“Hew!”
Ding Pen’s shoulder brushed against the low hanging branches as he darted forward with lightning speed. He channeled all of his energy to his legs, and therefore, he was practically skipping long distance with each step he took.
“That’s terrifying, how is that even possible?”
Fear still lingered in his heart despite the distance he had put from Chen Fan.
The moment his throwing knife failed him, he retreated into the shadows and observed quietly. However, he was scared shitless by what happened next. Second Lord Xin, Mad Sun and Wang Qinian, they all had achieved Initial Success in their Internal Force cultivation. Ding Pen doubted that he would have the upper hand while fighting anyone of them.
However, before Tong Shan, they were nearly as fragile as plastic toys.
“And that Tutuli. He is the guardian of the Diamond Temple, a master of External Strength. He would be a headache for even a Phenomenal Success level cultivator. However, Tong Shan had —”
His thoughts were interrupted by the terrifying scene in his memory. Ding Pen shivered.
What kind of freak is he? I wager he is about as powerful as a Transcendent Master. The thought of duking it out with such a powerful fighter gave Ding Pen the jitters.
“Fortunately, I escaped quickly. Otherwise, I would have been quashed to death just like Second Lord Xin.” Ding Pen heaved a sigh. His internal energy had helped him put on some speed and it wasn’t long before he could see the Lu family’s manor in the distance.
Suddenly, a figure appeared from the side of the road.
“Ding Pen, how did it go?”
“Ah, it’s you, Miss Jin Yi.”
Ding Pen slowed down and examined the person in front of him. He recognized her as the girl from the Medicine God Valley Sect.
“Don’t even start! Second Lord Xin was wrong about everything. We got our asses handed to us.” Ding Pen let out a painful grin.
“What happened?” Jin Yi asked with knitted brows. “Tutuli is a Master External Force martial artist, and no one should be able to defeat him other than Transcendent Master.
“That Chen Beixuan is just an ordinary boy, but his guard. That Tong Shan… he was a … demon!” Fear flickered in Ding Pen’s eyes. “Tutuli didn’t last more than one second during the fight against Tong Shan. I bet Tong Shan is a … Master External Force Martial Artist.”
Ding Pen’s words shocked Jin Yi. However, she managed to keep calm. “Are you sure?”
“That’s just a guess. But I am not planning to go after that giant freak any time soon. It was a close call and I am lucky that I can escape that wretched place—” As Ding Pen shook his head while cherishing his near escape. His face turned black and he cupped his chest with both hands.
“Ah! Ah! Shit. Something has my heart! It hurts….”
Life drained away from Ding Pen’s face as he slowly slumped to the ground like a sack of potatoes.
There and then, Jin Yi watched as an Internal Force user who had reached Initial Success passed out without any reason.
Jin Yi finally realized something; she looked distressed as she looked toward the end of the road. She knew there was going to be a Master Dharma Spell caster waiting for her out there.
“This is a curse, although I don’t know what kind of curse it is, I am sure it is a curse. Who would have thought that Chen Fan was a Transcendent Master?”
A pang of panic seized Jin Yi. She knew that she had acted too quickly this time. However profitable the Body Tempering Pill and supreme-grade elixirs were, they were not worth the ire of a Transcendent Master.
Meanwhile, Chen Fan finally looked away from the distance.
In his hand, a silver blade danced from finger to finger. Chen Fan had cast the spell using the blade as a surrogate and paralyzed Ding Pen. Just as he had said before, he would not allow anyone to insult a Celestial Lord and get away with it.
“It seems that the Curse of Heart Piercing Blade worked pretty well.”
It was the first time Chen Fan had ever tried to use the curse, and he was impressed by the results.
“Xiao Fan, what are you mumbling about?” Miao Xiaoqian asked.
Fear still hadn’t left the girl. She huddled against Lu Yanxue, eyes wide open and darting left and right like a startled kitten, threatening to flee at the slightest disturbance. On the other hand, Lu Yanxue appeared to be much calmer thanks to her upbringing. Although she was also shocked by the bloody scene, she was able to gather herself.
“What should we do with this… blood?” Lu Yanxue asked with a pale face.
“Don’t worry, someone will help us clean everything. Let’s head back now.” Chen Fan said. It was evident that he was alluding to something or someone.
After the four left the battleground, two people emerged from behind the bushes. One of them was Lu Haixuan from the Lu family.
“Call the cleaner and clean this mess up. And call Boss Zhang. Make sure no one else knows what happened here tonight.” Lu Haixuan spoke under his breath.
“Yes, young master.” The old man beside him replied.
“So he is a Physique Refinement Master! We all have underestimated him.” Lu Haixuan lamented as worry gleamed in his eyes.
The so-called Physique Refinement Masters were Martial Artists who had reached the peak of External Force cultivation. To be called a master, such a martial artist must be only one step away from entering the Transcendent State.
They were able to channel their External Force in and out of their bodies to turn their skin into iron and increase their strength by ten folds. These Martial Artists were headaches for even the Transcendent Masters.
The Physique Refinement Grand Masters were one of the toughest Martial Artists in the Grand Master Category. Other ordinary Grand Masters would choose to avoid them at all costs. However, it was much more difficult for an External Force user to reach the Grand Master Level than an Internal Force user. Over the centuries, only one person from the Diamond Temple had reached such status.
