For a moment, the entire venue fell silent.
The Yan family patriarch had spoken his piece, and no matter how these people disliked the young man called Shao Yuan, they had nothing left to say.
What else could they argue? A young man who had only recently arrived at the Yan family had already accumulated so many merits for them—and even now, clearly furious at how he'd been treated, he was still leaving behind an enormous favor for the clan. For a person to conduct himself to this degree, it truly left one speechless.
At the same time, more than a few were quietly consumed with envy, jealousy, and resentment. They felt that Yan Qingsang, a thoroughly unremarkable figure within the family, had somehow struck one stroke of incredible fortune after another ever since his trip to the Blue Smoke Islands. That kind of luck was simply unstoppable.
Yan Wanjun had already departed in anger, but someone had promptly delivered the news to him.
Upon learning that the young man Shao Yuan intended to join the Eternal Sacred Land, Yan Wanjun was struck with profound helplessness. He sighed: "I never imagined that the vast Yan family would be unable to accommodate a single genius of foreign blood. Can the Yan family's future still be saved?"
This lament came straight from the depths of his heart.
Ever since the Yan family's Supreme Sovereign ancestor had fallen, the clan no longer possessed absolute authority. Without that absolute authority, they had lost their backbone.
This meant that countless matters within the family could never reach consensus. Infighting grew ever fiercer, factional strife more and more intense.
Under these conditions, the Yan family's strength was declining with each passing day.
Once a family's way of functioning broke down, problems would inevitably follow in every aspect.
And yet, when Yan Wanjun heard that his grandson Yan Qingsang would be brought to the Eternal Sacred Land by Jiang Chen, alongside his sighs came a surge of involuntary joy.
This contradictory blend of emotions left Yan Wanjun's feelings in complete turmoil.
He held this grandson in the highest regard—he was virtually the sole hope Yan Wanjun had left in life.
If Yan Qingsang could enter the Eternal Sacred Land, Yan Wanjun would be truly, deeply glad. Only if Yan Qingsang prospered would Yan Wanjun feel that living still held meaning.
Yan Qingsang himself had learned of this news almost immediately.
As for the prospect of going to the Eternal Sacred Land, he felt no particular excitement. His greatest reaction at this moment was a sense of loss.
So without delay, he rushed back to his own courtyard.
There, he found Jiang Chen standing in the middle of it, lost in thought.
"Brother Shao Yuan—have I, Yan Qingsang, wronged you somehow?" Yan Qingsang's voice was heavy with hurt.
Jiang Chen let out a soft sigh. "No."
"Then is it my Yan family that wronged you?" Yan Qingsang pressed.
Jiang Chen did not answer. A long moment passed before he finally spoke in a measured tone: "Brother Yan, if it were only the Yan family giving me grief, making things difficult for me, I wouldn't have minded in the least—for your sake. But there are some matters… I don't know how to explain them to you."
"Then just say it, say it!" Yan Qingsang's emotions were visibly agitated. "Since you've put it that way, I want to know even more—what's this about you joining the Eternal Sacred Land?"
"Do you really want to know?" Jiang Chen asked evenly.
"Spit it out. If you won't talk, we can't call ourselves brothers anymore." Yan Qingsang was a man who valued bonds above all else. Over the years, the only person he had ever truly opened his heart to was Jiang Chen.
So learning that Jiang Chen intended to leave the Yan family—to defect to the Eternal Sacred Land—his sense of loss was entirely predictable. Young as he was, he even felt as though their friendship had been betrayed.
Jiang Chen was in no hurry. He simply regarded Yan Qingsang with a calm gaze.
"Brother Yan, do you have a dao companion?" Jiang Chen suddenly asked.
"No." Yan Qingsang blinked, then said irritably, "Don't change the subject."
"If you had a dao companion to whom you had sworn eternal devotion through life and death, and she were in mortal danger—would you rush to save her without a second thought? Would you be willing to be smashed to pieces for her sake?" Jiang Chen ignored Yan Qingsang's objection and pressed on.
Yan Qingsang answered without a heartbeat's hesitation: "If I had such a woman, I would absolutely do that. If we've sworn to share life and death, then I should shatter myself to save her without hesitation."
"Mm. You and I are the same. So if you stand in my shoes, you should be able to understand my choice."
"Your shoes?" Yan Qingsang was confused.
"Yes." Jiang Chen nodded calmly.
Yan Qingsang stared blankly. "What do you mean? Who is your dao companion?"
Suddenly, a thought struck him. His eyes went wide, and he fixed Jiang Chen with an unblinking stare. "You—you mean my cousin, Huang'er?"
Jiang Chen saw that Yan Qingsang had guessed correctly, and he was not surprised. After all, he had hinted strongly enough at this point. If Yan Qingsang still couldn't figure it out, there would have to be something wrong with his head.
"Brother Yan, your entire family—including you—have guarded Huang'er so closely, terrified that some outsider might take advantage of a gap in her defenses. But have you ever considered that Huang'er and I have long since sworn ourselves to each other? That Huang'er and I have long since pledged our lives together?"
Yan Qingsang stood there, mouth agape.