Back in the day, when Chu Feng had still been in the Hundred Refinements Mortal World and first entered the Heavenly Palace Sacred Temple, he had encountered a man who competed with him for treasure using Mental Power.
That man was Xianhai Shuoyi.
Xianhai Shuoyi had held a rather lowly standing among the Xianhai Fish Clan — his mother had been a servant maid tasked with looking after Little Fish.
It was precisely because of this connection that he had been able to get close to Little Fish. And Little Fish never put on airs or looked down on anyone; she treated all members of her clan equally.
As a result, Xianhai Shuoyi and Little Fish had developed a fairly good relationship.
But while Little Fish only regarded him as a friend, he had developed feelings for her.
This was especially true after Little Fish had gone to the Eastern Sea Region and been brought back. Not only did she now have an anklet on her leg, but her attitude toward Xianhai Shuoyi had grown increasingly cold.
Xianhai Shuoyi was sensitive. Though he didn't know who had given her the anklet, he suspected it might have been a man.
That was why he kept gifting Little Fish anklets of his own — he wanted to use whatever standing he held in her heart to replace the one she was wearing with one he had given her.
Unfortunately, he had overestimated his importance. Little Fish refused every time.
After that time he entered the Heavenly Palace Sacred Temple and was subsequently defeated by Chu Feng, he had been thoroughly dejected.
The next time he saw Little Fish, he poured out his heart.
On the surface, he claimed he wanted Little Fish to remove that anklet, which he dismissed as nothing more than a trinket.
In reality, he wanted to declare she was his — he didn't want some other man replacing his place in Little Fish's heart.
But the result was that he had no place in her heart whatsoever.
Her politeness toward him had been nothing more than the respect she showed any friend.
And the outcome of his heartfelt confession was nothing but Little Fish's disgust — from that point on, he lost all opportunity to get close to her.
Yet he refused to learn his lesson. Instead, he told himself that if he trained hard enough, Little Fish would one day look at him with new eyes, and he could return to her side.
Even though he knew the gap between them was enormous, he still harbored fantasies of winning back her favor.
Every time he advanced a single level in his cultivation, his heart soared with joy.
After each breakthrough, with virtually no time spent resting, Xianhai Shuoyi threw himself right back into cultivation.
Over the years, this had long since become his habit.
Besides cultivating and gathering resources, he shut out the world entirely.
He wouldn't even listen properly if someone happened to mention Xianhai Yu'er.
He knew that now was not the time to see Little Fish.
But the moment he heard that Xianhai Yu'er was right here in this very place, he found it impossible to focus on his cultivation.
In the end, he opened his eyes.
"Could it be that Yu'er has truly come?"
Though he didn't want to see Xianhai Yu'er at his current level of cultivation, he still rose into the air, wanting to see for himself whether she had really arrived.
If she had, then even without speaking to her, it would be enough to catch a glimpse from afar.
Before long, his heart began to race, because he had found the figure he had been longing for day and night.
Beneath the sunlight, her skin was so fair it seemed to glow — as delicate and tender as a baby's.
Add to that her long, shapely legs, and a face and figure with not a single flaw.
Everything about her was simply perfect.
If this place was as beautiful as an immortal's paradise, then Little Fish was the only fairy within it.
Xianhai Yu'er was not only the most beautiful woman in his eyes — she was almost certainly the woman every man would consider the most beautiful upon seeing her.
"Yu'er, you're still as beautiful as ever — so beautiful that no adjective in this world could ever do you justice."
Gazing upon that exquisite face, Xianhai Shuoyi couldn't help but smile.
He recalled all the moments he had shared with Little Fish, and though it had all been wishful thinking, he relished those memories time and again.
"That's—?"
But in the next instant, his expression froze, and the smile on his face turned to rage.
He realized that Little Fish had been staring fixedly at someone.
At first, he had assumed it was Xianhai Shaoyu, but when he looked more closely at that person— Xianhai Shuoyi's entire body went rigid, as though he had turned to stone.
He recognized this man. It was none other than the one who had humiliated him during the Mental Power contest for treasure in the Heavenly Palace Sacred Temple.
Chu Feng!!!
"Why is he here?!"
Xianhai Shuoyi rubbed his eyes, unable to believe what he was seeing.
Though he had been defeated by Chu Feng the last time, he had never learned who Chu Feng actually was.
In his eyes, that had been nothing but trash — the only reason Chu Feng had won was because of the restrictions of the Heavenly Palace Sacred Temple.
If they hadn't been competing through Mental Power, if he had been able to use his own cultivation, a single thought would have been enough to reduce Chu Feng to dust.
But how could such trash possibly be worthy of entering the Xianhai Fish Clan's cultivation grounds?
And by what right was the noble Princess Yu'er accompanying this man as he trained?
The more Xianhai Shuoyi observed, the more something felt wrong.
Chu Feng was meditating in the pool with his eyes closed, and Little Fish sat barefoot on the edge, the anklet still adorning her ankle.
In the past, Little Fish would only occasionally keep Xianhai Shaoyu company when he trained — how could anyone else possibly receive such treatment?
And when Xianhai Shaoyu trained, the mischievous Little Fish would usually dangle her little feet in the water to tease him.
She would typically stay for only a short while before running off to play.