Yanran's plight

Longwei frowned as he listened to the conversation done by the guest elder, his father, and the great elders. They simply kept talking endlessly and never reached any actual dialogue, as if they were just dragging the conversation due to not wanting to approach a subject.

The weird thing was how the girl beside the guest sometimes would look at the old man with a subtle and yet firm glance.

Just as he was almost sleeping Xun Er spoke, waking him up. "Brother Xian, do you know who they are?"

Hearing her question he looked at the three and thought for a moment, but he was sure that there were no memories of those people in his mind. "No, I'm confident I have never seen them. Why?" Longwei looked at Xun Er with a small smile.

"Did you see the symbol of a silver sword with clouds on the cuff of their robes?" She replied as she caressed the ancient book in her hand. Taking care not to let it fall as she read the printed words.

Hearing her words he nodded only to notice that he had missed such detail. "Oh... I see. They are from the Misty Clouds."

Within the Jia Ma Empire, there are many cities, and the one where he lives, Wu Tan City, is considered to be one of the biggest. Yet, it pales in comparison to the size of the Jia Ma Empire.

If the Xiao clan was to be considered the strongest in Wu Tan, then the Misty Clouds were the strongest in the whole empire... The difference in power was such that he couldn't help but think of the reason for this visit. Could this be the beginning of a friendship or enmity?

"Don't you want to know why they're here?" She looked away from the book, her bright eyes studying Longwei's complexion.

His answer surprising her, as it didn't felt like something that Xiao Yan would answer. "No."

"Why?" She asked curiously.

Longwei turned to look at her, his face emotionless as he seemingly thought of something. "They say trouble finds those who look for them, wouldn't I get in trouble if I were to poke into their matters? So long as it isn't related to me, I prefer to think that they do not exist."

"This..." Xun Er thoughtfully looked at him. Xiao Yan felt so different. Much more... carefree? "I'm afraid it might be related to you."

"Is that so?"

Xun Er nodded and glanced at the girl sitting with the guests. "Do you know the name of that girl over there?"

Seeing how he shook his head, she quickly replied. "She's Nalan Yanran."

"Nalan Yanran..." This name was one he wasn't expecting to hear about today, the fiance set for him before he was even born... Nalan Yanran, granddaughter of Nalan Jie, the Lionheart commander Jia Ma Empire. "Is that old man Nalan Jie then?"

"Hehe, he isn't. Nalan Jie must be at the Empire's capital right now. Grandfather and Nalan Jie were like blood brothers and at that time, you and Nalan Yanran were born around the same time, so the two decided that you guys would get married. But, unfortunately, three years after you were born, grandfather died in a fight with a clan enemy and as time passed, Xiao Clan's relation with the Nalan family became weaker…" Xun Er paused and looked at Longwei who was absorbed in Xun Er's story, "Nalan Jie is not only arrogant, he also puts extreme emphasis on promises. The marriage was decided by him so even though your name has been quite bad the past few years, he has never once thought of annulling the marriage…"

"He is a good man, a promise made is a promise fulfilled. I admire those that can keep their words true." Longwei couldn't help but recall those apprentices he had in his previous life, he made each of them promise to accomplish something absurd and they all managed to do it, those who couldn't keep their promises were refused apprenticeship.

"Nalan Jie has the final say in all matters within the family so even though he really is very fond of his granddaughter, no one in the family has stepped up to oppose the marriage…" Xun Er's beautiful eyes slightly glanced at Longwei before continuing, "But 7 years ago, Nalan Yanran became a student under the leader of Misty Clouds. In these 7 years, Nalan Yanran demonstrated incredible talent. When a person has enough power to change the path of their life, they would try their hardest to change things that they don't like and unfortunately, she absolutely hates her promised marriage with brother Xiao Yan!"

Longwei nodded in an understanding way which surprised Xun Er. "I understand then. Well, I agree with her decision, I'm not against an arranged marriage but only if both parties are willing to do so. Freedom is the greatest gift we received from the moment we're born, and it should be cherished."

"But... this is a slap to your father, Xiao Yan. With this happening in public, it'll greatly affect Xiao Zhan's dignity and respect within the clan!"

Seeing what Xun Er was hitting on he smiled and turned to look at her. Without asking permission he took her hands and held them firmly as he said, his words being heard even by some of the nearby young clan members. "Xun Er, in this world and any other, you will meet all kinds of people and will experience all sorts of situations, whether or not they will be good is something to be questioned. But in the end, it all goes down to how much importance you give them and how it really affects you. What's public opinion in front of absolute power? Who cares if someone thinks you're lazy, boring, ugly, etc? Live for yourself and only yourself because it's when you attach importance to what others think of you that you'll go astray from your path and commit mistakes.

"When people swear and curse you, you must laugh at their face, you must find their words funny due to how they are so worthless to you. Because you're above anything they will throw at you... because the true meaning of life is being happy about yourself and forgetting the things that don't add anything to what and who you are. That's why I don't care about such useless things as reputation, so long as people aren't taking what belongs to you or hurting you, then words are just that, a pile of garbage used solely for communication."

