Breaking off the engagement

Jiang Xian did not answer. He merely raised his eyes slightly, his gaze drifting over the three elders.

Pure spiritual force turned into a bone-chilling cold that followed his gaze straight into the three elders' souls. Still, they were elders of the Xiao Clan, so Jiang Xian did not strike to kill. He merely taught them a lesson.

Planetary Level strength was at least equivalent to a Dou Wang in Battle Through the Heavens. The Xiao Clan elders were only at the Da Dou Shi level. Under this powerful suppression laden with the aura of death, they felt their blood nearly freeze, their limbs too heavy to lift. Stabs of pain wracked their seas of consciousness, as though their souls would be crushed the next second.

Their vision suddenly went black, and cold sweat instantly soaked their backs. The terror of imminent death surged within them. All the anger behind their earlier rebukes vanished, leaving only bone-deep fear. This young man was definitely a powerhouse far beyond them.

The Great Elder's trembling hand stopped in midair as he stroked his beard. His face turned deathly pale, and he no longer dared show the slightest anger. He hurriedly staggered to his feet. "We were discourteous. Please, take the seat of honor! The three of us are feeling unwell, so we shall take our leave."

The Second Elder and Third Elder also hurriedly rose and stepped aside, not daring to utter another word of objection. They obediently vacated the seats of honor.

Everyone in the hall looked bewildered. The atmosphere had become utterly bizarre.

Jiang Xian remained as relaxed as ever as he walked forward and sat down.

"Little Shi Hao, come sit beside me. Ye Fan, Fang Han, Xiao Yan, there are only two seats for the three of you. What should we do?" Jiang Xian asked as he looked at them.

"Brother Xiao Yan, come sit with me!" a girl called from the corner.

Jiang Xian looked toward the girl in the corner. She should be Xiao Yan's childhood sweetheart, Xiao Xun'er.

Without hesitation, Xiao Yan walked straight over and sat down beside Xiao Xun'er. The two began chatting.

"When Xun'er was little, Brother Xiao Yan would come every day..." Xiao Xun'er said to Xiao Yan in a very quiet voice.

After hearing her out, Xiao Yan guiltily looked toward Jiang Xian and the others at the head of the hall.

With their cultivation levels, Ye Fan and Shi Hao had not heard her. But Jiang Xian and Fang Han both had. Jiang Xian gave Xiao Yan the middle finger, while Fang Han cast him a contemptuous look.

Seeing Jiang Xian's middle finger and Fang Han's look, Xiao Yan felt that his lifelong reputation was about to be ruined.

"Brother Xiao Yan, do you know who those three up there are?" Xun'er asked softly beside him.

"Yes. They're from the Misty Cloud Sect. That girl is Nalan Yanran, my fiancée. She's here today to break off our engagement," Xiao Yan whispered into Xiao Xun'er's ear.

Xiao Xun'er looked utterly puzzled. How had Brother Xiao Yan said everything she had wanted to say?

Holding Xiao Yan's hand, Xiao Xun'er said softly, "Brother Xiao Yan, if Nalan Yanran insists on breaking off the engagement, she'll be the only one losing out. Xun'er believes that one day, she'll bitterly regret the decision she made today."

"Xun'er, there's no need to wait. She'll regret it today." A confident smile appeared on Xiao Yan's face. Looking at his smile, Xiao Xun'er felt that the Brother Xiao Yan she had once known had returned.

After chatting with Xiao Zhan for a long time, the white-robed elder finally could not hold back. "Clan Leader Xiao, I came today to discuss a matter concerning Yanran. Our Misty Cloud Sect Master is grooming Yanran as her future successor. The successor to our Misty Cloud Sect Master cannot have entanglements with men, so the sect master would like to ask Clan Leader Xiao to... dissolve the engagement."

"The sect master knows that this request is indeed excessive, so she specifically sent me with a gift of apology!" Ge Ye took a box from the ring on his hand.

