Ning Sihua stared intently at the line of text, then said, “Actually, I think that ending your relationship like this is a good thing. Someone like him…. In this world, what woman could possibly capture his heart?”

Hearing this immediately stunned Wen Lingzhao out of her daze and complex mix of emotions. She pursed her lips and said, “I never liked him to begin with.”

But although she said that, she felt a certain indescribable heaviness and irritation in her heart.

In the past, she would surely have been furious. A live-in husband used a piece of paper to draw a line between them? How ridiculous was that?

Yet now, when she recalled the various abilities Su Yi had only just displayed, she felt only wordless despondency and melancholy.

For the past year, ever since her wedding day, she’d thought of nothing but how to free herself of this wedding contract.

To that end, she’d done everything in her power to increase her cultivation, and she’d never dared slack off in the slightest.

Finally, she became the most dazzling inheritor of Heaven’s Origin Academy, and she won the praises and envy of countless sectmates.

The numerous sect higher-ups all thought highly of her as well. They thought that she had a chance to break into the ranks of Martial Dao Grandmasters next year, at just eighteen years of age.

She’d always seen the Featherflow King, Yue Shichan, as her goal. She wanted to become a titled marquis within three years. That way, she could go to the Jade Capital’s Su Family to discuss conditions and find a way to convince them to agree to undo her marriage contract.

As for Su Yi himself, she’d always seen him as a stranger. She’d never once hoped that Su Yi, her live-in husband, could be of any use at all towards her goal of voiding their marriage.

It would be enough if he didn’t make things any worse.

She would never have guessed that, when she saw Su Yi after just a month apart, he’d be like an entirely different person!

He'd forced Xiang Ming, the son of the provincial governor, to kneel in the dirt.

He'd killed Elder Chu Kongchao in a single punch.

Even after the long-secluded palace master took action, he blocked her practically miraculous attack with power to spare!

All of this was just so unbelievable. Su Yi was nothing like the version of him that lived in her head. The power at his disposal was terrifying, and the gap between reality and her expectations was indescribably enormous.

Is this what it means for someone to leave you in the dust?

Ning Sihua suddenly asked, “Do you want this line of text?” 

Wen Lingzhao paused for a moment, then glanced at the white paper spread out atop the boulder. The sight of it filled her indescribable anger.

Some time passed before she finally gnashed her teeth and said, “I want it!”

“This is going to become proof of your humiliation, which you’ll use to renew your courage and motivate yourself to grow stronger and stronger, all for the sake of one day taking an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Is that right?” asked Ning Sihua with great interest.

Wen Lingzhao took a deep breath, and her clear eyes filled with wordless determination. “I just want to prove that I absolutely won’t turn out inferior to him.”

Ning Sihua didn’t make fun of her, but her eyes filled with pity. She sighed, “I suppose it’s possible that a miracle will occur? No one can say for sure.”

As she said this, she picked up the paper and passed it to Wen Lingzhao. “These words contain no intent to slander or humiliate you. The way I see it, there’s no way he’d concern himself with the laws and regulations of mundanity. Why not choose to let this go? Wouldn’t it be a form of release?”

Wen Lingzhao picked up the paper, and the eight unrestrained characters on its surface reflected in her clear eyes. She felt as if needles were pricking her heart.

She silently put the paper away, then clutched it tight, her pretty face pallid and her lips pursed. “Palace Master, everyone has to make their own choices, and I absolutely refuse to just lower my head like this.”

Ning Sihua evaluated the picturesque beauty in the snowy white dress and, on a whim, said, “Are you willing to cultivate alongside me?”

Wen Lingzhao’s dim eyes suddenly lit up, like ashes reigniting with firelight. “That… That would be my honor, but might I first discuss it with my master?”

“Zhu Guqing?” asked Ning Sihua. “There’s no way she’ll refuse. It’s up to you.”

Wen Lingzhao took a deep breath and said decisively, “I’m willing!”

Ning Sihua nodded. “Today, you shall move into my Palace of Withering and Growth. You shall cultivate there going forward.”

As she said this, she suddenly recalled something. “Why wasn’t your master here today?”

“She’s been out on a mission. She went to the Cloudriver Prefectural Capital to…..” Wen Lingzhao explained the whole situation. When she finished, she couldn’t help but look confused. “I received a letter from my master several days ago saying that she’d already departed the Cloudriver Prefectural Capital, so she ought to have arrived the day before yesterday.”

“Something must have delayed her en route,” said Ning Sihua, but she didn’t take it to heart. She was just about to leave when she suddenly turned to the nearby Li Fengxing. “You are not to leak word of what happened here today.”

Li Fengxing solemnly clasped his fist. “I shall humbly carry out your orders!”

“That goes for you too,” said Ning Sihua, this time turning her gaze on Wen Lingzhao. 

Wen Lingzhao’s gaze dimmed somewhat, but she nodded her agreement.

 ……

The foot of Mount Autumnleaf.

Zheng Muyao waited beside the horse-drawn carriage, frantic and unable to calm herself down. What happened today had startled her, and she felt a sense of foreboding.

“Miss, since Young Lord Su dared attack, it was naturally no reckless whim,” said the carriage driver, Uncle Liao. His tone was gentle and comforting. 

He’d already learned some of what happened on Divine Firmament Peak from Zheng Muyao.

At first, he’d been stunned too, but he soon calmed down and considered Su Yi’s abilities and disposition. This was someone who dared slay the Wheel of the Moon Sect elder Liu Hongqi. How could the consequences of killing someone within Heaven’s Origin Academy possibly be enough to scare him?

