When his gaze fell upon Lan Xueyi, his eyes lit up.
She was tall, at least 1.67 meters, with a proud chest and slender, long legs. Her figure was beyond reproach, every curve perfectly placed.
Bright eyes, white teeth, and hair as dark as clouds, complemented by the snow-white gauze dress she wore, made her appear pure as ice and exquisitely beautiful, an unparalleled beauty.
What a stunning, peerless beauty.
Could this be my wife in this life?
She was no less impressive than the celestial maidens and divine goddesses of my previous life.
As Ling Fan appraised Lan Xueyi, she also cast a glance at him.
In fact, after Ling Fan tidied himself up, his features were quite refined.
And he was now wearing simple but clean linen clothes, his hair neatly tied back, giving him a refreshing and clean appearance, a stark contrast to the dissolute, worldly fellow he used to be.
But this good impression lasted only a moment.
Seeing Ling Fan’s bold and unrestrained gaze, he was still that same dissolute rogue, wasn't he?
Lan Xueyi's delicate jade nose twitched slightly.
Even the slightest good feeling that had arisen was shattered.
Seeing her expression, one could understand what was meant by "sorrow greater than death."
Clearly, she held no expectations for Ling Fan.
Her mother and younger brother, seeing Ling Fan staring so boldly at Lan Xueyi, assumed he had been overcome by lust again and were filled with indignation!
Especially his mother-in-law, who rolled up her sleeves, hands on her hips, looking ready to confront Ling Fan and settle accounts.
Ling Fan, however, paid their anger no mind.
Seeing the dishes on the table still steaming, he felt a pang of hunger and sat down with great composure to eat.
The Ling Fan of the past might have feared this fierce mother-in-law.
But he was the dignified Azure Cloud Emperor; he feared no demons or ghosts, so why would he fear a tigress?
This caught his mother-in-law and brother-in-law by surprise.
What was this? The denunciation hadn't even begun, and he had the nerve to start eating!
"You beastly wretch, you committed such a heinous and absurd act, and you still have the face to eat? Hurry up and confess honestly!"
His mother-in-law was furious beyond measure. She slammed the table and pointed at Ling Fan's nose, cursing him vehemently.
His brother-in-law also clenched his fists, looking as if he couldn't wait to beat Ling Fan to death.
Ling Fan said calmly, "If you didn't want me to eat it, why put it here? It's a waste not to eat it! Also, what do you want me to confess? Don't you already know everything? You mean I went to a brothel on my wedding night and set it on fire? What's the big deal."
Ling Fan's reaction was far beyond their expectations.
In their eyes, after causing such a great disaster, Ling Fan should have immediately knelt down, wept, and sworn to beg for their forgiveness.
Why did he seem like nothing had happened?
If this was a trivial matter in his eyes, then what would be considered a major event?
His mother-in-law trembled with anger, saying, "Husband, look at the scoundrel you've adopted. Does he have any remorse at all! In my opinion, he's beyond saving. We should divorce him and kick him out as soon as possible, lest he tarnish our Lan family's reputation!"
His father-in-law, Lan Tianxiong, rebuked with a cold face, "What does a woman know? Be quiet! You are not allowed to say such things again. If it weren't for the Ling family's support in the past, our Lan family wouldn't be where it is today. No matter how difficult it gets for me, Lan Tianxiong, I cannot be such an ungrateful wretch!"
Ling Fan couldn't help but look at Lan Tianxiong with a serious expression.
His father-in-law was indeed a man of loyalty and righteousness.
He suited Ling Fan's taste!
Since Lan Tianxiong treated him this way, Ling Fan had to show some reciprocation.
The Azure Cloud Emperor had always been a person who repaid kindness and avenged every grievance.
He said, "Father-in-law, Mother-in-law, please rest assured. I, Ling, will take responsibility for my actions. I will compensate the Lan family for their losses twice over."
Lan Tianxiong saw that Ling Fan was speaking very seriously. Although he didn't know if Ling Fan was acting, he felt a little relieved and nodded with a sigh.
However, he didn't take Ling Fan's words to heart.
With Ling Fan's current capabilities, what losses could he possibly compensate?
Alas, don't expect anything!
Usually, the higher the expectation, the greater the disappointment.
Hadn't Ling Fan disappointed them enough over the years?
Lan Tianxiong gave Ling Fan some face, but his younger brother, Lan Junjie, didn't care about such niceties.
He sneered at his good-for-nothing brother-in-law and taunted, "You talk big without any ability! Have some shame. If you had the ability to compensate for our Lan family's losses, I, Lan Junjie, would even carry your shoes for you, but do you deserve it?!"
Actually, he didn't have much of an opinion about taking Ling Fan in, as the Ling family had been kind to their Lan family in the past, and they couldn't be ungrateful.
However, he strongly opposed marrying his sister to this good-for-nothing Ling Fan.
