With that, the woman pulled out a handful of spirit stones, flung them at Cang Lu's feet, and said coldly, "Take these spirit stones. They are enough to keep you fed and clothed for a lifetime. From this day forward, Yun Mengxi and you walk separate paths under separate skies—we owe each other nothing!"
Keeping his head lowered, Cang Lu stared at the spirit stones at his feet, an overwhelming sorrow welling up in his heart.
It was as if those spirit stones had sprouted mouths, silently mocking him for failing to know his place.
The shredded fragments of the marriage contract scattered across the ground resembled their fractured bond even more—a once-beautiful blossom abruptly shattered across the floor.
Cang Lu crouched down, casually swept aside the scattered spirit stones, and began silently gathering every last scrap.
The sight struck a deep chord within Li Guanqi.
In a slightly hoarse voice, Cang Lu spoke. "I never intended to use that marriage contract to hold you back.
"Time flows on in this world; nothing remains unchanged forever.
"Now that you have entered an immortal sect, if your heart is no longer willing, I hold no resentment, nor do I blame you in the least.
"I only wanted to return the contract to you, to bring closure to it all."
Drip!
Drip!
Heavy tears, round as beans, struck the scraps of paper, pattering loudly against the floor!
Sixth Elder Ning Gang spoke with palpable impatience, "Hmph! Take the spirit stones and be on your way. Mengxi has already called off the engagement; stop making a fool of yourself with this shameless clinging."
Seeing the Sixth Elder speak, the elder on the dais said nothing.
Encouraged by this, Wu Kun grew bolder below and chimed in with an easy, dismissive tone.
"My sincerest apologies. A servant from my clan's estate lacks proper manners and has disturbed the two seniors."
With that, Wu Kun prepared to rise and discipline Cang Lu, eager to flaunt his authority as the young clan head.
In truth, riding a wave of agitated excitement, Wu Kun was even more eager to show off before Yun Mengxi, and relished the chance to humiliate Cang Lu to his face.
Watching Cang Lu remain completely kept in the dark, Wu Kun felt a thrilling, perverse delight welling up inside.
Just then, however, Chu Xingxian, who had remained silent on the dais, furrowed his brows and cast a cool glance at Wu Kun.
With that single glance, Wu Kun felt his entire body stiffen, completely unable to budge a single inch!
It felt as if a colossal mountain were pressing down upon his heart, leaving him unable to draw breath!
In just a split second, he felt on the verge of suffocating to death!
His face flushed a deep purplish-red, and blue veins bulged violently across his neck and forehead!
Just when he thought he was about to die, the sensation suddenly receded like an ebbing tide.
Wu Kun slumped in his chair, soaked through with cold sweat, gasping desperately for air.
Terrified, he lowered his head, and Chu Xingxian's voice suddenly echoed in his ears.
"This is a matter between the two of them."
Without a single wasted word, it was a clear warning for Wu Kun to mind his own business.
The unspoken message was obvious: don't make too much of yourself here—this is the Wind Thunder Sect, not your Wu clan!
Terrified and drenched in cold sweat, Wu Kun kept his head down, hardly daring to breathe.
Yun Mengxi's expression also shifted slightly in the hall, and she cast a searching glance at Wu Kun.
Outside, hearing Wu Kun's words, Li Guanqi's face darkened at once.
He knew the boy's ability to conceal his aura was exceptionally formidable; had Li Guanqi's divine sense not been exceedingly powerful, even he might not have sensed it.
Yet the elder's words clearly treated the youth like a mud pheasant trying to perch on a phoenix bough!
Li Guanqi could not understand: the boy clearly possessed monstrous, peerless talent, so why did he refuse to show it?
If he revealed his cultivation right now, it would be like delivering a stinging slap across that elder's face!
A fellow serving as a menial in a minor clan stood at the middle Core Formation stage.
Meanwhile, the direct disciple of a Wind Thunder Sect elder, blessed with the finest cultivation resources, had barely stepped into Core Formation.
Compared to each other, the contrast was glaring, and the superior one was plain as day!
Yet inside the hall, Cang Lu clearly had no desire to do so. He did not wish to expose his strength—or perhaps...
He did not want to win Yun Mengxi back through such means.
Because the person he loved in his heart was the Yun Mengxi who loved him simply for who he was.
The unadorned, bare-faced girl... who would beam with joy even if all he gave her was a handful of wild flowers.
