Who does he think he is, to dare to break off Senior Sister Qin's engagement?

Liyuan Holy Land.

The peaks were towering, shrouded in steaming clouds and rosy mists.

Outer Sect, Guest Hall.

A young man in his early twenties sat cross-legged on a couch, his eyes closed as he rested his mind.

His face was pale and his aura weak; despite having a cultivation at the Late Stage of the Qi Refining Realm, he gave off a faint sense of frailty, like someone just recovering from a serious illness.

Someone is coming!

The young man suddenly opened his eyes. His pitch-black pupils were deep and boundless, with a dark light surging like a bottomless abyss, but it quickly faded into nothingness, returning to a dim and lifeless state.

Creak.

The wooden door of the hall was suddenly pushed open, and a young Disciple wearing the standard robes of the Liyuan Holy Land walked in.

"Young Master Qi."

Though he called him "Young Master," the young Disciple's lips clearly held a trace of mockery and disdain. "The Young Sword Master has already returned from the Linglong Holy Land and will come to see you in person shortly."

"I advise you not to have any unrealistic fantasies. Just follow the previous agreement honestly, or else..."

Before he could finish, the young man waved him off, interrupting him, and said coldly:

"I don't need you to teach me what to do. According to the personal promise of your Sect Head, as long as I give up my status as Qin Lingxue's fiancé, I will be allowed to enter the Sword Pool to choose a Flying Sword."

"As a grand Holy Land of Sword Cultivators, Liyuan wouldn't go back on its word, would it?"

The young Disciple snorted and said in a disdainful tone:

"Qi Yuan, you seem to have misunderstood something. Although countless swords are hidden in the Sword Pool, it's not a place where any random nobody can just pick up a good sword."

"When the time comes, it's not you choosing the Flying Sword, but the Flying Sword choosing its Revered Master."

"I've seen plenty of trash like you; everyone thinks they're the chosen one, imagining they can just stroll through the Sword Pool and pick up a peerless divine sword."

"In the end, they can't even get the lowest-grade Spirit Sword and can only dejectedly bring out a Mundane Sword with no spirituality at all. It's truly laughable."

Facing this mockery, the young man known as "Qi Yuan" showed no ripple of emotion and said calmly:

"You are merely angry that your Young Sword Master's engagement is being annulled. As for Qin Lingxue, I will marry her if I want to, and divorce her if I want to. Who are you to make such a noise here?"

"You're looking for death!"

Hearing this, the young Disciple flew into a rage, but he didn't have the courage to strike this special person who was highly valued by the Sect. He could only say hatefully:

"Qi Yuan, I'll remember you. Once you're outside, you'd better pray you don't fall into my hands. Otherwise, hehe."

With that, he gave the young man a sinister glance and turned to leave without looking back.

Seeing this, a flash of fierce and bloodthirsty killing intent crossed the young man's eyes.

A mere ant at the Middle Foundation Establishment Stage dares to act arrogantly before this seat and even attempts to humiliate me; he has already found a path to his own death.

The Sword Cultivators of the Liyuan Holy Land are only fit to become nourishment for this seat!

Thinking of this, he restrained his emotions. His abyss-like gaze shifted slightly, instantly piercing through countless obstacles to land on the location of the Sword Pool.

There, an unremarkable, dull-colored green longsword seemed to sense something, suddenly emitting a hum and trembling... A short while later.

Qin Lingxue looked at this familiar yet strange figure with some confusion, for a moment not knowing how to respond.

A person originally thought to be dead was now standing alive before her; even with her resilient mind, she couldn't help but feel a sense of unreality.

Moreover, this person was the fiancé she had been engaged to for ten years.

It wasn't that Qin Lingxue hadn't suspected him of being an imposter; after all, there are many people in this world who look alike.

But the person before her—whether in appearance, clothing, or aura—was exactly the same as the person in her memory. Even the hidden birthmark on the back of his neck was clearly visible, with no trace of forgery at all.

Combined with a genuine Marriage Contract, her heart wavered slightly.

"Are you really Qi Yuan?"

The young man nodded composedly, unscrupulously sizing up the woman in white before him while slowly recounting an experience:

"I didn't die back then; I only fell into a state of suspended animation due to heavy injuries. When I woke up, I found myself buried in a graveyard."

