Chapter 79: The Broken Engagement That Shook Blackstone City (Part 3)
The Broken Engagement That Shook Blackstone City (Part 3)
Austin watched the elderly clansman collapse to the floor.
For a heartbeat...
His mind went completely blank.
The elder had watched him grow up.
He had carried him on his shoulders when he was still a child.
He had proudly told everyone that Austin would one day become the greatest genius the Salvatore Family had ever produced.
And now...
That same elder lay unconscious on the cold stone floor because of him.
Because of this farce.
Because the Whitecliff Family had chosen today to trample the dignity of the Salvatore Family beneath their feet.
Austin’s fists clenched so tightly that fresh blood trickled between his fingers.
His entire body trembled violently.
Not from fear.
But from rage.
The pressure pressing down upon him grew heavier and heavier.
His bones groaned.
His muscles screamed.
Blood continued flowing from the corners of his lips.
Yet...
His back remained perfectly straight.
The black-robed elder narrowed his eyes.
"There is still some backbone."
"What a pity..."
"A backbone is worthless before absolute strength."
The elder slowly raised one hand.
The terrifying pressure increased once again.
Boom!
The stone floor beneath Austin’s feet shattered into countless cracks.
His knees trembled.
His vision blurred.
Even breathing became painful.
But no matter how great the pressure became...
He refused to kneel.
Inside the ancient ring...
Akeno watched everything unfold.
Her beautiful purple eyes were filled with helplessness.
Long black hair streaked with violet flowed gently behind her translucent figure.
She clenched her fists.
"If only..."
"If only my soul had recovered a little more..."
"I could protect him..."
The Purple Flame Empress closed her eyes briefly.
The guilt in her heart grew heavier.
Austin had lost everything because she had unconsciously absorbed his True Spiritual Power.
She had promised herself that she would help him reclaim everything.
Yet today...
She could only watch.
Outside...
The elder sneered.
"So stubborn."
"Very well."
"If you refuse to accept reality..."
"I’ll make you understand it."
His voice suddenly turned icy.
"Accept the divorce papers."
"Crawl back into your miserable life."
"And be grateful that Young Miss Nellie has shown mercy."
"The Salvatore Family..."
"...is nothing more than a group of insects."
Every word struck like a hammer.
The surrounding clansmen lowered their heads.
Some clenched their jaws until blood seeped from between their teeth.
Some silently wept.
Some stared at the floor, their hearts filled with humiliation.
Austin slowly lifted his head.
His bloodshot eyes locked onto Nellie Whitecliff.
There was no pleading.
No regret.
Only unwavering resolve.
He took one difficult step forward.
Then another.
Every movement felt like carrying an entire mountain upon his shoulders.
Blood dripped steadily onto the cracked stone floor.
Even so...
He continued walking until he stood before the torn marriage contract.
He slowly bent down.
Picked it up.
Held it tightly within both hands.
Then...
He raised his head toward Nellie.
His voice erupted like rolling thunder.
"Today you look down on me..."
"But one day..."
"You’ll discover that those you despised..."
"...have risen beyond your reach!"
His voice echoed throughout the ancestral hall.
Every member of the Salvatore Family looked toward him.
Their eyes widened.
Austin’s aura suddenly became incomparably sharp.
His determination pierced through every trace of humiliation.
Then he roared with every ounce of strength left inside him.
"TODAY..."
"IT IS NOT YOU WHO ABANDONS ME!"
"IT IS I..."
"AUSTIN SALVATORE..."
"...WHO CASTS YOU ASIDE!"
Rip!
The crimson marriage contract split apart beneath his hands.
One tear.
Then another.
Within moments...
The engagement contract had become countless fluttering fragments drifting through the air like crimson snow.
Silence.
Complete silence.
Even the black-robed elder was momentarily stunned.
Then...
His expression darkened.
A terrifying killing intent erupted from his body.
"IMPUDENT!"
"You insignificant ant!"
"Young Miss Nellie is a disciple of the Crimson Abyss Sect!"
"How dare you insult her!"
His voice shook the entire ancestral hall.
"So be it."
"If the Salvatore Family refuses to know its place..."
"...then today..."
"...THE ENTIRE SALVATORE FAMILY SHALL BE DESTROYED!"
Boom!!
His Great Perfection Celestial Gate Realm cultivation exploded without restraint.
An overwhelming torrent of True Spiritual Power swept through the hall.
The roof trembled.
Pillars cracked.
The weaker disciples collapsed to the floor one after another, unable to withstand the overwhelming pressure.
The family elders struggled to remain standing, their breathing growing heavier with every passing second.
Despair slowly spread across every face.
They all understood one thing.
Patriarch Magnus Salvatore had yet to return.
If he were here, perhaps the family would still have a chance...
But now...
The entire Blackstone City Salvatore Family stood alone against a Great Perfection Celestial Gate Realm expert.
Could this...
Really be the end of the Salvatore Family?
Austin gritted his teeth, his eyes blazing with unwillingness as he forced himself to remain standing beneath the crushing pressure.
His vision blurred.
His consciousness slowly faded beneath the overwhelming pressure.
Even Akeno’s beautiful face became filled with despair.
"I’m sorry..."
She whispered softly inside the ring.
"I still couldn’t protect you..."
Just as the elder’s attack was about to descend—
SHING!!
A dazzling sword light tore across the heavens.
It descended like divine judgment.
Its brilliance eclipsed everything.
Its Sword Intent split the elder’s overwhelming pressure apart as effortlessly as cutting through paper.
Boom!!
The terrifying aura filling the ancestral hall instantly collapsed.
The elder’s pupils shrank violently.
Before he could react—
The endless Sword Intent had already severed his True Spiritual Power.
A cold, domineering voice echoed from outside the Salvatore Family estate.
"Hmph..."
"Destroy my Salvatore Family..."
"...what arrogant words!!"
"Such arrogant words!"
"Destroy my Salvatore Family?? How dare you utter such nonsense!!"
A youthful voice echoed through the grand hall.
It sounded young—almost childish.
Yet the confidence hidden within those words was so overwhelming that everyone instinctively turned toward its source.
The instant the voice faded...
BOOM!!
An incomparably sharp Sword Intent erupted into existence.
It was like the unsheathing of a peerless divine sword.
The air trembled.