"Your engagement has been decided" Cold words left the mouth of a reluctant father, his wife sitting next to him unable to hide her expression filled with sadness, the air into the room felt bone cold as the three figures seemed to freeze in place as the sentence settled into the silence.
"What… do you mean? Father?" Mei Ling struggled to speak, her face as pale as a sheet of paper staring at her parents.
She had been called in to speak to them all of a sudden after they returned from a visit to the main clan, but she hadn't expected such news, she felt a heavy sensation in her chest as her mind began to spin.
Her father faltered as he tried to speak once more, clearly unwilling to relay the message he had been given but eventually found the strength to do so "The patriarch has spoken, he said that your talents are wasted in our branch family and so as soon as you come of age, you'll be… married… to his third son."
Her nails pierced into her skin as she gripped her hands hard "Married?... I'll just be a mere concubine won't I?" She looked up at her father.
'Why? Why can't I just live how I want?' She asked herself.
"Oh I'm sorry Mei Ling!" Her mother burst in to tears as she embraced her daughter.
"Mother…" She hugged her back, tears threatening to well her in eyes as well.
"Didn't you object?...!" She asked, her eyes beginning to redden as she asked her father.
"Of course! I tried to convince him otherwise, but he didn't even listen!" He grit his teeth in anger, clear indignation written across his face.
"Please don't blame your father! He tried… we don't have enough power to reject it though… we couldn't do anything for you!" Her mother sobbed, teary eyed.
"I don't! I don't… but… what am I supposed to do…" Mei Ling couldn't form any coherent thoughts, her mind felt like it had been shattered in to 1000 pieces.
She knew what was waiting ahead of her in the future, she was to be taken as a concubine, they'll restrict her movements greatly, she will be disallowed to cultivate or see her family, she'll exist solely to birth and raise the next generation for someone she doesn't even love.
And she couldn't do anything about it, such is the life of a branch family member, their very actions and way of life was dictated by the main family, if they were told to go and die they'd have to; There was no other choice.
That day her life was changed, pulled in another direction by a noose called the Huo family.
Before, she spent her life happily enjoying what she had, speaking with her few friends and family members, playing around, and cultivating, her talent had begun to shine and she thought she had a bright future ahead of her, yet after that event…
She wasn't allowed to play around, she would spend her days training to cook, clean, improve her manners and how to be a 'good wife'. She found it sickening.
As days, months passed she became a mere shell of herself, everything felt dull, and she didn't even recognise how many days would pass as she repeated the mundane tasks for a future she didn't even want.
Eventually, she even considered whether this life was worth living at all, was there any joy in this path? Was there any light at the end of the tunnel?
Luckily, she managed to find a light in an unexpected place, she was to attend a gathering for the main clan, there she would get used to such gatherings and meet her to be husband for the first time, however it was there she met hope.
She saw her, beautiful long silver hair with jade green eyes, a beauty spot underneath her right eye accentuating her beauty, as a girl this woman held a lot of ideals one had of a beauty, she couldn't help but feel attracted instantly.
But that wasn't what kept her eyes on her, she walked among the main clansmen with a strong pride, she didn't care a single ounce about those members around her, she was someone strong; And soon after the two locked eyes.
And that's when her future changed.
She didn't know how the lady could tell, whether she saw something in her eyes or expression, but she seemed to be able to tell what kind of situation she was in; She then came up to them and spoke to her and her parents, she introduced herself as Rong Jia.
Her parents went wide eyed and greeted her as courteously as they could, but Mei Ling at this time didn't understand what position Rong Jia held.
After that, the days passed by faster than the speed of light, her parents were rushing around organising something while she was left alone, she felt lost having nothing to do all of a sudden.
Then one night, her parents came to her and simply told her "You'll be leaving tonight".
Confused, she thought that she was being sent to the main clan already causing her to panic, but she was wrong; They had received some help from that lady, Mei Ling would be able to leave under the guise of night and she'd be taken away to attend a sect, there the main clan wouldn't be able to do anything to her!
She was overjoyed, she couldn't keep still as she began jumping about and asking as many questions as she could, but then one thought struck her.
"But, what about you?" She asked her parents; they both froze before returning warm smiles to her.
