"Greetings, Father!"
Mo Wangchen felt puzzled, not knowing why his father had summoned him, but the expressions of the clan members outside suggested that it probably wasn't anything good.
"Are you Mo Wangchen?!"
However, before he had finished speaking and before Mo Xiaotian could say anything, the girl with an indifferent face stood up from her seat, her eyes carrying a hint of pride, looking down on Mo Wangchen with some disdain.
"Who might you be?"
Mo Wangchen frowned; the girl's icy tone and the air of arrogance that naturally emanated from her furrowed brows irked him, although he did not get angry. After all, Mo Wangchen was no longer the Mo Wangchen of the past. In his previous life, he was a Pill Saint renowned across the continent, revered by thousands. What kind of people hadn't he seen?
If a mere girl could anger him, then he would truly be unworthy of the title Pill Saint!
"Jun Family, Jun Muqing," the girl replied coldly.
Jun Muqing?!
Hearing this name, a segment of memory suddenly surged in Mo Wangchen's mind.
In his memories, the moment he was born, there was a marriage arrangement in place, set up by his grandfather, and the other party's name seemed to be Jun Muqing, right?
Although Mo Wangchen had never left Fangtian City, he had heard some things about the Jun Family. In the early years, this clan was not very powerful and was stationed not far from Fangtian City, in a town called Jianye City.
Of course, back then, the overall strength of the Jun Family was comparable to the Mo Family, and there were many business dealings between the two. Over time, the two families naturally got along very well, and later they negotiated to bring the relationship even closer, hence the marriage arrangement.
But all of that belonged to his grandfather's generation. Subsequently, the entire Jun Family relocated to Yun Country's Capital, and after his grandfather perished during an exploration of ruins, the two families seldom stayed in contact.
However, over the past ten years or so, the Jun Family's influence had suddenly increased tremendously, even leaping to become a major family with significant clout in the County Capital. Looking over the entirety of Yun Country, there weren't many who dared to offend them.
And in Mo Wangchen's memory, a sensational event concerning Yun Country had occurred recently. Jun Muqing, at the age of eighteen, had successfully entered the Spirit Transformation Realm, and was now a first-tier powerhouse in that realm. Looking across Fangtian City, only his father, Mo Xiaotian, and a few other powerhouses had reached this level.
Nowadays, Jun Muqing was quite renowned across Yun Country, a genius of her era. After all, reaching the Spirit Transformation Realm at the age of eighteen was an achievement few in Yun Country could claim. Those of the same age, like the Mo Family's present top genius in Fangtian City, Mo Cheng, were only at the sixth tier of the Vein Condensation Realm!
And the Spirit Transformation Realm was a level higher than the Vein Condensation Realm!
Later, not long after Jun Muqing's successful breakthrough into the Spirit Transformation Realm, news came that she had been accepted into Yun Chu Academy as a Direct Disciple of the Academy head, which naturally elevated her status significantly.
After all, Yun Chu Academy was affiliated with the Royal Family, and in the whole of Yun Country, no power could parallel it, except for the Royal Family itself!
When this news spread throughout Yun Country, many in the Mo Family ridiculed Mo Wangchen, considering him a toad lusting after swan meat.
However, everyone could visualize, with Jun Muqing's current status and position, how could she possibly be willing to marry downward to Mo Wangchen—a youth who was both a wastrel and good for nothing merged into one?
Now, with Jun Muqing's sudden arrival, there was probably only one reason, which was most likely concerning the so-called marital ties...
"I've come here today for a single purpose, you must also be aware of the marital engagement set between us since childhood, right?" Jun Muqing said to Mo Wangchen, speaking indifferently.
This caused Mo Wangchen's frown to deepen, yet he remained silent, waiting for her to continue.
"From a young age, I practiced martial arts, reaching the Peak of the Body Refining Realm by nine, condensed my Spirit Vein at eleven, entering the Vein Condensation Realm, and now at eighteen, I've already reached the Spirit Transformation Realm. I have been taken in as a direct disciple by the dean of Yun Chu Academy..."
As Jun Muqing spoke, the pride in her expression grew stronger, as if she was flaunting her achievements.
"What exactly are you trying to say?!" Mo Wangchen's brow furrowed tighter, his eyes squinting to slits, speaking in a deep tone.
"Break off the engagement!" Jun Muqing declared bluntly, her eyes full of cold indifference as she looked at Mo Wangchen, "Compared to me, you not only possess the title of Fangtian City's number one wastrel, but your meridians cannot store Spiritual Power, forever unable to reach Vein Condensation, let alone a higher Realm. We are, one a prodigy, the other a failure—not of the same world. That is precisely why I have come to your Mo Family, to annul the marriage engagement!"
"Haha, she indeed came to break off the engagement!"
"Such a disgrace, is there anything more humiliating than this?"
Outside the council hall, the Mo family clanspeople, upon hearing Jun Muqing's words, couldn't help but engage in low-voiced gossip, their remarks exceedingly harsh.
Mo Wangchen stood silently on the spot, the sneers and mocking comments reaching his ears. At that moment, he appeared as if he had been abandoned by the entire world, his figure seeming somewhat lonely. Xue'er, standing behind him, shook her head and sighed; although the young master had been idle on normal days and had even once intended to misbehave with her, having a woman come to his door to break off an engagement—such a matter would be a blow to any man's face, no doubt feeling he had lost all dignity?
Shifting his gaze from Jun Muqing to his father Mo Xiaotian, Mo Wangchen could see that his father's complexion was not looking great, but he did not rage. Obviously, Jun Muqing had already conveyed her intentions to him before even arriving here.
As a Spirit Transformation Realm powerhouse and a first-class expert of Fangtian City, and with Mo Wangchen being his own son, naturally, Mo Xiaotian's face could not be pleasant upon someone seeking to break off the engagement.
Moreover, given the Jun Family's present prestige and Jun Muqing becoming a disciple of Yun Chu Academy's dean, though Mo Xiaotian harbored resentment, he dared not express his anger lightly.
While father and son rarely met, and each encounter mostly consisted of the father reprimanding the son for not engaging in proper pursuits, in Mo Wangchen's memory, his father's affection had never waned.
At this moment, Mo Wangchen even saw a flicker of distress in his father's eyes, but it was swiftly concealed...
What father would not wish for his child to leap over the dragon gate? Even if Mo Wangchen were a wastrel and a failure, he was still his son. Now having someone demand to break off the engagement while repeatedly calling him 'failure,' how could Mo Xiaotian not feel pained?
Having inherited the memories of this body's original owner, Mo Wangchen genuinely felt familial affection for Mo Xiaotian.
Seeing the fleeting distress in his father's eyes, Mo Wangchen's heart trembled. The next moment, as his gaze returned to Jun Muqing, his face had already turned ice cold, "Miss Jun, you wish to break off the engagement, so be it. Your current status is of no concern to me, but please do not compare yourself with me, repeatedly calling me a 'failure.' Do you think yourself superior?"