The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

Xu Zong sighed softly.

Cao Su lightly patted Xu Zong's shoulder and smiled. "The Evil Flood Dragon has been eliminated. We should be relieved. Even though it was that Immortal who took action, it still saved our Tianjiang River Basin from a major disaster!"

Xu Zong said softly, "That's true!"

Cao Su asked curiously, "That figure who just left—did you recognize them?"

Xu Zong shook his head, indicating he didn't. He felt he should have recognized someone with such... unique taste.

Cao Su said with admiration, "If it weren't for this battle, I would never have known that such a stunning, peerless genius had appeared in our Tianjiang River Basin! Judging by his age, he doesn't seem very old, yet his cultivation has already reached the Great Accomplishment stage of Outer Manifestation, perhaps even the peak. When I first arrived at the bottom of the abyss, the Evil Flood Dragon was already injured. It must have been his doing!"

Xu Zong's eyes burned with passion. The Outer Manifestation was his life's pursuit.

Chen Dong had revealed his Outer Manifestation the moment he emerged from the river. While everyone was still focused on the Evil Flood Dragon and the Fairy, he was already rushing toward Qixing Noble School. It was only natural that Xu Zong didn't get a clear look at him.

Chen Dong vaulted directly over the school's wall and arrived outside Li Wang's classroom. Looking through the window, he saw many children sitting inside listening to the lesson, but Li Wang was not among them.

Chen Dong's heart skipped a beat, and a sudden, inexplicable sadness washed over him.

But his sadness lasted less than two seconds before a voice sounded from behind him.

"Mom, what are you doing at school? Are you here to pick me up?"

Chen Dong turned his head in pleasant surprise. It was none other than Xiaoli Wang, staring up at him with wide eyes.

Chen Dong quickly scooped Li Wang up. "I missed you!"

Li Wang struggled with all his might. "If you miss me, you can call me! Mom, your clothes are so ugly! I don't want you to hold me!"

Chen Dong gave an awkward laugh. He hadn't paid much attention to the set of Fish People clothes he had randomly snatched at the bottom of the abyss. Looking at them now, he saw he was clad in a gaudy purple outfit—the kind of purple that makes you panic. On top of that, he didn't even have shoes on his feet.

Chen Dong forced a kiss onto Li Wang's cheek and said, "Alright then, you be a good boy and pay attention in class. I'm going to go back and change."

Li Wang nodded obediently. "Okay, okay, go on!"

After leaving the school, Chen Dong did indeed return to Li Manor, change his clothes, and then go back to find Li Huiran.

At this time, Li Huiran was still on the riverbank. She had recognized Chen Dong's figure as he ran off, so she wasn't worried about him. Instead, she was worried about her secretary, Xiaoyu.

Many of the Fish People had already reverted to their human forms. Those who crawled out of the river were given aid; some were picked up by their families, while others lay in temporary tents.

Although the gills and scales on these former Fish People would recede and their skin would quickly grow back, they became incredibly weak, as if they had just recovered from a serious illness. Furthermore, they had no memory of their time as Fish People. Many of them emerged from the river naked and bald.

The temporary tents were separated by gender, and aid workers handed out clothes to cover up. Still, Li Huiran worried that Xiaoyu would be hit hard by this. After all, Xiaoyu cared most about her appearance. Having gone through something like this, the orphaned Xiaoyu would surely need comforting.

The two of them didn't have to wait long before an aid worker told them Xiaoyu had been found. Li Huiran went to comfort Xiaoyu in the temporary women's tent. Since Chen Dong couldn't go in, he wandered around outside.

Just then, a group of people from the Military Suppression Department happened upon Chen Dong—three men and a woman.

One of the men looked at Chen Dong, his eyes went wide, and he exclaimed, "Isn't that the Thunder—"

Before he could finish, a companion clamped a hand over his mouth and dragged him back, whispering a warning, "Are you trying to get yourself killed? Daring to call the Thunder Dharma King by his nickname to his face!"

The man said innocently, "But isn't he a wanted man?"

The woman in the group said scornfully to the man, "He's wanted, that's true, but look around—who dares to arrest him? I heard back then that our Team Banner Lord was sent flying by the Thunder Dharma King in a single move. I think it was ten meters!"

"Ten meters? I heard it was twenty!"

"Sigh, regardless of how many meters it was, the only person in the Military Suppression Department who dares to arrest him now is the Inspector!"

"Besides, the Inspector is so busy today he can't even catch a break. He probably doesn't have time to arrest him."

"Can't be helped. Our Domain Lord is always slacking off. She never shows up unless it's a huge crisis!"

As the Military Suppression Department personnel left, Chen Dong briefly entertained the thought of turning himself in for the bounty. It was over a hundred million, after all, and he was currently flat broke.

'It seems like I've been losing money ever since I ran into Murong Qing. The first time, not only did she rip my pajamas, but my master also cleaned out all my assets. This time, not only did I lose my most handsome set of clothes, I even got... robbed of my virtue.'

Chen Dong felt like a tragic hero just thinking about it.

Not long after, Li Huiran came out of the tent. She told Chen Dong that her attempts at comforting Xiaoyu hadn't been very effective; Xiaoyu herself said she needed some time to rest.

Li Huiran approved it and even gave her paid leave. Chen Dong could see that the girl was mostly just trying to escape the situation, but he didn't expose her. After all, she was lucky enough to have kept her life instead of being eaten by the Evil Flood Dragon.

The rest of the day passed in a flash. The day of the Sunny Day Project bid finally arrived, and Li Huiran and Chen Dong set out from Li Manor. The bidding, however, was scheduled for two in the afternoon.

In the morning, Chen Dong and Li Huiran went to the group's office as usual.