the others seated above him in the hall.

"Xiao Yan greets Father! Greetings, three Elders!"

"Ha ha! Yan'er, you've arrived. Come, take a seat."

Seeing that his son had arrived, Xiao Zhan stopped chatting amiably with Nalan Yanran.

He nodded at Xiao Yan and gestured with his hand.

"Yes, Father."

Xiao Yan nodded in response.