Proud Sword Soaring Clouds

In short: her future husband, the husband of Xie Xiaoyan, had to be a truly heroic man!

She had succeeded.

As she ran out of Ling Xiao’s dormitory, her clothes in disarray and a panicked look on her face, her mind replayed the look on his. It was a look of shock and astonishment, but more than anything... it was heartbreak.

The very instant she cried "Molester!", she saw his once vibrant eyes turn ashen and lifeless.

Xie Xiaoyan’s heart skipped a beat, and she felt a brief pang of sadness. But overriding it all... was the sweet thrill of revenge! The feeling was intoxicating, coursing through her entire body. ’So what if my reputation takes a hit? I’m just a helpless woman! Don’t all men love to protect the weak? Hahaha!’ Seeing her state, the other male students had been filled with righteous indignation, heaping curses upon Ling Xiao. If not for his status, many of them would have likely rushed in and beaten him to death that very day.

At that moment, Xie Xiaoyan was simply ecstatic. She thought, ’Oh, Ling Xiao, don’t blame me for being so cruel! If you must blame someone, blame yourself for being a good-for-nothing who doesn’t know his own limits! You, marry a genius like me? Dream on!’

Not long after, Xie Xiaoyan heard that an enraged Ling Tianxiao had beaten Ling Xiao and injured him. She did feel a tiny flicker of guilt, but compared to the freedom she had gained, that guilt failed to even cause a ripple in her heart.

She had to see him! She would go as a victor, and at the same time, she would firmly cement her position on the moral high ground.

Xie Xiaoyan went, but Ling Xiao’s gaze made her feel as if she were looking at a stranger. It even frightened her. She couldn’t shake the feeling: ’This person... isn’t Ling Xiao anymore!’ Xie Xiaoyan herself didn’t know why she felt that way.

Later, after Ling Xiao returned to the Imperial Academy, his subsequent actions left Xie Xiaoyan with a profound sense of loss. He defeated Wulan Tuo, then mysteriously disappeared from the academy for a long time. Upon his return, he toyed with the Tier Six Sword Master Qin Kang and rescued Teacher Shangguan on the way to the southern Mesopotamia Grassland. After that, rumors began to spread that Ling Xiao possessed a Divine Sword Skill and had even opened his Celestial Vein. His future... was said to be immeasurable!

Xie Xiaoyan began to feel jealous and afraid.

She wracked her brains but couldn’t fathom how Ling Xiao had undergone such a drastic transformation. And the more brilliant he became, the more terrified she grew. She was afraid that one day, the truth of how she had framed him would be exposed. If that happened, she would be utterly ruined.

People were already starting to whisper and point fingers at her, because Ling Xiao was like a phoenix, reborn from the ashes!

And a share of that glory should have belonged to her, to Xie Xiaoyan!

Jealousy and terror consumed Xie Xiaoyan’s heart, and a new thought emerged: ’If Ling Xiao were dead, wouldn’t all of this... just be over?’

Just then, an opportunity presented itself. The Baihua Sect, a third-rate sect from among the hidden families, approached the Xie Family to discuss a business partnership. Seeing that Xie Xiaoyan had considerable talent, their Outer Sect Hall Master offered to take her as his disciple.

To any family in the Mortal World, a hidden sect was an unassailable existence, completely beyond their reach. Never mind a third-rate sect; even an unranked one would be considered an absolute powerhouse in the Mortal World.

The Xie Family, of course, couldn’t have asked for more. Jubilation spread throughout the family, and the fear they felt from their falling out with the Ling Family lessened considerably now that they had a hidden sect as a backer.

But in Xie Xiaoyan’s heart, a new scheme was already forming.

She wanted Ling Xiao dead.

’Only with his death will I ever be truly at ease!’ Besides, she didn’t know if Ling Xiao’s sword technique was a Divine Sword Skill, but it was clearly no ordinary art.

And so, she successfully goaded her master and martial uncle into ambushing and killing Ling Xiao. She knew that to people from the hidden sects, the lives of those in the Mortal World were as insignificant as ants. ’Who would feel deeply guilty over stepping on an ant?’

But what Xie Xiaoyan had never imagined, not in her wildest dreams, was that this "ant"... was actually far more powerful than her backer. She thought she had already estimated Ling Xiao’s strength highly, but she had still miscalculated. She alone would have to taste the bitter fruit she had sown.

And this time, Ling Xiao left her no openings. ’My family... do I even care?’ No, she didn’t care if Ling Xiao took revenge on the Xie Family. What she feared was that if Ling Xiao unleashed his fury upon the Xie Family, it was only a matter of time before she was dragged down with them. The great Xie Family would certainly not risk offending a major noble house like the Ling Family for the sake of a single woman like her.

So, Xie Xiaoyan swore to herself that she would endure. As long as she had the slightest chance, she could still turn the tables.

But what surprised Xie Xiaoyan the most was Ling Xiao’s absolute ruthlessness and coldness—he had actually crippled her cultivation!

Dejected, Xie Xiaoyan left the Imperial Academy, not even considering a return to her family. She knew she had become a complete laughingstock. Even if she went back, she wouldn’t be able to bear the ridicule from her siblings and cousins. They would surely mock her, the former... "genius."

After all, she had once mocked others in exactly the same way. Back then, there was no one in the family she deemed worthy of her notice. One could only imagine how they would mock her now, knowing she had suffered such a great humiliation and lost her cultivation.