Before Liu Wuxie reached the Xu Household on his return, a terrifying presence shrouded the sky above it.
An expert!
Liu Wuxie spoke inwardly. The presence came from the main hall, and many servants were as silent as cicadas in winter. They had been very courteous whenever they saw him these past few days, but today they all behaved strangely, keeping their mouths shut and hurrying past.
"Young master, the master wants you to go to the main hall at once."
The steward ran over. He had already searched for Liu Wuxie several times without finding any trace of him.
Liu Wuxie followed the steward toward the main hall. The moment he stepped inside, several gazes swept toward him.
One in particular was like an arrow, intensely aggressive.
Then an astonishing presence swept over him, blotting out the sky and covering the earth, seeking to suppress him. It was a provocation aimed at his soul.
An ordinary person would already have been scared into wetting and soiling himself by that soul suppression, but Liu Wuxie remained as calm as a light breeze beneath drifting clouds. No one understood the use of soul power better than he did.
"Greetings, Father-in-law!"
Upon entering the main hall, he saw three figures: his father-in-law Xu Yilin, Xu Lingxue, and a beautiful middle-aged woman.
That piercing gaze had come from the beautiful woman's eyes, brimming with hostility.
Liu Wuxie was lost in a fog. He did not seem to know her, did he? They had never even met. What was she trying to do, releasing such intense hostility for no apparent reason?
"Wuxie, you're here. Come pay your respects to Senior Baili Qing." Xu Yilin looked deeply respectful and urged Liu Wuxie forward to greet her so that he would not slight the senior.
Baili Qing?
His brows furrowed. Xu Lingxue's master, the vice dean of the Imperial Academy. He had heard that she was cold-faced and heartless. Seeing her today, she certainly lived up to that reputation.
"No need. I only summoned you to announce one thing: your marriage contract with Lingxue is dissolved. I arrived just in time. Lingxue has not lost her virginity."
She had presumably rushed over as soon as she received news of Xu Lingxue's wedding, then breathed a sigh of relief after checking that Xu Lingxue was still a virgin.
According to their agreement, Xu Lingxue was to go to the Imperial Academy during its year-end admissions assessment, but she had been forced to come early.
"Senior Baili, surely this is inappropriate!" Xu Yilin quickly stepped forward.
He had arranged the wedding. The two households had agreed years ago that they could marry once they turned eighteen. How could the marriage contract be torn up at will?
"There is nothing inappropriate about it. The matter is settled. Lingxue is extraordinarily gifted, and her constitution is ideally suited to cultivating our Imperial Academy's Jade Maiden Heart Sutra. Her future cannot be held back by a piece of trash."
Before coming, she had already investigated Liu Wuxie's identity thoroughly. He was Canglan City's notorious piece of trash.
She openly mocked Liu Wuxie as trash, unworthy of being Xu Lingxue's husband. How heartless she was, forcibly tearing the two of them apart.
Liu Wuxie had not spoken a word throughout. He understood the gist of it.
She simply despised him for being trash, dragging Xu Lingxue down and holding back her bright future.
He looked toward Xu Lingxue. Was this Baili Qing's wish or hers? That distinction mattered greatly.
"Is that what you think too?" His clear gaze settled on Xu Lingxue's exquisitely beautiful face as he waited for her answer.
Her face was pale. She had never expected her master to say such things. She had never denied her marriage to Liu Wuxie, much less imagined that their marriage contract would one day be torn up.
She felt things were quite good as they were. She neither went against her father's promise nor hindered her own cultivation. Their relationship remained in a state of balance, with neither troubling the other.
"I... I don't want this...!"
Xu Lingxue's heart was in turmoil. She dared not meet Liu Wuxie's naked, burning gaze, which left her utterly at a loss.
Liu Wuxie had expected that answer. Every decision had been made by the beautiful woman before him alone. She was the one forcibly interfering with their marriage contract.
"You needn't ask Lingxue. From today onward, you are no longer husband and wife."
A marriage contract appeared in Baili Qing's hand. She clenched her hand, and the contract shattered into countless scraps that fluttered to the floor.
"Master, don't..."
Xu Lingxue wanted to stop her, but it was already too late. Two clear tears slid down her cheeks.
Liu Wuxie clenched his fists tightly, struggling to restrain his emotions. This vicious woman had torn up his marriage contract with Xu Lingxue. Though they had never consummated their marriage, they were husband and wife in name. This was trampling on his dignity. Even if their marriage contract were to be dissolved, Xu Lingxue should have been the one to propose it, not her.
Everything happened too quickly. Xu Yilin was completely stunned. Baili Qing was at the peak of the Marrow Cleansing Realm, and her tyrannical presence swept through the main hall, sending Liu Wuxie flying.
"You ugly witch! One day, I'll make you kneel and admit that everything you did today was wrong."
Liu Wuxie knelt on the floor, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. He hated it-hated his own powerlessness. He could not even protect his marriage contract and had been forcibly separated from his wife.
His feelings for Xu Lingxue could hardly be called deep. This was a matter of dignity, ruthlessly trampled underfoot.
"You dare insult me? Do you believe I could kill you with a single palm strike right now?"
For someone of her standing, killing an Acquired Realm cultivator was no different from crushing an ant. A terrifying hurricane formed a palm imprint above Liu Wuxie's head. Once it descended, he would undoubtedly die.
"Master, please, don't kill him."