"After crawling out of the mud, I spent all my time healing, which is why I was delayed for several months..."

Hearing this explanation, a look of suspicion immediately appeared on Qin Lingxue's face.

Although she didn't yet know the news of the Qi family being exterminated, Qi Yao had once mentioned that when "Qi Yuan" was kicked out of the house, his Meridians were completely destroyed, and he never stepped onto the path of cultivation until his death.

Now, only a few months had passed, and this "Qi Yuan" had not only recovered from heavy injuries but also repaired his Meridians and even cultivated to the Eighth Level of Qi Refining, which completely defied common sense.

Seemingly sensing Qin Lingxue's thoughts, the young man smiled slightly and continued:

"Perhaps because luck comes after extreme misfortune, the place I found to heal happened to be the Legacy Immortal Cave of a Loose Cultivator in the Void Refining Realm."

"There, I found Medicinal Pills to repair my Meridians and also obtained a decent Legacy, which allowed me to Cultivate to the Eighth Level of Qi Refining."

A Loose Cultivator's Immortal Cave?

Although Qin Lingxue still didn't quite believe it, she found no obvious flaws and had to give up questioning his cultivation.

In the Cultivation World, almost everyone has their own secrets.

Except for certain extremely close Sect elders, prying too deeply into the opportunities others have obtained is an extremely rude thing to do and can easily lead to misunderstandings.

Thinking of something, her heart suddenly stirred, and she asked nonchalantly:

"Qi Yuan, can you tell me when the first time we met was?"

"I forgot to tell you." The young man shook his head and said in a deep voice, "Due to the severity of my injuries, I lost a lot of my memory. I only remember being an illegitimate son of the Qi family in Wangchu City."

"But when I returned to the Qi family to try and recover my memories, I found that the Qi family had been exterminated. Over a hundred people, including the Qi family's Old Ancestor in the Foundation Establishment Realm, were not spared!"

The Qi family was exterminated?!

Qin Lingxue was startled and couldn't help but blurt out:

"What happened? Who did it?"

"I don't know who did it either." An imperceptible sneer curled at the corner of the young man's mouth. "However, I found this Marriage Contract among the Qi family's relics, and only then did I remember I had a fiancée like you."

At this point, he seemed to lose patience, and his voice gradually became indifferent:

"Qin Lingxue, stop pestering me with these trivialities. From now on, our engagement is completely void!"

Immediately after, "Qi Yuan" expressionlessly struck out a wisp of spirit fire, burning the Marriage Contract in his hand to ashes.

At this moment, malice surged in his heart as he thought secretly:

Once this seat recovers my full cultivation, I will capture and refine this exceptionally talented little beauty, taking her as a concubine and Cauldron.

But before that, I still need to go to the Sword Pool to retrieve my old partner... Around,

Seeing this scene, many Liyuan Holy Land Cultivators who were pretending to pass by but were actually spectating all breathed a sigh of relief and began to discuss excitedly:

"Great! The Young Sword Master is finally no longer bound by the engagement!"

"I knew it! There isn't a single man in the world worthy of the Jade Maiden Sword Immortal, and this trash is even less so!"

"Hmph! At least this kid is sensible. I came here specifically to supervise. If someone still dared to dream of a toad eating swan meat, I would have taught him a harsh lesson even at the risk of being punished by the Sect!"

"If you ask me, if this marriage were to be annulled, it should be Senior Sister Qin who does it. Who does he think he is, to be worthy of annulling Senior Sister Qin's engagement?"

"Our Senior Sister Qin is still too kind-hearted. She would rather suffer some grievance herself just to preserve the last bit of face for the man..."

After a long time, Qin Lingxue finally snapped out of the news of the Qi family's extermination.

She first took a deep look at "Qi Yuan," who had undergone a huge change in personality, then nodded calmly and said:

"Fine. Once I return and report to my Revered Master, I will personally take you to the Sword Pool to choose a sword."

As her voice fell, she rose upon a light, turning into a streak of light that vanished in an instant.

Elsewhere.

Ji Chan'er, whose appearance had greatly changed, was mingling among a group of Outer Sect Disciples of the Liyuan Holy Land. She stared at the scene with a strange expression, a sense of absurdity rising in her heart.

What exactly is going on with this "Qi Yuan"? Why is even his appearance different?