At the same time, in the meeting hall of the Gu Family of Yunhai City...
At that precise moment, the Patriarch and the Elders were gathered in the main hall. The entire place was flooded with a gloomy and heavy aura.
—The Wu Clan has sent us a message. It seems they are going to terminate the engagement between the only male child of their clan's direct line and my daughter —the Patriarch explained in a contained voice.
An Elder slammed the table in fury. —That waste from the Wu Clan dares! Compared to our Ruolan, his talent was nothing but garbage. Now that she has lost her cultivation, he dares to break the engagement! —the Elder shouted, trying to contain his rage.
The rest of the Elders were in no better state; many of them had to hold back the urge to draw their weapons and rush toward the Wu Clan looking for a fight. After all, all the Elders had watched Ruolan grow up and harbored the hope that, with her monstrous talent, she could elevate the Gu Clan to a much higher level. However, now that she had lost her cultivation and her talent, all those expectations had turned into mere empty illusions. Even so, they still cared for her deeply and were not willing, under any circumstances, to allow her to be humiliated.
—Do not put it that way. He is still the young master of the Wu Clan. Although he does not yet hold the position of official heir, in the future, as long as there are no setbacks, he will probably inherit it —said the Patriarch, trying hard not to curse the future leader of the Wu Clan. However, his expression was anything but friendly; if he had that young man in front of him, he would have to use all his restraint not to kill him.
—Where is little Ruolan? —another Elder asked.
—Ruolan is in the inner courtyard —the Patriarch replied with a somber face—. I will go speak with her. Meanwhile, you all take care of preparing the ceremony to welcome young master Wu.
—Are we really going to give that boy face? —an Elder asked with evident irritation.
—And what do you want me to do? —the Patriarch retorted with an exhausted sigh—. Do you expect me to expel him immediately and completely sever ties with the Wu Family? Although we are not weaker than them, if they decide to ally with our enemies, they will cause us more harm than benefit —the Patriarch explained, rubbing his temples in weariness.
Everyone immediately fell silent. Their clan was not going through its best moment and they were about to lose their status among the five major families. If they entered an open war with the Wu Clan, only destruction would await them. Although they did not care about dying—since they were people who had lived for hundreds of years and experienced countless battles—they had to ensure the safety of their descendants and the future of the clan.
—I will take care of it —an Elder finally said, accepting the order with a heavy heart.
—I leave it to you. The rest of you may be dismissed —the Patriarch said as he left the grand hall and walked with firm steps toward the inner courtyard.
In the middle of the courtyard, under the shade of a tree, stood a beautiful young woman with the face of a fairy, wearing a simple jade-green dress.
—Is the meeting over? —Gu Ruolan asked, keeping her gaze fixed on the flowers in the garden.
Her father, his face still dark with worry, nodded slowly.
—Yes, it is over... Ruolan, the Wu Clan sent a message. Their young master is on his way to annul the engagement.
Hearing those words, Gu Ruolan's hand, which was gently stroking the petals of a flower, stopped for an instant. However, there were no tears or cries of despair. A small, bitter smile played across her lips as she let go of the flower.
—It was to be expected, Father —she replied calmly, still keeping her eyes on the flowers, not seeing her father's face break at her resigned words—. In this world, the strong eat the weak, and a person's value is measured by their cultivation. Now that I am just a cripple, the Wu Family stands to gain nothing by marrying into my family.
The Patriarch clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. Seeing his once proud and brilliant daughter accept her tragic fate with such maturity was worse than any insult.
—Don't say that! —he exclaimed, taking a step forward—. Even if you have lost your cultivation, you are still my daughter and the young miss of the Gu Clan! If that brat from the Wu Clan thinks he can come here to trample on your dignity and get away with it, he is very wrong!
—Don't do that, Father —Ruolan said as she lifted her face, which was covered by a veil—. The Wu Family is neither small nor defenseless; challenging them like that will only put the rest of our clan in danger. If enduring a humiliation from young master Wu is enough for both families to end this peacefully, it is a price I am willing to pay.
The Patriarch's face contorted in pain. He would have expected his daughter to react in many ways: from aggressive fury to inconsolable crying. Seeing her in such a resigned posture, willing to endure humiliation just to protect the clan, was a blow too painful for his fatherly heart.
—Father, please... I would like to be alone for a moment —Ruolan asked in a whisper, turning her gaze back to the flowers.
The Patriarch looked at her in silence. He knew his daughter was just trying to be strong in front of him. With his heart heavy with grief and finding no words that could comfort her at that moment, he simply nodded, turned around, and left the inner courtyard with heavy steps.
Once she was completely alone, she let out a long sigh.
—I'm sorry, Father... It is all my fault. If I hadn't lost my cultivation, none of this would have happened —she said with deep resentment toward her own fate.
She had dedicated her entire life to practicing and cultivating to meet the expectations of her clan. That is why, when one day she mysteriously stopped advancing and, on the contrary, her cultivation began to go backward, Ruolan went mad with despair.
She searched for countless methods and treasures to no avail. Finally, she found a secret technique in a lesser realm; a mysterious technique that promised to grant unparalleled talent. Her plan was to use it to stop the fall of her cultivation and climb back to the top. However, the price to pay was by no means small: her beautiful face was disfigured and all her beauty completely disappeared. And in exchange for such a sacrifice, she had obtained absolutely nothing. Her cultivation continued to decrease uncontrollably until she became a mere mortal.
—Clinging desperately to false hopes was my biggest mistake. If I had a second chance, I would never trust something like that again —she whispered bitterly, before her tone turned ice-cold and her eyes gleamed with determination—. And as for all those who took advantage of my fall to humiliate and insult me... I swear they will pay the price tenfold.
«That's the right attitude», a deep voice resonated directly in her mind.
Ruolan, alarmed, looked around. She was completely confused by that mysterious voice that had appeared out of nowhere.
—Who are you? Where are you? —Ruolan asked as she prepared to run and look for her protectors.
But suddenly, her body froze completely, leaving her unable to move or scream. In that instant, her vision of the courtyard faded away, and her consciousness was dragged into the deepest part of her being. There, in the middle of her own Sea of Knowledge, emerged an imposing female figure of supernatural beauty. She wore majestic imperial robes of black silk, exquisitely embroidered with gold threads that formed roaring dragons. Her mere presence radiated an authority that made Ruolan's soul tremble.
«My name is Luo Yan, the Empress of the Luo Clan of the Upper Realm», the woman declared.