Chapter 4: 004. Scumbag

004. Scum

The Haotian Continent is an existence where strength speaks. It consists of four nations, five major powers, and eight great clans.

The nation where Yun Qin resides is called the Canglan Kingdom. The Yun Clan belongs to the eight great clans, ranking last in terms of martial prowess.

On this continent, every child undergoes an elemental test at the Star-Plucking Tower when they reach the age of five.

Most elementalists on the Haotian Continent possess one or two elements; three-elementalists are extremely rare, let alone four or five-elementalists. Yet, back then, Yun Qin tested as having fire, wood, and water elements, earning her the reputation of a genius.

The Canglan Emperor, Cang Heng, had proactively proposed a marriage alliance to the Yun Clan, stating bluntly that his sons were available for the Yun Clan to choose from.

Yun Qin's father, Yun Jianyue, and mother, Xiao Ling, were deeply devoted to their daughter. Seeing the imperial family's immense sincerity, they discussed it with her grandfather, Yun Canghai, and felt that marrying into the imperial family would be a good destination for Yun Qin in the future. Thus, they selected the Seventh Prince, Cang Yun, who was exceptionally outstanding in all aspects at the time.

Yun Qin was as exquisite as a carved jade, clever and lovely; Cang Yun and his imperial mother were incredibly satisfied with her.

However, worldly affairs are unpredictable. When Yun Qin was eight years old, her dantian was destroyed by villains while she was out training with her brother, Yun Jingchen.

One must understand that the use of elements requires spiritual power for support, and the dantian is the place where spiritual power converges. In this world where strength is respected, having one's dantian destroyed is no different from being a useless person.

As a prince, how could Cang Yun marry a useless person as his consort?

But this marriage was something Cang Heng himself had begged for. Upon learning that Yun Qin had become a cripple, even if he was dissatisfied with the marriage, he could not easily speak up; after all, the entire people of Canglan were watching.

"You snatch her when she's a genius, but abandon her once she becomes trash"—the words were easy to say but hard to hear. Cang Heng could not afford to lose such face; at worst, he would just marry her to serve as a decoration.

Therefore, even if Cang Yun wanted to back out, it was not easy to do so.

Coincidentally, at this time, the second elder cousin Yun Mo demonstrated astonishing cultivation talent. Although she was only a water-elementalist, her cultivation speed was much faster than others. Now, at only fifteen years of age, she was already a Rank 5 elementalist.

Her brother, Yun Jingfeng, was nineteen and was only Rank 5 as well, which was enough to show that she was also a rare genius.

Thus, from that time onward, Cang Yun deliberately approached Yun Mo. The latter also valued his power, status, appearance, and cultivation talent. Through their interactions, the two became involved with one another.

Currently, Yun Mo was approaching her coming-of-age ceremony, which was the time for marriage proposals, but with Yun Qin acting as a beam between them, they could not sit still.

The two had tried to target Yun Qin many times, wanting to get rid of her as quickly as possible, but unfortunately, she rarely left her courtyard and was protected by Yun Han, who was sent by her grandfather, so they could never find an opportunity.

This time, Grandfather had entered seclusion to attempt to break through to the Saint Rank, giving Yun Mo an opportunity. How could she possibly let it pass?

"You trash, weren't you acting so arrogant just now? Why aren't you speaking?"

Yun Mo applied hidden pressure with her foot, causing Yun Qin to break into a cold sweat from the pain. However, being stubborn, she refused to make a sound despite the agony.

She had once been able to grit her teeth and endure being shot; what was this little bit of pain compared to that?

"What is there to say to you? A man as shameless and hypocritical as Cang Yun—if you want him so much, then take him. I, Yun Qin, have never once set my eyes on him."

A handsome man dressed in silver robes had just arrived at the courtyard entrance when he heard these words, and a massive fury rose upon his originally gentle face.

He took two quick strides into the courtyard and, after seeing their positions clearly, walked straight toward them.

Yun Jingfeng, who was traveling with him, hurriedly followed.

Hearing the sound, Yun Mo quietly withdrew the foot she was stepping on Yun Qin with and looked at them, asking tenderly, "A-Yun, Big Brother, why have you both come?"