Yan Wanjun was overjoyed. He stared at Yan Qingsang for a long while before turning his gaze to Jiang Chen, praising him wholeheartedly: "Young friend Shao Yuan, perhaps you truly are the lucky star of my Yan family — and of this old man's lineage in particular. Since Qingsang met you, I have been able to feel his tremendous transformation over these past days. To put it without exaggeration, the trajectory of Qingsang's fate may well have been completely altered by your appearance. And Huang'er's fate, too, may change because of you..."
Yan Wanjun spoke with deep emotion: "Therefore, you are this old man's greatest benefactor. Shao Yuan, I'm not one for flowery words. The only promise I can give you is this — regarding you and Huang'er, even if it costs me my life, I will see it through. No matter who tries to stand in the way — whether it's the Xiahou family or factions within the Yan clan — if they want to come between you and Huang'er, they will have to step over my corpse!"
Yan Wanjun's tone was resolute and decisive.
His words were utterly unwavering. It was clear that Yan Wanjun had fully accepted Jiang Chen — fully accepted this young prodigy.
In the past, Yan Wanjun had been willing to swallow his pride and compromise, because Yan Qingsang was still young and had not yet come into his own, needing the family's protection under its wing and the family's resources.
So Yan Wanjun had been forced to go against his own nature, to bow and scrape. Even when the family sacrificed his son, sacrificed his granddaughter, he had clenched his teeth and endured without exploding.
All of this was because Yan Qingsang was still there.
But now Yan Qingsang was no longer a concern. He had the backing of the Eternal Sacred Land, had earned the Eternal Sacred Land's recognition, and was growing stronger by the day. What more did Yan Wanjun have to worry about?
And the person who had brought about all these changes was none other than this young genius, Shao Yuan.
So Yan Wanjun did not hesitate in the slightest. His heart was firmly settled — he was convinced that this young man was the savior of his lineage.
Not only had he changed Yan Qingsang's fate, he might well change Yan Qinghuang's fate too.
If it were possible, would Yan Wanjun ever have wanted to sacrifice his granddaughter? The family's destiny? The family's future? Yan Wanjun admitted that he had always cared deeply about the family's fortunes and had always been willing to work for the clan.
But over these years, what had the family done for him? Apart from constantly making demands and forcing him to yield time and again, the family had seldom shown any regard for his suffering.
This recent clan elder council — so many within the family had accused him, impeached him, sought to hold him accountable. That had made Yan Wanjun see things with perfect clarity.
Such a family truly had little left worth clinging to.
Though Yan Wanjun would continue to serve the family and would never forget that he was a son of the Yan clan.
Asking him now to sacrifice everything for the family once more — that was simply no longer realistic.
Hearts are exchanged for hearts. This time, Yan Wanjun had clearly had his heart broken by the family.
It had also made him see clearly that while he himself might never be able to sever the blood ties he felt toward this clan, many within the family were truly no longer worth protecting.
He had bled, exerted himself, made so many sacrifices in order to safeguard this family — and in the end, so many within it had sought to hold him accountable. How could Yan Wanjun not harbor resentment over that?
And so, having seen the situation for what it was, Yan Wanjun made his stance toward Jiang Chen so decisively.
Jiang Chen saw how serious Yan Wanjun looked and silently sighed. He had previously held a slight prejudice against the man — thinking him cold-blooded for not caring about his own granddaughter's life or death.
But now it seemed that everything Yan Wanjun had done had its own painful reasons. In truth, this old man was not the cold and heartless type he had assumed.
"Elder Wanjun, I will do everything in my power to pursue my future with Huang'er. Not even the Xiahou family can stop my determination to be with her. I would rather not drag you into this — that is my honest feeling."
Yan Wanjun's support was certainly welcome. But such support only needed to exist in his heart. There was no need to make it public.
Making it public would only put Yan Wanjun in a passive position. If anything were to happen to him down the line, Huang'er would only feel guilty.
Yan Wanjun laughed heartily. "Drag me into it? This is my own granddaughter's affair — why would I fear being involved? Do you think the Xiahou family dares to lay a blade on me?"
Yan Wanjun was the sort whose stubbornness grew sharper with age.
Once he had made up his mind, it was exceedingly difficult to change.
Yan Qingsang chimed in with a smile: "Grandfather, don't worry too much. Brother Shao Yuan has his own plans. Has there ever been a time when he didn't calculate things to perfection before acting? When he entered our Yan family, when he clashed with the Yaochi Sect, when he faced Shi Xuan — every single time people counted him out. And every single time, he came out on top."
Yan Wanjun laughed at this as well. "If that's the case, then young friend Shao Yuan's habit of planning thoroughly before taking action is truly admirable."
"Oh, Qingsang — what do you intend to do now that you've come here?"
Yan Qingsang shrugged. "I just came to see if there's anything I can help with."
"Foolish. At this stage, you should be focusing on your cultivation and preparing for the Genius Sword Summit. What help could you possibly offer? Don't forget — you are now a disciple of the Sacred Land. Family matters are not yours to worry about for the time being."
Yan Wanjun put on a stern face and lectured Yan Qingsang.