Chen Jing's Good Fortune, Luo Bin's Fist's Might

Four stories of the building erupted in rolling dust and smoke. Through the broken windows and gaps, the view was obscured by the spreading haze.

Those outside could hardly see inside, and those inside were completely unaware of the situation outside.

After Luo Bin activated the active ability of [Phantom], he stepped into the building. A lewd woman's voice drifted into his ears—heavy panting, as if she had just finished some indescribable activity...

Then came the rustling sound of someone dressing.

Following the sound, Luo Bin reached the second floor. A single glance revealed a woman dressed as a student from Ping City Women's Normal School—one of the two women who had been beside Chen Jing at Qunyu Pavilion. She was now straightening her clothes, her face flushed, lips slightly parted, still savoring the moment.

"So much moisture in the air?"

"She's just a human. Could it really not be some Demon Specter..."

Luo Bin held his patience, carefully observing the surroundings. Suddenly, his gaze caught sight of a young man in a pristine white shirt lying on a dust-covered floor.

It was Chen Jing!

After the lewd woman finished tidying her own clothes, she crouched down and straightened Chen Jing's garments as well. Then she turned her head and called upstairs:

"Old Daoist, I'm done~ This kid's about to wake up. Hurry down and use your [Spirit Binding and General Commanding]."

"That idiot behind you still left the Sun Family Eldest Miss he kidnapped upstairs. The Sun family may not compare to the Chen family, but they're not easy to deal with either."

"Once you're finished, we need to leave quickly."

From upstairs came a hoarse, aged snort.

"You slut. Someone as wanton as you from Entangling Emotion Valley is rare indeed!"

The woman giggled. "Old Daoist, you're working yourself to the bone for the Pei Family, isn't it because you have 'relations' with Pei Song's old concubine? Why laugh at a pot calling a kettle black...?"

"If someone else overheard, I wouldn't care much, but they'd call you an old fool without shame..."

Luo Bin stood at another stairwell, peering through a crack in the wall. The old man referred to as the Daoist had several people beside him.

Their auras were all quite weak—roughly at the early or middle stage of Golden Skin... Not a problem.

But the old Daoist, whose Daoist robe was partially visible, was someone Luo Bin couldn't quite see through. However, judging by the faint wisp of qi that leaked out during his argument with the woman, the sense of pressure wasn't strong.

As for the information revealed in their conversation—"Entangling Emotion Valley," "Spirit Binding and General Commanding," "Pei Family," "Sun Family Eldest Miss"—Luo Bin committed it all to memory.

Su Yunong had mentioned earlier that the reason Chen Manqing was so lethargic was because a Daoist from the Pei Family, skilled in the strange art of [Spirit Binding and General Commanding], had extracted one of her souls.

Now it seemed the Daoist before him was that very man.

Luo Bin did his utmost to suppress his aura, lurking in the shadows, trying to glean more information from their dialogue.

The old Daoist flicked his sleeve, and dust instantly filled the building. An aged yet somewhat vigorous surge of blood energy rushed through his withered, timber-like body, forcing the few people behind him to retreat several steps.

"Daoist, Jiang He is after all a disciple of Entangling Emotion Valley. Don't act rashly!" A woman behind the old Daoist spoke up.

She was none other than the other woman who had been beside Chen Jing.

The old Daoist said with slight anger, "Get lost. I won't short you what you want..."

"Very well. I hope you keep your promise."

The woman in the student uniform, whose figure could only be called debauched, glanced around the floor, then leaped away, vanishing into the bushes outside the building. The "dampness" that had been affecting Luo Bin's senses receded like a tide.

"Looks like everything's coming together. Chen Manqing's problem, and one of the crises in the Chen family's current situation—it's all gathered here."

"Entangling Emotion Valley is something even this old Daoist fears, which means it's no simple force. That kid Chen Jing sure is lucky, getting to enjoy one of their women..."

