"Why won’t you annul it?" Shangguan Siyu couldn’t care less about the Tang Family’s internal strife; her only concern was getting out of this engagement. Hearing that Tang Yi was actually refusing, her elegant brows shot up and her expression soured. To make matters worse, it seemed Tang Haotian had given him the final say.
"My visit to the Tang Family was personally ordered by my Master, the Sect Leader of the Purple Cloud Sect. This isn’t coercion. After all, if we fail to annul the engagement today, my Master will surely send others to finish the job. And do you think they’ll come bearing Pills and a Treasure Sword to negotiate with you then?"
"I’ve tried to do this amicably, considering the generations of friendship between the Shangguan and Tang Families. Why must you be so ungrateful?"
"And you, Tang Yi. You know as well as I do that there’s a difference between fantasy and reality. If I were you, I would also want to marry a wife as outstanding as myself. But reality is harsh, and things don’t always go the way you want."
"You should have enough self-awareness to know the gap between us. You’re a waste who can’t cultivate, while I’ve already reached the level of a Six-Star Battle Grandmaster. There is no future for us. It’s best if we part amicably. Letting go is your best option."
"A Six-Star Battle Grandmaster? How impressive... In that case, Miss Shangguan, what kind of man do you feel is worthy of you?"
Listening to Shangguan Siyu’s words, which sounded like a final judgment, and seeing the utter disdain and contempt on her face, Tang Yi’s lips curled into a cold sneer.
"Hm?" Shangguan Siyu hadn’t expected such a question from Tang Yi. It sounded as if he was finally starting to relent. She lowered her head, thought for a moment, and said, "At the very least, he must be stronger than me, with a status and position comparable to my own."
Hearing this, the disgust Tang Yi felt for her intensified.
’So that’s Shangguan Siyu for you. It looks like this annulment wasn’t ordered by the Purple Cloud Sect at all. This woman just looks down on me and thinks I’m beneath her, so she’s using the Sect’s name to force the issue.’
’So beautiful on the outside, but as shallow as any common woman on the inside.’
It reminded Tang Yi of a saying he’d heard back on Earth.
’It’s better to cry in a BMW than laugh on a bicycle. This woman was the epitome of shallowness!’
’What a waste of a pretty face!’
’When he thought about it, Tang Lian was a thousand times better than this Shangguan Siyu woman!’
He glanced over at Tang Lian, and his grim expression softened. The anger in his heart subsided a bit.
"Fine, I’ll agree to it! But... I have one condition." Tang Yi’s gaze turned cold and distant. ’A woman like her? I wouldn’t take her even if she were offered to me for free!’
"What’s the condition?" Shangguan Siyu asked eagerly, a flicker of joy in her heart.
"Give me half a year. In six months, I will personally visit the Purple Cloud Sect to challenge you to a duel. If I lose, the engagement is off. Furthermore, I will publicly declare that I, Tang Yi, was unworthy of you, Shangguan Siyu. That way, no one can accuse you of using your power to oppress me. But if you lose..."
Before Tang Yi could even finish, Shangguan Siyu agreed without a moment’s hesitation. "Done! If I lose, I’ll agree to any condition you set!"
’In her mind, Tang Yi was just a waste who couldn’t cultivate. And he wanted to come to the Purple Cloud Sect to challenge her?’
’He probably couldn’t even defeat one of the disciples guarding the mountain gate. How could he possibly hope to compete with me?’
’Even if he could cultivate, how strong could he possibly become in just half a year?’
’No matter how she looked at it, this was a duel she was guaranteed to win.’
In Shangguan Siyu’s opinion, Tang Yi was likely just trying to avoid making trouble for Tang Haotian. He proposed this seemingly audacious challenge, but in reality, it was just a way for him to save face while backing down.
’Tang Yi, challenge her?’
’There’s no way he could win!’
"Is Tang Yi insane? He’s actually challenging Shangguan Siyu to a duel!"
"Whether he’s insane or not, I don’t know. But I do know that if this engagement isn’t annulled, the Clan Leader and he *will* go insane."
"He’s just trying to save face. How could Tang Yi possibly defeat Shangguan Siyu? She’s the Chief Disciple of the Purple Cloud Sect’s Sect Leader."
"And here I thought he had some backbone. This is just a roundabout way of agreeing. A waste is still a waste."
Hearing the condition Tang Yi had laid out, the members of the Tang Family began to mock him relentlessly. In their eyes, what right did a waste like him have to challenge a heaven-blessed prodigy like Shangguan Siyu?
Leaving aside whether Tang Yi could even cultivate, she was the Chief Disciple of a Major Sect. Would her cultivation Speed be any slower than that of a disciple from some Noble Family?
The gap between them was as wide as the sky, wasn’t it?
And so, the members of the Tang Family all treated Tang Yi’s challenge as a joke.
It wasn’t just the Tang Family; Master Yuda, who had come with the visitors, also breathed a sigh of relief. ’The Tang Family has finally found a way to back down gracefully,’ he thought. If this had truly escalated, the severing of ties between the two families would have been the least of their worries. The Tang Family would have undoubtedly faced suppression from the Purple Cloud Sect. When that happened, not even the Shangguan Family could have saved them.
Meanwhile, Situ Qingfeng, the genius disciple from the Purple Cloud Sect, simply scoffed at such a ridiculous challenge and paid it no mind.
"And what of Uncle Tang... I mean, Clan Leader Tang...?" Shangguan Siyu looked at Tang Haotian with an expectant expression.
Tang Yi had spoken for himself, but whether the Tang Family would agree still depended on Tang Haotian.
"This is Yi’Er’s engagement. The decision is his alone to make," Tang Haotian stated calmly.
When he’d first heard Tang Yi agree to the annulment, Tang Haotian had been momentarily stunned. But upon hearing his condition, a look of understanding dawned on him, and a smile returned to his face.
Of course, Tang Haotian understood Tang Yi’s intentions.
This was a matter of a man’s dignity.
And a man had to reclaim that dignity for himself!
’Since Yi’Er can cultivate now, and his Talent is so remarkable that he’s already reached the level of a Nine-Star Battle Disciple in such a short time, it’s not impossible for him to catch up to Shangguan Siyu in six months.’
’Besides, after seeing all of Yi’Er’s Techniques last night, I suspect there might be a powerful expert guiding him from the shadows. His Cultivation is sure to advance by leaps and bounds.’
’How could I possibly disagree with this duel?’
"Good. Then it’s settled," Shangguan Siyu declared. "In six months, Tang Yi and I will have our duel. If he can defeat me, then I will submit to whatever he decides. But if I win, I will tear up this marriage contract in front of everyone, and the Tang Family is never to speak of it again."
Seeing Shangguan Siyu’s slightly pleased expression, Tang Yi seethed with rage. ’To have someone show up at my door to forcibly annul our engagement, acting as if I have no choice in the matter... If I were strong enough, I would have slapped them across the face and thrown them out of the Tang Family residence. Why would I ever have to make a deal like this?’
’Unfortunately...’
’...their strength was far greater than my own.’
’Strength! I need strength!’
Tang Yi desperately craved power. Even with a heaven-defying miracle like his system, he still needed time to level up, didn’t he?
"In half a year, I will come to the Purple Cloud Sect for you!"
With that, Tang Yi flicked his tattered and filthy embroidered robes and strode out of the Tang Family’s main hall.

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