3: Nangong Xueli

Cloud Utmost Empire.

Black Cloud City, Nangong Family.

In a spacious training ground, many young members of the Nangong Family were gathered, sitting in meditation to Cultivate. Some Elders responsible for teaching Cultivation Techniques were patrolling and observing nearby, occasionally correcting juniors who were practicing incorrectly.

In a dark, neglected corner of the training ground, a young woman dressed in simple white clothes sat with her eyes tightly closed, striving diligently in her Cultivation.

Though her attire was plain, it couldn't conceal the elegant grace she exuded, akin to a lotus bud just beginning to bloom.

Her delicate features and slender figure ensured that even from her secluded spot, she remained the focus of many gazes.

Especially her pair of slender, finely arched eyebrows, as pristine and refined as distant misty green mountains.

At this moment, her pretty face was serious, and a fine sheen of sweat glistened on her smooth forehead.

This indicated her Cultivation process was not going smoothly.

Meanwhile, among the main group of Nangong Family disciples in the center of the training ground, glances would frequently be cast toward this plain-clothed young woman. Their eyes held a mix of emotions: pity, mockery, admiration, and everything in between.

"Was the most brilliant female Genius in our Nangong Family's history just a fleeting glory?" an Elder sighed inwardly.

That's right. This plain-clothed young woman was precisely Lin Yang's betrothed whom he had never met, Nangong Xueli.

"This waste has squandered so many of the Family's Cultivation resources over the years. Now, she's finally about to be cast out."

"Who knows what her deceased grandfather did for the Lin Family back then to secure her this chance to climb up to Lin Yang Daozi. But alas, what a pity. She couldn't hold onto this opportunity. He's coming to break off the engagement soon."

"Heh, it should have happened long ago. A fallen Phoenix is worse than a chicken. If it weren't for her engagement to Lin Yang, she would have been married off as a tool to strengthen the Family five years ago when she lost all her Cultivation."

"Now, merely being cast out is already a leniency for her."

Listening to the various sneers and sarcastic remarks around her, Nangong Xueli in the corner slowly lifted her head. Her dark, bright eyes swept over the crowd of mocking peers, a flicker of profound sorrow, as if recalling a bygone era, passing through them.

Five years ago, she was the most dazzling female Genius of the Nangong Family. In terms of talent, she was not inferior to her betrothed whom she had never met, Lin Yang.

The entire Family treated her as a treasured pearl. Anyone who dared show the slightest disrespect in her presence would face severe punishment without her even needing to speak.

But the higher one climbs, the harder the fall.

Five years had passed. Stripped of her Genius halo, she had completely become an overlooked, insignificant figure within the Family.

All that remained was for that long-anticipated letter of dissolution to arrive. Then, she would be completely discarded, cast out in the most humiliating manner.

"Senior Yao Mu, the progress of this Cultivation Technique is too slow. Can it truly advance in the future?"

Nangong Xueli lightly bit her red lip, her heart somewhat anxious as she inquired of the remnant soul residing within her ring.

Five years ago, while rummaging through her deceased mother's belongings, Nangong Xueli had unexpectedly discovered this ring.

But what Nangong Xueli never could have imagined was that within this ring slumbered the remnant soul of a mysterious woman.

The mysterious woman called herself Fairy Yao Yue, hailing from the Upper Realm.

Nangong Xueli habitually addressed her as Yao Mu.

Due to a great calamity that erupted in ancient times, Yao Mu's true body perished, leaving behind only a wisp of a weak remnant soul that had slumbered until now.

In order to awaken, Yao Mu, out of desperation and without Nangong Xueli's knowledge, directly absorbed Nangong Xueli's spiritual energy. This caused the latter's Cultivation to plummet drastically, resulting in her current state.

Yao Mu felt remorseful about this. To compensate Nangong Xueli, she proactively took her as a disciple and imparted to her a supreme, evolvable Cultivation Technique: the Divine Fire Skill.

Yao Mu had also stated that after Cultivating this technique, she guaranteed Nangong Xueli would quickly rise again, sweeping through her generation with overwhelming force.

Hearing this, Nangong Xueli was immediately tempted. However, when she actually began Cultivating, she discovered that the Divine Fire Skill was actually only the lowest-level Yellow Rank, low-grade technique!

She was utterly dumbfounded on the spot.

Moreover, she also discovered that after Cultivating the Divine Fire Skill, she could no longer switch to Cultivate other techniques midway.

In an instant, she felt... she had been deceived!

"Ahem, of course it can. It's just that I never imagined the once-renowned Nangong Family of antiquity would have declined to such an extent that not a single Spiritual Fire can be found now."

Yao Mu knew mere words were unconvincing, but she was currently quite helpless.

In the era before she fell into slumber, the Nangong Clan was a famously long-lived Family in the Upper Realm, with unimaginably profound heritage (foundation). They had dozens of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Fires in their collection.

