Before Lin Hao could think it through, Lu Dieyi had already stopped.

Lu Dieyi stood rooted to the spot, not moving an inch. Lin Zheng, on the other hand, staggered back several large steps, his face flushed red.

"Trash!" Lu Dieyi’s red lips parted as she uttered the single word.

PTHOO!

Lin Zheng never imagined the insult he had just thrown at Lin Hao would be turned back on him so quickly. Unable to bear it, he spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Lu Dieyi, don’t take it too far! You’re at the Ninth Layer and I’m at the Eighth Layer—we’re not even comparable!" Lin Zheng roared, his face contorted in a ferocious snarl.

"I, Lu Dieyi, am not in the habit of bullying people. That last palm strike only used eighty percent of my power. I’m telling you this: those who humiliate others will themselves be humiliated! He may be weaker than you now, but that doesn’t mean he always will be!"

"Three years ago, he was a dazzling genius, and I believe he can rise again! A year from now, you might not even be his opponent." Lu Dieyi finished by staring at Lin Hao, her beautiful eyes starting to gleam.

"Hahaha, I’d love to see how this piece of trash is going to beat me in a year! Lu Dieyi, I hope you’ll be there to witness it!" Lin Zheng pointed a distant finger at Lin Hao and laughed wildly before stumbling away.

Watching Lin Zheng’s retreating figure, Lin Hao was more confused than ever about what Lu Dieyi was planning.

’Is she really here to annul the engagement?’

’And this is the first time we’ve ever met, so why is she defending me like this?’

’Also, she doesn’t even know my situation, so why was she so confident in setting a one-year pact with Lin Zheng on my behalf?’

Lin Hao truly had too many questions in his mind.

On the surface, however, Lin Hao showed no sign of anything unusual, maintaining his foolish, dazed expression.

"Lin Hao, let me tell you a story," Lu Dieyi said suddenly, her voice gentle.

Lin Hao, of course, couldn’t possibly answer, not that Lu Dieyi expected him to.

So she began to speak, as if to herself.

Perhaps Lu Dieyi truly believed Lin Hao had become an idiot, for she poured out everything on her mind.

Through Lu Dieyi’s story, Lin Hao finally understood the reason for everything.

It turned out that ever since she was old enough to remember, Lu Dieyi had known she had a fiancé. At the time, she was too young to understand what that word meant, so she didn’t feel much about it.

But as she grew older, the weight of that word gradually became suffocating.

She had cried, thrown tantrums, and resisted, but nothing worked.

So, she turned her efforts to diligently cultivating the martial path.

She began training at eight, reached the First Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm at ten, and the Second Layer at eleven. In Celestial Jade City, she, Lu Dieyi, became a recognized martial arts genius.

With her newfound high standards, she took the opportunity to propose annulling the engagement so she could focus on her cultivation.

But her father still refused, telling her that she was not worthy of the title "martial arts genius." He said there was someone even more talented than her, and then he told her a name.

Although the person with this name was in War Dragon City, it couldn’t stop her curiosity.

That year, at the age of eleven, she left Celestial Jade City for the first time. On a street in War Dragon City, she saw Lin Hao, her fiancé.

Of course, Lin Hao knew nothing of this.

That time, Lin Hao’s actions had left her very satisfied, but they had also ignited her competitive spirit.

Afterward, she returned to Celestial Jade City and trained even more diligently. At the same time, in order to catch up to Lin Hao, she also gathered all sorts of information about him.

A year later, her resistance had weakened considerably. Whether it was his cultivation or his character, she could find no fault with Lin Hao in any respect.

Just as she was about to accept her identity as his fiancée, all news of Lin Hao suddenly ceased.

After many fruitless inquiries, she numbed herself by believing that Lin Hao was in seclusion. She then threw herself completely into her martial training. In three years, her cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, and she had now reached the Ninth Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm.

Reaching the Ninth Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm at fifteen was an astonishing achievement, even across the entire Celestial Yang Continent. It was no exaggeration to call her a martial arts genius.

A few days ago, just as she was preparing to travel to War Dragon City to find Lin Hao again, the Lu Mansion unexpectedly received distinguished guests from the Lin family of the imperial capital.

And then, she received news that plunged her into despair.

Lin Hao had become a fool. She was to annul her engagement to him and, a year later, marry Lin Wu.

Although her father was a Mansion Master, he was nothing compared to the Lin family, one of the four great families of the empire. With a single command from them, the Lu Mansion could be wiped out in an instant.

Not only that, but they had also made it clear that if she refused, Lin Hao would be beheaded.

After locking herself away for three days without eating or drinking, Lu Dieyi decided to make a trip to War Dragon City herself.

...

Hearing Lu Dieyi’s words, Lin Hao was deeply shaken.

’To think that in a faraway place, a young woman had been silently sacrificing for him.’

’And Lin Wu, daring to use my life to threaten a woman!’

Rage soared in Lin Hao’s heart.

"Lin Hao, I came to the Lin family this time to annul our engagement. I hope you don’t blame me."

"As for Lin Wu, I have a plan. I will not agree to be engaged to him."

"I don’t know what they did to you to make you like this, but I definitely won’t stand by and do nothing! Soon, I will be joining the Proud Moon Sect. You’re coming with me!"

"The Proud Moon Sect is one of the five great sects of the Cangnan Empire. There must be a powerful expert there who can cure you!"

After telling Lin Hao all the secrets of her heart, Lu Dieyi then poured out all her plans.

