Nine Nether Dragon Emperor-Chapter 21: Bare-handed, Tough against the Profound Realm Fifth Layer Heavens!
"Thank you, Young Master, for this gift of new life!" Number One knelt on the ground, utterly overwhelmed.
Originally, he thought he would suffer cultivation deviation, descend into madness, and become a cripple. However, when the pure and vast Earth Element Force entered his body, it immediately calmed the raging Element Force within him. Then, in one fell swoop, he broke through his shackles and stepped into the Profound Realm!
Number One was both shocked and elated. The joy was natural, as his realm had advanced. The shock was due to the richness and purity of the Young Master’s Element Force. At noon, they had trapped and killed Wang Mingfeng. Despite the eighteen of them acting as one, they all had a clear perception of the Element Force within his body. In terms of purity, the Young Master’s Element Force even surpassed Wang Mingfeng’s! A Spiritual Realm cultivator surpassing someone in the Profound Realm... it was a miracle!
In that moment, Number One’s gaze toward Ning Xuan was as if he were looking at a deity enveloped in endless divine halos.
Ning Xuan said little, simply nodding. Then, he swept his gaze over the others. Since the Azure Dragon Divine Meridian possessed this ability, he would naturally lend a helping hand to his Death Warriors. After all, he would be relying on them for his revenge in the days to come.
Over the next few hours, Ning Xuan continued to act. By the time he stopped, all Eighteen Death Warriors had advanced their realms! The weakest among them, in particular, had advanced two full layers under Ning Xuan’s deliberate efforts!
The Eighteen Death Warriors knelt, looking at Ning Xuan as if they had seen a True God.
Ning Xuan was also thoroughly exhausted. Although he had only used one Divine Vein, his cultivation was only at the Spiritual Realm. After all that, the Element Force in his body was almost completely drained. He immediately sat cross-legged, absorbing the Element Qi of heaven and earth to recover.
Although he had deliberately restrained himself, the commotion caused by Ning Xuan’s cultivation still shocked the Eighteen Death Warriors. It was terrifying to witness a Spiritual Realm Martial Artist’s cultivation drain all the spiritual energy from the surrounding land, causing even the flowers and trees to wither!
When Ning Xuan finished his practice as the sky began to lighten, he was pleasantly surprised to find that he had advanced another layer. He had reached the Sixth-Layer Heavens of the Spiritual Realm! The improvement was astonishingly fast!
After a night’s rest, both Ning Xuan and the Eighteen Death Warriors were brimming with energy. The Eighteen Death Warriors, in particular, had seen their overall strength increase by far more than ten percent!
"Zhou Family, Zhao Family, you’ve already missed your best chance! Today, I will wash you in blood!" Ning Xuan murmured, his eyes blazing with astonishing light.
Not long after, Ning Xuan led the Eighteen Death Warriors and swaggered toward the Zhou Family estate. While they were still on their way, the spies tailing them had already rushed back at top speed to report.
"Report! Patriarch, this is terrible! Ning Xuan is leading those eighteen men toward our Zhou Family!"
Zhou Family Patriarch, Zhou Yucheng, hadn’t slept all night. Hearing the report, he snorted coldly, "What audacity from Ning Xuan! Does he really think the Zhou Family is made of paper?! Have the second and third brothers returned? Have them come to the council hall for a meeting at once!"
Soon, two middle-aged men appeared. Zhou Yucheng immediately asked, "How did it go? Did you find anything?"
"We’ve analyzed it carefully," one of them said, pointing to a distant high-rise. "Last night’s arrows were fired from that tower over there, which is right between our family and the Zhao Family."
"Are you suggesting that besides those eighteen men, Ning Xuan has no other help?"
Both the Zhou and Zhao Families were extremely cautious. From the beginning, they had never believed Ning Xuan could slaughter the entire Wang Family alone. They were convinced he had hidden allies, which was why they hadn’t dared to act rashly.
"That’s the most likely scenario."
"So, we’ve been played for fools by that brat Ning Xuan all along! Good! Very good!" Zhou Yucheng’s presence surged, his eyes blazing with killing intent. "Let’s go and meet him! Today, we’ll ensure they never return!"
