In Ning Hill Town, at the heart of Fengling City, before the main hall in the courtyard of the Ling household,

The early morning sun shone into the yard, reflecting a dazzling white light.

Gu Haoxuan knelt on the icy stone steps before the Palace, his face devoid of any expression. Although kneeling, his spine was rigidly straight, his stare unfazed and straightforward.

"Gu Haoxuan, are you aware of your wrongdoing?"

A stern female voice came from the front.

"As a son-in-law of the Ling family, you commit such despicable acts!"

"Intruding into Snow Pride's boudoir, watching her change her clothes."

"We of the Ling family thought that although you are mediocre, you are at least a loyal and honest man. We never expected this, you've done something that provokes the anger of both men and gods!"

"Snow Pride, don't worry, your mother will definitely stand up for you!"

The low female voice was filled with endless anger.

A bitter feeling welled up in Gu Haoxuan's heart.

Since when a husband doesn't even have the right to enter his own wife's boudoir?

Seeing his wife changing her clothes has become a major sin?

Besides, the truth of the matter wasn't that way at all...

Gu Haoxuan gently lifted his head.

Looking forward.

Yue's mother-in-law, Ye Bijun, stood before the main hall. In her thirties, she remained breathtakingly beautiful, but her face was now icy cold.

After the death of her husband eight years ago, Ye Bijun had technically become the head of the Ling family. With her mid-phase Qihai cultivation, she held enough power to deter any lesser individuals in the small town of Ningshan, thus barely supporting the Ling family.

Beside Ye Bijun stood two young women, not quite twenty years old. They shared a striking resemblance to Ye Bijun, equally beautiful, apenas lacking the same mature charm.

On the face of one of them, seeing Gu Haoxuan, a mocking expression could be discerned.

"Hmph!"

"Dear mother, I've been saying it all along. Gu Haoxuan is nothing but a useless waste!"

"Without the Yan poison in Ling Aoxue requiring his 'Dragon Burial Blood' physique to suppress it, who would want to take in such a waste into our Ling family?"

"Dragon Burial Blood, ha!"

"Thinking it's from the ancient times, shocking the eight deserts and fighting against the nine heavens?"

"Now, it's nothing more than a waste that can't even open the 'Ming Sea'" and can't even cultivate normally!"

Spoke the young woman with the mocking face.

This was the eldest daughter of the Ling family, Gu Haoxuan's aunt by marriage, his wife Ling Aoxue's sister - Ling Yuemei.

"Enough."

"Yuemei, administer the family law!"

"Flog him thirty times!"

Words brimming with coldness flowed out of Ye Beijun's mouth.

Gu Haoxuan suddenly lifted his head, his gaze directed towards another girl standing beside Ye Beijun—

Ling Aoxue, his wife in name.

Her face was stunningly beautiful, devoid of any expression.

She didn't even spare a glance at Gu Haoxuan!

A trace of desolation emerged in Gu Haoxuan. Did he expect her to plead for him? One could only say he had been indulging in wishful thinking...

Smack!

In the hands of Ling Yuemei, a long whip had been swiftly drawn.

With a cold sneer, she brandished the whip fiercely!

Amidst the crisp snapping sound, the whip brutally lashed onto Gu Haoxuan's chest.

Gu Haoxuan's slender body trembled violently.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

Without waiting for any reaction from Gu Haoxuan, Ling Yuemei swung her whip mercilessly, lashing it relentlessly onto Gu Haoxuan.

"Serves you right for overestimating your abilities!"

"Remember your place!"

"How dare a toad like you covet a swan? Dare to peek at Ao Xue changing her clothes? You think a woman of the Ling family is someone a waste like you could aim for?"

Over a dozen lashes landed on Gu Haoxuan's body, turning his thin clothing into shreds. The robust whip left white streaks on his chest and arms, yet his skin wasn't broken.

Gu Haoxuan's upper body remained upright, without uttering a single word.

Seeing this, Ye Bijing's brows furrowed.

