Meanwhile, at the eastern edge of the Divine East Province, in Hengyue City—home of the Nangong Clan.
Within a humble training ground on the Nangong estate, the younger generation sat cross-legged, listening to the Grand Elder deliver his daily martial lecture.
At the edge of the platform, a girl in plain training clothes sat with eyes tightly shut, struggling in silent cultivation.
The robe couldn't hide her breathtaking beauty. Her elegant brows hinted at inner determination. There was a quiet nobility about her—like a celestial maiden descended to the mortal world.
But her forehead dripped with sweat. Her expression tightened in pain.
She was clearly struggling.
Around her, the other disciples occasionally cast glances her way. Some pitied her. Others mocked. A few looked on with cold indifference.
The Grand Elder also glanced at her—and sighed.
This girl, once their clan's brightest jewel… was she truly fated to fall?
She was—Nangong Mingyue.
The very same Nangong Mingyue whom Jiang Xuan had never met, but to whom he was betrothed.
"Senior," she said bitterly in her mind, "I've followed your instructions… why is my cultivation still so slow?!"
She was speaking to the remnant soul that resided within her body.
A year ago, by a twist of fate, she had awakened a slumbering soul hidden deep within the Nangong Clan's ancestral shrine.
That soul claimed to be the friend of the Nangong progenitor. A True God once called the Moonlight Fairy.
She had perished during a catastrophic battle in ancient times, but a sliver of her soul had survived.
Overjoyed, Nangong Mingyue had allowed her in—nurturing her with her own spiritual energy.
In return, the Moonlight Fairy gifted her a secret cultivation technique. If mastered, it could rebuild her body and bestow an invincible physique.
But there was a price.
She had to first destroy her own cultivation—shatter her core and sever her meridians.
From destruction… came rebirth.
The Moonlight Fairy swore that with her guidance, Nangong Mingyue would succeed within a year.
But now—one year later—her core and meridians were merely recovered.
There was no rebirth.
"I feel like I've been tricked…"
Worse, she could sense the remnant soul had grown stronger. Suspicion gnawed at her heart.
"How could I have known your bloodline is this feeble now?" the Moonlight Fairy snapped. "You don't even have basic healing elixirs!"
Back in her era, the Nangong Clan had been on par with eternal clans. They had spiritual herbs by the dozen.
She had assumed healing pills would be everywhere.
She hadn't expected this decay.
Without medicine, it took ten full months—and her own soul assistance—just to repair the damage.
Otherwise? Nangong Mingyue might never have recovered at all.
Just then—a sharp crane cry echoed from above.
Everyone looked up.
A man in Daoist robes descended from the sky, standing atop a white crane. The crest on his belt glittered with the mark of the Eternal Jiang Clan.
His cultivation—Earth Profound Realm.
The pressure alone shook the entire courtyard.
The Grand Elder's expression changed. The Eternal Jiang Clan!
The strongest cultivator in all of Hengyue City was only in Dao Fusion Realm. And yet this Jiang Clan emissary was Earth Profound?
"May I ask why you honor us with your presence, Lord?" the Grand Elder bowed.
The Jiang envoy glanced down and said coolly:
"Where is Nangong Mingyue? Young Lord Jiang Xuan has a message for her."
Everyone froze.
The annulment… it's here.
The Grand Elder's face fell.
He'd long known this day would come.
The Nangong Clan—tiny and located on the outskirts of the province—was nothing compared to the Eternal Jiang Clan.
Their only hope had been Nangong Mingyue's genius. When she'd been recruited by Jade Mountain Palace and betrothed to Jiang Xuan, the clan had flourished.
But that was a year ago.
Then came the disaster. Her cultivation collapsed. Jade Mountain Palace revoked her status and left without a word.
Since then, they'd all feared the Jiang Clan would come next.
And now…
"I am Nangong Mingyue," she said calmly, stepping forward.
She was ready.
Truth be told, she had never been fond of this engagement. She'd never even seen Jiang Xuan's face.
Better to end it now.
Yes, it was humiliating. But who said she couldn't rise again?
"They say never mock the weak youth," she thought. "One day, I'll repay this."
The Jiang envoy handed her a scroll and a storage ring.
He said nothing else.
He'd heard the rumors—Jiang Xuan refused the annulment—but this wasn't his business.
Mingyue accepted them, her expression neutral. She didn't even open the scroll.
"Don't be angry," the Moonlight Fairy whispered. "Once you regain your body, you can crush the Jiang Clan yourself."
"Even the Eternal Jiang Clan isn't invincible."
The Grand Elder sighed. Poor girl. She didn't deserve this.
But the younger disciples looked at her differently.
Their eyes were locked on the ring.
The compensation.
A gift from the Jiang Clan. No doubt filled with valuable cultivation resources.
And if they could take it…
SWOOSH—
A youth stepped forward. Nangong Qingfeng. A branch family disciple.
He snatched the scroll and ring from her hands with a mocking smile.
"Mingyue, you're a cripple now. These resources would be wasted on you. Why not donate them to the clan? At least you'd still be useful."
Mingyue's eyes turned cold.
"You don't get to tell me what to do."
Qingfeng's face darkened.A cripple… still acting proud?
He clutched the scroll tighter.
"Cousin, why don't you open the letter?"
"Afraid to face the truth?"
"No worries. Let me read it for you."
He tore it open.
Spiritual energy surged from the scroll. A voice—deep and steady—rang out.
"Our marriage is set. You are my wife. I shall protect you. When I am strong enough, I will help you walk the path of cultivation once more."
Silence.
The entire courtyard fell utterly silent.
Everyone stared at Nangong Mingyue—
This… isn't an annulment?!