Xun Er took a deep glance at his eyes, the flush in her cheeks from when Longwei took her hands disappearing as she fell into deep contemplation.

And she wasn't the only one. Xiao Mei, a girl with beautiful features although not so beautiful as Xun Er, and the people close to her who had listened to everything started to consider how they carried their lives. How so many unnecessary conflicts rose of their awareness of public opinion and how it would affect their standing in the clan...

Knowing that such words came from Xiao Yan, they couldn't help but think that maybe he had been plagued by a heart demon, and it was an enlightenment that cleared the path for him to cultivate once more.

After all, such wise and deep words that struck in the core of martial artists' behavior represented much more than just what it looked in the surface. A society that abided by such conviction would be one much less prone to violence compared to theirs!

"Xiao Yan..." Xun Er's gaze softened as the blush in her cheeks became more apparent, before she could say anything else though, the old man's voice reached their ears, his words attracting everyone's attention.

"Aham." The white robbed elder cleared his throat and stood up. Putting his hands together, he smiled. "Clan leader Xiao Zhan, the reason we came here today is that we would like your help for something."

"Of course, Ge Ye, if you have any problems just let me know. If I can help you solve it, then I wouldn't dare to say no." Xiao Zhan didn't refuse the visiting elder, but made no promises as he had yet to know his request.

"Hehe, leader Xiao, do you know her?" Ge Ye smiled slightly and pointed to the girl next to him.

Longwei who observed the situation suddenly thought of Xun Er's words at this moment, she said they were born around the same time, so that means they are actually the same age... Refusing a marriage one year before the adulthood ceremony wouldn't be just a slap to his father but also grandpa Nalan Jie.

This is bad... I may not know the man but I respect him, especially because he did this deal with my grandpa. As Longwei fell deep into thought, Xiao Zhan spoke.

"Umm... I'm sorry, this girl is..." Xiao Zhan shook his head awkwardly.

When Nalan Yanran joined the Misty Cloud, she was only 8 years old, now 7 years have passed and she changed quite a lot. From a child, she became a blooming teenager.

At that moment, Longwei stood up and walked towards them. Seeing him approaching, the great elders were about to reprimand him but his next words made them all shocked.

"Nalan Yanran, it's good to finally meet my fiance."

Yanran was shocked hearing his words. She looked at him then suddenly realized something, wasn't he the same one that gave her a single glance? Wait, wouldn't that mean... that he wasn't a cripple anymore as well?

Nalan Yanran was young and naive. Even now she wasn't aware of the consequences of her actions. Had it been another world it might have been something simple and easy to be solved, but not here.

And even though Longwei had demonstrated that aura previously, she still didn't believe in his capabilities, his reputation of being useless was something so well known and she couldn't accept the gap that existed between them.

How could she, a genius who joined the Misty Clouds at the age of 8 be together with a crippled man? It was her impulsiveness, his reputation, and the arrogance born from her accomplishments plus the influence of those around her that such a decision came to be.

Ge Ye was even more shocked and started frowning slightly, this boy was actually younger than he initially thought, he even supposed him to be one of Xiao Yan's older brothers due to that aura, maybe they had the same name, after all, it wasn't that inconceivable... But giving the powerful aura he leaked before... If Xiao Yan was a Dou Shi, then, his goals would become much harder to be achieved today! A 15-year-old Dou Shi isn't an existence that can have his dignity or reputation trampled on, if this situation escalated they might have to kill him!

Ge Ye wasn't the only one that noticed this issue, Nalan Yanran was slightly aware of this fact but she never considered the possibility of him being a Dou Shi, desperate, she stood up, she wanted to say something but no words came out of her mouth, she just couldn't speak... was it fear or just shyness? One wouldn't be able to tell.

Because of her predicament, Yanran first turned towards Xiao Zhan. "Uncle Xiao, I haven't come to pay my respect in a long time. It's my fault that you don't recognize me anymore." Yanran sweetly said.

Hearing her words, Ge Ye was frowning inside. The information he had after all came both from her and the Nalan clan, could it be that they were doing this purposefully? Damn it!

"Hehe, Yanran I heard that you have become a student under Yun Jun. Back then I thought it was just a baseless rumor, but now I realize that it's true."

"It was just good luck..." Yanran was getting more uncomfortable with each word. She looked at Ge Ye as if she was begging.

"Hehe... Leader Xiao, the request I have relates to Yanran, in addition, it was assigned by our faction leader..." Ge Ye was sweating, his mind at a thousand miles per hour to think of a solution to this problem, he even started to consider whether or not he should give up one of his personal treasures to achieve his faction leader goal.

Longwei turned to his father only to see that the corners of his mouth were twitching. Despite what he had said earlier, that was only true for himself, the reputation of a genius was worth being acquired due to how he would be less bothered by his fellow clan members, but a strike to his father and deceased grandfather reputation could affect his foothold in the clan and cause even more problems for Longwei himself.

Longwei might not be the real Xiao Yan, but he would never let someone hurt his allies, friends, family, etc. If you stood besides him, then his promise was to help you whenever you needed it!

