"Murong..." Xu Yan looked at Murong Hai and thought of Murong Yue, who had tried to capture Su Jiuer. He tightened his arms around Su Jiuer and asked, "Do you know Murong Yue?"
He noticed that Murong Hai and Murong Yue looked a little alike, and they shared the same surname, so he asked.
Murong Hai's heart clenched when he heard Xu Yan's question. "Murong Yue is my daughter. May I ask whether she has offended you in some way, Senior Xu?"
As he spoke, he glanced at Su Jiuer in Xu Yan's arms, feeling deeply uneasy.
When Murong Yue returned that time and persuaded the Murong Family to refuse the Demon Tiger Clan's commission, the Murong Family had learned that Xu Yan was the hidden master behind the Tianren Sect.
He had held back from coming over to greet Xu Yan because of the matter with Su Jiuer. Now he bitterly regretted accepting the Demon Tiger Clan's commission to capture her. It had led to a small unpleasantness with Xu Yan.
Murong Yue hadn't come this time because she was at home comprehending the Dao intent she had sensed while playing chess with Xu Yan.
If she had been here, she wouldn't have been so terrified in front of Xu Yan.
Xu Yan's gaze turned cold in an instant, and the smile vanished from his face. "Murong Yue has had designs on my pet more than once. If you like foxes, just go buy one. Why resort to stealing someone else's pet?"
He had to make the matter clear, lest Murong Yue keep coming up with ways to take Su Jiuer.
Besides, Qin Tian and Qin Yudie were here now. They could at least help lend him some authority.
Murong Hai's voice trembled. "Senior Xu, that was only a misunderstanding. The Murong Family would never dare lay a hand on your pet."
He couldn't sense even a trace of Spiritual Power from the man before him. Clearly, Xu Yan was unfathomably powerful—a true hidden master.
If they angered a hidden master, the Murong Family would be finished.
Seeing that Murong Hai seemed sincerely contrite, Xu Yan softened his tone. "If that's really the case, then good. Stealing someone else's pet is wrong. After all, to many people, a pet is family. Do you understand?"
He discovered that lecturing cultivators felt damn good, especially when they didn't talk back.
In all of Tianren City, what other mortal could lecture cultivators? Who else but him?
Murong Hai saw that Xu Yan didn't seem intent on pursuing the matter and finally began to relax. "Senior Xu's rebuke is absolutely right. I, Murong Hai, will remember your words."
He would never again casually accept a commission from the Demon Race. For the sake of a Spirit Refining Grade Treasure—and in the end, he hadn't even obtained it—he had nearly plunged the Murong Family into eternal ruin. The price had been too high.
Xu Yan nodded. "It's good that you've recognized your mistake. To mend your ways after realizing you were wrong is the greatest virtue."
Only now had he fully resolved the matter of Murong Yue setting her sights on Su Jiuer. The knot in his heart loosened with it.
Qiang Di's gaze flickered. Seeing the leaders of the major powers in the Southern Domain behaving so respectfully before Xu Yan, he realized that Xu Yan must be the hidden master of Tianren City.
He just didn't know how powerful this hidden master really was. With a heart full of speculation, he stepped forward and bowed to Xu Yan. "Senior Xu, I'm Qiang Di, a disciple of the Dao Palace."
He couldn't see Xu Yan's true cultivation, so he had no way of judging his realm. But Xu Yan was surely stronger than the so-called great figures of the Southern Domain.
Perhaps he was about as powerful as the great figures of their Dao Palace, he thought.
"A Dao Palace disciple?" Xu Yan had never heard of the Dao Palace, but as soon as he heard the word "disciple," he knew Qiang Di was just a minor cultivator, not even out on his own yet.
Since the young man had taken the initiative to come greet him, Xu Yan offered him some encouragement. "It's all right. Keep working hard, and you'll definitely be able to leave that disciple status behind."
Qiang Di was stunned by Xu Yan's words. He had actually told him to leave his status as a disciple behind as soon as possible.
How terrifying!
He realized Xu Yan was even stronger than he had imagined. The man treated the Dao Palace as nothing, seeing the status of a Dao Palace disciple not as an honor, but as a burden that lowered his standing.
Qiang Di drew a deep breath and spoke in a loud voice. "Thank you for your advice, Senior Xu. I, Qiang Di, will certainly work hard in my cultivation."
Behind him, Yun Yao and the other Dao Palace disciples saw how respectfully Qiang Di treated this man and realized they had truly encountered an extraordinary hidden master.
The Dao Palace disciples all bowed together and spoke respectfully. "Dao Palace disciples greet Senior Xu!"
Xu Yan was startled by the grand display from Yun Yao and the others. Why was each bow bigger than the last?
He hurriedly said, "There's no need to bow. You're all Dao Palace disciples too... so keep working hard together."
These cultivators were more polite to him than the last, making him feel a little embarrassed.
Fortunately, those gathered outside were all disciples from various powers. The ordinary people who knew Xu Yan couldn't get inside; otherwise, they would have been shocked out of their wits to see a group of cultivators treating him with such respect.
Yun Yao and the others straightened up. "We'll remember your words, senior."
They felt lucky to have come across a hidden master while traveling in the Southern Domain—and one who encouraged them despite having never met them before.
It was a rare stroke of fortune. They were convinced that great luck was on their side, and their confidence in their future cultivation soared.
After greeting the others, Xu Yan turned his gaze back to the chess game inside the formation.
He hesitated, then asked Qin Tian and the others, "Old Mr. Qin and all my friends, may I play a game of chess?"
He meant to ask whether a mortal like him could take part.
But Qin Tian and the others clearly understood him differently. They thought Xu Yan had watched them fail to break the formation for long enough and was about to step in himself.
"Please do, Senior Xu!"
Qin Tian and the other leaders of the major powers in the Southern Domain were all beside themselves with excitement. They would finally get to see the hidden master Xu Yan make his move.
Some of them had still harbored the slightest uncertainty about Xu Yan being a hidden master, and now their anticipation only grew. Faced with the formation left behind by the Chess Saint, they would be able to see whether Xu Yan truly was one.
Xu Yan walked up to the half-real, half-illusory chessboard and looked at the formation's avatar across from him, finding it rather fascinating.
Still, chess was what interested him most.
Since those cultivators had all lost to the formation's avatar, it had to be incredibly strong. That made him look forward to the game too.
He said impatiently, "You go first."
When Qin Tian and the others saw Xu Yan let the formation's avatar move first, they admired him all the more.
That was the confidence and poise of a master!
The formation's avatar understood Xu Yan and immediately placed a piece without the slightest hesitation.
It wasn't going to hold back. It only needed to follow the rules.
Xu Yan wasn't about to back down either. He began making his moves.
Yet after fifteen turns, the winner was already decided.
Before you continue