!
Nalan Yanran's bright eyes were fixed on the slightly thin young man not far away. Her gaze lingered on his handsome face. There, she could no longer see the madness and hatred that had been in the young man's eyes a year ago. In its place was a confidence that radiated from his very core, as if all obstacles would ultimately be nothing more than stepping stones for him.
"Xiao Yan, he... has really changed a lot..."
A thought quietly surfaced in her mind. Nalan Yanran's gaze held a hint of complexity. She had never imagined that he could be so calm when facing her.
In just one year, the young man's immaturity and sharp edges had been worn away. The young man before her now no longer possessed the sharp aura that had suddenly erupted in the Xiao Family hall back then. Instead, it was replaced by a deep inner restraint.
"However, some things must eventually be settled. Whether you are a Third Stage Dou Qi waste or a Three Star Dou Disciple genius, I, Nalan Yanran, will sever the ties between us!"
Although she was surprised by Xiao Yan's transformation, her thoughts remained unchanged. Even if Xiao Yan hadn't become a waste, she wouldn't marry someone she only knew through rumors.
Nalan Yanran slightly closed her eyes, calming her mind. Her jade hand tightly gripped the pale green long sword. Small, faint green wind scrolls swirled and drifted around the sword body. Within the wind scrolls, sharp wind blades extended and retracted, occasionally shooting out and leaving shallow but distinct scratch marks on the hard bluestone slab. The sword body gradually moved upwards, pointing towards Xiao Yan from a distance:
"Xiao Yan, I didn't expect you to have recovered your former talent. This is good. Come, let's settle what happened a year ago!"
The sharp sword edge reflected the sunlight, a chilling light that made Xiao Yan instinctively close his eyes. He then let out a long breath, his eyes suddenly opening. The Dou Qi around his body also deepened significantly at this moment. Seeing her movements, which were exactly the same as when she annulled the engagement, he grinned:
"Nalan Yanran, the humiliation you brought upon my Xiao Family, today, you will return it..."
Instantly, the Dou Qi rising from both their bodies, though not strong, caused the atmosphere on the vast plaza to instantly solidify.
The surrounding spectators all fell silent at this moment. There was no other reason; the aura on that young man had actually reached the Dou Disciple level, and it was a Three Star Dou Disciple!
After the silence came an explosive gasp! The next moment, everyone in the arena turned their gaze to that young man, their eyes revealing visible shock, their expressions extremely fascinating.
A moment later, hurried breaths echoed around the circular platform, on the Xiao Family rooftops, on the distant treetops... almost everywhere, a wave of gasps sounded.
On the Xiao Family's main seat, Xiao Zhan's emotions surged. The teacup in his hand was directly crushed into powder by his palm. The tea mixed with the powder dripped down his hand.
"Dou Disciple, Yan'er, you really did it, you've become a Dou Disciple again!"
Looking at the black-shirted young man beneath the black stone tablet, Xiao Zhan's eyes were slightly moist. The scene before him felt like a dream, but that feeling was quickly washed away by joy.
He knew in his heart how much effort Xiao Yan had put in to reach this point. At least for this entire year, the number of times he had seen Xiao Yan did not exceed the count of his two hands.
The several Elders sitting beside Xiao Zhan were also full of disbelief. A year ago, he was still at the Third Stage of Dou Qi, but in just one short year, he had directly condensed a Dou Qi Cyclone and become a Dou Disciple again. This speed, let alone witnessing it, they hadn't even heard of it!
"Could it be that his talent never actually disappeared?"
The few of them exchanged glances, each seeing the shock and a hint of suspicion in the other's eyes. Unanimously, they all thought of this possibility.
But soon, they dismissed this idea. The things Xiao Yan had experienced over those three years, even if it were them, they might not have been able to accept it, let alone a little guy who was only a little over ten years old.
Moreover, they had personally witnessed the tests over those three years. It was absolutely impossible for Xiao Yan, a mere Dou Disciple, to deceive them.
However, this only made them feel more horrified. Breaking through ten levels in one year! What terrifying speed was this?
Those shocked by the aura on Xiao Yan were not only the Xiao Family members but also the Cloud Mist Sect group in the VIP seats, the various families in Wutan City, the countless powerhouses who had traveled thousands of miles to watch the battle, and... Nalan Yanran!
On the other side of the arena, Nalan Yanran also felt the aura on Xiao Yan. Although it was not as strong as hers, it was a genuine Dou Disciple. She murmured in a lost voice:
"This... how is this possible?"
A year ago, he was just a waste that anyone could step on, but now, he had leaped to become someone who could be considered a genius even in the Cloud Mist Sect!
Taking a deep breath, she finally calmed down. Just as she had thought, whether he was a waste or a genius, it had nothing to do with her.
"A sixteen-year-old Dou Disciple, tsk, I didn't expect that after three years of decline, he not only didn't fade away but became even more terrifying."
"That's right, this time, the Xiao Family has probably made a huge profit. Perhaps they can truly return to the Imperial Capital."
"Look at Nalan Jie, his face, he's probably regretting it so much his intestines are turning green, hahaha."
"Who says it isn't? That old man values face the most. He kept dragging his feet and didn't speak up to dissolve the marriage, which is why it turned out like this. With his personality, he probably won't be able to bring himself to mend ties with the Xiao Family in the future..."
"Sigh..."
Listening to the discussions around him, Nalan Jie stared intently at Xiao Yan. After a long while, he let out a long breath, slowly closing his eyes, a slightly bitter expression on his face.
This time, Nalan Jie genuinely felt a sense of regret. He regretted why he had cared so much about face, not only creating a rift between his granddaughter and himself but also causing her to completely sour the relationship between the two families.
If he hadn't been so stubborn back then and had taken the initiative to propose dissolving the engagement, although it would have caused some gossip, the relationship between the two families wouldn't have ended up like this. It was precisely his stubbornness, his obsession with saving face at his own expense, that not only led Nalan Yanran to annul the engagement but also completely caused this young man, who had gone from a waste to condensing a Dou Qi Cyclone and becoming a Dou Disciple in just one year, to resent the Nalan Family.
"Sigh..."
He sighed again. Previously, Nalan Jie had been angry at Nalan Yanran's action of annulling the engagement, but that was because he valued face. He couldn't bring himself to break the agreement he had made with Xiao Yan's grandfather back then. If it weren't for this reason, who would be willing to let their outstanding granddaughter marry the Xiao Family young master who was merely a waste at the time?
However, now, not only had he left a bad impression on a terrifying genius towards the Nalan Family, but even his own granddaughter was living in the Cloud Mist Sect because of his obsession with face. In Nalan Yanran's eyes, the Cloud Mist Sect was even closer than the Nalan Family.
Moreover, he no longer had a chance to remedy the situation. The sharp young man had made him clearly understand that it was all too late.
He regretted it. Because he saw the terrifying potential hidden within Xiao Yan. The future value that this potential could bring had already far exceeded the bottom line Nalan Jie could have predicted.
Breaking through ten stages in one year, his terrifying speed was even more shocking than a twelve-year-old Dou Disciple! This kind of cultivation talent could only be described with two words: terrifying!
-----------
Machine Translation by: beta.randomtranslator.com
Read 1400+ original & fanfic translations and Translate for Free at: www.randomtranslator.com