Shangguan Wanwan's eyes remained cold as she spoke again, her voice steady and unyielding.
"Don't go ordering them around on how to treat us," she said flatly. "We've had enough. It's time for us to leave this marriage."
Her words fell like ice into the room.
The subordinates reacted immediately.
"What nonsense—!" "You dare speak like that in front of the young master—!" "Shut your mouth!"
Their anger surged forward in a wave, sharp and hostile, and several of them took a step closer as if words alone were no longer enough.
Before another insult could leave their mouths,
Lin Youming's hand moved.
Metal sang softly as his fingers wrapped around the hilt of his sword.
The sound was quiet, but it sliced through the room far more effectively than shouting ever could.
The subordinates froze.
Lin Youming slowly lifted his gaze. His eyes were calm, but there was something terrifying beneath that calm, something heavy and merciless that pressed down on everyone present.
"If any one of you," he said slowly, "speaks another word against my wives…"
His grip tightened.
"I don't care how many years you've followed me. I don't care how many times you've bled for me, or how many life-and-death situations we've survived together."
His voice hardened.
"I will make sure every single one of your heads rolls."
Silence crashed down.
The servants felt their legs weaken.
The subordinates turned pale, their mouths hanging open as if the words had struck them physically.
Even Liu MeiMei's breath hitched.
Even Cai Cai Yun lifted her head in shock.
And Shangguan Wanwan—
Her pupils shrank for a brief, uncontrollable moment.
He's… serious?
She stared at Lin Youming, her gaze searching his face as if trying to peel back layers that shouldn't exist. For a split second, something flickered through her eyes.
Surprise.
Confusion.
A faint ripple of disbelief.
How could he be this fierce?
Just for them?
Just to protect them?
The thought was absurd. Dangerous. Almost laughable.
Shangguan Wanwan sneered, regaining her composure.
"Pathetic," she said coldly. "What a convenient
excuse."
She tilted her head slightly, studying him.
"You said you're willing to do anything to stop us from divorcing you, didn't you?"
Lin Youming nodded without hesitation.
"Yes."
Inside his head, his thoughts screamed.
Absolutely. Anything. Just don't take what little I have left!
Shangguan Wanwan turned away from him and faced the other two women.
"Sisters," she said, her tone softening just slightly, "how about this?"
Liu MeiMei and Cai Cai Yun both looked at her.
"I'll handle this," Shangguan Wanwan continued. "I'll make sure he won't be able to refuse."
She paused, then smiled faintly.
"You can trust me."
The room held its breath.
Lin Youming frowned.
Why does that sound so ominous?
Shangguan Wanwan stepped closer to Liu MeiMei first.
"MeiMei," she said gently, "you came here with your heart already decided, didn't you?"
Liu MeiMei stiffened.
"I…" Her fingers clenched around the scroll in her hand. "I don't want to stay here anymore."
Shangguan Wanwan nodded. "Because you love someone else."
Liu MeiMei's face paled.
"I—"
"You don't need to deny it," Shangguan Wanwan said calmly. "Your eyes already told me everything. If you stay here, you'll suffocate. You'll resent this guy for him. You'll resent yourself even more."
She stepped closer, lowering her voice.
"But do you think this guy would ever let him or you go peacefully?"
Liu MeiMei trembled.
"No."
"And if you force your way out without leverage, you'll either be hunted down or dragged back," Shangguan Wanwan continued, "Oh don't bother committing suicide, this clan had several ways to torture your or your family… "
Liu MeiMei bit her lip.
Shangguan Wanwan turned to Cai Cai Yun.
"And you," she said softly.
Cai Cai Yun's shoulders tensed.
"You endured most humiliation. Isolation. Being treated like something disposable. Yet you still love this useless husband who is letting his servants decide for himself for everything."
Her voice sharpened.
Cai Cai Yun lowered her eyes.
Shangguan Wanwan nodded.
"Listen to me."
She stood between them, her presence firm and unyielding.
"If we simply ask for divorce, we lose."
Her lips curved.
"But if he agrees to our condition… then even if we stay, the balance changes."
Liu MeiMei hesitated. "What kind of condition?"
Shangguan Wanwan's smile deepened, cold and knowing.
"One he cannot undo."
Cai Cai Yun inhaled slowly. "And if he refuses?"
"Then we leave," Shangguan Wanwan said simply. "And the world will see that he broke his own oath."
The room was quiet except for their voices.
Lin Youming listened, his heart pounding harder with every word.
Why do I feel like prey?
Liu MeiMei looked at Cai Cai Yun.
Cai Cai Yun looked back.
After a long moment, Liu MeiMei nodded.
"…Alright."
Cai Cai Yun closed her eyes briefly, then nodded as well.
"I agree."
Shangguan Wanwan turned back toward Lin Youming.
She smirked. "Very well."
She lifted her chin. "We won't divorce you."
Lin Youming's chest loosened slightly.
"…As long as you do something for us."
Here it comes.
He kept his expression calm.
"What is it, wife?"
Inside his head, alarms blared.
Shangguan Wanwan's gaze drifted, her mind pulled backward by memories she despised.
A man she once loved. Trusted. Followed through blood and fire.
A Dao companion who promised eternity, then sold her out for power.
Even he… even that man… would never have done this.
Her eyes returned to Lin Youming, cold and sharp.
You won't accept it.
She was sure of it.
Lin Youming took a step forward.
"I'm listening," he said gently. "Tell me."
Inside, his thoughts raced.
As long as I have a system, I don't care. I'll do it. Whatever it is.
Shangguan Wanwan tilted her head mockingly.
"Are you really willing to do anything?"
Her smile widened just a little.
Lin Youming nodded.
"Yes."
Inside his head, he was practically shouting.
Just say it already! Stop dragging it out!
Shangguan Wanwan raised a finger.
"Then take an oath."
Lin Youming's eyebrow twitched.
Seriously?
Annoyance flared inside him, but his face outside softened into a polite smile.
"Of course."
He stepped forward and raised his hand.
"I, Lin Youming, swear to the heavens," he began, his voice ringing through the room, "that if I fail to fulfill the condition my wives demand today, I will accept divorce without resistance."
The air shifted.
"Heaven and earth bear witness," he continued, teeth clenched behind his smile. "If I break this oath, may my cultivation collapse, my fate scatter, and my name be erased from the path of immortality."
His heart thumped painfully.
Please let this be enough.
He finished the oath and lowered his hand.
Shangguan Wanwan smiled. "That's more like it."
Lin Youming nodded, sweat trickling down his spine.
"So," he said carefully, "what must I do?"
Her smile vanished.
"Cripple your own middle dantian."
The world stopped.
"What?!"
Shouts exploded behind him.
"Impossible!" "Absolutely not!" "That's madness!"
Even Liu MeiMei gasped.
Cai Cai Yun's eyes widened.
Servants clutched each other in disbelief.
To cripple one's middle dantian meant destroying the core of hardened cultivation. It meant severing decades of effort. It meant condemning oneself to endless pain if one ever tried to use that power again.
It was worse than death for a cultivator.
Lin Youming's ears rang.
Middle… dantian?
His thoughts spiraled. He already got his upper Dantian crippled by the main character and now she wants his Middle Dantian?
What did the original Lin Youming do to her?
Why is she this ruthless?
Behind him, the subordinates shouted furiously, voices overlapping in outrage.
"This is too far!" "She's insane!" "Young master, don't listen to her!"
Shangguan Wanwan ignored them completely.
Inside her heart, she laughed coldly.
Let me see what you'll choose.
Lin Youming stood there, silent.
The room trembled with tension.
Then—
He lifted his head.
"…Alright."