Having cultivated myself into an immortal, all I want to do is raise female disciples.

Bang bang bang!

One after another, the treasure chests hidden in the Duan family compound exploded, shattering the precious gifts inside, blasting them into the sky, and turning them into specks of dust that drifted down.

At the same time, the terrifying wave also swept over the bodies of the two family heads, Su Wubin and Duan Duxiu. In an instant, they began to convulse, their meridians were shattered, and blood flowed from all the orifices on their bodies, even the orifices were ruptured by the shock.

obsolete.

The other guests only felt a tremor in their souls, but their physical bodies were unharmed.

Duan Duxiu and Su Wubin lay in pools of blood, convulsing, their consciousness shattered by the kick, leaving them unconscious.

The majesty of the patriarch? The domineering nature of a Nascent Soul stage expert?

At this moment, it was crushed underfoot until not even a trace remained.

Amidst the dust settled by the swirling treasures, Yun Ping's gaze swept over the now utterly silent Duan family compound, before he uttered a single sentence—

"Let's go."

Immediately afterwards, he led Jiang Shaoguang and the others from Yuntian Academy away from the Duan family compound, which was filled with a sorrowful atmosphere.

After Yun Ping and the others left, Chu Aotian and Duan Sheng exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of helplessness in each other's eyes.

Chu Aotian sighed at Su Yu. If she had truly had the courage to pursue her own happiness, perhaps she wouldn't have ended up in this predicament...

Unfortunately, there are no "maybes" or "what ifs" in this world.

So, after the Yuntian Academy students left, Chu Aotian and the Forging Saint from the Lantian Empire also disappeared from everyone's sight.

The guests in the Duan family compound were only able to move around about half an hour after the young forging master left.

But they no longer dared to stay there, so they hurriedly scattered like birds and beasts, each fleeing in their own way.

Su Ziyan looked tremblingly at Li Xuangang, whose face was still filled with fear, and after a long while, she managed to ask a question.

"Senior Li... just now, who exactly was that young man in white?"

Faced with Su Ziyan's question, Li Xuangang paused for a second, as if he was extremely unwilling to recall a certain event.

He paused for a moment before turning his pale face to Su Ziyan.

His answer was brief, consisting of only three words.

"The Imperial Pavilion..."

The words fell.

Su Ziyan seemed to understand something. Her beautiful eyes widened, and she was suddenly struck by a tremendous blow. She couldn't catch her breath, and her eyes rolled back as she almost fainted.

Compared to Su Ziyan's shock, Li Xuangang felt more fortunate.

Because he knew that just now, everyone in the entire Duan family compound had narrowly escaped death.

36. Long time no see

Extreme Celestial Domain.

Xiangren City —

"Have you made up your mind?"

"Ah."

Half a month has passed since the turmoil that occurred in the Duan family compound.

Although many people are still talking about this matter, such a change is a perfect topic of conversation for those who have nothing better to do.

Therefore, in this huge restaurant, apart from the drunken ramblings, one could often hear quite a bit about the Duan and Su families.

The handsome young man, with skin so white it was almost unmanly, took a sip of sake and gazed at the scholar-like young man in white robes before him.

"Are you really sure?"

Duan Yu gave a wry smile, "I've thought it through—you've asked me this question more than ten times..."

"I'm just concerned about you~" Lan Tian chuckled, then poured Duan Yu a full glass of wine, took a deep breath, and said, "You know, if you really go out and make your way in the world all by yourself, it's not very convenient, right?"

Lan Tianyi is not one of those pampered little princesses. She often sneaks out on her own, and even the powerful figures of Lan Yu Tian Palace can't do anything about her.

That's why she realized just how difficult it is to venture out on her own—it's not something that can be solved by simply staying at a tavern and wandering around.

So when she heard that Duan Yu had decided to leave the Duan family, she was genuinely worried about her former drinking buddy.

The sake in the glass swirled twice, and the rippling surface reflected the young man's expression, which seemed to be one of relief.

He drank half a glass of wine, held the glass, and swirled it thoughtfully: "Being alone in a foreign land, without the support of a family, it is indeed possible to find it difficult to move an inch."

"Especially in the Extreme Heaven Domain, perhaps the Desolate Heaven Domain and the Kun Heaven Domain are slightly better, but in the Extreme Heaven Domain, without a family as a backer, everything will be inconvenient..."

Lan Tianyi frowned, a look of confusion creeping onto her cheeks. "If that's the case, then why did you leave the Duan family?"

"Perhaps... it's because of that young hero Jiang."

Jiang Shaoguang?

Lan Tianyi, who had hoped to get a specific reason, was now even more confused.

Seemingly sensing Lan Tianyi's confusion, Duan Yu smiled and poured Lan Tianyi a full glass of wine, then turned his head to look at the azure sky.

