144 Duel

Somewhere in a high-end restaurant, Dan and Natalie along with Juliet could be seen in a private room where one could see the scenic view of the mountains along the Paradyne Academy.

It was late afternoon. The descending sun decreased illumination and a scarlet-orange color filled the skies along with red clouds that signaled the arrival of night. Cold winds swept past their bodies relaxing the three. Juliet laid on Dan's thigh while Natalie leaned on his shoulders.

The tranquil and sublime atmosphere that enveloped their bodies made Dan who was reluctant about it several months ago feel happy that he transmigrated in this world. Stretching his arm, he embraced Natalie and the latter lifted her head and sweetly smiled.

"Now that I think about it, there's only a day until your vacation is over, right?" Dan remembered that Natalie mentioned something about taking a three-day vacation. Natalie nodded her head and said, "The Paradyne Academy is still an academy. It values attendance and technical achievements than academic..."

Dan rubbed her head and nodded his head in understanding, Natalie narrowed her eyes as she savored the sensation of his hand rubbing her head. Smiling to himself, Dan said, "Since I have an Honorary Disciple Token, then I should be able to catch up with you soon, now tell me this, just what are they teaching in the Academy?"

Natalie adjusted her body so that Dan could embrace her more easily before replying, "They mostly teach theories regarding the Daos that exists under the heavens, and in each quarter, one is graded according to their improvements in their certain Dao."

"Theories regarding the Dao that exists under the heavens? Is it really necessary to teach those things when one should not rely on the Dao of the others and should create his or her own path?" Dan knitted his eyebrows, Natalie revealed a small smile and said, "Dear, not everyone is as smart as you or has their own established path because of their bloodlines, they need a guide or else they won't be able to rise..."

Dan's eyes twinkled in understanding, "Indeed, not everyone in this world can cultivate and even if they could, that doesn't mean that they would instantly soar through the skies like a dragon. One needs talent, resources, and comprehension to amount to anything on the path of cultivation."

His eyes flashed in sympathy, "We really have it easy, don't we? We have a noble bloodline so our path is established for us while they still need to carve their own path..."

Natalie shook her head, "That's wrong, Dear, you're the only one that has a noble bloodline, remember what George said? I only possess a Pseudo-Bloodline and doesn't deserve to learn the Longinus Clan's techniques."

Dan indeed remembered that George mentioned this issue. Staring right into Natalie's eyes, he said, "Do you feel indignant about it?" Natalie shook her head, "Of course, not, just being with you like this is a blessing itself that I could die at any moment and still be peaceful..."

Dan locked his eyebrows and flicked at her forehead, Natalie painfully moaned and rubbed her reddened forehead while glaring at him, "Why did you do that?"

Dan coldly snorted, "Don't be so casual in mentioning death, do you really think that I and Juliet will be happy to see you gone?" Witnessing his outburst, Natalie's expression went tender and she lifted both of her arms and embraced his neck.

"Well, since you don't want to see me die, you better protect me, okay?" Dan revealed a bitter smile upon hearing her words, "Protect you? You're at the peak of Spirit Tempering Realm, has comprehended the second Stance of the Blessing of the Lightning God Divine Arts and is personally trained by Senior Mathias. You're the one that should protect me..."

Natalie lightly chuckled when she saw him sulking, it looked to her that Dan's pride was hurt and she lifted her upper body before saying, "How about we do a little spar? Since Juliet is asleep, we can leave her here for a moment..."

Dan's figure trembled and her expression turned pale, "A spar? What do you mean? If you mean 'that' thing then I won't do it here, we should at least wait until we're back in our house..."

Natalie almost coughed a mouthful of blood as she turned speechless and glared at him, "Why must you be so perverted, what I want to do is a proper spar, not those things!"

Dan chuckled when he saw her outburst, "Not those things? Little wife, what do you mean by those things? Can you elaborate?"

Natalie ignored him while scurrying away while stomping her foot on the ground. Dan followed suit with a wide smile decorating his face as the husband and wife arrived before a wide and reinforced room courtesy of the restaurant.

"I rented this room for one Standard Spirit Stone for an hour, it is fitted with numerous anti-surveillance formations so there should be no risk of anyone spoofing our techniques..." Natalie stood at the distance before assuming an offensive stance, "Dear, you can go all out against me, don't worry about any injuries..." The cunning smile that lifted on her lips ignited the fighting spirit within Dan's body as the latter fiercely nodded his head and said,

"I see," Shaking his head, he assumed an offensive stance, "I do hope that you won't regret this, little wife..."

Unveiling both of his Gerber Mark II daggers, cold lights flashed around him and Dan's eyes turned sharp. The air around him turned murky and if a third party observed him from the side, they would feel suffocated from Dan's fierce intent.

His Weapon Mastery kicked in and Dan felt like his daggers became an extension of his arms. With a simple will in his end, he could control the daggers in whatever way he wanted. His Physique Mastery reinforced his body and his Mental Mastery enabled him to reach a terrifying calmness amidst pressure.

Combined, Dan transformed into an imposing battle general which made Natalie's expression change in delight and excitement. Flicking her wrist, a jade-colored soft sword manifested in the air and when she grabbed the sword, the air around Natalie changed.

From her previous tenderness and gentleness, her sharp eyebrows gave her a domineering vibe and her shining eyes indicated her fierce battle intent. At this moment, both husband and wife faced each other in a battle where they utilized everything that they had, all for the sake of proving their abilities to each other.

Dan focused all of his concentration into predicting Natalie's movements. But when he blinked his eyes and opened them again, a flash of lightning remained at Natalie's initial location as the latter reappeared behind him and sent a downward slice on his back.

