The air in Xiao Village's brick house hung heavy as villagers gathered, their gazes fixed on the young woman at the center. Liu Yiyi, now fourteen, stood in a lavender gown that accentuated her delicate features. Her presence radiated an ethereal grace, drawing awestruck stares from the village youths.
"Yiyi, three years have made you even lovelier," Xiao Dashan remarked warmly, though his eyes flickered uneasily to the white-robed youth beside her.
The boy, Zhao Qian, stood with a sword strapped to his back, his expression dripping with disdain. At sixteen, his tall frame and sharp features exuded arrogance, as though the villagers were beneath his notice.
"This is Senior Brother Zhao Qian from Chongyang Sect," Liu Yiyi explained, her smile polite but distant.
Murmurs rippled through the crowd. A Chongyang disciple! Such prodigies were legends here. Yet Zhao Qian's sneer cut through the awe: "Enough chatter with these *hicks*, Yiyi. Hurry up."
*Hicks*.
The word hung like a slap. Villagers stiffened, faces flushing with anger. Xiao Dashan's jaw tightened.
Ignoring the tension, Liu Yiyi produced an ornate box. "To repay the village's kindness, I offer these." Three emerald pills glowed within, their medicinal aroma sharpening the air.
"Body Refining Pills!" Xiao Dashan gasped.
A collective intake of breath followed. Xiao Teng, lurking nearby, nearly salivated—these were treasures his father's hunting spoils couldn't buy.
Zhao Qian snorted. "Pathetic. Three low-grade pills and you're drooling? Listen well—" His voice turned icy. "Consider this 'repayment' for raising Yiyi. From today, she severs ties with this dung heap. Don't embarrass yourselves by clinging to her."
The room erupted.
"Sever ties?!" an elder spluttered. "Yiyi's family! You think pills can replace—"
"Family?" Zhao Qian laughed cruelly. "A future Chongyang elder, shackled to *vermin*? Know your place!"
"Does 'severed ties' include me?"
All turned as Xiao Ye strode in, his coarse linen clothes contrasting sharply with Zhao Qian's finery. His gaze locked onto Liu Yiyi, ignoring the sneering disciple entirely.
"Xiao… Brother." Liu Yiyi's composure flickered.
"Tell me," Xiao Ye demanded, voice trembling, "Is this why you returned? To erase us?"
Zhao Qian stepped between them, radiating contempt. "The famous 'village genius'? Let me show you what *real* talent looks like."
**Boom!**
A suffocating aura exploded from Zhao Qian—**Innate Realm** power that sent villagers crashing into walls. Xiao Ye staggered as if struck, his face paper-white.
"Worthless trash." Zhao Qian's voice dripped malice. "I don't even need to touch you to make you kneel."
The pressure intensified. Xiao Ye's knees buckled, bones creaking. Yet he roared defiance: "Today… you're stronger… But one day… I'll return this humiliation… tenfold!"
Zhao Qian threw back his head in laughter. "You? A dirt-eating worm? You'll *never* reach my—"
"Enough!" Liu Yiyi interjected, though her eyes held no warmth as she turned to Xiao Ye. "Childhood promises mean nothing now. The Chongyang trials? You'll fail. We inhabit different worlds."
Her words were winter frost. Xiao Ye's heart fissured. This wasn't the girl who'd shared stolen sweets under moonlit roofs.
Liu Yiyi produced another box. "A Meridian Restoration Pill for your father. Take it… and disappear from my life."
Xiao Ye froze. The cure he'd dreamed of lay within reach—if he swallowed his pride.
"We. Don't. Want. It."
All turned as Xiao Yang limped forward, his frail frame shielding his son. "You forget, girl—you were once 'vermin' too."
Liu Yiyi flinched. The villagers' once-fond gazes had turned to ice.
"So be it." She spun on her heel, Zhao Qian trailing like a scornful shadow.
Xiao Ye fell to his knees before his father. "I'll join Chongyang. I'll get that pill myself. I swear it!"
Xiao Yang's calloused hand gripped his shoulder. "I know. My son bows to no one."
As warmth flooded Xiao Ye's chest, a gruff voice shattered the moment: "Now—about dividing those Body Refining Pills…"
Xiao Teng's father, leader of the hunters, stepped forward, hunger glinting in his eyes. The village's fragile unity fractured like thin ice.