"We will be fine, but you need to go, we don't want you to live a life you hate".
She could feel the love in their voices, eventually she was convinced and that very night she was led out of the clan with no problems, she entered a carriage which then took her far, far away.
Those were the events that led to Mei Ling joining the Titanic Steel Sect, and now she stands on stage for the first time.
…
Mei Ling stood across from her opponent, it was her first match in this arena, and she couldn't help but feel a tinge of nervousness hidden behind her strong posture.
'Tai Hui, Bai Lian, Shu He, they're all strong… I can't make myself look bad' She thought to herself as she gripped her fist.
Like most other disciples she wore the signature sect robes, however unlike other disciples she wasn't holding a weapon, no she was wearing them.
A pair of light gauntlets that left her fingers exposed with a thick plate covering the knuckles, and plated boots that weren't too bulky; They weren't impressive by any means, but it was clear they were made to accentuate her fighting style.
Her long black hair was also tied behind her hair in a bun to prevent it getting in the way.
She could hear the chatter of the crowd but couldn't make out anything in particular, if there was anything that gave her solace at least it was that there were no Huo clansmen in this sect, they all either attended the Raging Inferno Sect or Trembling Earth Sect.
Her opponent was another senior disciple, he held a long sword in both his hands as he studied her as well, neither knew much about the other, though some rumours about her little match with Jin Bao may have made the rounds, what she actually did wasn't clear in them.
Though, she couldn't help but feel her opponent was dripping with sweat for the completely wrong reason.
'I don't go doing that to everyone I meet! Only the ones that remind me of him…' She yelled in her mind sulking.
Of course, the 'him' she was referring to was the third son she had met on that fated day; It would be an understatement to say her first impressions of him weren't great.
"BEGIN!" The elder announcing shouted out and the two shifted.
Mei Ling's stance shifted low to the floor as she channelled her Qi, all of a sudden she shot across the stage like a bullet startling her opponent.
A pillar of stone was left behind in her place, jutting out of the ground at an angle; She had used it as a launch pad to drastically boost her acceleration!
Her opponent reacted fast, seeing her approaching with great speed he slashed straight for her without wasting any time, her momentum would normally prevent her from dodging yet as her foot planted on the ground for the next step the floor shifted! It was like a sliding door as it seemed to grab her foot and pull to the left, cleanly dodging the sword.
But her opponent had fully expected it, with his two-handed grip he twisted the blade, redirecting its path straight for her side.
But again- Mei Ling had a perfect reaction, a small pillar launched her up in the air, putting her a meter above her opponent whose eyes gleamed and one of his hands left the handle of his sword, suddenly water gathered, compressed, and shot out in a line in less than half a second.
It was a water element technique known as <
Mei Ling's pupils constricted slightly.
The water shot was barely a few inches from striking her head on, so she shifted her limbs oddly.
'boom'
Suddenly a hollow bang could be heard and against common logic, Mei Ling shifted in the air ever so slightly, it wasn't much but it was enough that the shot only just clipped her hair.
Her opponent was completely dumbfounded, having assumed he achieved victory then and there, so she landed safely before diving back in, her first primed to strike his chest.
He reacted slowly, but he jumped away as he used another technique, a wall of water about a meter in size appeared before him, extending from his hand.
Another technique, <
Mei Ling didn't take the bait, instead she stomped on the ground and used a large amount of Qi for her next technique.
"?!" The opponent became cautious when he saw she didn't attack, but as soon as he felt a shaking beneath his feet he panicked.
Before he could do anything, three earthen spikes about half the size of a person burst out of the stage behind him, cutting off his retreat, forcing him to stop lest he be impaled as he stared at the sharp tips.
And without another moment's notice, he looked back at his opponent, yet she had disappeared from sight.
*BANG*
He felt a slight impact near his spleen, yet not much else.
Confused he looked down to see a red light there that soon enveloped his entire body.
'A single punch?!' He lamented, Mei Ling's fist was planted in the formation light, all he felt was a faint aftershock of what could have hit him, the very thought of it scared him.
"Match over!" The announcer called it, Mei Ling had won her first match.
She walked off, stretching her arms and legs.
'That wasn't so bad' She smiled to herself.