Chapter 46: Dare Not, or Truly Do Not Hate?!

Chen Xian suppressed the excitement in his heart and continued to ask, "When does the Martial Arts Tournament begin?"

"It should be about half a year from now," Ma Tian replied. "By the way, the invitation should have the exact date written on it."

Chen Xian opened the gilded invitation and, as expected, saw the precise date for the Southeast Nine Provinces Martial Arts Tournament—it would be held in six months. He decided to use this time to further improve his cultivation and prepare thoroughly to claim the title of Alliance Leader.

"Ma Tian, have you ever participated in the Martial Arts Tournament? Besides competing for the position of Alliance Leader, what else happens there?" Chen Xian pressed further.

Ma Tian thought for a moment before answering respectfully, "I accompanied my ancestor to the last Southeast Nine Provinces Martial Arts Tournament. Besides the contest for Alliance Leader, there are also exchange meetings, auctions, and martial arts marriage contests. It's a grand and fascinating event."

Satisfied with the answer, Chen Xian felt a surge of anticipation for the tournament to be held six months later.

A few minutes passed.

Chen Xian dismissed Ma Tian, leaving himself alone in the secret chamber.

He glanced around at the room filled with antiques and treasure chests, a faint smile playing on his lips. Raising his hand, he activated his will, and the silver ring on his little finger emitted a faint, eerie glow, forming a spinning vortex.

Immediately, the rows of rosewood cabinets and treasure chests in the chamber were drawn toward the vortex on the ring, flying into it one after another.

In the blink of an eye, the secret chamber was empty; everything had vanished without a trace.

Chen Xian had already stored all the antiques, jade, wild ginseng, and lingzhi into his spatial ring. Closing his eyes, his consciousness reached into the ring.

He could see rows of rosewood cabinets neatly arranged inside, with porcelain and other items all intact, and piles of cash stacked beside the cabinets.

After confirming everything was in order, Chen Xian withdrew his consciousness and exited the secret chamber.

"Master Chen, will you be staying here for now, or...?" Ma Tian inquired respectfully.

"I'm going back to H City," Chen Xian replied without hesitation.

His affairs in M Province were temporarily concluded, and he had no reason to linger.

Back in H City, he still had to treat the illnesses of various pets and ornamental plants, help his parents look for a house, and receive the live pigs being delivered from the slaughterhouse.

"Very well, I'll have someone drive you back immediately," Ma Tian said with a smile.

Chen Xian nodded, his gaze shifting as he recalled something. "By the way, Ma Tian, the casino should be closed from now on."

"Master Chen, why is that? The Ma family casino brings in fifty percent of our income!" Ma Tian immediately protested upon hearing this.

He had originally hoped to use Master Chen's reputation to grow the casino into the top establishment in H Province.

"I don't like it. Casinos ruin people," Chen Xian said coolly, his tone brooking no argument, like an emperor commanding his subjects.

Sensing the intimidating authority in Master Chen's words, Ma Tian bowed his head and sighed, "We'll do as you say, Master Chen."

Understanding Ma Tian's thoughts, Chen Xian smiled faintly. "Even without the casino, I can still ensure the Ma family expands rapidly and becomes a top martial clan."

His tone brimmed with unshakable confidence.

Inspired by that confidence, Ma Tian felt his blood surge with excitement: indeed, with Master Chen here, what is there to fear about making money?!

"Yes, Master Chen. I believe you will lead the Ma family to new heights!" he said sincerely.

Finishing his words, Chen Xian cradled the inky-black charm cat in one arm and walked toward the black Rolls-Royce parked at the door.

Ma Tian hurried after him, holding an umbrella and opening the car door for his master.

Chen Xian got into the car, Ma Tian shut the door, and then took the front passenger seat.

The Rolls-Royce started smoothly, gliding down the mountain through the curtain of rain without the slightest jolt.

Watching the relentless rain outside the window, Chen Xian's eyes flashed sharply. "Ma Tian, I destroyed your family's ancestor and the guardian spirit. Do you and your clan resent me?"

"Not at all!" Ma Tian answered without hesitation.

A roguish smile touched Chen Xian's lips. "Or is it that you don't dare?"

"No, truly, we don't resent you. In fact, we're too pleased to even think of resentment!" Ma Tian replied.

Chen Xian was curious; after all, he had indirectly killed their ancestor, and any ordinary family would be thirsting for revenge. It would be like someone desecrating your ancestral grave—you'd want nothing more than to fight them to the death.

"Why?" Chen Xian asked, intrigued.

"Because you are the Master!" Ma Tian revealed his true feelings. "Our ancestor was over 130 years old, four generations above me! Though she wasn't the direct parent of any current family members, her death would naturally sadden the Ma family, but that sadness isn't due to familial affection.

"Our ancestor was our pillar and protector. With her gone, we would have lost our shield and the family would have declined rapidly. That was the source of our grief.

"But now, with you as our new pillar, supporting the Ma family and serving as our protector, our fortunes will soar, and we'll become a top-tier martial clan—something we never even dreamed of before.

"So, rather than being sorrowful, we're grateful to you—there's no question of resentment!"

Hearing this, Chen Xian nodded and said nothing more, watching the downpour outside in silence.

A phrase surfaced unbidden in his mind: In this world, there are neither eternal friends nor eternal enemies—only eternal interests.

...

By a little after 9 p.m., the rain began to let up.

A black Rolls-Royce passed through the yellow glow of streetlamps, entered the Jinxiu Community, and stopped in front of House 101, where a large truck had already arrived, delivering live pigs from the slaughterhouse.

Chen Xian got out and instructed the driver to return to M City.

Several movers took over half an hour to carry a hundred live pigs into the main hall before leaving.

Gazing at the hall full of pigs, Chen Xian wasted no time. He sat cross-legged and began to practice the Supreme Chaos Technique, refining the pigs one by one. They dissolved rapidly, their essence transformed into spiritual energy.

The charm cat, meanwhile, munched on snacks while going off to train three stray cats.

In less than an hour, Chen Xian had refined all one hundred pigs into spiritual energy and infused it into the space of his first spirit wheel.

With his cultivation now advanced to the point of condensing a second spirit wheel, his speed at refining living creatures had increased significantly.

After checking his progress, Chen Xian shook his head and sighed, "Still too little spiritual energy. It seems I'll have to find more objects like the Evil Spirit Idol to refine in the future."

He stood up, stretched his body, and looked toward the bonsai and fish tanks piled in one corner.

It was time to tend to them.

He had arranged with the owners of these bonsai and ornamental fish to retrieve them over the next few days.

"If I inject spiritual energy into each one slowly, doing this for all one hundred and twenty items would be far too troublesome. I wonder if I can infuse the energy into water, then water them all at once to restore their health?" he mused to himself.