Spirit Cultivation

"Miss Wu." 

As they walked through the Trade Union Headquarters, all servants, workers and managers bowed their heads politely as if she was the Queen of this establishment. It wasn't that far from the truth as Wu indeed handled almost everything since she returned to the Capital.

She didn't mind what other people say about her so she walked next to Xuefeng with their fingers wrapped together, publicly displaying that he was someone she chose.

Unfortunately, even if she was the Queen, she didn't have the access to every room. 

"I'm sorry Miss, your father ordered us to not let anyone inside as he is greeting a very important guest. He even created a barrier surrounding his room to make sure no one disturbs him," one of the familiar Family Guards stopped them in the tracks right in front of her father's office. 

A shiny golden barrier covered the doors, looking thick and sturdy. It was her first time seeing such a barrier which made her frown. 

"Did he tell you that even I can't enter inside?" Wu asked sternly, making the guard visually tense. 

"No Miss… He didn't say that…" the guard replied anxiously. "I'm sure Miss can enter whenever she wants… It's just that we can't open the barrier for Miss." 

"Don't worry about it. Move back," Wu commanded and the guards walked away, creating a secondary blockage behind them that gave them a free space between them and the doors. 

She pulled Xuefeng with her and touched the barrier. It was really smooth to the touch, buzzing as she felt it. 

Au!

Just as she was about to take her hand away, she exclaimed as if hand got shot by lightning, quickly taking it back. She felt a sharp pain on her palm so she quickly checked it out. 

There was a black spot on her palm as if her skin got completely charred. The pain got quickly unbearable, causing her to suck in cold breath but it lasted only for a moment. Before she could think of a solution, Xuefeng grabbed her hand and she felt a refreshing energy sink into her body. 

In less than a second the burned skin fell off, replaced by a new, perfectly smooth skin. 

"Dummy, why are you so careless. Didn't your mom teach you shouldn't touch unknown barriers? It's obviously not a normal barrier," Xuefeng scolded, giving her a stare. 

She immediately felt like a little kid, not knowing what to say. She didn't expect her father would set up an attacking barrier that could hurt her like that. 

Xuefeng's expression softened when he saw her saddened expression and he rubbed her cheek to cheer her up. "Are you okay? Does it still hurt?" he asked softly with care in his voice.

The guards were watching them, looking like they wanted to help after hearing Wu's cry but before they could even do anything, the crisis ended, forcing them to cease their actions. 

"I'm fine already. Thank you for taking care of this dummy…" Wu muttered, leaning on his hand before giving the guards a side look. 

They swiftly turned around, minding their own business. 

"Tell them to leave and come back after five minutes. They are not needed here. The barrier is stronger than the one surrounding Central Region. If someone who can destroy it comes by, they won't be able to stop him anyway," Xuefeng suggested, giving her a wink. 

She didn't hesitate and called out to the guards, "You heard him. Leave and come back in five minutes." 

"Yes, Miss," the guards bowed without questions and walked away, leaving the two alone. 

Right after they disappeared, Xuefeng asked with a smile, "Do you want me to open those doors?" 

"Can you do it?" Wu asked back surprised, knowing very well how sturdy the Central Region Barrier was. 

Even if she used her best attack she wouldn't even graze it, not mentioning destroying it. 

Xuefeng only smirked and questioned, "Is there something your man can't do?" 

He rubbed her cheek once again and walked up to the barrier, touching it. 

Bzzzt!

The golden doors buzzed and lightning shot at him yet Xuefeng didn't even move, taking it like a boss. The lightning continued to strike but instead of hurting him, it gathered on top of his skin, dancing around. Xuefeng only giggled as if it just tickled him, playing with the lightning on top of his palm. 

"Whoa…" Wu muttered impressed, realizing the gap between them. 

She finally understood why the girls were training so hard. If Xuefeng was so strong right now, he would quickly get away from them, leaving them behind. The only way for them to stay with him was becoming stronger and do their best to keep up with him. 

'I need to train harder too…' Wu thought, her motivation sky-high. 

"This barrier was made with Fate Qi. It seems like it was created by the guest of your father. I can neutralize it easily," Xuefeng explained as he finally stopped playing and pulled up his sleeve, displaying the golden bracelet on his forearm. 

Xuefeng gave her a smile and the bracelet melted on her eyes, covering his arm with a golden liquid in the form of a gauntlet. Wu couldn't describe how excited she was, her mouth wide open and eyes glued to his arm. 

He reached out to the doors and the barrier got sucked in by the gauntlet, creating a big hole. In the end, the barrier broke and suddenly disappeared, allowing the doors to be opened again. 

Xuefeng canceled the gauntlet, reverting it back to its physical form and asked like a gentleman, "My Queen, shall we go inside?"

She smiled shyly as she approached him and hugged onto his arm. 

"Yes, my King," she replied in the same style, feeling like a teen in love. 

When Xuefeng opened the doors, she saw the interior of the familiar office and her father, sitting on the main seat behind his desk. He seemed to have expected their arrival as he was staring at the door in silence, his expression calm. 

"Dad? Is everything alright?" Wu asked with a frown, knowing very well something was up. "Why did you close yourself?"

She knew his father very well. He was always cheerful and playful but whenever something troubled him, he was calm and collected as if looking for a solution.

He didn't say anything and instead gazed at Xuefeng's arm she was holding, visually paling afterward. His usual rosy cheeks turned white and he glanced at the seat in front of him as if looking for advice. 

Wu sensed trouble but she didn't let go of Xuefeng, getting a lot of courage from him. She didn't need to wait for too long to find out who the guest was as the chair rotated and the person showed himself, shocking her.

"Grandpa!" Wu exclaimed, seeing the familiar face of her grandpa. "When did you came back?!" 

Lush and waist-long back hair with no white strands at all, firm skin, muscular and fit body. Despite an old age, his looks didn't change at all since she was born, showing how long the lives of top cultivators could be. 

"My dear granddaughter. I'm sorry I didn't visit you first. I had something to discuss with your father," her grandpa called out, smiling warmly. "I was going to meet you right after your father. It's good that you came on your own. We were just talking about you." 

His body was covered with a thin layer of golden hue which signaled he was in his avatar form, the only way to visit the Earth Realm. Aside from that, there was a small red crystal hanging down his neck just as Wu described. It had the perfect size to fit inside his bracelet sockets. 

Her grandpa stood up full smiles and spread his arms, asking, "Why didn't you hug your grandpa yet?"

Wu wanted to walk forward and hug him like she used to but then she realized something, holding her back. There was no way her grandpa didn't see how Xuefeng destroyed his barrier using the one and only Elemental Bracelet. How come he was not freaking out or getting all excited?

"I'm sorry grandpa, I'm with someone. I can't leave him." Wu played it save and introduced Xuefeng. 

"This is Liu Xuefeng, the person I chose to be my life-long partner."