Qingshan City, Yu Family, Guest Hall
White moonlight of the night shone upon the surface of the lake, stirring ripples on the water where fish drifted in silence. The serenity of the quiet night naturally put one at ease.
A few figures walked across the wooden bridge over the lake.
"Young Master, what happened today might make you feel unhappy, but you must not do anything foolish."
"That young lady of the Liu Family will surely regret missing out on such a perfect young master like you, who combines both looks and talent."
Two stewards accompanied Yu Fan as they arrived at the guest hall.
Inside the hall, his father and several elders had already arrived, seated in their respective places.
Yu Cheng, Yu Fan's father, beamed with smiles the moment he saw Yu Fan. No matter what happened today, his son was still his son and his greatest pride.
However, the expressions of the other elders were far from pleasant.
What was happening today? People were actually coming to their doorstep to annul an engagement, and the reason was stated without the slightest bit of concealment—they simply looked down upon the Yu Family of Qingshan City. This was a blatant slap to the face, yet they were powerless to strike back.
Twenty years ago, the old master of the Yu Family and the old master of the Liu Family had traveled and trained together in the outside world, forging a deep friendship. As children were born to both sides, the two men conceived an idea.
To draw their ties even closer through marriage, they decided that if both children were boys, they would become sworn brothers; if they were a boy and a girl, things would be much simpler—they would become husband and wife.
It was precisely because of this that the betrothal came to be.
Originally, the Liu Family also belonged within Qingshan City. Later on, as the influence of the Liu Family gradually grew, they moved out of Qingshan City and headed to the much more powerful Yunhe City, after which the two families rarely interacted.
Furthermore, the old masters of both families had passed away in earlier years.
Now, the Liu Family simply wished to disown this betrothal.
Recently, rumors spread that the young family head of the Liu Family, Liu Shuying, possessed extraordinary natural talent and had successfully passed the assessment of Bihai Academy, even becoming the personal disciple of Academy Elder Shui Ning. If she did not suffer an untimely death, her Liu Family was undoubtedly destined to soar to the skies.
As for marriage, many disciples within the academy admired Liu Shuying, and for the sake of a better future, today's annulment naturally followed.
"The people from the Liu Family will be here very soon."
"After what happens today, how will my Yu Family ever maintain a foothold in Qingshan City?!"
"Patriarch, take a look at your good son. Why is he so utterly useless? He is already eighteen this year, yet he is merely at the Qi Condensation 3rd Layer. My youngest son is only ten years old this year, and he has already reached the Qi Condensation 5th Layer. Given time, by the time he is eighteen..."
Yu Cheng let out a cold snort, no longer wishing to listen to Third Elder Yu Da continue.
"Fan'er, sit by my side. This seat is reserved for you."
Although Yu Cheng's son lacked formidable strength, Yu Cheng himself still possessed a certain level of prestige within the clan, so Yu Da dared not continue his retort and obediently shut his mouth.
"Yes, Father."
Speaking of his son's aptitude, Yu Cheng also felt utterly helpless; his son's talent could indeed be described as a genuine piece of trash.
Since childhood, he had provided his son with the finest resources, but his son's strength was truly difficult to justify, earning him titles within the clan such as "trash," "idiot," "little good-for-nothing," and "utterly incompetent"—all of which Yu Cheng was well aware of.
As for these elders looking down on him, he did not care, because currently only he himself knew that he was no piece of trash.
He was a transmigrator, and accompanying him across was a system—a system known as the Trash Acting System.
He was now eighteen years old, and the system had been with him for eighteen years.
This was a system that rewarded him with different prizes every day simply for acting like trash.
Through eighteen years of accumulation and buildup, his strength had long since reached a level that the entire Yu Family could only look up to in despair. As for a mere fiancé annulment from a betrothed, he could not care less.
"I never imagined I would actually get to experience what it feels like to be Xiao Yan," Yu Fan thought with a hint of amusement.
"I wonder if this Nalan Yanran—no, if this Liu Shuying is pretty..."
"The Young Family Head of the Liu Family has arrived!"
The voice echoing from outside the courtyard shattered the tranquility of the dark night and disturbed Yu Cheng's heart. He felt somewhat apprehensive, worrying that this matter would deal a heavy blow to his son's state of mind.
Even though his son claimed it did not matter and that he was unconcerned, Yu Cheng believed it was mostly because he did not want his father to worry excessively.
The child was sensible, and for this alone Yu Cheng felt deeply gratified.
At the doors of the guest hall, heading straight toward them, the first person to step across the threshold was a woman dressed in a light green gauze dress. As soon as she entered the guest hall, a fresh fragrance drifted through the room.
The woman had delicate facial features and hair like a cascading waterfall. One could tell she was quite a beauty, enough to captivate the minds of most men.
She was Liu Shuying.
In tow behind Liu Shuying was an old man. Judging by the posture with which he followed behind her, he was clearly not an elder of Liu Shuying's family, but rather a household servant, or what could be called a guardian.
With such a posture, they clearly had not come to negotiate, but rather to deliver notice. If the Yu Family refused to agree today, it would likely end very badly for them.
*[So she is Liu Shuying. I didn't expect her to actually look pretty good!]*
"Who is speaking?!" Liu Shuying felt a tremendous shock in her heart, then glanced at Uncle Jiang beside her, only to find that he apparently had noticed nothing at all.
Her curiosity grew even stronger. Uncle Jiang was an elite among Foundation Establishment practitioners; could the Yu Family possess someone who far surpassed Uncle Jiang?
Who would have thought the Yu Family truly harbored hidden dragons and crouching tigers.
*[Her figure isn't bad either. Mmm... quite standard, though she's no match for an awe-inspiring, brilliantly talented young family head like myself. Following the plot, first a letter of annulment, and then three years later I'll go slap them in the face. Wonderful, simply wonderful.]*
"Young Family Head?" Liu Shuying's gaze suddenly shifted toward Yu Fan.
"Could it be that he was the one speaking?"
*[Her natural talent is rather mediocre, too. Hearing from my father, she is the same age as me, yet right now she is merely at the Half-Step Foundation Establishment. However, her Dao heart is unstable; most likely it was propped up by a pile of inferior pills. Breaking through to Foundation Establishment like that, she probably won't be able to withstand the upcoming Golden Core tribulation either. What a pity, such a lovely beauty going to waste.]*
"It really was him, but why on earth could I hear his voice...?" Judging from Yu Fan's posture, Liu Shuying could tell that Yu Fan himself probably had no idea why either.
Her cultivation realm had indeed been boosted by medicinal pills, but calling them "inferior" was going too far. The pills she consumed had been purchased by her father at a heavy price—medium-grade pills that ordinary inferior pills simply could not compare to.
She had previously heard that this young family head was nothing more than trash, but seeing him now, it seemed matters were far from simple.
"Miss Liu, and this uncle, the two of you have traveled a long way to reach my Yu Family, and it is our fault for failing to welcome you from afar," Yu Cheng said as he stood up.
However, there was no smile on his face. These two people had come looking for trouble today, so why on earth should he smile? Smiles depended on the occasion.
"Patriarch Yu, let's dispense with the polite pleasantries. We've come straight to the point today: hand over the betrothal document, and we will offer corresponding compensation," Uncle Jiang said in a cold voice.
Naturally, Yu Cheng did not hesitate. As for the matter of the betrothal document, they had reached a decision long ago; of course they were going to hand it over.
"Very well."