After bidding her farewell, Ye Fei set off alone once more.
Of course, before departing this time, he first changed into clothing fitting the characteristics of the desolate region's attire.
Only then did he head towards the Shangguan family's residence.
Ye Fei spent a full day traveling from the edge of the desolate region to the city center.
The city center here was also quite bustling, with a distinct exotic flair, vastly different from the urban styles Ye Fei was accustomed to.
On both sides of the city center streets, numerous shops were lined up, primarily selling weapons, elixirs, and various materials.
The people here were all dressed like martial artists.
Ye Fei observed with interest until the sky began to darken, then finally made his way to the Shangguan family's mansion.
The Shangguan family mansion was located in the central area of the entire desolate region, with the residences of the four great families also situated nearby.
Naturally, the mansions of the four great families were located in the most core area of the inner city.
"This is it, no doubt!"
Ye Fei muttered a few words and finally saw a plaque bearing the inscription "Shangguan Manor" hanging high above the doorframe, complementing the grand entrance and exuding a sense of value.
Knock, knock, knock.
Ye Fei then knocked on the door, and a gruff voice replied from within.
"Coming!"
The door slowly opened to reveal a man in brocade robes, around fifty years old, flanked by two guards exuding a murderous aura, clearly men who had seen battle. They fixed their gaze on Ye Fei.
The man in brocade robes was the Shangguan family's butler.
"Sir, whom are you looking for?"
Upon seeing a young man he had never met, the butler asked courteously.
"Hello, I'm here to break off the engagement with the Shangguan family!"
"This is my engagement annulment letter!"
Ye Fei directly took out a marriage contract from his Qiankun bag and handed it to the butler.
"What, an engagement annulment letter?"
The butler, confused, took it and unrolled it to read.
After reading just a few words, he could no longer control his expression.
"Sir, please come in!"
"The family head is currently in the reception hall. This way!"
The butler naturally recognized his master's handwriting, and the private seal on it could not be faked.
As soon as Ye Fei entered the Shangguan family mansion, he found it to be a world of its own.
Brocade pavilions, flowing water, luxurious decorations – a truly beautiful scene.
Passing through layers of verandas and pavilions, they finally arrived at a reception hall.
In the center of the reception hall sat an elder, around seventy years old, with slightly graying hair and a beard.
The butler then whispered a few words into the elder's ear.
The elder, who had been about to write, immediately put down his brush and shot a sharp gaze at Ye Fei.
Who was Ye Fei?
How could he be intimidated by a mere glance?
"I say, old sir, are you done staring?"
Seeing the elder's gaze lingering on him, Ye Fei frowned.
"Good, good lad, truly a disciple of Qingyi Daoist!"
"How is your master these days?"
This elder was none other than the current Shangguan family head, Shangguan Hong.
"Thank you for your concern, my master is well. He has gone to travel the world again."
Ye Fei replied politely.
"I heard you are here today to break off the engagement?"
Shangguan Hong asked, instructing the butler to serve hot tea.
"Indeed, I traveled thousands of miles to be here, and it is indeed to break off the engagement."
"This era is different from the past, so let's not engage in those old practices of betrothal through finger-pointing!"
"Don't you agree?"
"Moreover, can you truly bear to marry your granddaughter to a man with such low martial power as myself?"
Ye Fei belittled himself.
Shangguan Hong could clearly see Ye Fei's cultivation level, indeed just a fledgling at the early stage of Qi Refining First Layer.
However, years ago, he had consulted a highly skilled master who had never been wrong, to divine the fate of the Shangguan family. The divination indicated a great calamity for the Shangguan family.
Only if Qingyi Daoist's disciple married his direct granddaughter could this disaster be averted.
More importantly, with Qingyi Daoist's disciple present, his Shangguan family could advance further and become the leader among the four great families.
This was an enormous temptation for him.
Of course, what was more important was his concern for the Shangguan family's calamity. If Ye Fei did not come, he would have had to find Qingyi Daoist himself to fulfill the agreement.
"Xiao Feng, isn't it? Don't be anxious, old man. I genuinely forgot where I put that marriage contract."
"How about this, why don't you stay at the manor for now? My two sons will both be back tonight, and I can introduce you to them properly."
"What do you say?"
Shangguan Hong said with a smile.
Ye Fei saw the old fox-like smile on Shangguan Hong's face, but he was helpless at the moment. He couldn't force him to return the marriage contract, could he?
Furthermore, given the current situation, he was clearly no match for him!
It seemed he had to rapidly improve his strength during this period.
"Alright, then I will leave when you find the marriage contract."
"Apologies for the intrusion."
Ye Fei cupped his fists.
"Good, good, good. Just stay with us with peace of mind!"
"I'll have the butler escort you down to rest."
Shangguan Hong then gave further instructions, and the butler led Ye Fei away to rest.
Following the family head's orders, the butler directly arranged Ye Fei's room next to his eldest granddaughter, Shangguan Xue'er.
This would also facilitate them getting to know each other.
"Mr. Ye, this is your room. If there's anything you're not satisfied with, please feel free to mention it!"
The butler said respectfully.
Ye Fei took a careful look at the room and found it exquisitely decorated, very spacious, and it even had a sizeable study outside.
This perfectly met Ye Fei's needs.
"No need, it's very good, I'm very satisfied."
Ye Fei nodded.
After confirming that Ye Fei had no reservations, the butler finally withdrew, thoughtfully closing the door for Ye Fei.
As soon as Ye Fei entered the Shangguan family mansion, he noticed that the concentration of spiritual energy here was five times greater than outside.
Naturally, cultivating here would yield twice the results with half the effort.
Ye Fei seized the opportunity, sat down on the floor, and began to cultivate.
The cultivation techniques from the brocade pouch had all been imprinted in Ye Fei's mind.
Ye Fei mobilized all his vital energy towards his dantian.
This was also to thoroughly cleanse the turbid energy in his dantian, which would better aid in the absorption of vital energy.
As time passed, Ye Fei had washed his dantian several times. During this process, he directly broke through to the middle stage of the First Layer of Qi Refining.
The speed was truly astonishing. One must remember that this was Ye Fei's first day of cultivation.
If others knew, they would surely exclaim him to be a genius among geniuses!
Whoosh.
After finishing this session of cultivation, Ye Fei finally came to his senses.
He stretched his joints and found his body felt lighter.
"Not bad, not bad. So cultivating has such benefits!"
"It feels so comfortable, simply refreshing!"
Ye Fei took a few deep breaths and couldn't help but marvel.
Just as he finished cultivating and was about to enjoy a good night's sleep, he suddenly heard footsteps outside.
Accompanying the footsteps were the voices of two women conversing.