The reason Leng Yun knew the old man was from the Azure Fold Sect was simple: within a radius of tens of thousands of miles, there was only this one sect, and Sun Mingxue herself cultivated at Azure Fold Sect.
Leng Tianchang and Mo Rongru, seated at the place of honor, were utterly dumbfounded. Was this really their son, the one who used to bury himself in cultivation and barely spoke a word?
This was also the first time Sun Mingxue had seen Leng Yun since she became sensible. Everything she had heard about him from others was about how useless he was, how reclusive he was, no one had ever mentioned that his mouth was this sharp.
Sun Mingxue opened her mouth, hesitated, and finally decided to be honest.
"Leng Yun, I've already been accepted by the Azure Fold Sect Master as a personal disciple. And you only have the lowest First-Grade Spiritual Root. In this lifetime, forget Golden Core, even whether you can reach Foundation Establishment is questionable. We're no longer suitable for each other."
Leng Yun didn't get angry. He simply listened quietly. When Sun Mingxue finished speaking, he finally grinned.
"Oh? Pretty honest. At least you didn't spout a bunch of useless nonsense. So in the end, you've found yourself a backer and no longer need my Leng family, right?"
As he said this, Leng Yun's smile vanished, replaced by a stern expression.
"You want to break off the engagement? Fine. Aside from returning the betrothal gifts, every single bit of resources your Sun family has taken from my Leng family over the years must be returned, no exceptions.
Oh right, and interest too. Ten years' worth of time. If these resources had been used by my Leng family instead, their value would have at least doubled. I'll be generous and only charge you fifty percent interest.
And then there's my emotional distress compensation. What do you think the Leng family is? Do you think our marriage arrangements are something you can just cancel whenever you feel like it?
Let me make this clear, there's no such easy deal. The moment you break off this engagement, my reputation is bound to suffer. I won't ask for much. Ten thousand spirit stones will do."
Sun Mingxue stared at him in disbelief.
"Are you insane? Leaving aside the interest, ten thousand spirit stones? Do you even know how much that is?
The Sun family's annual income is only about ten thousand spirit stones. After all expenses, they're lucky to save two or three thousand a year. And he open his mouth asking for ten thousand?"
Leng Yun replied disdainfully, "Your Sun family is just a newly promoted second-tier clan. What gives you the right to try and leech off my Leng family? To put it bluntly, one strand of hair from my Leng family is thicker than your Sun family's thigh!
Asking for ten thousand spirit stones is already letting you off lightly. The reputation of the Young Master of the Leng family, does it really not even amount to ten thousand spirit stones in your eyes?"
Sun Mingxue really wanted to say, 'Do you seriously not have any self-awareness? What reputation do you even have left out there?'
But she couldn't say it. If she dared utter those words, Leng Tianchang and Mo Rongru, those two doting parents would wipe out the Sun family without hesitation.
Seeing Sun Mingxue at a loss for words, Leng Yun twisted the knife further.
"I think you shouldn't be worrying about this measly ten thousand spirit stones. You should be more concerned about how many resources your Sun family has taken from my Leng family.
Judging by the way you look, you probably never involved yourself in family affairs. Your ancestor breaking through to Golden Core? That was entirely thanks to my Leng family's resource support.
Otherwise, what do you think he broke through with? Because his hair turned white? Or because he's short?
Just roughly calculating it, over the past ten years, the Sun family has received at least fifty to sixty thousand spirit stones' worth of resources from the Leng family. If you calculate carefully, it'll only be more. Add interest, and you're looking at around a hundred thousand spirit stones.
The only question is whether your Sun family can afford to repay it. After all, more than half of those resources were used by your ancestor to break through to Golden Core. If you can't pay it back, then I guess your ancestor will have to pay with his life."
Sun Mingxue's heart tightened at these words. She truly had no idea that her family had received so many resources from the Leng family over the years. She could only turn her pleading gaze toward the old man from the Azure Fold Sect.
However, having listened this far, the old man understood the situation clearly as well. Faced with a staggering sum of a hundred thousand spirit stones, there was nothing he could do. He could only return and seek the Sect Master's decision.
The old man gave a bitter smile and said, "Mingxue… ten thousand spirit stones, let alone a hundred thousand, this old one truly doesn't have them. This matter will have to be reported back to the Sect Master."
Sun Mingxue was helpless as well. She had come in great pomp to annul the engagement, only for the engagement not to be annulled, and instead she ended up owing a massive debt.
After hesitating for a long while, Sun Mingxue finally said, "I need to return and discuss this matter with my father. I'll visit again another day. For now, I'll take my leave."
With that, she exchanged brief courtesies with Leng Tianchang and the others, then left in a rather dejected state.
"Hahahahaha! That was satisfying! Good son! Who would've thought you'd usually stay quiet and keep your head down, but when it comes to tearing into someone, you're this damn satisfying! Well done, boy!"
Leng Tianchang burst into hearty laughter, clearly exhilarated by Leng Yun's performance.
Mo Rongru was also smiling broadly as she said to Leng Yun, "Yun'er, you did well today. Your language was a bit crude, but when dealing with the Sun family, that's exactly how it should be."
Leng Yun chuckled. "Father, Mother, that's exactly what I thought too. There's no need to give any face to shameless people like the Sun family."
Only now that he was done ripping into Sun Mingxue did Leng Yun have the time to properly observe his so-called parents.
Leng Tianchang stood around 1.8 meters tall. He wasn't particularly burly, if anything, he looked a bit lean. He appeared to be under forty, with fair features and the air of a refined scholar.
But no one who knew him would ever dare underestimate him. With cultivation at the late Divine Transformation stage and a Spear Art honed to perfection, the contrast only made him all the more terrifying.
Mo Rongru looked even younger. Judging by her appearance alone, she didn't seem thirty yet. Her brows were like distant mountains lightly dusted with color, her eyes like autumn waters holding ripples. The corners of her eyes tilted ever so slightly upward, and when they moved, it was as if an entire galaxy lay hidden within, brilliant and captivating.
But those who knew her understood very well that this beautiful woman, who had lived for over eight hundred years, carried a fearsome reputation.
Mo Rongru was usually gentle-tempered and rarely angered, of course, very few people dared provoke her in the first place.
Everyone knew this: if Leng Tianchang lost his temper, Mo Rongru could still hold him back. But if Mo Rongru became angry, it meant an endless fight to the death.
And not with just one of them, but with both Leng Tianchang and Mo Rongru together.
The two cultivated a joint combat technique. Either they didn't fight at all, or they fought together, never alone.
Although Mo Rongru was only at the mid Divine Transformation stage, once she joined forces with Leng Tianchang, even a peak Divine Transformation cultivator could be fought head-on.
This was precisely why Leng Yun had dared to speak so arrogantly earlier and threaten the Azure Fold Sect elder.
The Azure Fold Sect's ancestor was only at peak Divine Transformation, and already old. A breakthrough to Void Refinement was no longer possible, he could only wait for death.
Aside from him, the Azure Fold Sect had no other peak Divine Transformation cultivators. Even if the entire sect joined forces to attack, they still wouldn't be able to keep Leng Tianchang and Mo Rongru there.
But if the two managed to escape, what awaited the Azure Fold Sect would be endless retaliation. That was why Leng Yun had been so fearless.
After chatting with his parents for a while, Leng Yun returned to his room and began thinking about the future.
He had transmigrated, yes, but there was no system. He had already tried calling for it every which way, and nothing worked.
It was also possible that it simply hadn't been activated yet, just like in novels, where someone cultivates bitterly their entire life, only realizes the importance of enjoying life when they're on the verge of death, and then the system finally activates.
(End of Chapter)