The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

A thunderous ROAR—!!!—erupted from within the Xiayun, startling the disciples in the valley awake. Chen Dong, too, had his cultivation broken by the dragon's cry.

The crimson clouds filling the sky billowed with the roar as a colossal draconic form weaved in and out of sight through the Xiayun. Though its full form remained hidden, the brief glimpses of its body revealed a creature of immense length and size.

Though it was a manifestation of a Taoist Scripture, this was undoubtedly a True Dragon. Compared to it, the Evil Flood Dragon trapped in Jiangzhou was nothing but a mud-loach.

The Qixia Sect disciples were all utterly shocked by this development. The phenomenon, known as a dragon's cry, was mentioned in the sect's records on the Dragon and Phoenix Valley, but witnessing it firsthand was still a profound shock.

Chen Dong briefly extended his senses, and an astonishing draconic pressure washed over him.

He chuckled softly. 'Now *this* is what a Holy Land should be like!'

The disciples, who had been attempting to comprehend stones, soil, withered trees, and the crimson clouds under twin suns, all uniformly changed the focus of their enlightenment after the dragon's cry. Even the top few on the Decree List were no exception. In that moment, everyone in the valley was listening to the dragon's roar, trying to comprehend the colossal beast.

Then, three days later, a shocking change occurred on the Decree List.

The name in first place had abruptly changed. It now read: Chen Dong. Comprehended two of the six complete techniques: True Dragon Heaven-Stealing Technique, Phoenix True Fire. Minor Techniques: Omitted.

And just like that, the former first-place holder, Feng An, was bumped down to second.

The valley instantly erupted into an uproar.

"Three days! It only took him three days to comprehend a complete great technique! Is he even human?!"

"That Chen Dong is too mysterious, too much of a freak! It's been nine months, and no one has ever seen him!"

"The True Dragon Heaven-Stealing Technique! That's the same great technique Sect Leader Feng comprehended back in the day. After leaving the valley, her rise was meteoric. Of the six great techniques from the Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Manual that the Elders have catalogued, this one is the most difficult to comprehend—and he actually did it in just three days!"

"That's not the right way to look at it. Affinity with a technique is a personal matter. Chen Dong must have been a perfect match for this one, which is why he comprehended it so quickly!"

And that was indeed the case. For the past three days, Chen Dong had been comprehending the technique in his spare time while cultivating, and before he knew it, he had grasped the complete great technique.

Chen Dong reviewed the mysteries of the technique. Its minor techniques included the True Dragon's Hegemon Body, Heaven-Stealing, Heaven-Deceiving, Life-Stinging, and others. Among them, the Life-Stinging Technique was particularly suitable for him.

When he broke through to the Inner Realm Extreme Realm, Chen Dong's lifespan had increased, but only by a little. One could still say that he didn't have long to live and his end was fast approaching.

And this Life-Stinging Technique served precisely to increase one's lifespan.

With that, Chen Dong suspended his cultivation of the Phoenix True Fire and began to focus his research on the Life-Stinging Technique.

Its principles were esoteric, unable to be clearly articulated or recorded. The general idea, however, was to alter one's own aura and presence to extend one's lifespan. A grand master of the technique, by combining it with the Heaven-Deceiving Technique, could even fool the Celestial Dao and delay the Thunder Tribulation, thus drastically increasing their lifespan.

Once this great technique reached minor mastery, even those two major realms higher would find it difficult to see through the user's cultivation. At the Perfection Realm, it could even be used to steal heavenly fate and increase one's own destiny.

Sensing that this technique could alter his destiny, Chen Dong smiled knowingly.

'It truly was fated!'

Chen Dong's name once again became the center of attention.

Wang Xian'Er's initial feelings of wistful reluctance had turned into dark resentment. 'Why? Why does this man who looks down on me have such incredible comprehension? I wanted nothing more than to be with him, but he just left me. I can't even comprehend a single technique, and yet he mastered a complete great technique in just three days.'

As for Wang Wan'Er, her thoughts were different. 'If only the Young Master was still our Young Master!'

Time passed without notice in the valley. In the blink of an eye, a year had passed since the Dragon and Phoenix Valley had opened.

The True Dragon's roar was heard from time to time, and on the Decree List amidst the crimson clouds, Chen Dong still held first place.

But Wang Xian'Er was no longer ranked four hundred fifty-first; she had become four hundred fiftieth.

Just a moment ago, a Qixia Sect Outer Disciple had been caught by a pull from the void and ejected directly from the Dragon and Phoenix Valley.

The one-year mark had been reached, and disciples with insufficient opportunities began to be intermittently pulled from the valley.

Four hundred, three hundred eighty, three hundred sixty... the number of people in the valley was plummeting.

In less than ten days, only two hundred eighty people remained in the valley.

The towering withered tree shed its leaves once more. This time, it was extremely generous, dropping ninety-six leaves all at once.

Two Inner Sect Disciples who were helping Chen Tianmo collect the leaves had just placed them in his hands when a pull came from the void. The leaves scattered across the ground once more. Chen Tianmo—a Ninth-Layer Foundation Establishment cultivator who had been consistently refining the leaves—had also been ejected from the valley.

The two were instantly dumbfounded. 'Chen Tianmo is gone. Who are we supposed to give these leaves to now?'

Keep them for themselves? Neither of them had the guts for that. They hurriedly woke up their senior brothers from the cliff walls.

"What? Senior Brother Chen is out of the valley?!"

"Then how will the leaves be distributed from now on? Who's in charge of it?"

Within the cliff walls, the hearts of the disciples who had never once gotten to refine a leaf stirred with excitement. 'If someone else is in charge, maybe we'll get one! Especially since there are so many leaves this time.'

Just as everyone was eagerly contemplating the opportunity, Qian Hu let out a loud laugh. "They'll be handed over to me, of course!"

"By what right? What gives you, Qian Hu, the right to manage the leaves!" shouted an Inner Sect Disciple at the Sixth-Layer Foundation Establishment. He had always coveted the leaves and, fearing he would miss out this time, immediately spoke out.

Qian Hu gave a savage grin. "By what right? By the right of my fists, of course!"

A rosy light flashed, and the Inner Sect disciple who had just spoken out was struck heavily in the chest by Qian Hu's fist.

Qian Hu was at Foundation Establishment Perfection, and his strike had been a sneak attack. The Inner Sect disciple was instantly knocked to the ground, spitting up blood with his aura in disarray.

He was grievously wounded in a single blow!