What? You opened a resort on the battlefield of all races?

On Xu Tianlin's side.

Once inside the Snow Shadow Wolf Den, the sounds outside quickly disappeared.

Xu Tianlin took a few steps forward and saw that Chen Dong had already put some distance between them.

This guy walked fast and stiffly, as if he was afraid that if he slowed down even a little, Xu Tianlin would snatch Chu Qian away from behind.

"Hey, why are you running so fast?"

Xu Tianlin chuckled and quickly caught up with him.

Chen Dong turned around and glanced at him.

He remained silent, his face still dark. He simply looked away and continued walking.

Xu Tianlin stopped teasing him.

The two walked side by side into the depths of the cave.

It was very dark inside the Snow Shadow Wolf Den.

The sound of their footsteps echoed in the cave, sometimes coming from behind and sometimes coming back from the front.

Deeper inside, a powerful force belonging to the Snow Shadow Wolf's bloodline pressed heavily on the air, making the entire cave eerily quiet.

After walking for a while, Chen Dong suddenly spoke.

"Big brother."

Xu Tianlin turned his head to look at him.

"I was born in a small village in Xiling Prefecture."

"My family wasn't well-off when I was a child, and I didn't have any particularly outstanding talents."

Chen Dong twitched the corner of his mouth.

"To put it bluntly, they are just ordinary people that you can find a lot of in Xiling Prefecture."

"When I first met Xiaoqian, I didn't know she was the eldest daughter of the Chu family."

Xu Tianlin raised an eyebrow slightly.

Chen Dong continued, "I was young that year and often ran around in the nearby mountains. I knew the mountain paths well. I could figure out which way to go and which way to go after it rained. I could do it with my eyes closed."

"Once it rained heavily."

"I ran into her when I returned to the village."

At this point, Chen Dong suddenly smiled.

"I was quite pretentious back then."

"Seeing that she was dressed better than me, I told her, 'Hey girl, this mountain isn't your city park, don't wander around, stick close to me, I'll take you out.'"

Xu Tianlin: "..."

"Shortly after he finished speaking, the mountain collapsed."

Xu Tianlin glanced at him.

"Your guidance skills are quite convincing."

Chen Dong's face darkened.

"That was an accident!"

"The whole hillside slid down, and we were trapped directly below the mountainside."

"The exit was blocked, and rocks kept falling from all around. My cultivation level was low at the time, and my leg was injured by the falling rocks."

"I thought I was going to die."

Chen Dong paused for a moment.

"But she didn't leave."

"She's much better than me. If she really wanted to find her own way, she might be able to get out."

"But she insisted on taking me with her while she searched."

The cave fell silent, and Chen Dong stared at the dark path ahead.

"We were trapped down there for a long time that day."

"I'm afraid of dying, so I kept talking. I told her about the messy things in our village, about how I was scolded for being lazy when I was a child, and about how when I got rich, I would eat well every day and find a beautiful wife."

"She initially thought I was too noisy."

"Then I was silent for a while, and she kicked me and asked if I was dead."

Xu Tianlin couldn't help but laugh.

"Then?"

"Then I realized that she was actually scared too."

Chen Dong's voice slowed down.

"She was just a little girl back then."

"The mountain kept making noises. She would say she was fine, but every time a rock fell on her head, she would look in my direction first."

"I injured my leg and can't walk fast, so she waited for me."

"There was a section that could only be climbed. She went ahead to scout the way, and I followed behind."

"Once, I lost my footing and almost fell, but she pulled me back."

"Later, she was so tired that she couldn't walk anymore, so I helped her to keep going."

She scolded me for being stubborn even though my leg was injured.

"I said you were pretty good at showing off just now."

"The two of them kept cursing at each other and dragging each other along, and finally they actually found a crack to crawl out of."

As Chen Dong spoke, his smile became more pronounced.

"It was already daylight when we came out."

"I was covered in mud, and she wasn't much better off."

I asked her what her name was.

She said, "Chu Qian."

"I didn't react at first, and after a while I asked her, 'Which Chu?'"

She said, "The Chu from the Chu family of Xiling."

Xu Tianlin was amused.

"And then you chickened out?"

"Almost."

Chen Dong is very honest.

"My legs were so painful that I couldn't feel them at the time, but when I heard this, I almost stood up to bow to her."

"Then she looked at me and said—weren't you quite talkative down there?

Chen Dong smiled.

"I thought this was probably the only time I'd ever see him in my life."

"As for Miss Chu, there's no way she should have a second chance with a country bumpkin like me."

