Ding Nan was blinded by the scene before him.
One-third was medicine.
Two-thirds were spirit stones.
He had never seen so many spirit stones in his life.
It was common knowledge in the cultivation world that low-grade spirit stones were small change, mid-grade spirit stones were decent money, and high-grade spirit stones were a fortune.
The value of Spirit Crystals, of course, went without saying.
Ding Nan had never seen such a vast amount of wealth.
Even though he had seen the world when he visited the Ding Clan’s treasury, he couldn’t help but shout in his heart, ‘What a generous hand!’
Not just Ding Nan, but even the other elders widened their eyes, their gazes filled with desire.
Only Ding Wen kept a stiff face, remaining silent.
Ultimately, a small family in a peripheral region like the Ding Clan still lacked heritage.
Ding Nan looked at the gray-haired old man.
He was an elder of the Shangguan Family.
Since it was him and not an outsider, Shangguan Qingya’s grandfather surely knew and agreed to this.
“These are tokens of our goodwill. We hope Patriarch Ding and everyone else will agree,” Shangguan Qiu said, rising to bow to the assembly.
As his voice fell, the hall plunged into silence.
Ding Nan looked at Shangguan Qingya, who sat as still and elegant as an orchid in her chair.
Her face was cold and her gaze indifferent, seemingly looking down at Ding Nan.
A flame of anger gradually rose in Ding Nan’s heart.
Dissolving an engagement was not a rare occurrence, but was this how they were going to do it?
Shouldn’t they be exchanging the marriage certificates?
What was the meaning of sending “tokens of goodwill”?
And they came neither early nor late, but specifically when Ding Nan had lost his cultivation.
The old man of the Ding Clan had clearly avoided the topic, which was a silent way of letting the engagement lapse.
Yet, they had come anyway.
Ding Nan couldn’t help but sneer.
He touched the Jade Tablet pressed against his heart.
The Jade Tablet was mysterious.
As of last night, Ding Nan could only summarize two functions: absorbing Spiritual Qi and providing the owner with a “Library.”
The Library recorded the memories of past powerhouses, including their cultivation techniques and secret manuals.
It was very likely it had other functions.
Ding Nan had discovered an unlocked door in a corner of the Library, but he couldn’t open it.
He suspected it was some kind of seal.
Once the Jade Tablet established a connection with someone, it would absorb the host’s Spiritual Qi to maintain itself if there wasn’t enough external Qi.
This was the reason for Ding Nan’s regression.
As for why his cultivation continued to regress even when the tablet was in Ding Wen’s possession…
Ding Nan estimated its absorption range was limited and that it only consumed his Qi and the Spiritual Qi from minerals.
The specifics were still unclear.
Ever since he fed thirty low-grade spirit stones to the Jade Tablet, Ding Nan no longer felt his Spiritual Qi disappearing.
In other words, his genius self was back!
With the memories of the great masters in the Library, he even had the confidence to reach the peak of Zhongzhou.
“So, what you’re saying is that I’m not good enough for the Shangguan Family!”
Ding Nan suddenly stood up, his eyes wide as he stared at Shangguan Qingya.
If the Ding Clan accepted these gifts today, people would look down on both the clan and Ding Nan.
With his reputation, people would find a reason to mock him.
If he accepted the dissolution, they would call him a coward—a waste is a waste.
If he refused, they would think he was a toad lusting after swan meat.
As the person involved, Ding Nan finally understood how Xiao Yan felt when his engagement was broken.
No wonder Xiao Yan had to grab Nalan’s sword and give himself a wound.
If he didn’t get hurt by their hands, any other display of blood might be misinterpreted as Ding Nan throwing a tantrum.
It felt like if he didn’t shed some blood today, he wouldn’t be able to get past this hurdle.
The problem was, Ding Nan was afraid of pain, so he wasn’t exactly calm.
Ding Nan’s voice wasn’t loud, but it was clearly audible.