At his command, the Zhou Family’s Martial Artists moved as one. Outside the main gate, on the wide street, dozens of Martial Artists stood with a murderous air. Hidden in the shadows, an unknown number of others held bows and arrows, ready to strike at any moment.
"Listen up," Zhou Yucheng’s voice was ice-cold. "The moment they appear, shoot to kill!"
Aside from the Zhang Family, two great families had already been wiped out. He would not allow any accidents to befall the Zhou Family.
At the same time, the Zhao Family also received the news.
"Patriarch, what should we do?" a middle-aged man asked the Zhao Family Patriarch, Zhao Qitian.
Six years ago, the Zhao Family’s strength was just a step behind the Ning Family’s. Now, six years later, the Zhao Family had long since become the undisputed number-one family in Wuling City. Patriarch Zhao Qitian’s cultivation had even reached the peak of the Fifth-Layer Heavens of the Profound Realm.
"Is everything verified?"
"It is. For the past six years, Ning Xuan has been in Qingyang Town. Not long ago, his bloodline regenerated, only for it to be seized again by Wan Yue’er, the granddaughter of Ning Baizhan’s old servant Wan Zhongshan. She also crippled his meridians.
"It’s unknown what fortuitous encounter he had, but he recovered in a short time, killed Wan Zhongshan, and crippled Wan Yue’er. Interestingly, he fed the Divine Body True Blood to a stray dog. I heard that dog entered the Sealed Wuling Mountain Range, and I’ve already dispatched more men to find it.
"Oh, and one more thing. In Qingyang Town, Ning Xuan killed an outer sect disciple of the Fiery Sun Sect. That disciple had intended to take Wan Yue’er to the sect. After all, barring any accidents, she would have possessed the same bloodline and physique as Young Master Ning Yang. I heard the disciple had already sent a letter to the Fiery Sun Sect. They are likely on their way here now."
As expected of the number-one family, the Zhaos had managed to learn everything about Ning Xuan in such a short amount of time.
"So, you’re saying Ning Xuan truly has no other power to rely on," Zhao Qitian concluded.
"Yes. Those eighteen men are just a contingency plan left behind by that old fool Ning Baizhan."
Zhao Qitian stood up, his gaze piercing. "Excellent! We share a common cause with the Zhou Family. Now that they’re in trouble, we must support them. As a show of sincerity, I will lead the group myself!"
Zhao Qitian had made a shrewd calculation. By now, the conflict between the Zhou Family and Ning Xuan had likely already erupted. By going to the Zhou Family now, regardless of who won or lost, he could reap the greatest rewards for the smallest price.
Meanwhile, outside the Zhou Family’s main gate, several of the Eighteen Death Warriors were already wounded. The archers the Zhou Family had hidden in the shadows had all been killed by sleeve arrows. The morning air, once fresh, was now thick with the stench of blood.
The faces of the Zhou Family’s upper echelon turned grim. It had only been a night, yet the overall strength of the Eighteen Death Warriors had improved. This was far beyond their expectations.
Remembering how Wang Mingfeng had been trapped and killed by the formation of these eighteen men, Zhou Yucheng felt an uncharacteristic pang of panic.
"Attack! Kill them!" he roared, lunging forward himself. His target was Ning Xuan.
Condensing Yuan into a weapon, a long spear appeared in his hand. Having learned a lesson from the Wang Family’s fate yesterday, he intended to make this a swift and decisive battle.
Ning Xuan, wanting to test his own true strength, didn’t draw his Soft Sword. Instead, he met the attack head-on with his bare fists.
BANG!
With a deafening crack, the spear shattered, and Ning Xuan was sent flying back several zhang. However, aside from his blood churning, Ning Xuan felt no discomfort.
"Haha, exhilarating! Again!" he laughed. Activating his Cultivation Secret, the flush on his face instantly receded.
"This is impossible!" Zhou Yucheng was nearly frightened out of his wits.
To think that just two days ago, when Ning Xuan had appeared in Wuling City, his cultivation was merely at the Dark Realm! Advancing to the Spiritual Realm in such a short time was one thing, but to also gain the power to contend with a Profound Realm Fifth-Layer Heavens expert like himself? It was simply unbelievable!
