Chapter Three Old fool, your Chu family is truly disgraceful

The seven prodigies’ daughters exuded an overwhelming presence, their formidable vital energy exploding forth in an instant, pressing directly down upon Yuan Minglan, Chu Tianchen, and their companions.

Although Chu Tianchen’s spiritual consciousness had recovered, five years under seal had left his meridians blocked, and now he possessed almost no vital energy at all.

“What now? Are you planning to seize it by force?” Yuan Minglan frowned as she spoke.

“Old woman, we used to call you grandmother out of courtesy, but now that we’re severing ties, you’re no better than a stray dog on the street in our eyes,” Ye Qingyao said coldly.

“A fool, an old crone half-buried in the earth, and two girls who couldn’t even truss a chicken—this is the Chu family now. If we want to take something by force, what could you possibly do?” Lin Yurou sneered.

“Old thing, you’re all homeless now, nowhere to go. Here’s my offer: hand over the marriage contract, and I’ll buy your two charming granddaughters to serve as maids in Yunmengze. I’ll give you five gold coins—use them sparingly and you’ll get by for three to five years without trouble,” she continued. “Or perhaps I’ll buy the fool as well—to feed pigs at Yunmengze.”

Yun Yanran joined in, her tone sharp and mocking.

“Grandmother, please don’t sell us—we want to stay with you and our brother!” The two young girls turned deathly pale, terrified by the words.

Behind them, Chu Tianchen kept his eyes closed the entire time, unwilling to spare even a glance for these revolting faces.

“It’s true, beautiful people have beautiful hearts. Miss Yanran is so magnanimous; she’s willing to buy them as servants despite everything. Such vision—no wonder she’s a genius alchemist. In the future, she’ll surely surpass her father and become the number one alchemist in the Great Qian Dynasty.”

“If I were the Chu family, I’d return the marriage contract immediately. They forced the engagement back then, so if the other side wants to take it by force now, it’s only fair.”

“Exactly. The Chu family has no sense of shame.”

The bystanders discussed the matter animatedly. It was clear that if the Chu family didn’t hand over the marriage contract today, the crowd would be eager to help seize it by force.

The other “fiancées” were equally aggressive and uncompromising.

Yuan Minglan was furious. Over her century of life, she had seen all manner of human wickedness, but she had never imagined that these seven could be so shameless.

“Ye Qingyao, Saintess of the Xuantian Sword Sect—you began sword training at nine, condensed sword intent at thirteen, then lost control and fell into demonic obsession. You required the blood of a grandmaster as a medium to forge your sword and drive out your inner demons. If I’m not mistaken, the sword in your hand, the Blood Jade Blade, was forged by Tianchen’s father with his own grandmaster’s blood.”

“For a martial grandmaster, offering up one’s own blood means three years of lost progress. Have you forgotten, at fourteen, your father knelt before Tianchen’s father, begging him with tears in his eyes?”

“Yun Yanran of Yunmengze—your father, Yun Changshan, tried to break through to sixth-rank alchemist, practiced forbidden arts, and was poisoned by pills, his life hanging by a thread. It was Tianchen’s grandfather who traveled to the Great World, traded his beloved bow ‘Night’s Breath’ for a seventh-grade Celestial Snow Lotus, curing the poison and helping your father advance.”

“Lin Yurou, from Ancient Bamboo City—your Lin family became rulers of the city only by borrowing resources from our Chu family, and receiving clandestine support from Tianchen’s parents and uncle. Do you really intend to erase all this?”

As Yuan Minglan spoke, her words carried weight. Even the surrounding crowd fell silent, for these stories had once been widely known.

They remembered most vividly that when Yun Changshan became a sixth-rank alchemist, he personally went to the General’s Estate to express his gratitude, gifting three sixth-rank elixirs in return—a powerful alliance at the time.

The only blemish was that Chu Tianchen was thought to be a fool.

And when Ye Qingyao’s father, Ye Yunhuan, knelt before Chu Tianchen’s father, Chu Yunshan, begging for his grandmaster’s blood—Chu Yunshan had hesitated, knowing that three years of stagnation was a devastating blow for a martial artist, especially a grandmaster. But moved by Ye Yunhuan’s devotion to his daughter, he finally sacrificed those three years and gave his blood.

Now, Yuan Minglan’s words stirred these memories once more.

“Enough!” someone shouted.

“You old hag, trying to guilt us into submission? Dream on! Or is it that you simply don’t want to break off the engagement, and want to drag us down with you?” Ye Qingyao and her companions grew agitated.

Hearing them accuse her of moral blackmail, Yuan Minglan almost laughed out of anger. How shameless could people be?

“Today, I have no interest in wasting words with you. The marriage contracts can be returned to you. I won’t make it difficult—all I ask is that each of you pay three thousand high-grade spirit stones in exchange,” Yuan Minglan said calmly.

At these words, all seven young women’s eyes widened in shock.

“How much? Three thousand? High-grade spirit stones?”

“Are you insane with greed, you old crone?”

Murderous intent flashed in their eyes.

A single high-grade spirit stone was worth a hundred low-grade stones—three thousand meant three hundred thousand low-grade stones. Yunmengze, as a family of alchemists, could afford it, as could the others, but it was still a significant sum. For example, Ancient Bamboo City’s annual net income was only one hundred fifty thousand low-grade stones—so this demand amounted to two years of income.

“What, is that too much?” Yuan Minglan continued. “Back then, the betrothal gifts we gave each of you included three thousand high-grade spirit stones, and the attached items were worth at least a thousand more. As for ridding you of inner demons or pill poison, we won’t even mention those. Just return the three thousand high-grade stones we gave you, and that will suffice.

“And you, Liu Qingxin from Yunhai Academy—you owe my grandson one more thing: the ancient ring you wear on your hand. That was left to him by his mother. I don’t know when you tricked it out of him, and I won’t dwell on it now—but it’s his mother’s only keepsake, and you must return it.”

“Old thing, what about the five years we wasted with the fool? Our youth is gone, thrown away on a simpleton. The spirit stones are just compensation.”

“Yes, each of us is the pride of heaven, yet we accompanied a fool for five years, enduring endless scorn. This is the least we deserve.”

“You vile old witch, demanding back the betrothal gifts you once gave! No family in the entire Great Qian Dynasty has ever stooped as low as yours.”

Their desperation made for a laughable spectacle. Some among the onlookers agreed with their view, but clearly, many now saw their behavior as going too far. After all, who didn’t know that despite a five-year engagement with the “fool” Chu Tianchen, he’d never so much as touched their hands? Every visit to the Chu household resulted in them taking away cultivation resources.

“There’s no need to argue with this old crone any further. Since she insists on playing the elder, refusing the wine of courtesy in favor of the wine of punishment, let’s use force!” Ye Qingyao declared, drawing her sword and pointing it at Yuan Minglan.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

The others, all of Spirit Communication rank, unleashed their auras in an instant. The tension in the air was palpable—blades drawn, ready for battle.