According to her initial plan, after Nangong Xueli Cultivated the Divine Fire Skill, she could simply refine a few Spiritual Fires. Wouldn't that upgrade it to a Heaven Rank technique, allowing her to dominate her generation?

Who could have predicted that the current Nangong Clan had declined so severely? Not only had they migrated from the Upper Realm to the Lower Realm, but even their Family's influence had dwindled to barely holding onto a remote corner.

Thus, without readily available Spiritual Fires, her earlier promises to Nangong Xueli did indeed seem somewhat like a scam.

*Whoosh!*

Right at that moment, a violent sound of shattering Void Realm space rang out.

The Nangong Family members were startled, all raising their heads to look at the sky.

They saw the Void Realm slowly distort, and a figure clad in the Protector's Daoist robes of the Saint Essence Sect, Yun Feng, gradually appeared in everyone's sight.

Yun Feng stepped down from the high altitude.

"Treading on Void Realm space!"

"A Martial Ancestor Realm expert?!"

Facing the newcomer, the Nangong Family members below all drew sharp, cold breaths. Many Elders looked as if facing a formidable enemy.

It must be known that the ten most powerful experts in the Cloud Utmost Empire were only at the Martial Emperor Realm. Yet now, a Martial Ancestor Realm expert had suddenly appeared above their Nangong Family.

How could this not make everyone tense?

"Senior, this one is Nangong Qian, Clan Chief of the Nangong Family. May I ask, for what matter has Senior honored us with your esteemed presence?"

An old man with white hair hurried out from the depths of the Nangong Family estate. He performed a respectful bow toward Yun Feng descending from the sky and asked with trepidation.

"Clan Chief Nangong Qian, there is no need for alarm. I bear no ill will. I am Yun Feng, from the Saint Essence Sect. I have come to deliver a message on behalf of Lin Yang Daozi."

Yun Feng was aware of the relationship between Nangong Xueli and Lin Yang. Naturally, he dared not bully the Nangong Family members relying on his own strength. He immediately cupped his hands politely in return, returning the courtesy, and directly stated his purpose.

His gaze swept over the group of young Nangong women below, quickly locking onto Nangong Xueli meditating alone in the corner. He then stepped forward with a smile and extended the letter in his hand toward her.

Seeing this, everyone present couldn't help but reveal peculiar expressions on their faces.

The dissolution... had it finally arrived?

Clan Chief Nangong Qian's expression also shifted slightly, feeling somewhat aggrieved in his heart.

It must be understood that having an engagement broken off is an extremely dishonorable matter in itself.

And now, for breaking off the engagement, Lin Yang didn't even come in person. He merely casually dispatched a Protector from his side to deliver the letter. What level of disregard was this?

From this, it could be seen that the other party probably looked down upon their Nangong Family to some extent.

"Giggle, my dear cousin, what are you standing there dumbfounded for? Lin Yang Daozi specially sent someone to deliver a letter to you. Why aren't you reading it? Are you afraid to look?"

However, not all Nangong Family members interpreted Lin Yang's act of sending a messenger this way. As soon as Yun Feng presented the letter to Nangong Xueli, a tall, slender woman emerged from the crowd and approached Nangong Xueli's side, speaking with a mocking tone.

The woman's appearance was also quite remarkable. Her fiery red hair cascaded like waves, her lips were a bold crimson, and her features were exquisite. However, her pair of eyes radiated an excessive coldness and arrogance.

The red-haired woman was named NanGong RuoLin, Nangong Xueli's Elder cousin by half a year.

NanGong RuoLin's talent was also quite impressive, second only to the former Nangong Xueli within the Nangong Family.

Moreover, due to their close age, the two had often been compared in the past.

But without a doubt, in the presence of the once moon-like Nangong Xueli of the Nine Heavens, NanGong RuoLin could only serve as a dim, overshadowed foil.

This had fostered a deep-seated jealousy toward her cousin Nangong Xueli since childhood.

Now, seeing Nangong Xueli being publicly humiliated by having her engagement broken off, her heart was filled with immense delight.

"Since you don't dare to look, let your Elder sister help you with the task!"

Taking advantage of Nangong Xueli's distraction, NanGong RuoLin snatched the letter from before her, then eagerly tore open the envelope.

*Clink!*

Before the letter was even unfolded, a spatial ring slipped out from the opening of the envelope.

"Compensation! It must be compensation for breaking off the engagement!"

"The Saint Essence Sect is a top-tier Sect in our Eastern Wasteland. Lin Yang is the Sect Master's personal disciple, ranked among the four Daozi of the Saint Essence Sect. The compensation he offers must be astonishingly generous!"

Gazing at that ring of extraordinary quality, the eyes of the Nangong Family members present instantly turned red with greed.