212: Peak of Fighting Spirit

Red Silk's fingertip lightly traced Jiang Donghua's Adam's apple, her lips pressing against his earlobe. Her warm breath made him tense all over; he narrowed his eyes like a satiated cat, yet with a hint of unwilling ferocity.

"If you dare not come, I'll kill my way back from the Central Plains and tie you up to be my husband."

She bit his lower lip, her threat muffled.

Jiang Donghua chuckled, his palm cupping the back of her neck, pulling her closer and deepening the kiss.

Only when their breaths became ragged did he pull back slightly, resting his forehead against hers as he spoke in a hoarse voice.

"With my Senior Sister so passionate, how could I dare not come?"

Red Silk snorted, her fingers gripping his lapel with such force it almost tore.

"Stop being so glib!"

She glared at him, but the moisture in her eyes rendered the threat utterly ineffective.

"If you dare to be seduced by some vixen along the way, I'll—"

"You'll what?"

Jiang Donghua raised an eyebrow, deliberately teasing her.

"Strike me with Lightning Light?"

"Strike you?"

Red Silk sneered, a wisp of tiny Lightning Light condensing on her fingertip as she drew a circle on his chest, the tingling sensation making his muscles twitch.

"I'll just lock you in my room, make you look at only me every day, and you won't be able to go anywhere."

Jiang Donghua's eyes darkened. He suddenly flipped over, pinning her beneath him, his fingertips caressing her lips, his voice low.

"Then why don't you lock me up right now?"

Red Silk's ear tips burned, but she refused to yield, lifting her leg to press against his waist, provocatively saying,

"What? Scared? It's still not too late to beg for mercy."

Jiang Donghua chuckled, leaning down to lightly bite her neck, eliciting a soft gasp from her.

"Beg for mercy?"

He pressed against her skin, his voice hoarse.

"Senior Sister, why don't we try and see who begs for mercy first?"

Red Silk's breathing hitched, her fingertips digging into his back, as she stubbornly retorted,

"Try it then! Who's afraid of whom?"

But as soon as her words fell, Jiang Donghua kissed her, so fiercely that she was almost overwhelmed.

A few days later, old Mo Xuan stroked his beard, squinting at his Disciple with a mischievous smile.

"Oh, shy now? Aren't you usually quite the chatterbox, boy?"

Jiang Donghua sat cross-legged on the cultivation stone platform, eyes closed, looking as if he was in meditation and shouldn't be disturbed, but his earlobes were slightly flushed.

Seeing this, Mo Xuan deliberately leaned closer and whispered,

"What? Did I hit the mark? You wouldn't be..."

"Master!"

Jiang Donghua suddenly opened his eyes, gritting his teeth.

"If you're so bored, why don't you go to the back mountain and spar with a magical beast, instead of disturbing my cultivation here!"

Mo Xuan laughed heartily, patting his shoulder.

"Alright, alright, young people are thin-skinned, this old man understands!"

He turned as if to leave, but then suddenly looked back, winking as he added,

"But if you really can't bear to part, it's still not too late to go after her now; that girl probably hasn't even left the Academy gates yet."

A vein throbbed on Jiang Donghua's forehead.

"Can you stop making trouble?"

Mo Xuan shrugged, shaking his head as he walked out, deliberately muttering,

"Ah, young people these days, they're dying inside, but they still put on a tough front, tsk tsk tsk..."

Jiang Donghua rubbed his sore waist, grimacing as he leaned against the stone platform to sit down, cursing inwardly.

"That woman really wanted to drain me dry before she left!"

He looked down at his slightly trembling hands, then recalled Red Silk's stance of not giving up until he couldn't get up, and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"And she said she was afraid I'd be seduced by some vixen along the way. With this kind of intensity, how would I have the energy to flirt with anyone else?"

He sighed, took out a bottle of Qi-replenishing pills from his storage ring, and swallowed two.

As the pills entered his stomach, a warm medicinal power slowly diffused, finally alleviating some of the soreness in his waist.

"But, the Central Plains!"

Jiang Donghua looked up at the sky, his gaze gradually becoming serene.

Red Silk's family was considered a powerful force in the Central Plains, with Dou Zong guarding it.

With his current strength, let alone marrying her, he probably couldn't even enter her family's main gate.