Luo Bin continued to steady his mind, quietly circulating the Primordial Stance to channel his blood energy.

The blood energy cultivation and attack methods gained from adding points to [Crimson] were all at the peak of their tier. Luo Bin had thoroughly mastered these details during his seclusion in Qufang Garden at the Chen Residence, sparring with Zhang Huai and Hu Junzhi.

Thus, the few people behind the old Daoist were nothing but soft, worthless goods in his eyes—nothing to fear.

But this old Daoist was somewhat unusual. Though the sense of pressure wasn't strong, that elusive feeling drove Luo Bin to observe a while longer.

At the same time, his right fist and arm tensed, secretly gathering strength and storing power... As soon as he had enough information, he would blast the old Daoist back with one punch...

"Daoist, feel free to perform the Spirit Binding and General Commanding. We'll keep watch for you."

"Thank you. Then I'll begin now."

Luo Bin cursed silently. Damn it, he'd wanted to pry out more valuable intel, but the old man wasn't saying anything—just jumping straight into the operation...

That meant he had to interrupt the spell.

His right fist was primed and ready. The destructive power of White Ape Through-Arm Fist was fully condensed in his fist and arm. The surging strength of the late Golden Skin stage, combined with the pure, yang-aligned blood energy gained from adding points to the Primordial Stance, made the damp air hiss and sizzle before his fist even struck.

The old Daoist was just forming hand seals, preparing to perform the strange art of soul extraction, when he suddenly turned his head at the strange noise and barked:

"Who? Out—"

The word "out" barely left his lips before he felt a searing, powerful fist slam into his chest.

Boom—!!!

The sound shook the heavens.

The old Daoist's body seemed somewhat frail. Taking Luo Bin's punch to the chest was like being hit by a cannon—he couldn't dodge in time and had no choice but to retreat to disperse the force.

His entire body was sent floating by the immense power.

He slammed violently into the wall behind him, his body spread-eagled, leaving a shallow depression in the surface...

The accumulated dust throughout the entire building was jolted airborne by the terrifying force of that punch, suspended thick in the air... This was the dust-shaking, tremor-like scene that Chen Tianren, Chen Mansheng, and the others had witnessed from outside.

At that moment, the few people beside the old Daoist quickly retreated.

When facing an enemy who appeared out of nowhere, the first priority was to distinguish friend from foe... After all, that ferocious punch hadn't landed on them... Maybe it wasn't aimed at them at all. If so, there was no need to fight such a formidable person.

They knew the old Daoist's strength well.

Even with some guard up, he'd been punched into the wall, stuck so deep it was hard to pry him out... They'd better figure out the situation first and avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

A wise man adapts to circumstances, after all. For the sake of survival, there was no shame in it.

"This young master, we have no grievances..." one of the men began, but was cut off by the sharp-tempered woman beside him.

She uttered quietly: "He's Luo Bin."

Luo Bin had no time to waste on these trash. If not for the slight advantage of a sneak attack with this punch, plus the speed boost from [Phantom] in its final moments, he could never have reached Chen Jing so easily.

"Chen Jing, wake up!"

He slapped Chen Jing's cheek. Under the horrified gazes of the crowd, Luo Bin threw another punch, its fist aimed straight at the man who had just spoken.

Bam!

The man flew far away.

Luo Bin hoisted Chen Jing's body onto his back. While the old Daoist was still wracked with internal pain, he quickly leaped out the window and rushed toward Long Wind Pier.

He was determined not to turn back and waste time fighting. That old Daoist, after taking his punch, hadn't even let a single trace of blood seep from the corner of his mouth, and his eyes still seemed clear...

Yet that punch had been nearly eighty percent of Luo Bin's full strength.

A true expert.

Chen Mansheng saw a distant figure darting and weaving, emerging from the dust-choked upper floor. She pushed up her gold-rimmed half-frame glasses and called out to Chen Tianren with a delighted expression:

"Dad, look, it's Luo Bin!"