Douluo Starting with the Chaos Divine Examination

The square was paved with uniform bluestone bricks. At the center of the square stood a woman dressed in a moon-white robe, her eyes gently closed. The breeze pressed her robe against her delicate figure, revealing the perfect curves beneath.

Her expression was calm and composed. Even after more than a decade, Mu Chen could still recognize her as Nalan Yanran.

"Na! Lan! Yan! Ran!"

As the voice echoed from the steps ahead, Nalan Yanran slowly opened her eyes. Her gaze swept indifferently over the young man in front of her, and she spoke in a cool tone, "Xiao! Yan!"

The young man stared at Nalan Yanran from a distance, a glimmer of light flashing in his eyes. After three years apart, he found her even more beautiful.

The young man's calm voice slowly rose across the vast square.

"Nalan Yanran, do you still remember Xiao Yan from the Xiao family?"

"I do."

Her response to Xiao Yan was icy, as if she were speaking to a stranger.

"Is that the little guy from the Xiao family? Wasn't he said to be a waste who couldn't store Dou Qi?"

A black-robed elder standing on a distant tree couldn't help but murmur to himself.

A waste?

Mu Chen frowned. He had clearly taken Xiao Yu's ring, so how could Xiao Yan still be considered a waste? Mu Chen instinctively glanced at the ring on Xiao Yan's hand and indeed saw the familiar, ancient ring.

Over a decade ago, Mu Chen had crossed into the Doupo Dimension. He had seized Xiao Yan's ring in advance. After obtaining the ring, Mu Chen had taken Yao Lao's Strange Fire. Being an eighth-grade Alchemist himself, Mu Chen had discarded the ring after acquiring Yao Lao's Strange Fire.

Mu Chen never expected that, after so many twists and turns, Xiao Yan had regained the ring. Mu Chen couldn't help but marvel inwardly at the sheer power of the protagonist's halo.

However, no matter how strong the protagonist's halo was, with the help of this "old grandpa," Nalan Yanran had been completely transformed. Today, Xiao Yan was destined to bring shame upon himself.

"Huh, why do I feel a very familiar aura from him?" Fa Ma, the president of the Jia Ma Empire's Alchemist Guild, stared intently at Xiao Yan.

"Do you feel it too?" the gray-robed elder asked with a smile.

"This familiarity feels so much like Yan Xiao. Yan Xiao, Xiao Yan. Ah, I see now." Fa Ma suddenly understood, looking at Xiao Yan with a mix of amusement and exasperation.

Recalling everything from the past, Xiao Yan's eyes filled with confidence as he said, "Nalan Yanran, I once said that the tides of fortune shift every thirty years, and one should not bully the young for their poverty. Now that I am a young man, let us see today who is truly unworthy of whom."

"What do you mean by that?" Nalan Yanran asked.

"What do you mean, what do I mean?" Xiao Yan retorted.

"Does the stronger one necessarily have to be the one who is liked? Is that your understanding of love? Or is there something wrong with your brain?" Nalan Yanran scolded angrily.

"Are you afraid?" Xiao Yan taunted.

"Someone once said that love is free and sacred, inviolable. They said that while money is valuable and life is precious, for the sake of love, both can be forsaken. It turns out, Xiao Yan, you and I are not on the same path. I made it clear when I broke off the engagement that I had no feelings for you. I already have someone I love in my heart," Nalan Yanran stated.

"Who is it?" Xiao Yan asked.

"That's none of your concern," Nalan Yanran replied coldly.

"Are you saying all this to avoid fulfilling the three-year agreement?" Xiao Yan questioned.

"No. I'm giving you some face out of respect for the late Elder Xiao Lin. Xiao Yan, there are many distinguished guests here today. I advise you not to humiliate yourself. That's also why I've spoken so much to you," Nalan Yanran said.

"Enough talk, Nalan Yanran. For the three-year agreement, I've prepared for three years. Let's begin," Xiao Yan urged.

"Xiao Yan, are you sure?" The white-robed elder in the center glanced at Xiao Yan, asking him one last time.

"I'm sure," Xiao Yan affirmed.

"Very well, since that's the case, I will preside over this three-year agreement. This match is intended for mutual learning, to the point..."

"Life and death, each at the mercy of fate."

Before the white-robed elder could finish, Xiao Yan's voice suddenly interrupted Yun Leng's words.

"As you wish!"

Nalan Yanran responded with a cold voice.

"Young man, always leave a way out. But if you insist on such terms, then so be it. Life and death, each at the mercy of fate," Yun Leng said indifferently.

"Leave a way out? Did Nalan Yanran ever leave a way out for me? She just came to my door with a few pills and demanded to break off the engagement. Did she ever leave a way out for me?" Xiao Yan sneered, mocking Yun Leng, his eyes fixed on Nalan Yanran.

"Given my status as the chief disciple of the Cloud Mist Sect's leader, giving you a few Qi Gathering Pills refined by Pill King Gu He was already showing you respect. With my status, I could have forcefully annulled this marriage. Xiao Yan, it was you who didn't know how to appreciate the favor. And you still set up this three-year agreement with me!" Nalan Yanran, now of significant status, had to consider the reputation of the Cloud Mist Sect and couldn't waste more words on Xiao Yan.

"Enough talk, Nalan Yanran. I've come as promised for the three-year agreement. Today, let's settle our past grievances. The humiliation you brought to my Xiao family, today... please return it!" Xiao Yan stared at Nalan Yanran.

"Silence!"

As soon as Xiao Yan finished speaking, a reprimand rang out. The speaker was no ordinary person; it was Xiao Yu's grandfather, the former elder of the Xiao family, now the family head.

Xiao Yu's grandfather coldly shouted, "Xiao Yan, the matter back then was resolved peacefully. Since ancient times, there have been arranged marriages and peaceful annulments. Forcing two people with different personalities to form a family is simply setting them up for unhappiness! Our Xiao family is a large clan, not an unreasonable one! Xiao Yan, your actions today are your own. What status do you have to claim to represent the Xiao family?"

"You..." Xiao Yan glared angrily at Xiao Yu's grandfather.

"If you still consider yourself a member of the Xiao family, Xiao Yan, then step down obediently and don't bring shame to our family. If you remain obstinate, regardless of the outcome today, you will no longer be a member of the Xiao family," Xiao Yu's grandfather said coldly.

"Then so be it. Today, I will fight for myself. Let's begin!" Xiao Yan urged once more. In his view, there was nothing wrong with seeking revenge today.

As Xiao Yan's words fell, he stepped forward. His expression began to return to its usual indifference, and his grip on the Xuan Heavy Ruler tightened. Moments later, his foot slammed down, and cracks spread across the hard bluestone beneath him. Surging, turbulent earth-yellow Dou Qi, mingled with faint earth-yellow flames, erupted from Xiao Yan's body.

(End of Chapter)