The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

The vicious knee strike slammed into the Celestial Spirit barrier but failed to make it budge, as if hitting an absolute defense.

Murong Qing was terrified. 'Celestial Spirit! It's actually Celestial Spirit!' A thousand impossibilities ran through her mind, but the truth was right before her eyes. For such a young man to be a Celestial Spirit Powerhouse... Her prideful heart refused to accept it. 'This Celestial Spirit Realm must have been reached with pills! His actual combat ability must be weak.'

Her Body Technique shifted again. Dodging Chen Dong's sideways Mountain Lean, she flitted behind him like a butterfly. As she formed a fist, three ice crystals materialized between her knuckles, and she struck toward Chen Dong's Feishu Acupoint.

Although Chen Dong wasn't using his full strength, Murong Qing's Body Technique was truly exceptional, reaching a level of minute precision. She held the complete upper hand in close-quarters combat. Feeling the biting cold of the True Qi behind him, Chen Dong didn't dare be careless and manifested his Celestial Spirit barrier once more.

The Celestial Spirit barrier was like a tortoise shell; Murong Qing's ice crystals pierced it by a hair's breadth before losing all effect. She took a step back, dodging Chen Dong's upward axe kick, and flung the ice crystals from her hand. Circulating her True Qi, she condensed a chillingly sharp dagger in her palm, then followed the speeding crystals at extreme speed to form a two-hit combo.

Chen Dong used a Tai Chi Circle Drawing technique, employing his incredibly profound True Qi to intercept the ice crystals and suspend them in front of him. He then leaned back to dodge Murong Qing's dagger thrust and, with a wave of his palm, drew the ice crystals into his hand. After a series of evasive maneuvers to create distance between them, he slowly began to examine the crystals in his hand.

They were ice-cold to the touch and exquisitely beautiful, like naturally formed hexagonal snowflakes. The three crystals were all slightly different, but their sharpness was not to be underestimated.

Chen Dong asked softly, "First water, now ice. Who exactly are you?"

"The person who's here to claim your bounty!" With a sharp cry, Murong Qing lunged at him again.

Chen Dong's brow furrowed. After repeatedly dodging the three-inch blade of cold light, his tone grew chilly. "If you won't cooperate, then I'll just have to apprehend you!"

As he spoke, his expression became completely different from his earlier playfulness. His sharp brows rose as True Qi erupted from his body. With a single uppercut, he instantly intercepted the dagger's horizontal slash, then followed with a pinning shoulder lock that directly immobilized Murong Qing's right arm.

Unexpectedly, Murong Qing's right arm seemed to flow like water, becoming insubstantial. She seized the opportunity to slip free and stab toward Chen Dong's heart.

The Celestial Spirit barrier flashed into existence over Chen Dong's heart, blocking the icy dagger. Murong Qing's arm retracted in a fluid motion, and she immediately followed up with a spinning elbow strike.

Chen Dong blocked with both arms and kicked his left leg straight at the mid-air Murong Qing.

Murong Qing used the momentum to flip again, but before she could land, Chen Dong's right leg carved a semicircle through the air, chopping straight down toward her.

Murong Qing's face paled in shock. In a panic, she scattered a shower of water droplets into the air. With nowhere to dodge and no leverage to use, she vanished within the spray, leaving only her black tracksuit behind.

Chen Dong's leg kick scattered the countless water droplets. His eyes were fixed on the falling black tracksuit. As the water hit the ground, Murong Qing's figure materialized from within the tracksuit, her breathing ragged and chaotic.

Her black mask had vanished, revealing a delicate face that possessed both the water-like grace of a southern beauty and the vibrant energy of a young maiden.

Murong Qing no longer held any trace of her earlier disdain. Even if Chen Dong's Realm had been artificially boosted, his Body Technique could actually keep up with hers—and might even be superior.

A slightly serious Chen Dong was putting immense pressure on Murong Qing. She was already thinking of retreating when, unexpectedly, a silky, fine rain began to fall from the sky.

The corner of Murong Qing's eye twitched up, and she smiled. "It seems even the heavens are on my side. I'm definitely claiming your bounty today!"

Chen Dong snorted coldly. 'Women these days are just asking for a lesson!'

Just as he was preparing to take Murong Qing down quickly, a choice from his Inner Realm Mystic Passage suddenly appeared.

Evil: Those who live by the sword shall die by the sword. This woman wants to trade your head for a bounty. Why not crush her with your absolute power? Be ruthless and snuff her out.

Good: To be able to fight you with the strength of a Grandmaster, she must be a peerless prodigy. Why not form a friendly bond and help her ascend to the Celestial Spirit Realm?

While Chen Dong held his breath, Murong Qing moved, her form melting into the fine, misty rain. Her voice echoed from all directions: "Thunder Dharma King, prepare to die!"

The fine rain in the sky suddenly froze in place, transforming into countless ice needles that shot toward Chen Dong like a torrential downpour.

Chen Dong's Celestial Spirit barrier instantly materialized around him. The ice needles embedded themselves in the barrier one after another, and within moments, Chen Dong looked like a porcupine.

Murong Qing knew Chen Dong was completely unharmed and shouted coldly, "You despicable coward! If you have any courage, fight without using your Celestial Spirit barrier!"

Chen Dong's voice boomed from within the porcupine-like shell, powerful and resonant: "What is Celestial Spirit? The 'Celestial' does not refer to the sky. It refers to the master of all creation; it refers to you. You are the master of all creation. The 'Spirit' is not merely a high-level condensation of True Qi, but a unification of Qi, consciousness, and the Dao—a fusion of spirit and will. When you can command your True Qi as you would command all of creation, when you can imbue it with the will of your heart, mind, and spirit, then the Celestial Spirit will form in an instant! The difficult part is imparting that will. You must see yourself as the heavens, as the master of all things. You must see every wisp of your True Qi, every component of it, as an extension of yourself—omnipresent…"

Hidden within the rain, Murong Qing was stunned. 'What is Chen Dong doing? Is he teaching me the secrets to achieving the Celestial Spirit Realm?' She had never heard such an analysis before. She had always believed that one simply refined their True Qi to a certain point and would naturally form a Celestial Spirit. She never imagined it had such a profound meaning and immediately began to commit his words to memory.

Chen Dong's explanation continued, accompanied by a live demonstration.

Chen Dong's Celestial Spirit barrier trembled, and the countless ice needles scattered. "Watch closely! This is the will of a Celestial Spirit!" The barrier's energy coiled around his fist as he punched toward the sky. The falling rain instantly stopped. A torrent of incomparably powerful fist energy shot straight into the clouds, blasting the rain away. The sky abruptly cleared, and moonlight shone down once more!

Murong Qing's form tumbled out of the dissipating rain, her eyes wide with terror as she stared at the aftermath of that single punch.