Xu Lingxue suddenly dropped to her knees before Baili Qing, pleading with her not to kill Liu Wuxie.
"For Lingxue's sake, I'll spare your life today. From now on, go on being the trash you are."
With a flick of her sleeve, the force dissipated, and the palm imprint pressing down over Liu Wuxie's head vanished.
"Pfft..."
He spat out a mouthful of blood. His eyes resembled those of an ancient savage beast as he rose to his feet. He would remember today's scene firmly.
"Senior Baili Qing, isn't this going too far?"
Xu Yilin could no longer bear to watch. Xu Lingxue was his daughter, and in his heart, he had long regarded Liu Wuxie as his own son. As a father, it pained him deeply to see things develop to this point.
"Too far?" Baili Qing sneered. "Would you really want to watch your daughter spend her entire life with a piece of trash?"
She scoffed, showing him no consideration even though he was Xu Lingxue's father. This was Baili Qing, known as the she-devil of the Imperial Academy.
"You are Lingxue's master, so I ought to respect you. But forcibly breaking their marriage contract is going too far. The children should resolve their own affairs, rather than have us forcefully interfere."
There was nothing wrong with Xu Yilin's words. As elders, they should not interfere in the younger generation's affairs.
"Are you teaching me how to do things?"
A bone-piercing chill filled the entire hall. In her eyes, there was only Xu Lingxue.
Just as Xue Yu had said, even if the Xu Household were destroyed, Baili Qing would not stand up for them. This was precisely what he had meant, for he understood her character very well.
"Father-in-law, there's no need to say any more. Everything I lost today, I'll reclaim tenfold one day. I'll show her just how foolish today's decision was."
Liu Wuxie interrupted his father-in-law, telling him to say no more.
"I hope I live to see that day."
Baili Qing sneered. Eighteen years old and still unable to break through to the Innate Spirit-at the Imperial Academy, he would be garbage.
The main hall fell silent. No one spoke. Baili Qing returned to her seat, her face livid.
"I'm sorry. I didn't want this."
Xu Lingxue walked up to Liu Wuxie, her voice as faint as a mosquito's hum. Tears slipped down her face as she lightly clenched her pearly teeth, holding herself back from crying aloud.
"This has nothing to do with you. Go to the Imperial Academy and cultivate well. Before long, I'll come find you and show this old witch just how absurd and ignorant everything she did today was."
Instead, Liu Wuxie comforted Xu Lingxue, telling her not to feel burdened. It was only a sheet of paper. Tearing it up did not mean things between them were completely over.
As his words fell, Baili Qing's killing intent grew even stronger. She forcibly restrained it, truly wanting to slap Liu Wuxie to death.
"Master... she's a very good person. Don't call her an old... witch."
Baili Qing doted on Xu Lingxue, but toward outsiders, she was cold and merciless.
"Good?" Liu Wuxie gave a mocking laugh. "Cultivation should follow one's desires and pursue one's true heart. She thinks severing the seven emotions and six desires will let her reach the pinnacle of the Great Dao. Utterly laughable."
Baili Qing cultivated the Seven Emotions Desire-Extinguishing Heart Method, which had drastically changed her personality and made her unfeeling. That Liu Wuxie could see through it at a glance made her gaze stab straight at him like a poisoned thorn. How did he know?
"It's getting late. Lingxue, pack your things and leave Canglan City with me. You'll enter the academy early so you don't miss too many lessons."
She spoke impatiently, unwilling to linger in Canglan City for even another moment, wanting to return to the Imperial Academy sooner.
"Senior Baili Qing, why not stay at the Xu Household for a few more days, so I can offer you proper hospitality?"
No matter what, she was Lingxue's master, and Xu Yilin still had to maintain a good relationship with her. The one hurt most by today's events was Liu Wuxie.
"Forget it. Perhaps another time. Hurry and pack. I'll wait outside the city gates."
With that, Baili Qing's figure flickered, and she vanished from the main hall, leaving the Xu Household.
Only the three of them remained in the hall. Xu Yilin gave a bitter laugh and patted Liu Wuxie's shoulder, a bitter smile on his face.
"Father-in-law, I still have something to do. I'll head back first!"
He needed no comfort. When a wolf was wounded, it would only quietly find a deserted place to lick its wounds. One day, the wolf king would return and trample everyone who had scorned and mocked him beneath his feet, one by one.
Watching Liu Wuxie's departing figure, Xu Yilin let out a long sigh.
"Xue'er, Wuxie has changed greatly these past few days, and his cultivation has been advancing by leaps and bounds. Don't lightly tear up your marriage contract. Time will prove everything."
Xu Yilin spoke earnestly. He had judged countless people, and he had seen Liu Wuxie's changes over these past few days with his own eyes.
"Father, I know."
Xu Lingxue nodded. The scene at the beast-fighting arena had deeply affected her. He truly had changed: his temperament was composed, his gaze wise, and his conduct steady.
"Once you reach the academy, cultivate diligently. Don't disappoint everyone's expectations. You needn't worry about the Lineage's affairs. Wuxie and I will take care of them."
Xu Yilin spoke earnestly.
Returning to his residence, Liu Wuxie sat in his room in a daze for a while. He took a deep breath, and a trace of resolve flashed through his eyes.
"A little setback won't crush my confidence. Time to refine the Meridian-Restoring Pill."
He brought out the Pill Furnace to refine the Meridian-Restoring Pill, reconnect his heart meridian, and break through to the Xiantian Realm in one fell swoop.