"Dou Ling? Fourth-Grade Alchemist?"

He chuckled self-deprecatingly.

"In the eyes of those old monsters, I probably don't even count as an ant."

He clenched his fists, his knuckles slightly white.

"I must become stronger, faster!"

But as soon as he thought this, another pang of soreness shot through his waist, making him involuntarily hiss.

"But I can't be too hasty. If I keep pushing myself like this, I might become a dried-up husk before even breaking through to Dou King."

He rubbed his temples, shaking his head helplessly.

"Forget it, I'll regulate my breathing for a few days. I'll go into seclusion once my waist isn't sore anymore."

Red Silk stood on the back of the flying magical beast, the strong wind whistling, making her robes flap loudly.

She looked down, her fingertips lightly stroking her flat stomach, a cunning and triumphant smile curving her lips.

"Hmph, aren't those old fogeys always harping about bloodline inheritance? Now let's see how you'll stop me!"

She narrowed her eyes, recalling the absurd days with Jiang Donghua, her ear tips slightly warm, yet she couldn't help but let out a soft hum.

"If that guy knew, he'd probably be so scared he'd roll off the cultivation platform, wouldn't he?"

Thinking of this, she felt much better, even laughing out loud.

"But if he dares not to come!"

A flash of Lightning Light appeared in Red Silk's eyes, and a small arc of electricity crackled in her palm.

"I'll bring the child and kill my way back to Jia Nan Academy, to give him a little surprise!"

The more she thought about it, the more amusing she found it, even beginning to imagine Jiang Donghua's usually composed face showing a shocked and flustered expression.

"Heh, man, do you think you can escape?"

Red Silk put away her smile, looking towards the gradually appearing outline of the Central Plains, her eyes firm.

"Donghua, don't make me wait too long, otherwise, our mother and child will come to settle accounts with you together."

She touched her belly, murmuring softly.

Outside the Alchemy Department hall in the Outer Academy of Jia Nan Academy.

"Did you hear? Jiang Donghua is participating in the Inner Academy selection trial this time!"

A student whispered, his eyes full of excitement.

"Isn't he an Alchemist? Why is he joining the competition?"

The person next to him asked curiously.

"Heh, you wouldn't know, would you?"

Another person interjected, speaking mysteriously.

"It's said that before he went into seclusion, he was at least at Peak Great Dou Master. Now that several months have passed, who knows..."

"Hiss—has he already broken through to Dou Ling?!"

Everyone gasped, exchanging glances.

Alchemists were already rare, and to reach the Fourth-Grade Alchemist realm at such a young age, while also keeping up with Dou Qi cultivation, there wasn't a second person in the entire Jia Nan Academy!

"However, even if his Dou Qi cultivation is slightly inferior, an Alchemist's Soul Power and flames are enough to give his opponents a hard time!"

Someone exclaimed.

Jiang Donghua sat cross-legged on the cultivation platform, Dou Qi surging around him, his meridians flowing like rivers, constantly impacting the invisible barrier.

Peak Dou Ling!

He opened his eyes, clenching his palm, and the air seemed to twist for a moment as if being squeezed.

"Not enough..."

During these months of seclusion, he had almost poured all his energy into Dou Qi cultivation, temporarily setting aside alchemy.

After all, in the face of absolute strength, the identity of a Fourth-Grade Alchemist might earn him respect, but it was far from enough to make Red Silk's family take him seriously.

Eight-Star Dou Zong!

Just thinking of this realm, Jiang Donghua felt a suffocating sense of pressure.

A Dou Zong could stir the energy of heaven and earth with a raise of their hand, and suppress a region with a flick of their wrist.

And Red Silk's family actually had such an existence guarding it! Even more troublesome was that they seemed to be involved with the Xuanming Sect.

"Xuanming Sect."

Jiang Donghua murmured softly, his brows tightly furrowed.

This sect was considered a first-rate power in the Central Plains, acting in strange ways. Rumor had it that they specialized in sinister Dou Qi and could even devour others' cultivation.

If Red Silk's family truly had connections with them, then things would be even more difficult.

"Tsk, what a hassle."

He rubbed his temples, feeling a bit irritated.

Just then, old Mo Xuan's voice came from behind him.

"What, finally willing to crawl off the cultivation platform?"