The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

Wielding his greatsword, Xiao Pan let out a low roar, "Xuanwu—Tremor Style!"

The greatsword swung around his body, unleashing a continuous barrage of sword beams.

Chen Dong blocked Xiao Pan's successive strikes with his Thunder Spear, but his True Qi was thrown into disarray. He was visibly at a disadvantage.

After a few more strikes, the Thunder Spear in his hand shattered, and he was forced to hastily condense a new one.

Xiao Pan's greatsword strikes were far from simple. Not only were they imbued with dense Spiritual Qi, but the sword beams they produced were unique, carrying intense vibrations of Spiritual Power. By choosing to block them head-on, Chen Dong had suffered a slight setback.

The reason he hadn't dodged was that he wanted to use this clash to identify his own shortcomings. Preparing for Core Formation was his next goal.

From the exchange, Chen Dong perceived that while his True Qi was abundant and refined, it wasn't condensed enough. However, this was by his own standards; compared to an ordinary Inner Scene practitioner, one would be hard-pressed to find True Qi more condensed than his.

Furthermore, he lacked a suitable weapon.

The gap in their Realms could be bridged by Chen Dong's Extreme Realm cultivation, but the disparity in their weapons was made obvious by these few strikes. If the Thunder Spear condensed from his qi allowed Chen Dong to exert one hundred percent of his power, then the greatsword in Xiao Pan's hands let him exert one hundred and fifty percent of his.

After that wave of sword beams, Chen Dong had already gone through two Thunder Spears.

Xiao Pan was also keenly aware of the difference in their weapons. His estimation of Chen Dong rose yet again. 'For someone at the Inner Scene Realm to fight me to a standstill using a weapon condensed from mere qi... he's an undeniable prodigy.' But no matter how much he admired him, he had reasons not to hold back today. Plus, there was another Profound Pill expert watching from the sidelines who had yet to make a move...

So, Xiao Pan pointed a hand at Li Zhixuan and said coldly, "The two of you should just come at me together!"

Li Zhixuan gave no reaction, as if he hadn't heard a thing.

Hearing this, Chen Dong burst out laughing. "Have your emotions blinded you completely?!"

Xiao Pan's brow furrowed. "You're no match for me. Keep this up, and you'll surely die!"

Chen Dong's gaze turned icy. "I haven't even gotten serious, yet you dare make such a claim!" As he spoke, he glanced down at Cai Feiyu out of the corner of his eye.

Xiao Pan gripped his sword with both hands and boomed, "If that's the case, then show me your true strength!"

'I can't just win,' he thought. 'I have to win spectacularly, for Cai Feiyu to see.'

With that, the Spiritual Qi around Xiao Pan gathered in a frenzy as he roared, "Xuanwu—Collapse Style!"

His greatsword became a blur of countless afterimages, carrying an immense spiritual pressure as it slashed toward Chen Dong like an all-consuming landslide.

The moment he unleashed the technique, Xiao Pan cursed inwardly. 'If that other Profound Pill Realm expert doesn't intervene, this man is dead for sure.'

But what happened next left Xiao Pan astonished.

A rosy glow materialized as Chen Dong softly chanted, "Take a hue from the horizon, and dye it with the flames of Sun Burning!"

The sky lit up with a vast, silken glow. Instantly, flames ignited across its surface. The light wrapped gently around the attack, and the solar flames burned away the force of the landslide in a mere moment.

'My ultimate technique... blocked just like that? What kind of art is this? Purple Cloud Sect? No! The Purple Cloud Sect has no technique this perfect. And there are no records of it in the Xuanwu Sect, either. This young man is truly a mystery!'

He slashed again with his greatsword—Collapse, Tremor, and Strike!

Beams of sword light shot out, tearing through the crimson glow.

Chen Dong just snorted, and a majestic Fire Phoenix surged from the flames, charging straight at Xiao Pan.

Before the Fire Phoenix, the sword beams were like feeble waves lapping at a cliffside, utterly incapable of halting its advance.

Pushing aside his shock, Xiao Pan bellowed, "Xuanwu—Mountain Style!"

Spiritual Qi erupted from his body, forming a protective barrier in the shape of a mountain that enveloped him completely.

With a piercing cry, the Fire Phoenix slammed into the mountain. A massive shockwave instantly erupted, and in its wake, the mountain shattered. Suspended in midair, a trickle of blood escaped the corner of Xiao Pan's mouth.

The crowd below was stunned. Xiao Pan, a Profound Pill Realm master, was the first to be wounded.

Cai Feiyu's face was contorted as she trembled from head to toe, a silent mantra echoing in her mind: 'Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!...' Then, her expression turned manic, and she broke into a hideous laugh, because Chen Dong was decisively pressing his attack.

With a low shout, "Sun Burning!"

A bleak resignation filled Xiao Pan's eyes. He had no intention of resisting further. A red ring lit up around his body, trapping him. The Fire Phoenix then spat a mouthful of True Fire onto the ring, which began to glow and heat up like a scorching sun.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Xiao Pan let out a bloodcurdling scream from within the inferno.

Hearing his screams, Cai Feiyu became even more unhinged. She clawed at her own legs, shredding the black silk she wore and digging deep, bloody gouges into her skin, completely oblivious.

The ambient temperature skyrocketed due to the Sun Burning technique. Fortunately, the onlookers were all Martial Artists, and Meng Xuejing was being protected by Li Zhixuan. Otherwise, the heat would have been enough to make an ordinary person pass out.

A few moments later, the charred form of Xiao Pan plummeted from the sky, splashing into the lake below.

In that same instant, Cai Feiyu's frenzy seemed to reach its zenith and then shatter. She froze completely, staring at the surface of the lake with empty eyes.

Everyone else present was just as stunned. They had never imagined that Xiao Pan could be defeated so quickly.

'That was a Profound Pill Realm master! Someone from the Profound Pill Realm, thought to be invincible in this day and age! To be defeated so quickly by a mere Inner Scene practitioner... it was something they found completely unbelievable.'

But to Chen Dong, a Xiao Pan controlled by his emotions was no longer useful for tempering his own Realm. Besides, the difference between a top-tier Daoist Art and a mere Inner Scene Technique was night and day. Xiao Pan was never truly his opponent to begin with.

'This opponent was a bit too weak!'

Chen Dong shook his head and sighed softly. With his sigh, the Fire Phoenix and the scorching sun of the Sun Burning technique dissipated into nothing.

Before the crowd could snap back to reality, a figure dove swiftly into the lake.