The fireworks of that day seemed to flash in his eyes.

“I used to think that as a member of the Duan family, I should live for the Duan family and do everything for the family. The words of the family elders are my actions.”

"To be honest, I almost feel like I wasn't a human being anymore... more like a doll wearing Duan Yu's name."

Inside the restaurant, the aroma of fine wine filled the air, and the sounds of people were lively.

The two sat down by the railing, looking down at the bustling street and up at the boundless, pure blue sky.

Duan Yu sat inside the restaurant, gazing out with longing in his eyes.

“I’ve fought with that young master Jiang. I can tell that he genuinely likes Miss Su. I think it’s not because his family ordered him to like Miss Su, but because he himself… he has deep feelings for Miss Su.”

"That kind of self-centeredness that disregards everything else... to be honest... I envy that..."

He was really envious.

Close your eyes, and the image of that petite and charming young girl will involuntarily appear before you—the girl sitting beside you, gazing at the starry sky, playing the guqin…

He also longed to have someone he deeply loved.

Unfortunately, Duan Yu at that time, unlike Jiang Shaoguang, did not have the courage to defy the planned future.

“So I want to go out and see the world, and…” Duan Yu turned his head and looked at Lan Tianyi, who was drinking heavily, with a smile, “I’ve also realized that whether the Duan family has me or not makes no difference.”

Lan Tian blinked, rested his chin on his hand, and asked meaningfully, "Even the Duan family now is the same?"

……

Duan Yu naturally understood what Lan Tianyi meant. In fact, since that incident, the Duan family had indeed suffered a considerable blow.

After all, the wedding was disrupted quite badly, all the dowries sent by the various families were reduced to ashes, and more importantly—

Both Duan Duxiu, the head of the Duan family, and Su Wubin, the head of the Su family, have been crippled. Duan Duxiu is currently lying in bed unconscious.

A family without a patriarch is like a group of dragons without a head, or flies without a head, and naturally, chaos will inevitably ensue in the family affairs.

but--

"As long as the connection with the Three-Day Academy remains, the Duan family won't fall. Besides, I'm just the third young master of the Duan family. If we really need to change the head of the family, it won't be my turn. There are still my eldest and second eldest brothers."

Lan Tian curled her lip. "Come on, your two brothers are just puppets, they have absolutely no opinions of their own."

"Even so, I have no way of inheriting the position of family head."

"Why?" Lan Tianyi didn't understand why Duan Yu was so certain.

She actually admired Duan Yu very much. He was elegant, generous, and decisive in his work. Apart from lacking initiative and courage due to family reasons, he was the perfect candidate to be the head of the family.

Duan Yu paused for a few seconds in surprise when faced with this question.

He lowered his head, his tone inevitably tinged with sadness.

"Because I was born by accident to my father and a prostitute, Duan Meixuan... is not my biological mother. As long as she is alive, she will not allow me to become the head of the family."

"Brothel..."

Lan Tianyi seemed to realize that he had asked an inappropriate question and quickly apologized, "I'm sorry... I didn't mean it..."

"It's alright." Duan Yu smiled gently, showing no dissatisfaction at all. "I no longer care. It's just my background, it won't affect a person's essence. As long as I am still me, that's enough."

"Ah~"

Lan Tianyi let out a sigh of relief.

As an observer, she witnessed the changes in the Duan and Su families, and she never expected that the ending would be a tragedy for both sides, which is truly heartbreaking.

Lan Tianyi's gaze lingered on several graceful female cultivators not far away, and he seemed to have thought of something.

"Speaking of which, what happened to the Su family later?"

When the Su family was mentioned, Duan Yu's expression darkened.

He seemed to feel regretful, shaking his head. "The Duan and Su families have decided to form an alliance, still based on mutual benefit. For them, this is indeed a good choice."

"We still need an alliance... What about Su Yu?"

“Miss Su…” Duan Yu paused, took a sip of sake, and sighed, “She seems to have given up completely… Uncle Su still seems to intend to marry her off, I don’t know if it will be to my eldest brother or my second brother, but they both have wives, so she will probably be a concubine.”

"What a pity," Lan Tianyi clicked his tongue. "If she had tried a little harder, perhaps she wouldn't have ended up like this?"

"...Maybe."

Duan Yu gave a vague answer, the bitterness on his face lingering for a long time.

He also hoped that Su Yu could find her own happiness, but...

One step away from heaven, one step back is the endless bondage of hell.

Duan Yu was just one step away from succeeding.

He still remembers the scene of his dream shattering.

Lan Tianyi slowly put down his wine glass, stood up, and looked at Duan Yu, who seemed to be immersed in the sadness of the past. A trace of pity and heartache flashed in his eyes.

"So, you're planning to leave the Duan family and go out to see the world?"