Ruan Tang pushed Xu Lai away and glared at him fiercely. "You flirtatious man!"
Then she turned and left.
A smile appeared on Xu Lai’s face. Were my words just now that indecent? All I said was, "I’ve hidden my feelings for you for quite some time." My dear wife is still a little too thin-skinned.
Xu Lai looked out the window at the mountains and the sea, then suddenly stomped his foot.
The mountain trembled, and the sea churned with raging waves. The source of thɪs content is novel⁂fire.net
As Xu Lai spoke the calm word, the endless Spiritual Energy between heaven and earth rapidly converged. Finally, a terrifying pressure began to take shape within the mountain range.
It was a figure that roamed within the darkness, at one moment plunging into the deep sea, at the next soaring high in the sky.
Upon closer inspection, it had the head of a camel, the antlers of a deer, the eyes of a rabbit, the ears of a cow, the neck of a snake, the belly of a mirage, the scales of a carp, the claws of an eagle, and the paws of a tiger.
It was none other than the legendary dragon!
"It’ll do," Xu Lai commented after a quick glance.
He had decided to stay at Haitang Court long-term, so he naturally needed a guardian beast. That single stomp had awakened the spirit of the mountain, causing it to manifest as a Divine Dragon.
Xu Yiyi’s voice came from upstairs, and Xu Lai quickly shouted, "I’m coming, I’m coming!"
At that moment, at the foot of the mountain, Tan Chang was rubbing his eyes vigorously.
What did he just see? That dark shadow flying in the sky looked exactly like the legendary dragon! But he couldn’t be sure if his eyes were playing tricks on him.
Lost in thought, Tan Chang felt Mount Haitang, which had previously possessed only a moderate concentration of Spiritual Energy, suddenly flood with an immense amount. The energy gathered from a radius of five miles, then ten... all the way to a hundred miles! The Spiritual Energy from the surrounding land—even from the vast, boundless sea—was converging on Mount Haitang. The sheer density of this Spiritual Power was so great that Tan Chang nearly bit his tongue off in shock.
Since when did Mount Haitang become a Spirit Vein?! A few days ago, I was at Shushan making a name for myself on the Sky Ranking, and even the Spiritual Energy there wasn’t as rich as this. Shushan is one of Hua Country’s ten great Spirit Veins, so what on earth is Mount Haitang in comparison?!
I get it now. Tan Chang’s eyes gleamed with insight. It is said that beyond the peak of the Ninth Grade, there is another Boundary known as the Divine Gate. In the last three hundred years of the Martial Dao, only one person has ever stepped into it, and only after that did Hua Country gain the Shushan Spirit Vein. A cultivator in the Divine Gate Realm can bless an entire region. No wonder Xu Lai had me buy Haitang Court! This was all part of the Flower Fairy’s plan!
The Flower Fairy... she’s terrifying! To think she would invest so much for her illegitimate son, Xu Lai! But wait, she hasn’t appeared at Haitang Court. Only Xu Lai is living here. This means she wants to give all the credit to him, to build his reputation! Based on my judgment, the Flower Fairy is planning to gradually bring Xu Lai into the public eye, and this Spirit Vein is the bait.
"Flower Fairy, I will make sure this news spreads across all of Hua Country," Tan Chang vowed, cupping his fist toward Mount Haitang.
On a small, remote island at the ends of the earth, a certain old woman in seclusion suddenly awoke.
Sitting in meditation within her secret chamber, she abruptly stood up. Her eyes, filled with a brilliant light, gazed toward the distant East Sea City.
"Spiritual Energy from thousands of miles is converging in one place. This aura... it’s the birth of a Spirit Vein! No... it’s a Dragon Vein, which is a level higher!"
The old woman was ecstatic. Has Hua Country finally acquired its fourth Dragon Vein? Wonderful, this is absolutely wonderful!
However, this Great Martial Sect did not know that she had personally forged this Dragon Vein. She was even less aware that the Martial Dao World had just been thrown into chaos.
Because she now had an illegitimate son.
If she knew, this woman, who valued her reputation above all else, would rather suffer the backlash of forcibly ending her seclusion—even if it meant a drop in her Boundary. She would personally travel to the East Sea to teach that person why the flowers are so red.
