Chapter 1

In Calebton, the capital of Zidonia…

"Hey, look! Isn't that Caleb Crawford?!"

"Whoa, it really is him!"

"He went missing a year ago, and his soul lamp went dark. The Crawford clan had been in an uproar because they all thought he was dead!"

"Exactly! I even heard that he ended up in Gehenna by mistake!"

"Oof! Gehenna?! That's supposed to be a place where all things go to die, and there's no escape!"

"Wait, then why is he here? Is he a ghost?!"

"No, he's not. And haven't you noticed? There's no Reiki in him at all. Could that mean he's lost his cultivation?!"

The countless students at Zoro Academy were in an uproar, gasping in shock as a tall, slender youth with a cool visage quietly entered.

And judging from his presence, he really had no detectable cultivation!

Soon after he showed up, news of his absent cultivation spread like wildfire and left the entire academy abuzz.

Everyone quickly rushed over for a look and saw that it really was Caleb as the rumors claimed.

He was the prodigy who had reached Ether in cultivation at only twenty, meaning that he already measured up to the clan elders who were a couple of centuries old.

The Lord of Zoronda even honored him with the alias Caleb, and his future was endlessly bright, eclipsing the rest of the young potentials across the nation.

But suddenly, he went missing for no reason, his soul lamp turning dark, and he was presumed to be dead.

And yet, he had now returned!

"A year… Or a hundred?" Caleb mused to himself as he continued inside the academy at a steady pace.

His gaze drifted quietly about, yet his eyes carried an ancient depth that did not belong to a man of only twenty-one.

That was when a tall, curvaceous girl appeared right in front of him.

Her face was breathtakingly beautiful, with every little gesture and facial expression capturing the soul.

Seeing her, Caleb made a beeline for her, while everyone around them grew restless.

"Isn't that Zoronda's most beautiful woman, Delilah Gosling? Tut, tut… Caleb's quite the Romeo, isn't he, coming straight to her as soon as he's back?"

"Of course! Back in the day, he had so many girls obsessing over him, but he was only loyal to Delilah, always doting on her and tending to her every need."

"I even heard that he had showered her with Nature's boon. He's really spoiled her rotten."

As everyone kept talking, Caleb had reached Delilah.

"C-Caleb… You're alive?" she blurted in surprise, a million different thoughts crossing her mind, and it showed on her face.

However, she soon sensed that Caleb had lost all his cultivation.

Disappointment and contempt showed in her eyes, followed by relief.

"Well, it's good to have you back. Even if you've lost your cultivation, I'm sure your clan will still regard you with importance, so you can lead a worry-free life as the heir to your clan."

Looking into Caleb's dark stellar eyes, she then continued, "But let's just go our separate ways. We're never getting back together."

"Oh, to think that the prodigy a year ago is now reduced to a loser! It's just so poetic!"

The girl beside Delilah, who was just as beautiful, laughed derisively then, disdain and glee clear in her eyes. "Delilah is now Earthen rank one. You don't deserve her anymore!"

It was Delilah's best friend, Susie Larkin.

"Stop it, Susie."

Delilah glanced at her, and then turned back to see that Caleb remained cool and quiet.

Still, she couldn't help putting up a lofty expression and leering at Caleb as if he were just an insect.

"Are you listening, Caleb?" she demanded. "Don't bother me ever again—there's nothing tying us together anymore. As for our engagement, it should've been annulled when your soul lamp darkened a year ago. But since you're back, we can have it formally annulled at my home."

With those words, she took Susie's hand, ready to turn and leave, refusing to look at Caleb twice now that he was a loser.

"Wait."

That was when Caleb finally broke his silence.

Susie wheeled on him right then, snapping haughtily at Caleb, "What? What else do you want?! Give up already—Delilah is now beyond your reach!"

Everyone was buzzing right then.

"Shit, I didn't think that Delilah was that cold. I mean, can't she at least let the man talk?"

"You don't get it, do you? I heard that one of the heirs from the Sanctuary's Big Four clans has taken a liking to her. It's only natural that she's seizing better prospects."

"Tut, tut. Well, that was unexpected! Back then, Caleb always did whatever she asked, like giving her herbs, pills, spirit stones, and enchanted weapons, just so that she could advance through the ranks in the academy."

"Tut, tut. Is this what they call being used like a tool?"

Delilah cringed under the voices around her, but she soon composed herself.

In this world, might made right!

And a man without might was nothing—there was no value in him for her to keep him around!

Even as the thought crossed his mind, Caleb's cool words rang in her ear. "Regarding the engagement you were talking about… I'll personally visit your clan in three days and annul it!"

"W-What?!" Delilah turned, taken aback and wondering for a moment if she had heard Caleb wrong.

In her mind, Caleb would cling to her as he always did in the past and not agree to it so calmly!

But even as she was left stunned, Caleb continued, "Actually, the reason I came to you first thing after I've returned isn't to recount the good old days. Instead, I'm here to take back the dimensional ring that I gave you previously."

As he spoke, his impassive gaze was trained on Delilah's swords and all the enchanted jewelry she wore, especially the black ring on her finger. It was the dimensional ring, which was the only thing his mother had left him.

"Now that our engagement is annulled, it's only natural that all the gifts given as part of the engagement should be returned. That includes the Sky-Grade Snow Maiden Sword, the Earth-Grade Snow Robe, the Vorpal Bangle, the Ice Soul Necklace…"

There was a deathly silence as Caleb listed every gift he had given Delilah.

Everyone's jaws were hanging open, their eyes wide in complete disbelief.

Nonetheless, Caleb kept going and only paused when he finished. "And there's also the three million spirit stones that I'd given your father as an early dowry. I hope he'll have it ready when I visit in three days!"

His expression serene, he then held out his palm. "Let's start with what you're wearing and my mother's dimensional ring. Please return them."

Everyone remained silent, watching the pair in shock.

Delilah's ample bosom was heaving as she glared at Caleb, rage flaring from her heart and spreading throughout the rest of her.

Inside, she was screaming.

Everything belonged to her!

He had given them to her, so they were now hers!

He had no right to take any of it back!

"Watch it, Caleb!" Susie snapped before Delilah could say a word. "Do you call yourself a man? You're taking back the things you've given? What a bitch!"

Caleb shot her a cold glance.

“This doesn’t concern you,” he said flatly. “Say another word, and I’ll make sure you never speak again.”