Thinking of this, Longwei closed his eyes, an action that was only caught by Yanran. In his mindscape, an adult version of Xiao Yan materialized, his hand struck forward and he slowly traced his right feet to the back. The movements then changed before repeating.

Like an intricate dance as essence energy from his soul and the outside gathered in his mindscape. From his mouth a chanting resounded, such an extraneous spell couldn't be cast without the use of verbal and somatic components in his current state.

After all, it was one thing to use all your power to kill a Dou Shi, and it was another to generate enough pressure to make a Da Dou Shi feel fear.

A spell was the way through which a sorcerer manipulated the fragments of creation left behind since the beginning of time. To build a spell, one needs to gather this formless and invisible energy into something specific, a limited expression of a powerful will built upon years of study within oneself, the soul.

The casting of the spell boiled down then to the choosing of the raw branches of brutal energy each with its own meaning, in a sense, it was a fusion of the rawest form of Daos molded in a particular pattern, left in a specific vibration, - like a personal mark through which the sorcerer could control it - that is then released to trigger off the effect you want.

Components of Magic is in a certain way a shortcut through which one can better understand his own goal, it was a way to achieve something that would be much more difficult if done casually like motionless or soundless spells.

While this all happened in his mind, the talking continued.

"Mister Ge Ye, please do tell me what is the faction request."

"Cough..." Ge Ye hesitated once more as he cast a sneak glance towards Yanran. Knowing how much Yun Jun doted upon this disciple, he had no choice but to greet his teeth and try. "Leader Xiao, you know how strict the rules are in the faction. In addition, the faction leader views Yanran very highly, in fact, the faction leader is expecting Yanran to be the next faction leader. However, due to a special rule, future faction leaders cannot have a relation with another male before they become the official faction leader…"

At this point, he was just betting that the aura Xiao Yan showed was the result of someone else interfering, that he was indeed a crippled young man who wouldn't be able to do anything about this situation.

Taking a breath, Ge Ye continued: "When our faction leader asked Yanran about it, she realized that Yanran and the Xiao Clan had a marriage proposal, therefore, the faction leader asks for Leader Xiao to… to cancel this marriage."

*KA!* The jade cup in Xiao Zhan's hand exploded with the aura that burst forward from him, turning from powder to actual mist in a fraction of a second!

Everyone was silent. The three great elders were also shocked by Ge Ye's words, but they were all smirking inside as they looked at the clan head and thought sinisterly, 'How will you respond to this?'

Most of the younger kids inside the hall weren't aware of the matter regarding Xiao Yan's having a fiance. When they asked their elder parents, most of those who weren't around Longwei when he was talking with Yanran glanced at him with eyes full of ridicule and distaste.

Those who were near him actually felt sad for him. They felt like hitting the poor while he was down wasn't as fun as before, in their minds, they put themselves in his place and wondered what they would do in this situation. It was so sad and heartbreaking that a few even had teary eyes as they looked at him with pity and empathy.

But of course, even Yanran was aware of how shameful her actions were. This action of hers was the same as disrespecting her ancestors and slapping their face as she discarded all honor and dignity associated with them, it was after all a promise that traveled three generations and that she was breaking, but instead of doing this honorably with her own hands, she went as far as using another's sword to strike, this action was one that could be interpreted as she being a spineless coward that couldn't stand for herself and had to rely on others.

Longwei however didn't care about such things. When he opened his eyes, there was a look of pity on them as he looked right into Yanran's eyes, something that she felt fully and prompted her to lower her face and squeeze her fingers together, an attempt to avoid looking either into Xiao Zhan's darkened face or Xiao Yan's understanding and empathetic gaze.

If one was to ask Longwei about this matter, he would call those that solely relied upon themselves as fools. Being as shameful as he is, he would surely flaunt and use his connections if they could help him achieve his goals.

So what if he hides behind women stronger than him or an entire sect? If you are capable, then go bring your supports and hide behind them as well!

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but give Yanran a fond gaze, praising her resourcefulness and cleverness in his mind, this kind of wise woman was indeed the ones he appreciated the most despite then being the most dangerous ones. Unfortunately for her, Longwei has a few dozens of thousands of years of spell casting to use in his favor!

While still holding the spell, that was ready to be cast, Longwei waited as he wanted to hear what else Ge Ye had to say.

"Leader Xiao, I know that this request is a little over the top, but because the faction leader requested it, please cancel the marriage…" Helplessly letting out a breath, Ge Ye lightly whispered to Xiao Zhan.

Not wanting to drag this issue on for long he quickly took out four boxes from inside his spatial ring with an apologizing gaze on his face. "Clan Leader Xiao, faction leader understands that today's request is quite disrespectful. Therefore, she asked me to bring something, please accept it as an apology from our faction leader."

Carefully opening the jade-green boxes, a sweet fragrance swept the hall. Anyone who smelled it felt relaxed.

Xiao Zhan and three great elders looked into the box and were shocked. "Qi Gathering Powder!"