Everyone, including the clansmen at the entrance of the Council Hall, fell silent.
As the one facing Ding Nan directly, Shangguan Qingya shifted slightly as she watched his fury.
Her expression remained unchanged, her lips pursed as if she were about to erupt.
Ding Nan stepped toward Shangguan Qingya and stopped in the center of the Council Hall, right in front of Ding Wen.
“If the engagement is broken like this today, where will the Ding Clan’s face go!”
Ding Nan raised his fist, his voice ringing with power.
Shangguan Qingya leaned against her chair.
‘Girl, come on! Stand up, draw your sword, and look down on me!’ Ding Nan shouted in his mind. ‘I want to say it too! Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—do not look down on a young man for being poor!’
But Shangguan Qingya simply sat there quietly, making no move.
Ding Nan glanced sideways and noticed her face had grown even paler.
It was as if the blood had drained from her cheeks.
“Miss Shangguan Qingya is indeed as beautiful as the rumors say,” Luo Yao suddenly spoke up.
“Huh?”
Ding Nan’s face was a mask of confusion.
“Miss… Miss Luo Yao is too kind. You are much cuter than the rumors suggested,” Shangguan Qingya replied, her tone flustered and restrained as she cupped her hands.
“What?”
Seeing Shangguan Qingya’s panic, Ding Nan’s expression mirrored that of a shocked cat.
Scanning the faces of the others, Ding Nan finally realized something was wrong.
No one present seemed to care about the “face” Ding Nan was shouting about.
Could the customs be different?
Ding Nan scratched his head as everyone’s gaze landed on him.
“You guys… aren’t here to cause trouble?”
Ding Nan finally couldn’t help but ask Shangguan Qingya.
“I… we prepared gi… gifts. It’s… it’s…”
Only now did Ding Nan realize that the girl wasn’t keeping a stiff face because she looked down on him, but because she was terrified, which made her expression go rigid.
Ding Nan looked at her eyes again.
They were rimmed with red, and tears were welling up.
Startled, Ding Nan turned to look at Shangguan Qiu.
Shangguan Qiu cupped his hands and said, “The items in the hall are compensation for the Ding Clan. Hearing that my grand-nephew’s cultivation has vanished and that he has been stuck at Body Tempering Realm Level 3 for many years, we have specially prepared a consultation letter for the Imperial Hospital and 600 high-grade spirit stones as a medical fee.”
Ding Nan was stunned.
Before he could react, Shangguan Qiu continued, “Furthermore, as gifts for the elders of my grand-nephew’s household, we have brought 300 Qi Condensing Pills, fifty Qi Nourishing Pills, and sixteen Foundation Protecting Pills. Seven of those are specifically for Patriarch Ding, in hopes that he will soon achieve Core Formation. When that time comes, the Shangguan Family will surely bring our kin to offer our congratulations.”
Ding Nan was shocked.
Qi Condensing Pills and Qi Nourishing Pills were medicines used by Foundation Establishment cultivators.
For the Ding Clan, they were quite expensive.
As for the Foundation Protecting Pills, they were used by Foundation Establishment cultivators when breaking through to the Golden Core stage to prevent Spiritual Qi disorder and damage to one’s foundation in case of failure.
The nine elders present would each receive nearly two pills if distributed.
Coincidentally, every elder of the Ding Clan present, including Ding Wen, was in the Foundation Establishment realm.
“You… you have such a good girl already. I… I… I wish you both the best,” Shangguan Qingya added incoherently.
the young girl’s legs were already trembling.
Catering to their needs and fulfilling their wishes—no matter how you looked at it, this wasn’t an attempt to humiliate the Ding Clan.
“Furthermore, hearing that today is my grand-nephew’s birthday, we have also prepared 100 mid-grade spirit stones as a gift.”
Hearing this, Ding Nan’s temper vanished completely. He even felt ashamed for seemingly making the girl cry.
“Luo… Luo Yao, could you give me a handkerchief?”
“Yes, Young Master.”