Lin Hao was shaken again. This was originally a grudge between him and Lin Wu. Not only was she not resentful for being dragged into it, but she was even now thinking of his well-being at every turn.

It gave Lin Hao the urge to tell her the truth.

’No, wait! If she wants to take me to the Proud Moon Sect, why would she still need to annul our engagement? Could it be that everything just now was an act to test me? Maybe she already reached an agreement with Lin Wu!’

The thought sent a chill down Lin Hao’s spine.

’If that’s really the case, then this woman is terrifying!’

Going over it again in his mind, Lin Hao became more and more convinced of this possibility.

’I thought she was gentle and kind, but in reality, her heart is as venomous as a viper’s!’

Killing intent surged in Lin Hao’s heart, but the smile on his face only grew wider and more vacant.

Against a cultivator at the Ninth Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm, he had no power to resist. The only thing he could do was endure.

’Lin Wu, Lu Dieyi, just you wait! Even if the Imperial City and the Proud Moon Sect are a lion’s den, I, Lin Hao, will charge right in!’

Lu Dieyi had no idea that in Lin Hao’s mind, she and Lin Wu were now his number one enemies. Thinking of her own arrangements, a smile appeared on her beautiful face. In high spirits, she led Lin Hao back to the assembly hall.

The moment they returned to the assembly hall, the smile vanished from Lu Dieyi’s face, replaced by an icy frost.

Lin Hao saw this and sneered inwardly. ’She really is a good actress!’

"I, Lu Dieyi, hereby annul my engagement with Lin Hao today. To compensate for his loss, the contents of that chest will all belong to him!" Lu Dieyi announced coldly.

As soon as Lu Dieyi’s words fell, the exceptionally ugly Nanny Lu flicked her hand, and the chest that Lin Tianhao had been coveting sprung open.

In the assembly hall, everyone’s eyes lit up at once.

Jewels. An entire chest full of jewels!

Not only were there jewels, but in a smaller box on top, there were more than a dozen medicinal pills neatly arranged!

"Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone Pills!" Lin Zheng cried out involuntarily.

The Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone Pill was an upgraded version of the Body Forging Blood Coagulation Pill, a Tier Two pill. Not only did it have miraculous effects for a Blood Coagulation Realm Martial Artist, capable of further strengthening their tendons, bones, and bloodline, but it was also greatly beneficial even for an Elemental Realm Martial Artist.

A single Body Forging Blood Coagulation Pill was enough to cause the great families of War Dragon City to scramble and fight over it, to say nothing of these Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone Pills.

Lin Zheng was already brooding over his loss to Lu Dieyi. Now, seeing these pills, his fighting spirit was instantly reignited.

With these Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone Pills, he could break through the Eighth Layer and advance to the Ninth Layer in a very short time. At that point, he would naturally be able to compete with Lu Dieyi.

As for Lu Dieyi’s words about giving them to Lin Hao, Lin Zheng automatically ignored them.

He was the Young Master of the Lin family. If these pills were left behind, he and his father would be the first to benefit.

"Haha, Niece Lu, you are too kind. On behalf of Hao’er, I thank you." Lin Tianhao’s face was wreathed in smiles.

He had previously been stuck at the Ninth Layer of the Blood Coagulation Realm for a full decade, only advancing to the Elemental Realm thanks to a single pill. And that pill happened to be a Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone Pill!

One pill had allowed him to make a breakthrough. Now, with more than a dozen laid out before him, it took all of his willpower not to lose his composure.

Lin Hao was still smiling foolishly, but a closer look would reveal an extremely strange curve to the corners of his mouth.

"N-no... don’t want... It’s not mine, I don’t want it." Lin Hao’s face flushed red as he spoke with great difficulty, shaking his head in refusal.

’Playing with pills in front of him, trying to fob him off with a dozen or so trash pills... Lin Hao had to admire her audacity.’

"What?!"

In the assembly hall, the crowd simply could not believe their ears.

Pills like these were incredibly rare. And this fool was actually refusing them!

"You idiot, shut up!" At this moment, Lin Zheng couldn’t care about anything else and let out a furious roar. A violent aura erupted from him as he no longer bothered to hide his cultivation level.

"Niece Lu, don’t mind Lin Hao. He has... mental problems. Just give them to me," Lin Tianhao’s voice trembled as he stretched out his hands, a pleading look in his eyes.

This turn of events was also completely unexpected by Lu Dieyi.

Her original plan was to use Lin Hao’s hand to gift these pills to the Lin family, which would give her the opportunity to request taking Lin Hao with her.

But now, Lin Hao’s words had completely disrupted her plan.

Not only that, but she also saw Lin Hao turn and leave without another word.

Just as she was about to give chase, Lu Dieyi found her path blocked by Lin Tianhao.

"These pills are for Lin Hao. Since he doesn’t want them, I’ll hold onto them for him!" Lu Dieyi said, her heart filled with anxiety, as she put the pills away.

"No!" Lin Zheng let out a desperate roar. He couldn’t accept it; he couldn’t accept that these pills would slip through his fingers just like that.

With these pills, he could have avenged the humiliation Lu Dieyi had dealt him in a very short time. But now, with a single sentence, Lin Hao had sent him plunging from heaven into Hell.

Murderous intent surged in Lin Zheng’s heart! 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

’He had to kill that fool! He had to tear him to shreds!’

Lin Tianhao, who had been even closer to the pills, was so angry his face turned ashen. He truly regretted it now. ’Why didn’t I just sew Lin Hao’s mouth shut back then?’