Pain and Happiness

Xu Yan found it somewhat unbelievable. Sitting on a chair beside him, he scooped Su Jiuer, who was on the table, into his arms.

Then, his gossipy soul ignited, and he asked, "You two don't have some unresolved karmic debt that's brought you together again, do you?"

"No, the green-haired turtle and I only have enmity. We've fought before, and not just once," the Golden Emperor Ant said plainly.

He no longer cared about what happened back then, especially since he had already sealed himself.

The green-haired turtle simply watched the Golden Emperor Ant, having no desire to speak at all.

In fact, he had discovered this Golden Emperor Ant fellow long ago.

"An ant fighting a turtle, I've never heard of such a thing," Xu Yan said with a laugh.

He couldn't imagine a scenario where an ant and a turtle would fight. Given the turtle's size, there was no way an ant could break through its defenses.

Furthermore, turtles and ants live in different environments. This green-haired turtle always stayed in its fish tank, so perhaps the ant went into the water to fight the green-haired turtle back then?

The Golden Emperor Ant looked at the silent green-haired turtle and said, "Master, you don't know, but this green-haired turtle offended many people back then. It was chased and beaten by countless people. If not for its hard shell, it would have been beaten to death long ago."

What he didn't say was that the green-haired turtle back then wasn't as lazy as it was now. It had immense ambition and had launched a massive war.

In that battle, he and the green-haired turtle were on opposing sides. They fought a great battle that shook the heavens and earth.

The so-called Saints were merely cannon fodder in that war.

"That's all in the past. You are partners now and cannot fight," Xu Yan said.

He wasn't worried about the Golden Emperor Ant and the green-haired turtle actually fighting. Looking at their current state, they couldn't possibly fight.

The Golden Emperor Ant said wistfully, "Now... we can't even muster the strength to fight."

The green-haired turtle's current appearance was clearly not the domineering state that once commanded mountains and rivers, and he himself was no longer the same.

Perhaps their cultivation back then was insufficient, which led them to compete fiercely.

A graceful figure quietly arrived at the entrance of the Small Shop. Looking at Xu Yan inside, she smiled and said, "Senior Xu, it's been a long time. Do you still remember me?"

The woman was exceptionally beautiful, her looks no less than Qin Yudie's, truly captivating.

However, Xu Yan didn't have a good impression of this woman. He replied coldly, "I don't remember. Who are you? Do you need to buy something?"

He certainly remembered this person. She had brought several people last time, intending to snatch the Little Fox, but for some reason, they left abruptly.

Now she was back again, and he couldn't help but hold Su Jiuer tighter.

He had been sleeping in the same bed with Su Jiuer these past few days and had already come to regard the Little Fox as his Family.

Of course, the green-haired turtle and the Golden Emperor Ant were also his Family.

Since he had no other Family, his Pets were not just Pets, but also his Family.

Murong Yue's face showed a wry smile, knowing that Xu Yan was unhappy because she had tried to take Su Jiuer away last time.

But at that time, how could she have known that Xu Yan was a reclusive expert? Later, after learning that Xu Yan was a reclusive expert, she returned to the Murong Family to explain the situation. Only then did the Murong Family refuse the commission from the Demon Tiger Clan.

Afterward, the Murong Family carefully analyzed Xu Yan's relationship with the Tianren Sect and confirmed that the painting that allowed Qin Tian to break through with just one glance was indeed created by Xu Yan.

Xu Yan was the reclusive expert behind the Tianren Sect!

It was precisely because they had latched onto a powerful figure like Xu Yan that the Tianren Sect could rise and become a true top-tier force in the Southern Domain.

After much deliberation, the Murong Family decided to have Murong Yue try to build a connection. After all, the information they had gathered indicated that Qin Yudie of the Tianren Sect had a close relationship with Xu Yan.

And Murong Yue's beauty was no less than Qin Yudie's. Perhaps she could follow the Tianren Sect's example and help the Murong Family establish a connection with this reclusive expert, Xu Yan.

Xu Yan looked as if Murong Yue owed him five million, his expression unfriendly. He said coldly, "Miss, if you have nothing else, please do not disturb my business."

He didn't want to see this person who had designs on the Little Fox. He suspected Murong Yue wanted to skin Su Jiuer to make a fox fur coat because Su Jiuer's fur was brighter than that of ordinary foxes.

It was too cruel. Such a malicious woman was a viper; he shouldn't interact with her too much.

Murong Yue had no idea she had already made such a bad impression on Xu Yan without doing anything. She braced herself and said, "Senior Xu, Murong Yue heard that you are very skilled at chess and would like to play a game with you."

This was valuable information about Xu Yan that she had painstakingly obtained from Mu'er, Qin Yudie's junior sister, and she planned to approach him from this angle.

Mu'er knew Xu Yan was good at chess because Qin Yudie would always tell Mu'er how amazing Senior Xu was after every game they played, to the point where Mu'er's ears were almost calloused from hearing it.

As the eldest daughter of the Murong Family, Murong Yue naturally knew outstanding young disciples of the Tianren Sect and had a decent relationship with Mu'er. It was only after paying a considerable price that she obtained this information.

Xu Yan raised an eyebrow slightly. Chess again?

First Qin Yudie, then Qin Tian, who often came to play chess and get beaten, and now another one?

Well, he couldn't hit people, so killing this woman's spirit on the chessboard would suffice.

Thinking this, Xu Yan smiled and said, "Alright, but I won't go easy on you just because you're a woman."

When he played chess with Qin Yudie, he had gone easy on her because she was a woman and her words were sweet, always calling him senior.

But when dealing with someone like Murong Yue, who had designs on Su Jiuer, he certainly wouldn't hold back. He had to let Murong Yue know the cruelty of the chessboard.

A quarter of an hour later, Murong Yue's face was somewhat pale, experiencing pain and pleasure simultaneously.

She never expected that Xu Yan's chess playing was actually a collision of Great Daos. As a result, she lost miserably every time, barely getting any opportunities to make a move.

However, the gains were also immense. Experiencing such an impact of Dao Intent allowed her to comprehend much.

BOOM!

When Murong Yue was once again cruelly defeated by Xu Yan, her Cultivation broke through, and she became a cultivator at the early stage of the Spiritual Roaming Realm.

She had been stuck at the peak of the Spiritual Consciousness Realm for a long time. She hadn't expected that a single trip to find Xu Yan and playing a quarter of an hour of chess would lead to a breakthrough.

Senior Xu is indeed a reclusive expert. Every move he made was a baptism of the Great Dao for her.

With the Tianren Sect having climbed onto the back of such a reclusive expert, how could they not rise?

And if their Murong Family seized the opportunity, they could also rise!

Xu Yan looked at Murong Yue, whose face was a mixture of pale and flushed, and said triumphantly, "How about it, Miss Murong, did you enjoy these games of chess?"

In just a quarter of an hour, he had played several games of chess with Murong Yue, and had also thoroughly thrashed her in several of them.