“We will have to report what happened here to our family elders. Who would have thought that we nearly had a brush with a Physique Refinement Master over a recipe.”
Lu Haixuan shook his head and heaved a sigh. He wagered that no one in the Lu family, except for the family elder was able to overcome Tong Shan.
The next day, when Chen Fan arrived at the conference, he registered that everyone looked at him with newfound fear and respect.
The Martial Arts community was a small circle. There had been less than a hundred martial artists who attended this conference, yet six of them had perished last night not very far from the venue. News traveled fast and by then, everyone knew what had happened.
Tong Shan became known as a Physique Refinement Master, and no one dared to think lightly of him and his master.
“Master Chen, I apologize for the ill-treatment. We will move you and Master Tong Shan to the lakeside mansion right away.” A white-haired old man walked over to Chen Fan and said politely.
His name was Lu Tianlong and he was also an internal force user who had reached the peak attainment.
Behind him was a cautious Lu Yanxue.
The Lu family was a martial arts family and therefore, its most important asset was internal force martial artists; companies and connections were much less of a concern to them.
Lu Tianlong had reached the peak of the Internal Force cultivation, and he could be the backbone of any household. Even in the mighty Lu family, he was counted as a significant figure.
“Ok” Chen Fan dipped his chin slightly as a reply.
No one protested the decision; Tong Shan was a Physique Refinement Master, and other than a Grand Masters, no one would dare to speak up against them.
“Ah, and there is my niece Xiao Xue. “Lu Tianlong turned around and said: “Xiao Xue, come greet Master Chen and Master Tong Shan.”
The girl had been sassy and had given Chen Fan all kinds of attitude, however, there and then, she was as meek and coy as a kitten.
She hesitated a second as humiliation filled her heart. She plodded toward Chen Fan and greeted them: “Master Chen, Master Tong Shan.”
“I have heard that you two are acquaintances, why don’t you accompany Mr. Chen for the rest of the day?” Lu Tianlong let out a lewd smile.
Lu Yanxue blushed, as a sense of shame and embarrassment festered inside of her.
However, she knew she had no other choice. Her parents were from the offshoot branch of the Lu family and therefore, she was not taken seriously. On the other hand, Lu Tianlong was an important figure of the family clan and controlled over a billion yuan of assets. Worse, he was also an elder of the family. Therefore, Lu Tianlong must oblige his orders unconditionally.
“They are honey trapping me.” Chen Fan cracked a smile.
Lu Yanxue was charming beyond description. As the most popular girl at the Chu Zhou City University, her skin was as fair as the first snow in November. She was wearing a casual outfit, but she still was able to look like a goddess. The Lu family had offered such a drop dead gorgeous lady to Chen Fan.
Let it be Chen Fan’s Alchemy skills or Tong Shan’s Physique Refinement level, Chen Fan had things that the Lu family really wanted. As for attractive girls such as Lu Yanxue, they were expendable in her family’s eyes.
“Very well, Thank you.” Chen Fan nodded.
A broad smile broke over Lu Tianlong’s wrinkled face. He laughed out loud as if Chen Fan was his old friend.
After Lu Tianlong left the room, Chen Fan and Lu Yanxue were left alone. An awkward air loomed about the two.
“How is Xiao Qian?” Chen Fan asked.
“She was scared last night and didn’t fall asleep until midnight. She is still in bed right now.” Lu Yanxue replied. Then she looked into Chen Fan’s eyes and asked: “Chen Fan, who the hell are you? How could you have someone so powerful as your servant? And why did my family elder try so hard to suck up to you?”
“Don’t try to lie to me again, I know Tong Shan is not your cousin… Those lies only work on Xiao Qian.”
She fixed her gaze on Chen Fan, threatening to see through his ruse.
“Who am I?” Chen Fan cracked a smile. “If I tell you that I am a martial arts GrandMaster as well as a Perfected Dharma Cultivator. Tong Shan was just a Golem I have created. Would you believe me?”
Lu Yanxue batted her lashes at him and hesitated for a while. In the end, she let out a beautiful smile and then said: “I do.”
“Oh?” Chen Fan was taken aback.
Lu Yanxue gently stamped her feet on the ground and said with faint indignation: “I don’t really care who you are, I am sold to you by my family now anyway. I don’t get a choice.
“To be frank with you, I didn’t want to come back home at all. My family is going to marry me to a man from a rich family against my will.
“My parents are powerless in the family. They don’t know martial arts and neither are they rich. They work as managers in the family company. No one treated me as one of their family members, ever since I was a little girl, I envied my cousins’ pretty dolls and imported snacks, but I had nothing. I don’t have good grades either, the only thing good about me is my looks.”
“I figured that it would be much better to marry you than some snippy playboy.”
Chen Fan was touched by the girl’s complaint.
“I wonder if Xiao Qiong felt the same when she was forced to marry Shen Junwen.”
He held Lu Yanxue’s gaze, and let his face grow softer.
“Fine, since fate has brought us together, I will promise you a happy ever after.” Chen Fan thought to himself.
That being said, he still wouldn’t marry this girl.
To make an ordinary mortal happy for the rest of her life was a walk in the park to the North Mystic Celestial Lord.