Morning sunlight bathed the Xiao Clan's main courtyard in a soft golden glow, but the atmosphere was far from warm. Servants whispered anxiously. Disciples exchanged uneasy looks. Elders stood in stiff lines beside the hall entrance.
Everyone felt it.
Today, something was going to break.
Xiao Shui walked calmly through the gathering crowd, robes brushing lightly against the stone floor. His steps were quiet, measured—water flowing through a riverbed.
But beneath that calm surface, tension coiled inside him like a drawn blade.
He already knew who awaited inside the hall.
He already knew why she had come.
And he already knew exactly how much it would devastate Xiao Yan.
Inside the Main Hall
The grand hall was filled with clan elders and a handful of important guests, all seated with rigid formality. Xiao Zhan stood at the head of the chamber, face stern but controlled.
Xiao Shui took his place beside him just as a servant announced:
"Reporting! Misty Cloud Sect's Honorary Elder Ge Ye requests an audience—accompanied by Miss Nalan Yanran!"
Murmurs rippled instantly through the hall.
"The Misty Cloud Sect came personally?"
"To break the engagement?"
"What courage… the Xiao Clan won't accept this quietly…"
Xiao Shui's expression remained unreadable, but his pulse quickened just a little.
He had met Nalan Yanran only once many years ago—back when Xiao Yan was still the clan's prodigy, and she had been a respectful, gentle girl with bright eyes.
What would she be now?
The doors opened.
Two figures stepped inside.
A white-robed elder with cold eyes—Ge Ye.
And behind him, veiled and slim, radiating elegance and aloof confidence…
Nalan Yanran.
Her steps were graceful. Controlled. A young woman raised by the Misty Cloud Sect—not the timid girl she'd once been.
Yet Xiao Shui sensed hesitation in her aura. Uncertainty. A pulse of guilt.
So she didn't come lightly.
Good.
But it wouldn't make what she came to do any less painful.
The Announcement
Ge Ye cupped his hands politely, though his tone was arrogant enough to fill the hall.
"Patriarch Xiao Zhan. Young Miss Yanran has come to discuss the dissolution of the engagement between her and your son, Xiao Yan."
The hall erupted in outrage.
"What insolence!"
"You dare insult our Xiao Clan?!"
"Do you take us for weaklings?!"
Xiao Zhan slammed a palm against the armrest of his seat, face dark.
Xiao Shui remained motionless—but his water qi rippled faintly around him.
He did not act.
Not yet.
He would not interfere until Xiao Yan himself chose to walk forward.
Nalan Yanran stepped out from behind Ge Ye and lowered her head respectfully to Xiao Zhan.
"Uncle Xiao," she said softly, "I apologize for the suddenness. But… I must end this engagement."
Her voice was calm, but her fingers trembled.
She feared hurting Xiao Yan.
That part, at least, had not changed.
Xiao Zhan's fists clenched.
"You want to annul the engagement? Do you understand what such an act means for our clan's reputation?!"
"I… do." Yanran replied, gaze dropping. "But I cannot marry someone who has lost his talent. I cannot bind myself to a fallen genius. The Misty Cloud Sect has… expectations."
The temperature in the room dropped sharply.
Even Xiao Shui felt his jaw clench.
Insult aside, she had spoken a truth the clan had whispered for years.
And then—
Footsteps echoed outside the hall.
Xiao Yan Arrives
Xiao Yan stepped into the hall wearing simple black training clothes, his expression unreadable. But Xiao Shui saw the stiffness in his shoulders, the way he carefully kept his breath steady.
He had heard everything.
He bowed to the elders, then turned to Nalan Yanran.
"Miss Nalan," he said calmly, "is it true? You came to dissolve our engagement?"
Yanran nodded slowly. "Yes. Xiao Yan… you deserve a better wife than someone who doesn't wish the marriage."
Her attempt at gentleness only tightened the air in the hall.
Xiao Yan laughed.
A low, cold, brittle sound.
"So that's it. A fallen genius isn't worthy of you."
Yanran winced. "I did not mean—"
"But that is what you said," Xiao Yan replied sharply. "In front of my clan. In front of my father."
Xiao Shui's hands curled slightly at his sides—but he stayed silent.
This was Xiao Yan's wound.
His moment.
His beginning.
Yanran drew a breath and raised her head, meeting Xiao Yan's eyes with newfound firmness.
"I do not deny your past talent. But I cannot tie my future to someone who can't even cultivate. Please understand."
Her words fell like blades.
Xiao Yan stood still for several long seconds.
Then… he smiled.
Composed.
Too composed.
Xiao Shui's chest tightened.
He knew that smile.
It was the smile Xiao Yan wore when he was breaking.
Xiao Yan reached into his robe and pulled out an engagement token—carefully carved, treasured for years.
He held it up between two fingers.
"Since you wish to end it, then I will not cling to you."
A soft gasp passed through the hall.
Xiao Zhan stiffened.
Yanran's breath hitched.
Xiao Yan tossed the token to her; she caught it reflexively.
"But," he continued, voice steady as cold iron, "one matter still remains."
He stepped closer, his gaze sharp like a blade newly forged.
"You insulted my clan, and you insulted me. Such things cannot be written off casually."
Yanran's brows furrowed. "Xiao Yan… what are you—"
"I challenge you," Xiao Yan declared, "to a duel three years from today."
The hall fell silent.
Completely.
Utterly.
Nalan Yanran stared at him in shock. "A duel… with me?"
"Yes," Xiao Yan said calmly. "If I win, you will kneel and apologize to my father and my clan. If I lose…" His eyes softened slightly. "Then I will forever step aside."
Ge Ye sneered. "You? Challenge a Dou Grandmaster?"
Xiao Yan ignored him entirely.
His gaze locked on Yanran.
"Do you dare?"
Nalan Yanran's hands trembled. She stared at Xiao Yan—at the resolve burning in him despite his current weakness.
Then, slowly…
She nodded.
"I accept."
A murmur swept through the hall like thunder.
The engagement… was officially broken.
And a new oath had been forged.
Aftermath — Outside the Hall
Xiao Yan stepped out into the sunlight alone.
Or so he thought.
Xiao Shui leaned casually against a pillar, arms crossed, watching him with a small, unreadable smile.
Xiao Yan stopped. "…How long were you standing there?"
"Long enough," Xiao Shui replied.
Silence stretched for a moment.
Then Xiao Yan exhaled shakily and looked away. "I'm fine."
"Of course," Xiao Shui said lightly. "You only challenged a sect genius to a duel after she publicly humiliated you. Perfectly calm behavior."
Xiao Yan shot him a glare—but there was no real heat in it.
Just exhaustion.
Xiao Shui pushed off the pillar and walked beside him.
"You know," he murmured, "I could help you. With your cultivation. With whatever has been holding you back—"
"No," Xiao Yan cut in immediately.
Xiao Shui didn't react.
Xiao Yan continued, quieter. "Brother… I need to walk this path myself."
Xiao Shui studied him carefully.
The trembling in his fingers.
The tightness in his jaw.
The spark in his eyes.
Finally, Xiao Shui nodded.
"Very well. But understand this…"
He placed a hand on Xiao Yan's shoulder.
His voice softened—not with pity, but with pride.
"You will not walk it alone."
Xiao Yan's head bowed slightly.
Just once.
"…Thank you, Brother."
Xiao Shui smiled faintly.
Behind them, the hall doors closed with a heavy thud, sealing the fate of the engagement forever.
And though neither of them knew it yet…
Today was the first step toward the rise of two legends—
the Flame Emperor and the Water Emperor.