"That's right, Uncle Xiao and the others are being too sensitive. Something that could have been resolved peacefully has been blown way out of proportion."
Xiao Xun'er also shook her head, feeling a slight sense of disappointment at Xiao Zhan's reaction.
By this time, following the three elders' loud shouts, the enraged Xiao Zhan had also calmed down.
Gazing grimly at Nalan Yanran, he said in a hoarse voice, "Nalan, my dear niece, what a bold display! To have a daughter like you, Nalan Su, you must be very proud!"
"Uncle Xiao—"
Nalan Yanran still wanted to reason with Xiao Zhan.
However, Xiao Zhan cut her off directly.
"Hah, just call me Patriarch Xiao. I cannot bear the title of uncle. Our Yan'er is merely of mediocre talent and indeed unworthy of you!"
Xiao Zhan's tone was cold and dripping with sarcasm.
Ge Ye, standing nearby, misunderstood the situation entirely.
He hurriedly produced the compensation gift he had prepared in advance, and with a ingratiating smile, said, "Thank you for your understanding, Patriarch Xiao. The Sect Master knew that today's affair was far too rash and somewhat impolite, so she specifically instructed me to bring this item as a token of apology!"
With that, Ge Ye reached out and handed over a jade box shimmering with a green luster.
As the box opened, a strange fragrance instantly permeated the entire hall, instantly refreshing the minds of everyone who smelled it.
The three elders eagerly craned their necks forward, and then let out gasps of astonishment:
"Gathering Qi San!"
In the Douqi Continent, the prerequisite for becoming a true Dou Zhe was to condense a Qi Whirlpool within one's body.
Yet, condensing a Qi Whirlpool carried a fairly high failure rate.
After all, not everyone was a genius like Gu Changqing, Xiao Xun'er, or Xiao Yan.
If one failed, their strength would even decline.
Therefore, the Alchemist of the Douqi Continent had invented the Gathering Qi San, which allowed a person to condense a Qi Whirlpool with absolute success.
A single pill could guarantee the birth of a One-Star Grand Dou Shi... a One-Star Dou Zhe genius.
Furthermore, this elixir was a genuine Tier 4 medicinal pill.
To put it simply, for a small family like the Xiao Family, it was an existence akin to a supreme treasure.
Following this, Ge Ye offered a lengthy explanation of the Gathering Qi San to everyone, even dragging in Grandmaster Gu He, the Pill King of the Jiama Empire.
Just when everyone thought the matter of breaking off the engagement had been perfectly resolved, the person who had instigated the conflict in the first place jumped out.
"Elder Ge Ye, you'd better take the pill back. Today's matter... we may not agree to it!"
The hall fell abruptly silent. Xiao Yan, who had long since been forgotten by everyone in the corner, stood up at that moment.
"Xiao Yan, this is no place for you to speak! Shut your mouth!"
An elder rebuked him angrily.
"Xiao Yan, step back. I know you're hurting inside, but we will handle things here!"
Another elder also spoke up.
"Three elders, if the ones whose engagement was being broken off today were your own sons or grandsons, would you still be saying that?"
Instead of obeying, Xiao Yan retorted with a sarcastic edge to his voice.
"You—"
"Such sophistry!"
"Xiao Yan, Elder Ge Ye came here to request the annulment of the engagement, not to break it off unilaterally!"
"Besides, even if it were our sons or grandsons whose engagement was being broken off, if they were as devoid of morals and inferior in talent as you, we wouldn't wait for someone to come knocking—we'd go straight to their door ourselves and beg them to dissolve the engagement!" The three elders were no pushovers either.
This time, Xiao Xun'er did not step forward to interrupt the three elders, nor did she speak up to defend Xiao Yan.
Consequently, the three elders refuted Xiao Yan without the slightest bit of mercy.
Xiao Yan's reputation had long since become a laughingstock throughout Wutan City.
Otherwise, after losing his talent, so many people wouldn't have despised him.
"You! You people!"
Never had Xiao Yan imagined that the three elders would give him zero face, going so far as to expose his lack of morals and inferior talent right in front of outsiders.
For a moment, he was overcome with fury; his face flushed crimson, his pupils dilated wide, looking as though he wanted to devour someone alive.
"Enough, that's enough!"
With a roar, Xiao Zhan unleashed the aura of a Five-Star Grand Dou Shi, forcefully suppressing the three elders who still wanted to mock Xiao Yan a bit more.
Looking at Xiao Yan with a helpless expression, Xiao Zhan said, "Yan'er, today's events are a result of our incompetence as father and son, I—"
"Father!"
Xiao Yan took several deep breaths, regaining his composure once more.
Staring straight into Xiao Zhan's eyes, he said in an unyielding tone:
"Let me handle today's matter. After all, I am the person directly involved in this. It's not our place—nor anyone else's—to point fingers and meddle in my marriage!"
The final sentence was directed at the three elders, delivered with a fierce intensity.
The subtext was clear: his marriage was not something they had any right to dictate!
"You—"
Xiao Zhan gazed at this youngest son of his, once his proudest achievement, while Xiao Yan met his gaze without flinching.
"Very well. Since Nalan Yanran's engagement concerns you, this matter shall be left in your hands. No matter how you handle it, your father will support you unconditionally!"
Xiao Zhan might not have been a great patriarch, but he was unquestionably a great father.
"Since the old master never spoke of it, I hope you will bear with us. That engagement was personally initiated by the grandfathers of our two families. Now that they have not spoken to dissolve it, no one dares to break this marriage! To do otherwise would be an act of desecration against our departed elders! I should think no one in our clan would be brazen enough to commit such an act of defiance, right?"
Xiao Yan delivered a lengthy speech, resorting straight to moral blackmail, while fixing his gaze squarely on the three elders so they would not dare shoulder the infamous reputation of betraying their predecessors.
Yet Gu Changqing was amused to the point of laughing out loud by Xiao Yan's lengthy discourse.
One moment he claimed the matter concerned him and he had the right to handle it himself, and the next he argued that without the two grandfathers speaking out, no one dared dissolve it. This heaven-defying moral coercion was indeed remarkably effective, leaving all three elders completely speechless.
If Xiao Yan hadn't been a modern transmigrator, he must have been an ultraconservative relic of feudalism.
If truly no one dared dissolve it, did that mean until both grandfathers were dead and buried with no proof left behind, the two of them were forced to marry? What an absolute joke.
Gu Changqing's laughter sounded exceptionally jarring in the quiet hall.
Causing many people to turn their heads and look in his direction.
Hearing the sound, Xiao Yan looked toward him as well, and his gaze instantly darkened.
It was bad enough that this Gu Changqing wasn't a member of the Xiao Family; to top it off, he opposed him at every turn.
Had it not been for him, how could his sneaking into Xiao Xun'er's room have been discovered? Had it not been for him, how could he have been caught ahead of time while peeping at Xiao Yu bathing? Had it not been for him... In truth, Xiao Yan harbored a bone-deep hatred for Gu Changqing.
Yet he knew Gu Changqing possessed a formidable background and immense talent, someone he could not afford to provoke right now.
"Gu Changqing, what are you laughing at?"
Though he couldn't afford to provoke Gu Changqing, daring to question him in front of so many people was something Xiao Yan could still manage.