Mount Haitang has become a Spirit Vein!
The Flower Fairy has broken through to the Divine Gate!
The Flower Fairy has an illegitimate son!
One after another, these bombshells instantly ignited the passions of every Martial Artist in the Martial Dao World. Some Great Grandmasters who were acquainted with the Flower Fairy tried to contact her, but their inability to get in touch only deepened their suspicions.
In any case, this night, the atmosphere in the Martial Dao World boiled to a fever pitch. Everyone one met would ask, "Have you heard about the Spirit Vein? Do you know about the Flower Fairy?"
Meanwhile, the one who had spread the news, Tan Chang, sat at a barbecue stand on the beach. He ordered some beer and skewers and began to eat blissfully.
Even though it was just a small, trivial thing I did on the side, the Flower Fairy will surely thank me for it. Ah, reaching the Eighth Grade is just around the corner!
Haitang Court had three floors. Ruan Lan lived in the primary bedroom on the second floor, while Ruan Tang and Xu Yiyi stayed in the primary bedroom on the first floor. Xu Lai lived in the guest room across from them.
Waking after a night’s sleep, Ruan Lan felt inexplicably refreshed, all her fatigue swept away. She pushed open the window on her left, and the azure sea filled her view. She then opened the window on her right, and the entirety of East Sea City stretched out before her.
In that moment, her spirits soared. She felt as if heaven and earth were in her grasp and the world was at her feet. It was no wonder Haitang Court was known as the Tower King of the East Sea.
Ruan Lan cheerfully opened her door and went downstairs. She found Xu Lai already awake and preparing breakfast in the kitchen.
Leaning against the doorframe, she asked, "Xu Lai, your engagement with my sister is fake, isn’t it?"
"It is," Xu Lai admitted, no longer hiding it. As he chopped vegetables, he added, "Now think of a way for me to marry her for real."
Ruan Lan was baffled. You want to marry my sister, so why should I be the one to come up with a plan?!
"The deal is you get to live here and mooch meals," Xu Lai said without looking up. "Otherwise, you’re free to go wherever you please."
"Wow, you actually have the heart to drive away a youthful, beautiful maiden? Are you even a man!"
Ruan Lan’s heart ached. She was the belle of Dongli University, with countless suitors. So many men would beg for a chance to have a single meal with her, yet Xu Lai was actually kicking her out. It was too much!
"Not only am I a man, but I’m also your brother-in-law. Move it; you’re blocking the way."
Xu Lai opened the refrigerator, took out three eggs, and began to fry them.
"Why only three? What about mine?"
Ruan Lan quickly grabbed another egg, but the more she looked at it, the stranger it seemed. "Why does this egg look so odd? It’s five or six times bigger than a normal chicken egg..."
"Oh, that’s a phoenix egg."
Ruan Lan was speechless. She decided not to care what kind of egg it was; as long as it was edible, it was fine.
"Alright then," Ruan Lan muttered quietly. "I’ll try to think of a way to help you later, but I can’t guarantee it’ll work."
"Here, sister-in-law, you can have my egg too. Eat two and nourish your body!" Xu Lai said with a beaming smile. This sister-in-law of mine is pretty reliable after all.
Ruan Lan’s face was a mask of confusion. He’s flirting with me. I suspected it before, and now I have concrete proof!
In truth, Ruan Lan had always been prejudiced against Xu Lai. The main reason was that the bastard had abandoned Ruan Tang for five years, which led to her sister being expelled from the Ruan Family and suffering endless grievances and bullying. But now, it seemed Xu Lai could actually provide Ruan Tang with a better life, so that prejudice naturally began to fade.
Seeing Xu Lai bustling about the day before, preparing so many surprises for Ruan Tang, she had even felt a little envious. If only my future man could be as wealthy and generous as Xu Lai... no, as my brother-in-law. That would be wonderful.
With this thought, Ruan Lan happily scurried upstairs to wake the still-snoozing Xu Yiyi for breakfast, as well as her sister, Ruan Tang, who was already awake but stood lost in thought by the window, gazing out at the sea.