. This young girl was none other than the royal princess, Yaoyue.
As a princess of the royal family, Yaoyue naturally wouldn't lower herself to attend a banquet hosted by the lesser leaders of Wutan City.
Her primary purpose for this visit was to demonstrate the royal family's regard for the Xiao family and to win over Xiao Ling, the young sixth-rank alchemist.
Therefore, Yaoyue didn't attend the banquet, but instead dispatched the Douling-level army commander to establish close ties with Xiao Zhan.
She herself wandered around the Xiao family alone, intending to see where Xiao Ling had lived as a child.
Just now, the guard secretly protecting Yaoyue informed her that a young man with only the third stage of Dou Qi cultivation was lying on the grass beside a pond not far ahead of her.
Hearing the guard mention the third stage of Dou Qi, Yaoyue's eyes lit up. Wasn't that the Xiao Yan her teacher had mentioned?
He began cultivating Dou Qi at the age of four and ascended to the Douzhe level at eleven. While not as prodigious as Xiao Ling, he was still the youngest Douzhe in the Jia Ma Empire besides Xiao Ling, and he was also the fiancé of Nalan Yanran
, the eldest daughter of the Nalan family. This fact was a source of much discussion among the powerful in the Jia Ma Empire. They believed that the Xiao family, with the talents of Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan, would surely lead the Xiao family to greatness when they matured.
However, at the age of twelve, Xiao Yan's Dou Qi plummeted to the third level of Dou Qi, and his cultivation could no longer improve, leaving him a useless cultivator, much to the shock of everyone. The
Xiao family then obtained a prescription and hired Mitchell, the vice president of the Alchemist Guild, to examine Xiao Yan.
Mitchell traveled all the way to Wutan City but was unable to determine what was wrong with Xiao Yan.
Remembering the strange condition that even her own teacher had been unable to resolve, Yaoyue decided to personally investigate it, and so she headed towards Xiao Yan.
Seeing the young woman approaching, Xiao Yan quickly rose from the grass, clasped his fists, and bowed. He then addressed Yaoyue, "Princess, what can I do for you? If you'd like to see the Xiao family's sights, I can lead the way. I'm quite familiar with the Xiao family."
Earlier, when the royal guards entered the Xiao family compound, Xiao Zhan and Xiao Yan had gone to greet them, naturally spotting Yaoyue.
However, Xiao Zhan and the other elders were also surprised to see the royal princess herself. This further reinforced the importance of Xiao Ling, a young Dou Wang powerhouse and sixth-grade alchemist.
Yaoyue didn't respond to Xiao Yan's question, but instead surveyed him with a curious gaze.
Seeing the young royal princess staring at him made the now mature Xiao Yan a little embarrassed.
When Xiao Yan was about to ask again, Yao Yue spoke first, "Are you Xiao Yan, the third young master of the Xiao family? And the fiancé of Nalan Yanran, the young master of the Yunlan Sect."
Hearing Yao Yue's question, Xiao Yan nodded and said, "Yes, I am Xiao Yan. As for the fiancé of the young master of the Yunlan Sect, I don't know much about it myself. I just heard my father mention that before I was born, my grandfather Xiao Lin had reached a verbal agreement with Mr. Nalan Jie of the Nalan family. Later, after Nalan Yanran and I were born, the two of us were engaged. I was just a little girl. "I met Nalan Yanran once before, but now I don't even know what she looks like. If Nalan Yanran, the young master of the Yunlan Sect, and Nalan Yanran from the Nalan family are the same person, then she should be my fiancée. But now I can't practice anymore, and I don't know if they still look down on me."
Thinking of his own cultivation level, which had dropped to the third stage of Dou Qi at the age of twelve, Xiao Yan felt a pang of pain in his heart. However, he remembered what his father had said to him before, that Xiao Ling would help him solve his physical problems when the time comes, and Xiao Yan's somewhat lost mood recovered.
After listening to Xiao Yan's narration, Yaoyue nodded slightly and joked to Xiao Yan, "Then let me tell you, the Yunlan Sect's young master, Nalan Yanran, is the eldest daughter of the Nalan family in the imperial capital, Nalan Yanran, and your fiancée. At the Yunlan Sect's disciple recruitment conference, she was accepted as a personal disciple by the current Yunlan Sect's master, Yun Yun. Later, she was recognized by the Yunlan Sect's trial ground, the Gate of Life and Death, and became the Yunlan Sect's young master. With her gorgeous appearance and outstanding cultivation talent, she has been sought after by countless people in the imperial capital. Even Liu Ling, the personal disciple of the Yunlan Sect's guest elder and sixth-grade alchemist Gu He, has long admired your fiancée, Nalan Yanran."
Xiao Yan was a little surprised when he heard Yaoyue's narration. He didn't expect that the little girl he had met once in his childhood would now be the Yunlan Sect's young master.
As for how much he was being admired, Xiao Yan, though somewhat annoyed, didn't take it too seriously. As someone who had lived on Blue Star in the 21st century, he believed such engagements were meaningless, and he advocated for free love.
Now that his cultivation couldn't improve, if Nalan Yanran looked down on him and didn't want to fulfill the engagement, he could simply pretend the engagement had never happened.
After all, the engagement was just a casual mention by their elders, and his grandfather had died from injuries sustained in a battle with an enemy when he was only three years old, leaving one less witness to the engagement. As long as the Nalan family denied the engagement, outsiders wouldn't say anything. Furthermore,
as long as his cultivation talent could be restored, Xiao Yan believed that through his own hard work, he would catch up with, or even surpass, Nalan Yanran. By then, he might even look down on her.
Shaking his head, Xiao Yan said with a hint of self-mockery, "Princess, please stop teasing me. As the Young Master of the Yunlan Sect, how could I possibly be interested in a useless person like me who can't cultivate?"
Covering her mouth and laughing, Yaoyue said playfully, "You are quite self-aware, but your optimistic personality is quite interesting."
After a pause, Yaoyue continued, "But I'm a little curious about your strange physique. Your family previously asked my teacher to examine you, but they didn't find anything abnormal. Before we set off this time, President Fa Ma told me that if you go to the Imperial Capital, he can check you out." Xiao
Yan waved his hand and said, "Thank you, President Fa Ma, for the invitation, but there's no need to trouble President Fa Ma. After I arrive in the Imperial Capital, my cousin Xiao Ling will return to the Xiao family and personally examine me. If even my cousin can't find any problems, then asking President Fa Ma would be unnecessary."
(End of this chapter)