The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

Tang Mincai lunged forward. "If you won't give it to me, then die!" As he spoke, he thrust a palm at Chen Dong's abdomen.

Chen Dong took a step back, barely dodging the palm strike. "Can't we talk about this? There's no need to kill me, is there?"

Tang Mincai's expression turned vicious. "In this prison, you're the fish and I'm the knife. What is there to talk about? I'm sure you've felt it by now. You can't use even a shred of your True Qi!"

Chen Dong once again felt the helplessness of his situation. 'If we can't come to an agreement, then I'll just have to kill him!'

"Even without True Qi, I'm not the kind of person that trash like you can push around!"

Tang Mincai's aura faltered for a moment. He had started practicing martial arts at eight and achieved the rank of Grandmaster by twenty-four. After sixteen years of bitter, unrelenting training day and night, in Chen Dong's eyes, he was nothing more than "trash."

He instantly flew into a rage. "You may be a genius, but you'll be just another soul to fall to my fists!" He unleashed a continuous barrage of punches and palm strikes at Chen Dong.

Chen Dong dodged one blow after another, a smirk playing on his lips. "Mediocrity is mediocrity. You never should have chosen the path of a Martial Artist. No matter how hard you try, it's all just a waste of time!"

Tang Mincai's rage intensified. A prodigy like Chen Dong could never understand the sheer effort and hardship he had endured. Ten days of his grueling training were probably only equal to a single lazy day for a genius like him. But the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to kill Chen Dong and prove himself. A significant reason for his murderous intent was pure jealousy!

Chen Dong's soft laughter echoed again. "Looking at your aptitude, you'll never reach the Tiangang realm in this lifetime. What use do you have for the Mingxi Grass? In the end, you're just paving the way for someone else to benefit!"

Tang Mincai's heart skipped a beat. Chen Dong's words had struck a nerve. He had already sensed during his recent training that his cultivation was stagnating. If he couldn't reach the Tiangang realm, his position as Patriarch would be unstable, even if he managed to claim it.

But that moment of hesitation created an opening in his offense.

Chen Dong pressed in, ducking under Tang Mincai's punch, and slammed a heavy elbow into the center of his chest.

Tang Mincai stumbled back several steps and slumped against the cell wall, his eyes filled with bitter unwillingness. Chen Dong's Inner Strength had shattered his heart.

Unable to use his True Qi, Chen Dong could only rely on the physical power of his Inner Strength. Tang Mincai, however, was a full-fledged Grandmaster. The difference in their power was a vast chasm. Furthermore, a Grandmaster's True Qi circulates flawlessly throughout their body, making them nearly invulnerable. Defeating a Grandmaster with Inner Strength alone would have been nearly impossible without exploiting an opening.

Pushing down his own sense of frustration, Chen Dong searched Tang Mincai's body and found the cell key and an Array Flag.

He studied the Array Flag for a moment and quickly understood how it worked. It wasn't a foundational component of the Array, but more like a keycard for moving within it.

Now that he understood its principle, he could use his own True Qi. However, he could only let it flow at the level of a Grandmaster to avoid aggravating his injuries.

Outside the cell, the corridor was empty. He figured the member of the Military Suppression Department he had just killed must have sent the other guards away.

After taking a few steps, he heard a faint but familiar voice. "Junior Sister, Junior Brother, this is all my fault. I was too insistent on getting revenge, and now you're both trapped in this prison with me!"

"Senior Brother, don't say that!" came an equally familiar female voice. "As long as I'm with you, I'm not afraid, no matter where we are! Besides, once our sect receives our message, they'll definitely pay to get us out."

Another male voice chimed in, "The sect is going to have to pay a hefty price this time. Senior Brother, you didn't just kill a Martial Artist—a lot of ordinary people were poisoned to death, too. I think we'll be waiting a while before we're released!"

Chen Dong followed the voices and used the key he'd just taken to open the cell door. Inside were Kang Ming, Zhu Ran, and a third person.

All three of them stared at Chen Dong in astonishment.

Chen Dong chuckled softly. "We must be fated to keep meeting like this. What do you say we break out of here together?"

'How is Chen Dong here? And what's this crazy talk about a prison break?'

Zhu Ran was the first to snap out of it. "This is our chance! Senior Brother, let's go!"

Kang Ming frowned and shook his head. "Forget about whether we can even escape. Even if we do, the Military Suppression Department will hold our sect accountable!"

Zhu Ran huffed indignantly. "Senior Brother, you did nothing wrong! The Military Suppression Department was just sticking their noses where they don't belong by arresting us. Why should we give a damn about them!"

The other junior brother, Qu Quan, spoke up. "Senior Brother, this really is a good opportunity. This guy is incredibly strong; we might actually have a chance if we go with him. If we escape, we'll save the sect a huge sum in ransom money. Then, we can coordinate with our master and claim we've defected. If we're no longer affiliated with the sect, the Military Suppression Department will have no reason to bother them!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Dong gave Qu Quan a thumbs-up.

Zhu Ran was overjoyed. She went over and tugged on Kang Ming's arm. "Our junior brother is right! My dad would definitely agree to this plan. Let's go, Senior Brother!"

Kang Ming glanced at his junior brother and sister, then stood up with a helpless shake of his head. "Fine. If we escape, we'll do as he says. If we get caught, you can just blame it all on me."

Zhu Ran shook her head. "How could we blame you, Senior Brother? If we have to blame someone, we'll blame this Chen Dong! Besides, we're definitely going to escape!" Her eyes shone with excitement. To her, a prison break sounded incredibly thrilling.

Chen Dong was speechless. He replied casually, "Fine, it's all my fault. If we get caught, it's my fault. Now let's go." With that, he turned and led the way.