The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

The next day, just as the sky began to lighten, everyone was gathered in the Qi Cultivation Hall. Besides those from the modern world, the original disciples of the Cyan Sky Sect were also present, forming a dense crowd of six or seven thousand. Most were in late-stage Qi Cultivation, with only a few Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

Chen Dong and Li Zhixuan had also changed into the blue robes of the Cyan Sky Sect uniform. They stood side by side in the crowd, waiting. After a short while, six streaks of light flew toward them.

The leader was a white-bearded elder with a sword box on his back. A divine light shone in his eyes, and Chen Dong could tell he was at the Nascent Soul Stage, though he couldn't discern his specific realm. The five people behind him were all at the Ninth-Layer Golden Core.

Judging by their slightly different robes, all six of them were Peak Masters.

The elder's voice boomed, "There are still some among you who have yet to choose a Sword Peak. Today was supposed to be Dan Sword Peak's turn to lecture, but to help you all make a faster and more informed choice, several of us Peak Masters from different peaks will be demonstrating our skills each day."

As he spoke, the elder made a hand sign for a Sword Technique. A silver-white divine sword shot out of the sword box on his back. With a single, sky-cleaving slash, the morning light vanished. The sword's presence seemed to pierce the heavens, plunging the world into a momentary gloom.

"I am Xu Jie, Peak Master of Chejian Peak," he declared. "Chejian Peak's philosophy is one of clarity in our Sword Techniques. We strip away all impatience and ostentation. A single strike must be clean and decisive. One perfect technique is superior to ten thousand."

Only after he finished speaking did the morning sunlight return, shining down once more.

Chen Dong sent a teasing voice transmission to Li Zhixuan. "Hey, Xiaoli, who's stronger? You or that Xu Jie guy?"

Li Zhixuan snorted. "Are you kidding me? That old man is a Sixth-Layer Nascent Soul Sword Cultivator. I probably couldn't withstand a single slash from him right now! But once I break through to the Nascent Soul Stage, he won't be anything special."

"So you're saying that old man's not as strong as Feng Fu!"

"Obviously! Feng Fu already has one foot in the Divinity Transformation Realm. Of course she's stronger!"

Chen Dong nodded. "Then there's no point in watching. Let's go."

Li Zhixuan asked in surprise, "Why?"

Chen Dong said quietly, "Chejian Peak isn't one of the five main peaks, but it's still one of the more powerful Sword Peaks. If even its master can't beat Feng Fu, what's the point of us joining?"

"You mean...?"

"Since we're already here, we might as well become Peak Masters ourselves. Aren't there twenty-three vacant Sword Peaks? You can have one, and I'll have one."

Li Zhixuan's brows furrowed. "But... what happened to keeping a low profile like we agreed at the start?"

"Didn't you read the Sect Rules Manual?"

"I did!"

Chen Dong began his "brainwashing." "As a Peak Master, if you don't recruit disciples, not only can you keep all the resources the sect gives your peak for yourself, but you only have to turn over ten percent of your battlefield spoils. If you join someone else's peak, you'll have to hand over at least thirty percent. Both of us need a ton of resources to cultivate. How long will it take for you to reach the Nascent Soul Stage if you're waiting for others to hand them out?"

Li Zhixuan nodded, deep in thought.

In truth, Chen Dong still had plenty of priceless materials and a massive amount of Spirit Stones in his ring—enough to cultivate peacefully for a decade or two. However, to break through to the Profound Pill realm on his path of the Extreme Dao, what he lacked now was combat. Not sparring, but true life-and-death battles where he could comprehend mortality.

He had unwittingly started down the path of the Extreme Dao, and there was no turning back. Otherwise, his natural inclination was to avoid trouble whenever he could. Pulling Li Zhixuan into his plans was an extra layer of insurance; at Ninth-Layer Golden Core, Li Zhixuan was significantly stronger than him right now.

After a moment of thought, Li Zhixuan said, "To become a Peak Master, you have to pass the trials for those Sword Peaks. But you need a good amount of contribution points to even challenge the trials, and we don't have any."

"That's why we need to go earn contribution points," Chen Dong said. "You're already a Golden Core cultivator, what are you doing listening to a lecture analyzing Qi Cultivation?!"

Li Zhixuan exclaimed in admiration, "Damn, you're one crafty bastard!"

Chen Dong was stunned. "You weren't in the modern world for long, but you sure picked up a lot of its slang!"

Li Zhixuan grinned. "That's because cell phones from your world are incredible. I learned so much from it. Too bad they don't work here in the Floating Shadow Realm."

Li Zhixuan had been curious about so many things in the modern world that Chen Dong had simply bought him a cell phone and let him play with it. The phone was still sitting in Li Zhixuan's ring even now.

Chen Dong remarked casually, "It'll probably start working in another couple of years. The alliance treaty between our two worlds included provisions for it. A lot of people will be coming to the Floating Shadow Realm to build infrastructure soon."

Li Zhixuan's eyes brightened. "Excellent, excellent. Still, cultivators should probably use those things sparingly. They can have an effect on one's Dao Heart."

"You're already at the Golden Core Stage. What could possibly affect your Dao Heart at this point?"

"I'm concerned for those at the Qi Cultivation and Foundation Establishment stages!"

The two of them had just stepped out of the crowd and were about to ask for directions to the Duties Hall when they ran right into Fu Changyan.

"Chen Dong, perfect. I have business with you." Fu Changyan's expression was as arrogant as ever.

Chen Dong was put off by the arrogant attitude and asked bluntly, "What do you want?"

"First, I am here to formally invite you to join my Proud Sword Peak. Your True Qi is deep and condensed, and your Fire Technique is exceptional. I've already spoken to my master about you, and he is willing to make an exception and take you on as a Direct Disciple. He can impart an orthodox-grade Cultivation Technique directly to you."

'Hearing this, Chen Dong was initially puzzled. 'I'm a man of considerable talent, and I even distinguished myself in the tournament between the two worlds. Why hadn't any of the other Sword Peaks in the Cyan Sky Sect tried to snatch me up? So this was why. Proud Sword Peak is one of the five major Sword Peaks, and they get first choice of disciples. Since they had their eye on me, no other peak bothered trying to win me over.''

'However, Chen Dong wasn't particularly interested in Proud Sword Peak. According to the appendix of the Sect Rules Manual, the primary technique of Proud Sword Peak was the abstruse-grade Proud Heart Sword Technique. He figured that anyone who practiced it would end up with a smug, arrogant attitude like Fu Changyan—an attitude that was just asking to get punched. Besides, he had already decided to vie for one of the vacant Peak Master seats.'

So, Chen Dong gave a slight bow. "Thank you for your Peak Master's generous offer, but I'll need some time to consider it."