The Nalan clan sent their formal dissolution of engagement on the morning of the certification ceremony.

Xiao Yan had been expecting it for weeks. His cousin Xiao Ning had made sure to mention, with the practiced casual cruelty of teenage rivals, that Nalan Yanran had broken through to the Da Dou Shi level — the level she had given Xiao Yan three years to reach. She had done it in six months.

'A messenger from the Nalan clan,' his father said, holding the scroll as if it were a death sentence. 'They want to formalize the dissolution at the clan assembly next month. There will be witnesses from all twelve branch families.'

'So everyone can watch my humiliation,' Xiao Yan said. 'Generous of them.'

His father said nothing. There was nothing to say. The Xiao clan was weak, and the Nalan clan was strong. In this world, the strong broke what they wanted and the weak learned to smile through the pain.

After his father left, Xiao Yan didn't cultivate. He didn't brew pills. He sat in his chamber with his back against the cold wall and let himself feel the full weight of what was happening. He had been betrothed to Nalan Yanran since childhood, and even after her betrayal, some small part of him had believed — foolishly, childishly — that things could go back to how they were.

Yao Lao materialized beside him, unusually quiet. The old ghost had learned to recognize when Xiao Yan needed silence more than advice.

'The Da Dou Shi realm,' Xiao Yan said finally. 'She reached it in six months. I'm still stuck at the 7th Duan of Qi Refining. The three-year challenge was a joke.'

'It was,' Yao Lao agreed. 'But jokes can be turned against the teller.'

'How?'

'The challenge stipulated that if you face her in three years and win, the engagement stays. It didn't require you to fight fair. It didn't forbid alchemy. It didn't forbid heavenly flames, spirit pills, or any of the thousand ways an alchemist can strengthen himself beyond raw cultivation.'

Xiao Yan looked up. 'You're saying I could win?'

'I'm saying losing is only certain if you decide it is.'