This was because he had a deep affection for his sister and couldn't bear to see her ruined by this piece of dung like Ling Fan.
Lan Junjie became more agitated as he spoke, finally speaking his mind, "I ask you, can you please stop freeloading at our Lan family's place? I'm begging you, don't ruin my sister's prime years, alright! Look at yourself in the mirror, do you think you're worthy of my sister? Hmph, a toad wanting to eat swan meat!"
"You scoundrel! How dare you speak to your brother-in-law like that," Lan Tianxiong said angrily, puffing out his beard.
"Xiao Fan, you go back first. I'm telling you, if you still can't open your meridians and become a martial artist this time, you're not taking a single step out of this house!"
Lan Tianxiong said to Ling Fan.
This time, he was determined to discipline Ling Fan into a proper person and not let him act recklessly anymore.
"I'm telling the truth, the absolute truth. Father, why are you protecting this good-for-nothing? Is he your son or am I?"
Lan Junjie stomped his feet resentfully and turned to leave.
Lan Tianxiong's chest heaved with anger.
Lan Xueyi, hearing her brother's words, swept a glance of dimness over Ling Fan, her eyes cold and devoid of warmth, and turned to leave.
This gaze stirred Ling Fan slightly. He could feel the deep disappointment and sorrow emanating from it.
It seemed Lan Xueyi wasn't rejecting Ling Fan from the very beginning.
Perhaps at some point in the past, she had held some hope for Ling Fan, but repeated disappointments had completely numbed her heart.
Ling Fan remained calm, letting Lan Xueyi leave in disappointment.
He made no attempt to do anything to ease the relationship between them.
He had no habit of explaining himself to others.
He would certainly not lower himself to beg for their forgiveness or ask for another chance to prove himself.
He was the Azure Cloud Emperor!
How could he do such a demeaning thing?
Returning to his residence, Ling Fan intended to ask the Lan family servants to clean his room.
However, no one paid him any attention.
Not being verbally abused was already considered good manners.
With no other choice, Ling Fan had to do it himself.
"I'm really unpopular, huh? Everywhere I go, I'm spat upon, hehe."
It took him a good while to finally manage to tidy up the room to a presentable state, finally having a place to sit.
"Let's begin cultivating!"
Ling Fan exhaled a long breath with a complex expression.
Although his Heavenly Venerate cultivation from his previous life was destroyed, he had gained an invaluable opportunity to cultivate anew.
There were gains and losses.
In his previous life, his cultivation talent was unparalleled. He entered the Heavenly Origin realm at eighteen, achieved the Great Perfection of the Golden Core realm at twenty, and became the youngest Nirvana realm Heavenly Venerate in less than a hundred years.
It could be said that he advanced by leaps and bounds, breaking countless cultivation records across the Ten Great Heavenly Realms.
However, cultivating too quickly also led to some hidden dangers, with an imperfect foundation, which ultimately caused him to be stuck at the Divine Transformation bottleneck for nearly a hundred years!
Now that he could start over, even though the talent of this body was far inferior to his previous one, he was still confident in eliminating all those flaws and hidden dangers, building a perfect foundation for godhood.
This was because he possessed the experience of a lifetime as an Emperor, which was his greatest reliance.
"However, the spiritual energy concentration in this lower realm is too thin."
Ling Fan tried to circulate his previous life's cultivation technique but found it completely unworkable.
Cultivation techniques and martial skills were divided into four grades: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow.
Almost all the techniques and skills he cultivated in his previous life were Heaven-grade, each requiring a massive amount of spiritual energy to support.
It was fine to cultivate in the spiritual energy-rich environment of the Heavenly Realm, but in the lower realm, he could only stare helplessly.
After some thought, Ling Fan quickly found a cultivation technique.
The Five Elements Meridian Opening Art!
The grade of this meridian opening art was only Earth-grade.
It was not as good as Heaven-grade but better than Yellow-grade. In this lower realm, an Earth-grade cultivation technique could absolutely be considered top-tier.
Moreover, the Five Elements Meridian Opening Art was somewhat special.
Although not comparable to Heaven-grade, it should not be underestimated. Its cultivation difficulty was even greater.
As the name suggests, the Five Elements Meridian Opening Art required opening twelve meridians for each of the five elements: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. In other words, a total of sixty meridians needed to be opened.
Not only did the number of meridians to be opened far exceed ordinary meridian opening arts, but the most difficult part was the final step.
Unifying the five elements and re-forming them into twelve five-element meridians.
Once successfully cultivated, the effect would be comparable to a Heaven-grade meridian opening art.
Ling Fan tried it, but the cultivation was still very strenuous.
He could only barely circulate it.
"It seems I need to find some treasures like spirit stones to assist my cultivation..."
"If all else fails, I'll have to trouble Lan Tianxiong again. Who else is he if not my father-in-law..."
Just as Ling Fan was thinking this, his body suddenly emitted light, and an ancient and majestic bronze immortal cauldron flew out of his body.