"I want to annul the engagement."
The voice was clear as spring water yet carried a chill that silenced the grand hall. All attention turned toward the young woman standing atop the jade platform, her figure draped in flowing robes of white silk, embroidered with lotus petals.
Her long golden hair shimmered like sunlit threads, an exotic color even among the eastern lands, and her proud expression showed no hesitation as she looked down upon her supposed fiancé.
She spoke again, her voice now sharper, more decisive. "Wei Feng and I... we belong to different worlds. You all know this. I hereby dissolve our engagement."
A stir swept through the gathered guests, cultivators and nobles from all across the Jade Province, originally here to witness the betrothal between two great clans. Instead, they were treated to scandal.
From the left side of the platform, a middle-aged man with a narrow face and stormy brows snapped, "What is the meaning of this, Yue Lian?"
Another man of equal status, his features gentler and robes more refined, replied with a faint smile, "What else can I do, Patriarch Wei? It is my daughter's life. How could I dictate her heart?"
In truth, Yue Lian was as shocked as anyone. His daughter Yue Liangxue had once cared deeply for Wei Feng. But it seemed the girl had finally realized the gulf between them.
Wei Zhong, patriarch of the Wei Clan, clenched his fists as fury surged in his chest. So this was their plan all along—to shame his clan in front of every sect elder and family patriarch?
His gaze drifted to the youth seated alone, calmly sipping tea beneath the lantern light, as if this humiliation had nothing to do with him.
Only when he felt the stares did Wei Feng finally look up.
'Ah… so it finally came to this,' Wei Feng thought, unsurprised.
He met Liangxue's gaze, her eyes, once filled with warmth, now held only disdain.
"I was willing to honor the engagement for the sake of both families," Yue Liangxue declared, her voice resolute. "But I have been accepted into the Celestial Sword Pavilion. The distance between us will only grow. There is no need to bind myself to someone destined to remain a cripple."
Her words caused an uproar.
"No wonder she severed ties. She's already reached the 4th stage of Awakening Realm and awakened the Crimson Flame Spirit! While Wei Feng… he can't even use Essence."
"A pity. With such talent, how could she ever marry someone who hasn't even stepped onto the cultivation path?"
"Trash like him brings shame to the entire Wei Clan."
Wei Zhong's expression turned darker with each whispered insult. But even he could not act against the Yue Clan now, not with the Celestial Sword Pavilion standing behind them.
He could only curse the heavens for giving him a useless son who'd brought shame upon generations of honor.
Wei Feng, however, remained unfazed. He lifted his cup and took another sip of tea, his expression serene. Words, after all, were the wind, loud, but fleeting.
It had been eighteen years since he reincarnated into this world of cultivation. Born as the heir of the prestigious Wei Clan, his future once seemed bright. But his awakening ceremony revealed damaged spiritual roots, an eternal cripple in the eyes of this world.
Even beggars with lowest ranked Spiritual root were treated better than him.
Servants mocked him openly. He bore it all, endless shame and scorn, the crushing weight of being called useless. Still, he trained, he bled, he prayed. But what use was effort when fate had already cast its judgment?
As for Yue Liangxue… yes, they had grown up together. She was once his friend. He harbored no impure thoughts toward her, only fondness. But after his failed awakening, he had long prepared himself for this day. It was inevitable.
He didn't resent her. That would require energy and he had none to waste on things he could not change.
Her next words, though, caught even him off guard.
"Don't blame me, Wei Feng. You're the one who cannot walk the path of cultivation. Our destinies lie in different heavens."
'Yes, yes. You ascend toward the stars while I crawl through mud,' Wei Feng mused silently, then replied aloud, "It's fine. I expected this. Congratulations on entering the Celestial Sword Pavilion."
Hearing that, Yue Liangxue's fists tightened. 'Why… why are you still so calm? Can't you react for once? Can't you care?'
Tears pricked her eyes, unseen beneath her cold facade. 'Doesn't our bond mean anything to you?'
She had hoped that by publicly annulling the engagement, he would fight for her, prove his feelings. But once again, he gave her only silence.
"Feng—" she tried to speak, but her voice faltered.
Before she could continue, a graceful woman in crimson robes stepped forward and rested a hand on Yue Liangxue's shoulder.
"Let's go, Xue'er. The Pavilion is waiting for us "
She glanced at Wei Feng and extended a small storage ring. "This is a token of compensation. Please accept it and move on."
Wei Feng blinked. 'Huh. I was expecting more drama… that was surprisingly civil.'
He raised a hand to decline as he didn't want to have anything to do with them, but the woman shoved the ring into his palm and whisked Yue Liangxue away, who could only glance back with complicated emotions in her eyes.
Wei Feng smiled faintly and waved at her. He still didn't hate her.
'I really am a fool,' he sighed inwardly. 'This soft heart already killed me once… and yet here I am again.'
As the Yue Clan departed, many guests followed, the excitement dwindling. But some lingered, hungry for more spectacle.
Wei Feng turned to face his father.
'Three… two… one…'
"You disgrace!!" Wei Zhong's roar shook the jade pillars, his cultivation aura bursting out. "Do you realize how many clans ridicule us because of you? I sheltered you out of love, and yet you've brought nothing but shame!"
Wei Feng remained motionless, his thoughts cold.
'Love? You only tolerated me because of the Yue Clan. Now that they've severed ties, so do you.'
Wei Zhong stormed forward and declared, "From this moment forth, you are no longer a son of the Wei Clan! Leave!"
The crowd didn't react. They had already expected this. Some even chuckled.
Wei Feng gave a slight nod, set down his teacup, and walked toward the hall's exit.
'Finally.'
But before he could reach the gate, a young man from the clan blocked his path.
"That compensation belongs to the Wei Clan. Hand it over. And everything else we've given you."
Without resistance, Wei Feng tossed both his storage ring and the compensation ring to him.
The youth grinned, until his eyes landed on the jade pendant around Wei Feng's neck.
"That too," he sneered, reaching for it.
But before he could touch it, a powerful grip seized his wrist.
"Try that again," Wei Feng whispered, his tone deathly cold.
The youth staggered back, startled by the pressure.
Then came a thunderous voice from the rear of the hall.
"Enough! That pendant belonged to his late mother, it is not something of our clan."
The speaker was the old clan patriarch, a withered elder seated in the shadows. His words ended the matter.
Wei Feng bowed slightly in silent gratitude, then stepped into the open world beyond the clan gates.
For the first time in eighteen years, he was free, no ties, no expectations, no chains.
A cripple? Maybe.
But now, he had nothing to lose.
"I am finally free."
All of a sudden, the back of his hand began to glow as a transparent hologram appeared before him.
[Limitless system installed.]
"Oh? I finally get the system?" Wei Feng or now Yun Feng was surprised and asked. He has taken upon his mother's surname now that he wasn't a Wei.
[Yes. To use the full potential of the system, Host will have to work very hard.]
"I have nothing but hard work on me, buddy. Time to grind to immortality."