Even if he provoked disaster, he naturally had means of coping with it.

“Uncle Liao, you don’t know this part yet, but this incident startled even the palace master out of her multi-year seclusion. If conflict occurs between them, I’m afraid the consequences for Uncle Su will be unimaginable,” said Zheng Muyao with obvious worry.

Uncle Liao fell silent. 

He naturally knew full well how mysterious and powerful Ning Sihua was!

In the Imperatorial Province, the Heaven’s Origin Academy palace master occupied a transcendent position; there was no one else like her! 

Over the years, Provincial Governor Xiang Tianqiu had visited Heaven’s Origin Academy in hopes of an audience on numerous occasions, only to be turned away at the door each time. He wasn’t fated to meet with her.

Even so, Xiang Tianqiu dared not get angry.

“What do I do? If Father finds out that I was the one who brought Uncle Su to Heaven’s Origin Academy, leading to an incident on this level, he’ll….” Zheng Muyao suddenly froze mid-sentence.

This was because, further down the mountain path, she saw a tall figure walking toward them.

His gait was leisurely, tranquil, and relaxed, and the blue of his robes stood out against the mists.

It was Su Yi!

Zheng Muyao instantly lit up with surprise and delight. She was so excited, she rushed up to greet him. “Uncle Su, you’re not hurt, are you?”

“Do I look hurt?” Su Yi laughed and asked right back.

He was in a good mood; he hadn’t made this trip in vain. He’d finally drawn a clear line between himself and Wen Lingzhao and rid himself of one of his obsessions. From this day forth, he no longer needed to live in fear of green hats.

But this matter wasn’t really over.

It was just as Wen Lingzhao said; in the world of the mundane, they couldn’t resolve their legal marriage contract unless the Su Family nodded their head. The ordinary people of the world would inevitably still see Su Yi as a “live-in son-in-law.”

Su Yi already didn’t care too much about all that. With the Wen Family’s foundations, how could they possibly treat him with disrespect?

As for the Su Family, when he went to pay them a visit in person, he’d just deal with this alongside his former grudges and be done with it.

“I just knew you’d be okay!” exclaimed Zheng Muyao, waving her pink fists in the air.

“Is there any need to get so worked up?” Su Yi shook his head, then headed straight for the carriage.

“Young Lord Su, where are we going next?” Uncle Liao asked respectfully, a hint of awe on his face.

Su Yi just slew a Heaven’s Origin Academy elder within their territory, yet he somehow emerged unscathed. Who wouldn’t admire him after that?

“Back to the House of Waveswept Rocks.” Su Yi boarded the carriage, then lay down and relaxed his entire body. Exhaustion coursed through him.

Dispelling Ning Sihua’s attack might have looked easy, but it was actually enormously draining. Both his cultivation base and his soul felt feeble.

He thought to himself, Next time I see her, I’ll have to show that woman just how strong I am….

Zheng Muayo walked up to him and, of her own volition, smiled and got to work kneading his legs.

……

Heaven’s Origin Academy, the Hall of Punishment.

Grand Elder Shang Zhen sat there in silence. 

He was so old and decrepit, he was like a candle flickering in the wind, and his eyes were cloudy with cataracts.

The atmosphere was tense and stifled.

Xiang Ming, Tian Dong, and the others stood there, fearful and ill at ease.

They didn’t know why the grand elder had led them to a dark, sinister place like the Hall of Punishment. They certainly didn’t understand why Zheng Muyao got to leave right away while they’d been retained here.

The grand elder didn’t explain, either.

After arriving in the Hall of Punishment, he just sat there, his eyes half-closed, as if he were dozing off.

A long time passed before the sound of footsteps rang out, and the halberd-mustached second elder, Han Chong, walked inside. 

Shang Zhen’s turbid eyes finally opened. “What do you think we ought to do with them?”

Xiang Ming and the other disciples’ hearts instantly clenched.

“Confine them for a month as a token punishment. That will be enough,” said Han Chong expressionlessly.

Xiang Ming couldn’t help but say, “Uncle Master Han, we did nothing wrong. Why are you punishing us?”

He was the son of the provincial governor, the disciple of vice palace master Wang Jianchong. He naturally had the confidence to ask such a question.

Han Chong’s expression was calm and indifferent. “When you do something wrong, you naturally must pay the corresponding price. If you hadn’t provoked him first, how could he possibly have forced you to your knees?”

“That….” Xiang Ming opened his mouth and was just about to explain when….

“Your master has already been sent to the Cliffs of Penance for punishment,” said Han Chong. “He cannot take so much as a half step outside for a year.”

Xiang Ming’s heart shook, and his expression changed dramatically. He was now fully aware of how serious this matter was!

His master, Wang Jianchong, was one of the sect’s two vice palace masters, yet he’d received such an extreme punishment. Even without Han Chong saying it directly, Xiang Ming knew that only the palace master herself could have given such an order!

Grand Elder Shang Zhen said flatly, “Even now, you think you can rely on your father’s paltry authority to resolve your problems? Juvenile.”

With that, he waved, and the Hall of Punishment’s enforcers filed out and led Xiang Ming and the others away.

Xiang Ming slumped in dejection, but although he was incomparably furious and angry, he dared not struggle or resist. Before long, he was led out of the Hall of Punishment.

“If he’s clever, he’ll understand. Since even Wang Jianchong was punished, it’s clear who the ultimate victor of today’s struggle was,” said Han Chong, his expression complicated. 

The depths of Shang Zhen’s turbid eyes flashed with a strange light as well.

How many years had it been? Their palace master was like a deity! This was the first time he’d ever seen her… back down!