Chapter 77: The Broken Engagement That Shook Blackstone City
The Broken Engagement That Shook Blackstone City
Austin Salvatore’s face was carved with defiance.
It was the expression of someone who had been pushed to the edge yet refused to bow.
Fury blazed beneath his jet-black eyes like dark flames, burning brighter with every insult thrown his way. Although his cultivation had fallen to the Mortal Forging Realm, the pride in his heart remained unbroken.
The entire main hall of the Blackstone City Salvatore Family had fallen deathly silent.
Not because peace reigned...
But because everyone was holding back the rage boiling inside them.
Across the hall sat Nellie Whitecliff.
She leaned lazily against her chair, crossing one elegant leg over the other as though she were visiting a servant’s residence instead of another great family’s ancestral hall.
Her beautiful face carried nothing but cold indifference.
Her crimson lips curled into a faint smile of contempt as her eyes wandered around the hall.
Disdain.
Mockery.
Superiority.
She didn’t even bother hiding them.
To her...
The Salvatore Family no longer deserved her attention.
Behind her stood several servants dressed in luxurious robes. Every one of them held their heads high, looking down upon everyone present.
Even the way they breathed seemed arrogant.
The surrounding Salvatore clansmen clenched their fists until their knuckles turned white.
Their eyes were bloodshot.
Some elders trembled with anger.
Young disciples gritted their teeth so hard that faint cracking sounds echoed inside the silent hall.
Yet...
No one dared step forward.
Not because they lacked courage.
But because everyone understood the terrifying force backing the Whitecliff Family.
The Crimson Abyss Sect.
That single name was enough to suffocate an entire city.
One of the servant women stepped forward.
She looked Austin up and down before letting out a sharp, mocking laugh.
"Hmph! Austin Salvatore!"
"Look at yourself."
"What have you become?"
Her voice grew even sharper.
"A mountain pheasant dreaming of flying beside a phoenix?"
"My young mistress is now a true disciple of the Crimson Abyss Sect."
"She has earned the favor of the Sect Master himself."
She deliberately paused before sneering again.
"For my young mistress to personally dissolve your engagement..."
"...is already an honor beyond anything you deserve."
Every word struck like a slap.
She wasn’t merely humiliating Austin.
She was trampling the dignity of the entire Salvatore Family beneath her feet.
With a casual flick of her wrist...
A crimson marriage contract landed on the polished stone floor.
The paper slid across the ground before stopping directly in front of Austin’s feet.
Silence.
An oppressive silence.
Nellie finally lifted her beautiful eyes toward Austin.
Her gaze contained neither hatred nor affection.
Only indifference.
"You and I..."
"...are no longer people who belong to the same world."
Her voice was calm.
As though stating an undeniable truth.
Around the hall, the murderous intent in the Salvatore clansmen’s eyes nearly became tangible.
If looks alone could kill...
The Whitecliff delegation would have died a thousand times over.
But reality was cruel.
Power determined truth.
Strength determined justice.
At this moment...
The Blackstone City Salvatore Family simply wasn’t powerful enough.
Nellie slowly rose from her chair.
Her expensive robes fluttered gently as she walked a few steps forward before stopping less than three meters from Austin.
"You already know why I’ve come."
"So..."
"Accept it."
"And let this matter end here."
For a brief moment...
No one spoke.
Austin slowly lowered his head.
His fists trembled violently.
Drops of fresh blood slowly fell from between his fingers where his nails had pierced his palms.
Then—
He laughed.
"Hahaha..."
The laughter started quietly.
Before growing louder.
Louder still.
Until it echoed throughout the entire ancestral hall.
"HAHAHAHA!!"
"What a wonderful..."
"’Not people of the same world.’"
His head slowly lifted.
The fury burning inside his eyes no longer resembled ordinary anger.
It was like a volcano waiting to erupt.
"What a wonderful Whitecliff Family."
"What a wonderful Nellie Whitecliff."
He took one steady step forward.
The entire hall seemed to grow colder.
"Hmph."
An old snort suddenly echoed.
Sitting calmly beside Nellie was an elderly man dressed entirely in black robes.
His eyes slowly opened.
Within them flickered unconcealed contempt.
Without even moving...
An overwhelming pressure descended.
Boom!
Austin felt as though an enormous mountain had crashed onto his shoulders.
His knees bent.
His bones creaked.
The floor beneath his feet cracked apart inch by inch.
Blood instantly trickled from the corners of his mouth.
Yet...
He refused to kneel.
His trembling legs slowly straightened once more.
His spine remained perfectly upright.
Like an immortal spear refusing to bow before heaven itself.
The black-robed elder raised an eyebrow with mild surprise.
"Interesting..."
His voice was old and hoarse.
"I’ve heard your story."
His cold gaze swept across Austin.
"At fifteen..."
"You entered the Mortal Forging Realm."
"At sixteen..."
"You stepped into the Spiritual Awakening Realm."
"At seventeen..."
"You reached the Great Perfection of the Spiritual Awakening Realm."
"For a time..."
"Your talent astonished countless sects throughout the surrounding region."
He paused.
Then his lips curved into a cruel smile.
"But heaven is fair."
"When you reached eighteen..."
"You fell."
"Your cultivation scattered."
"Your future disappeared."
"A genius..."
"...became trash."
The elder slowly stood.
His terrifying aura gradually spread throughout the ancestral hall.
"Still..."
"For someone at the Third Level of the Mortal Forging Realm to remain standing beneath my pressure..."
"...you truly deserved the title of genius."
His expression immediately turned cold.
"But..."
"A fallen genius..."
"...is no different from a stray dog."
His cultivation exploded outward without the slightest restraint.
Boom!
The terrifying aura of a Great Perfection Celestial Gate Realm expert swept across the hall like an invisible tsunami.
The air became heavy.
Every Salvatore clansman felt an unbearable weight pressing upon their bodies.
Even breathing became difficult.
Several younger disciples collapsed to one knee.
The wooden tables shattered.
Tea cups exploded into powder.
The elder looked down upon everyone present as though looking at insects.
"Accept the divorce papers."
"Then crawl back into your hole."
"Whimper."
"Lick your wounds."
"Do whatever miserable dogs do."
"Waste families should know their place."
His contempt echoed throughout the ancestral hall.
And not a single member of the Blackstone City Salvatore Family possessed the strength to refute him.
(To be continued in Part 2.)