"But not long after, she came again."

The first thing he said when we met was, "Didn't you say you knew the way? You caused the road to collapse last time, how are we going to settle this score?"

"I said it's because God isn't giving us face."

She said, "Okay, then bring it again."

So I took her into the mountains again.

"After it happened many times, I stopped calling her Miss Chu."

"Let's call her Xiaoqian."

"When she first heard it, she stared at me for a long time, and I thought I was going to get beaten up."

In the end, she didn't say anything.

"The name has stuck ever since."

The smile on Chen Dong's face became very faint.

"She would come to see me occasionally, and I would take her to wander around in the mountains. She would teach me cultivation."

"When people around her see her, they all treat her as the eldest daughter of the Chu family."

"I'm different."

"I know she doesn't like to talk when she's in a bad mood, and I also know that whenever she's overwhelmed by things at home, she likes to go into the mountains alone."

"She also knows that I don't have any great ambitions."

"I want to become stronger, I want to make money, and I want my family to have a better life."

"At first, I was worried that she, as the eldest daughter of the Chu family, might one day think I was too ordinary."

"Later I found out that she hadn't cared at all."

"If I practice slowly, she scolds me for being lazy; but if I master a little, she'll be genuinely happy for me."

"I didn't treat her like some pampered princess. If she did something wrong, I would still scold her; if she was upset, I would walk with her for a while."

"Over time, some things don't need to be explicitly stated."

"She's willing to come to me, and I'm always waiting for her."

Chen Dong paused for a moment.

The cave ahead took a turn.

"She once asked me what I would do if one day she really had no choice but to marry for the sake of her family."

"I told her, if the threshold is too high, I'll climb it. If that doesn't work, I'll just shamelessly stay at the Chu family's doorstep."

"Anyway, I'm not good at anything else, but I've always been thick-skinned since I was a child."

Xu Tianlin nodded.

I believe that.

Chen Dong was momentarily speechless.

"Brother, I'm being sentimental."

"You continue."

"..."

Chen Dong paused for two steps before speaking again.

"Later, the Chu family decided to hold a public marriage contest."

She found me and only said one sentence to me.

"She said she couldn't let the entire Chu family throw away the rules that had been passed down for so many years just because she liked someone."

"But she can get everyone on the same page."

"Whoever wants to marry her must pass three tests."

"And, the highest difficulty."

Xu Tianlin's eyes flickered slightly.

Chen Dong continued, "She arranged for the cloak, and the Moon Essence Marrow was also prepared for Uncle Butterfly."

Xu Tianlin nodded, indicating that he had guessed it.

Chen Dong paused for a moment, then turned to look at Xu Tianlin intently.

"Big brother."

"I didn't act impulsively."

"It's not that I think Miss Chu is pretty, or that I have to compete with you for this."

"I like Xiaoqian."

"Xiaoqian, who was clearly scared herself back then, but didn't leave me alone in the mountains."

Chen Dong's voice wasn't loud, but it was very steady.

"Even if I die, I want to be with Xiaoqian."

Xu Tianlin looked at him for a few seconds, then said, "I know."

"You noticed?"

After asking the question, he shut up first.

Also.

The young man in front of me, who looks similar to myself, is someone even Ling Yuedie, who is at the Fusion Realm, has to acknowledge as his boss.

My own little problems are probably written all over other people's faces.

Xu Tianlin waved his hand at his expression.

"Alright."

Stop looking so gloomy and resentful. I have no interest in your relationship.

Chen Dong stopped abruptly.

"what?"

He looked at Xu Tianlin, his head full of question marks.

Not interested?

Then why did you come to participate in the Chu family's marriage proposal?

Chen Dong's gaze toward Xu Tianlin grew increasingly strange.

What was the reason for that?

Being invincible is too lonely?

Are you bored out of your mind?

Xu Tianlin didn't explain. He suddenly stopped and looked past Chen Dong into the deeper part of the cave.

"The reason I came here..."

"It should be there."

As he spoke, he pointed ahead. Chen Dong looked in the direction he was pointing.

Deep inside the cave.

The originally rich power of the Snow Shadow Wolf bloodline has become a chaotic mess.

In the darkness, a huge wolf shadow curled up on the ground.

It was completely black, and its body was twitching constantly.

Suppressed and painful howls escaped its throat, echoing throughout the cave.

Chen Dong's expression suddenly changed drastically.

"Snow Shadow Wolf Spirit!"

He gasped in shock.

"What's wrong with it?!"