"Yue Mei, stop!" She commanded in a deep voice, "Fine, fine, I almost forgot, although your 'Dragon's-Burial Bloodline’ is a waste, unable to cultivate normally, your physical endurance is robust enough to be unaffected by whipping!”

"You are forcing me to do this myself!”

Boom!

Ye Bijing made a fierce move, quickly reaching Gu Haoxuan's side.

She threw a palm strike!

Bang!

The emptiness was filled with ripples!

Boom!

Her palm firmly landed on Gu Haoxuan's chest, the palm force directly piercing his viscera.

The massive force sent Gu Haoxuan flying backward. Mid-air he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, his ribs and sternum broken beyond count.

He thunderously fell to the ground behind him, nearly crushing the ground's bluestone bricks.

His sight grew dim, and Gu Haoxuan almost fainted.

The "Sea of Qi realm" martial artist's palm strike was anything but ordinary!

"Mother——"

Seeing Gu Haoxuan spit blood and fall backward, Ling Aoxue, who had always maintained an icy and silent face, changed her expression.

"Aoxue, rest assured, your mother will never let any despicable people harm you and your sister! Gu Haoxuan, he brought it upon himself!" Ye Bijun spoke, casting a cold glance at the blood-spitting Gu Haoxuan on the ground, "Drag this little beast away for me! Throw him into the woodshed!"

At her side, Ling Aoxue's mouth moved as if she wanted to say something, but eventually, she remained silent.

Inside the Ling family's dark and shabby woodshed.

"Cough cough cough……"

Awakening to a fit of violent coughs, Gu Haoxuan tried to reorder his thoughts. Any slight movement of his body brought a searing pain in his chest.

With gritted teeth, he managed to prop up his upper body and leaned against a pile of firewood. A bitter smile lingered on his lips.

"You clearly know that the truth isn't as it seems. Why wouldn't you help me say a word?"

"Thirteen years ago, in the snow-filled night, the kindhearted girl in white, can never come back......"

Soft murmurs emerged from Gu Haoxuan's lips.

Thirteen years ago, on a snow-filled night outside the Ning Shan town.

The raggedly dressed, thin little boy curled himself up, on the brink of freezing solid.

A little girl in white approached from a distance. She appeared to be a sprite from the snow lands.

"Big brother, are you very cold?"

"But Snow isn't cold at all. My mother said that ever since I was born, there has been a fire poison in my body that cannot be eradicated. So my mother named me 'Proud Snow', in the hopes that I can be as lofty as snow. When I grow up and become a practitioner, I can suppress the fire poison..."

The tiny girl gently embraced the freezing boy.

Warm breath drifted over to the boy as if it had instantly driven away the severe chill in his body.

"Snow..."

"Why are you running around again..."

A shout echoed from the distance.

"Big brother, Snow has to leave now. You have to be good!" The little girl gently stood up.

Just as the little girl rose...

The little boy extended his hand, presenting a curved moon-shaped, broken jade piece with ancient, heavy patterns to the little girl.

This was a jade piece he had unintentionally picked up.

The only valuable thing he had with him.

As one who is on the brink of death, why should I hold onto it... Consider it a thank you gift for her brief embrace, and the warmth it provided...

"Is this a gift from big brother to little Snow?" The little girl's eyes were clear.

"Thank you, big brother, Little Snow is leaving now!"

She waved and slowly walked away.

That very night—

The little boy did not freeze to death in the wilderness.

A middle-aged man passing by took him and gave him a name, Gu Haoxuan.

Several years later, Gu Haoxuan finally found out that his adoptive father was named "Gu Tianzheng"!

In the continent of Dragon Xuan, the Sky Martial God, Gu Tianzheng!

Thirteen years later—

"Young Master, before your father entered the ancient battlefield, he arranged seventeen marriages for you,including daughters of martial families, and descendants of the Phoenix race. Why would you go to the town of Ningshan in Fengling City and choose to become a humble son-in-law?"

"Youn Ji, I understand my father’s worries and intentions."

"I, with the dragon's blood, face hardships in my cultivation. My father arranged these marriages so I can choose at will to ensure my peace in the latter half of my life…”

"Just..."

"There are some things you don't understand."