If he was the Dan several months ago, he would panic and would be instantly defeated. However, the current Dan has experienced numerous life and death battles, along with George's tempering and the support from Mental Mastery, even without the help of the System, Dan calculated Natalie's attack trajectory, twisted his body and parried her slash while counter-attacking with a stab.

Stab!

The skill instantly activated and Natalie could only see the afterimage of Dan's daggers as it reappeared right before her right chest. Furrowing her eyebrows, Natalie maintained her calm, manipulated her Spiritual Qi and formed a palm-sized barrier on her right chest which blocked Dan's stab.

Crack!

Her palm-sized barrier shattered and the remaining impact of Dan's attacks sent her flying as the latter pursued her flying figure. Natalie turned speechless at Dan's ferocity, but at the same time, she smirked before congealing a wall of lightning which slammed directly on Dan's body.

"Shit!"

The wall of lightning's appearance was instant and Dan didn't have the time to dodge. Lightning sizzled on his skin and Dan forcefully kicked his foot off the ground and retreated backward. His clothes were torn and charcoal-like burn marks riddled his torso.

Dan wanted to scream from the pain but the effects of the Mental Mastery Skill and Physique Mastery greatly reduced his pain in an instant to the extent that he could only feel a faint tingling on his skin. Darting his gaze back at Natalie, he dashed while keeping his body low so that he could react in time.

Natalie stared at Dan's approaching and didn't retreat. With a will from her side, her soft sword became coated with lightning arcs and a barrier of lightning enveloped her body. Witnessing this scene, Dan clicked his tongue, even if he could land his attacks, he would also be injured in return.

"Hmmph! Do you really think that I would care about hurting myself?!" Dan exclaimed and continued his high-speed approach while preparing his daggers. Natalie clicked her tongue and when she saw the determination within Dan's eyes. She was convinced that Dan wouldn't mind suffering in mutual destruction.

Lifting her soft sword, she prepared to meet Dan's attacks as the two parties clashed, sending lightning arcs dancing all around the room.

"Anger of the Lightning God!"

Dan trigged his Physical Technique, Anger of the Lightning God as his muscles intensely trembled. If one listened closely, they could hear the faint roar of a beast from Dan's muscles. With his strength amplified, Dan was confident that he could defeat Natalie with this strike.

The intense power contained within Dan's fist intimidated Natalie and she felt stifled. However, she lifted her lips in a smile and instead of retreating, she flicked her soft sword. Dan's attack was linear and her predictions told her that her barrier would soften Dan's attack to the extent that she could endure it.

Dan's eyes flashed in a strange brilliance, he didn't expect that instead of retreating, Natalie would commence a counter-attack. Glancing at her soft sword, Dan calculated in his mind that it wouldn't hit his body as a sly smirk lifted on his lips.

Bang!

A fierce collision occurred, the impact caused a huge crater on the reinforced wooden floor of the room and Natalie's lightning barrier which exploded from the collision turned most of the walls into charcoal.

A figure flew past this destruction and struck the walls. As the dust cleared up, one could see that the figure that flew across the room and struck the wall was Natalie and the one that remained standing was Dan!

Natalie's figure looked wretched and bedraggled, the dark dust that stuck on her torn robes stained her gorgeous body and made her look miserable. However, despite all of this, a smile still decorated her lips as she stared at Dan's figure.

"Guah!"

Dan's body intensely trembled, when his fist struck Natalie, Natalie's soft sword suddenly twisted its trajectory and went straight for his meridians, causing the blood in his body to abruptly change in directions. Kneeling on the ground with a dull thud, Dan knew that though his body didn't have as many external injuries as Natalie had. He suffered far more internal injuries than her.

Wryly smiling, Dan forcefully uprooted the soft sword that stuck on his right torso. His Mental Mastery and Physique Mastery circulated, while the Assassination System automatically repaired his body.

"I didn't expect that you would be that daring. You actually gambled on your barrier and received my attack just so you could injure me in the process..." Dan lifted his head and stared at Natalie's direction. The latter wiped the blood on the edge of her lips as she said, "I wasn't planning on doing that at first but when I saw that you're completely focused on bringing me down, I knew that other than matching your ferocity and boldness, there's no way that I could defeat you..."

Dan sighed before revealing a small smile, "That's also true, but since both of us are injured, what should we do now, shall we declare this a draw, or should it be my win?"

Natalie rolled her eyes, "Your victory? Your injuries are worse than me, how can you say that you're the one that won?" Dan locked his eyebrows and stared right into her eyes, "How can you do me like this, Little wife, If I didn't suppress my attack in the last minute then you could've possibly died!"

"Suppress my ass!" Natalie crossed her arms, "Didn't I told you earlier that you shouldn't be afraid of going all out? Since you didn't heed my advice then it's completely your fault, not mine..."

Dan's expression looked vexed and irritated but witnessing her puffed cheeks and adorable wronged expression. His visage softened and a small smile lifted on his lips, "Fine, it's your win, alright? Are you happy now?"

Hearing his words, Natalie lightly chuckled, "That's more like it," She repeatedly nodded her head as Dan stood up despite his injuries and approached her. "Hey, stop, you're more injured than me, so you should stay there and lie down!"

Despite her protest, Dan carried her in his arms as the two of them exited the room that now looked like a meteor impact epicenter. Darting his gaze at his protesting wife, Dan mumbled, "Though you won today, you still cannot defeat me when it comes to those battles..."

"Those battles?" Natalie curiously mumbled when she saw Dan's ambiguous smile.

Dan stopped his movements and he deeply stared at her eyes before whispering into her ears.

"Those battles on the bed..."

Dan's ghastly and miserable shriek reverberated across the entire restaurant.