His heart as cold as dead ashes, Cang Lu silently picked up each scrap.
When he went to retrieve the pieces lying beneath Yun Mengxi's feet, she looked down at him, her feelings tangled beyond measure.
Especially... when she caught the ill-intentioned gaze from Wu Kun, an inexplicable anger suddenly flared in her chest.
Cang Lu simply waited there for her to move her feet, as several pieces remained beneath them.
When Cang Lu had pushed aside the spirit stones earlier, an uncomfortable prickle had stabbed at her heart.
As if she were the one in the wrong for all of this!
What was wrong with her wanting to find a backer in a harsh world like this?!
And now... the boy before her was actually picking up the scraps of the marriage contract with such spineless humility.
That inexplicable anger flared fiercely, especially after catching Wu Kun's glance.
The humiliating shame felt as though... all her secrets and pride had been stripped bare for him to see.
Her expression turned chillingly cold, a ruthless gleam flickering in her eyes. Raising her hand, she swung it viciously toward Cang Lu's face!
Boom!
Suddenly!
An incomparably formidable pressure erupted in an instant!
His face frosty, Li Guanqi violently shoved open the hall doors and barged in!
The sudden intrusion stunned everyone on the spot!
The pressure crashed down upon Yun Mengxi in an instant, its magnificent might forcing her straight to her knees!
Wu Kun, who had been sitting calmly in his chair to the side, fared no better. With a crash, the chair splintered beneath him, pinning him ruthlessly to the floor so hard that he could not even lift his head!
From the floor, Cang Lu looked up toward Li Guanqi. Against the blinding sunlight streaming from outside, he could only make out a tall, slender figure slowly walking inward.
Keeping her head down, Tang Jing urgently sent a voice transmission: "What are you doing?! The Sect Leader is still inside—have you lost your mind?!"
Li Guanqi did not look back. He merely stared with cold detachment at Yun Mengxi and Wu Kun on the ground.
Wu Kun had no idea what was happening. Just moments ago he had been enjoying the spectacle, only to be slammed directly into the ground!
His head had smashed into the blue flagstones, carving out a deep dent. His nasal bone was shattered, his lips split open, and even his front teeth had been knocked out.
Wu Kun strained with all his might to look up and see who it was, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not move.
From his seat above, the elder rose abruptly to his feet and barked in furious rebuke, "Who are you?! How dare you barge into our Wind Thunder Sect's Deliberation Hall?!"
"Men! Seize him!"
Li Guanqi merely cast a frigid glance at the elder. With a slight lift of his arm, Wu Kun's body was hoisted entirely into the air.
At this moment, Wu Kun finally saw Li Guanqi's face clearly.
His pupils shrank to pinpricks, and shock filled his voice as he stammered, "Y-you... it's you... you're that—!"
Beyond the shock, his eyes were brimming with panic; he was terrified that Li Guanqi would expose everything.
Yet before he could finish his words, Li Guanqi's eyes narrowed slightly, and he swung his arm violently downward!
Bang!
The impact smashed a crater roughly ten feet across into the ground!
A bloodcurdling scream tore from Wu Kun's throat as nearly every rib in his chest was shattered!
Seeing him dare to act so brazenly, the elder was beside himself with rage. He surged forward, preparing to strike!
Yet in the very next instant, he was forced back down and pinned firmly in place by an unimaginably terrifying pressure.
Chu Xingxian looked at him with chilling eyes and said softly, "Sit down."
Li Guanqi stood between Cang Lu and Yun Mengxi.
The woman looked at Li Guanqi with an indecipherable gaze, her heart awash with terror!
For she, too, recognized the man before her... she had seen him back at that tavern.
Glancing at Cang Lu crouched on the floor, Li Guanqi turned his head slowly toward Yun Mengxi.
Step!
In sheer dread, Yun Mengxi instinctively took a step back.
Since he could manipulate Wu Kun from a distance, he was unmistakably a mighty cultivator of the Nascent Soul realm!
Li Guanqi's eyes seemed capable of peering straight through the human heart, to say nothing of the fact that he knew many secrets between her and Wu Kun.
Yet in the end, Li Guanqi spoke with utmost gravity:
"You may break off your engagement. But..."
"In this world, true devotion is never to be mocked!"
"And you, least of all, are worthy!"
Chapter 294