"Xiao Yan, as long as you agree to dissolve the engagement, I can offer further compensation and let you enter the Misty Cloud Sect to study more advanced cultivation methods," Nalan Yanran added.

Xiao Zhan's expression was utterly dark, and he was just about to erupt.

A young man's relaxed, unhurried voice, tinged with faint mockery, suddenly drifted down from the head of the hall.

"The mere young sect master of a trifling Misty Cloud Sect dares break off an engagement with a disciple of my Fenglingyueying Sect?" His voice was not loud, yet it carried throughout the hall, filled with a transcendent confidence that stood above everything.

Everyone abruptly looked up to see Jiang Xian slowly walking down from the head of the hall. He stood tall and straight, his expression calm, his eyes full of mockery and derision.

He walked forward slowly, his gaze sweeping indifferently over Nalan Yanran and Ge Ye, whose expressions had shifted slightly. His smile grew colder.

"How honored are the disciples of my Fenglingyueying Sect? Even if Xiao Yan spent several years at his lowest, he is still one of us. Since when did your Misty Cloud Sect have the right to find fault with him and trample on his dignity as you please?"

"Nalan Yanran, you fancy yourself a peerless talent with lofty ambitions?" Jiang Xian scoffed, his tone contemptuous.

"Your outlook is narrow, and your vision shortsighted. Today, you think yourself high above him, discarding a worthless ant. Little do you know that what you have cast aside with your own hands today is the greatest opportunity of your life."

Ge Ye's expression instantly darkened, and he rebuked him sharply.

"Insolence! What Fenglingyueying Sect? I have spent decades in the Jia Ma Empire, visiting sects and prominent families everywhere, and I have never heard of such an obscure little sect!"

"You're nothing but some brat who crawled out of who knows where, yet you dare boast shamelessly before our Misty Cloud Sect and prattle about your sect's honor."

"Oh? Say that again." Jiang Xian rose into the air, stepping on empty space.

An ordinary Planetary Level was roughly equivalent to a Dou Wang or a Dou Emperor. But he was no ordinary Planetary Level. So what if it was a Dou Zong? They would be no match for him at all.

"A-a Dou Zong powerhouse! Please calm your anger, Senior! Please don't take it out on the Misty Cloud Sect! We were rash and ignorant today. Our Misty Cloud Sect was wrong!" Ge Ye's legs went weak, his face as pale as paper. All his earlier bluster vanished in an instant. He trembled violently, almost dropping to his knees on the spot.

Beside him, Nalan Yanran froze completely. Every trace of color drained from her stunning face, her whole body turned cold, and she stood utterly dumbstruck.

All her earlier arrogance, disdain, and sense of superiority were laughably, pitifully insignificant before this Dou Zong powerhouse.

Below, Xiao Zhan and every member and younger disciple of the Xiao Clan stared openmouthed at the young man hovering in midair. Shaken to their very cores, they even forgot to breathe.

No one had imagined that this friend of Xiao Yan's was actually a Dou Zong powerhouse!

A trace of curiosity also appeared as Xiao Xun'er looked at Jiang Xian. When did Brother Xiao Yan make a Dou Zong friend and join the Fenglingyueying Sect? A Dou Zong this young-this Fenglingyueying Sect is no ordinary sect!

"Xiao Yan, handle the rest yourself." Jiang Xian looked at Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan stepped forward and looked at Nalan Yanran. "Nalan Yanran, you came to break off the engagement simply because you think I'm not worthy of you. Because my Dou Qi disappeared before and I became a good-for-nothing, my talent couldn't compare to yours. My Xiao Clan couldn't compare to your Misty Cloud Sect."

"And now? What does this Misty Cloud Sect you're so proud of amount to before me? Compared with my Fenglingyueying Sect, the Misty Cloud Sect isn't worth mentioning. And that Dou Qi cultivation you're so proud of-is a Three-Star Dou Zhe really that strong?" With that, Xiao Yan revealed his Dou Qi as a Nine-Star Dou Zhe.