Overdraw the future and become a peerless martial god

Chapter 105 All parties are surging
Lei Mu had not uttered a word, yet his soul was already shaken.

In an instant, all the powerful figures, sects, and nobles in the entire northern region of the Great Qian Dynasty were terrified and moved by that one glance.

The red candles flickered, their flames dancing like a nightmare.

Inside the deep hall of the Li Huo Palace, golden flames illuminated the vermilion stone pillars, and the fire god statues carved on the walls seemed to open their lifeless eyes in the shimmering light.

"boom."

There was an explosion.

A jade cauldron shattered with a crash, its powder scattering among the crimson fire array patterns and sparks flying.

The figure in the fiery robe suddenly rose to his feet, his robe billowing like flames, his eyes and brows dark and cold.

"...Is this the real 'Heavenly Tribulation'?"

Palace Master Shen Lie took a deep breath, his eyes seemingly piercing through the void of the sea of ​​thunder, staring at the thunderclouds of Qingzhou tens of thousands of miles away.

"The Ascension Tribulation that has not appeared for a thousand years... has actually appeared in Qingzhou?" He murmured, his voice like burnt-out ashes, reverberating throughout the entire hall.

The disciples behind him knelt in a tide, their undergarments soaked with cold sweat. One of them reported in a trembling voice:
"Reporting to the Palace Master, the source of the lightning is located southeast of Qingzhou Prefecture City, and it has been preliminarily determined to be within the Wuhou Prefecture area."

"Marquis Xie Chengjun?" Shen Lie sneered, a mocking smile playing on his lips. "That old fox of his is not worthy? His Qi Sea... the foundation for his breakthrough was severed ten years ago."

His face grew increasingly somber, his eyes darting about with a sinister glint, as if he were recalling something.

After a long silence, he slowly lifted the fire robe on his left shoulder.

Beneath the flame-patterned Taoist robe was a shocking burn mark, running along the shoulder blade to the chest, as if it had been burned through from the inside by lightning and fire.

The disciples looked up in horror and saw that on the old wound, there were faint, fiery red blood vessels writhing, seemingly echoing the heavenly lightning from afar.

Shen Lie stared at the wound, his eyes like knives: "If I had been able to draw even a fraction of the Heavenly Tribulation's aura back then, how could I have been stripped of my position and banished from the sect's temple by the sect?"

“I… Shen Lie, I want them all to kneel back and come back to see me.”

He chuckled softly, his voice hoarse, like a rekindling of embers after they had been burned to ashes.

"If someone in Qingzhou truly becomes the seed of calamity today, then it will be the opportunity for my Li Huo Palace to regain control of destiny."

"If the Heavenly Gate falters, who can stop me, Shen Lie?"

After a moment, he swept his sharp gaze across the room and turned to look at the red-clad youth kneeling as if on a rock to the side.

"Qin Kui".

"The disciple is here!"

"With my 'Fire Spirit Seal,' you shall immediately proceed to Qingzhou."

"Enter from Qingyun Arena and blend into the contestants."

"Keep an eye on that guy named 'Chu Ning.' If he can really trigger the source of heavenly lightning, he will surely face a calamity."

"Test him, challenge him, force him!"

"If it really is him, seize him, take him at all costs!"

Qin Kui lowered his head like a knife, his voice chilling: "This disciple understands. If he invites calamity, I will shatter his destiny star."

Shen Lie stood amidst the flames, gazing up at the thunderclouds in the sky that had not yet completely dissipated.

In his eyes, there was greed, obsession, and a mad fire that would consume everything.

"In this life, I do not wish to become a god."

"I want everyone to know—the Heavenly Gate opens only for me."

-

The copper bells rang, and the iron cavalry lay prone on the ground like a mountain.

In the northern border of the Great Qian Dynasty, a majestic and solitary city stands tall, its banners billowing in the fierce wind, and its armor reflecting the setting sun like blood.

At the top of the city gate, an old man in silver armor stood with his hands behind his back. His eyebrows were like swords, his eyes like iron nails, and a few strands of silver hair on his forehead fluttered in the wind.

He is Xie Chengjun, the Marquis of Wu—a high-ranking official of the Great Qian Dynasty, a pillar of the north, and one of the legendary figures closest to achieving the "first rank."

But at this moment, he gazed at the southern sky for a long time without saying a word.

The lingering calamity cloud, its lightning still visible, seemed to gaze down upon the world from the judgment of heaven, its brilliance enduring for a long time.

After a long while, he finally exhaled a long breath and murmured softly:

"Ascension...is it really not an illusion?"

"Heaven and earth seemed to sense it, and the Thunder Eye opened... and at its center was none other than the Marquis Wu's residence."

His brows furrowed even more deeply, and his heart stirred with indescribable turmoil.

Is it Jinghong?

His tone was heavy, like a rusty sword pressing down on someone, making it hard to breathe.

But the next moment, the voice subtly turned cold:
"...Or Ming Li?"

He turned around, his gaze falling on the study window in the corner of the city tower. The window was half-closed, and a sliver of sunlight shone in, illuminating a tattered suit of armor inside.

Those were relics that Mingli's mother had worn.

Beside them was an early family portrait. The young man in the portrait was Xie Jinghong, who was dashing and heroic, while Xie Mingli hid behind her mother with a shy smile.

A barely perceptible look of pain flashed in Xie Chengjun's eyes.

"If Mingli is drawn into this calamity... can my Xie family still bear the consequences?"

"Jinghong... If your restless ambition awakens today, will it bring disaster to your home once again?"

He closed his eyes, seemingly suppressing a deep sorrow that had been pent up for a long time.

Even if Xie Jinghong has lost his mind and his soul is in chaos, if there really is someone in the world touching on "ascension"... how could his son, who was once exceptionally talented and had a burning ambition, not be moved?

He spoke slowly, his voice deep and resonant:

"Pass the order."

"Contact Mingli in the mansion immediately and make sure to investigate the strangeness of Lei Mu."

"Strengthen the defenses of the Great Wall... The beast tide is approaching, we must not be careless."

A hundred riders behind him responded in unison, their armor billowing like a tide.

Xie Chengjun remained standing in the same spot, gazing at the gradually receding celestial clouds, his expression growing increasingly somber.

That night, he stood in the wind for a long time.

Until the old lamp inside the window went out, the portrait and armor sank into darkness.

He suddenly murmured something, as if in a dream:
"I don't want to lose any more children."

The wind blew his cloak, but it couldn't blow away the deep rift that had been forged in his heart.

-

The sandalwood incense had not been lit, yet the lamp had gone out of its own accord. In the high pavilion of the Prince Duan's mansion, the curtains were half-rolled up, and the night wind blew into the room, making the scrolls of paper on the table rustle.

A giant, thunderous eye hung high in the night sky above the city, like the eye of a god, watching over the human world.

A ray of silvery-blue light descended from the depths of the calamity clouds, shining directly onto the window of Prince Duan's study, casting a gloomy and eerie atmosphere over the entire room.

And he sat on the edge of that light and shadow.

Wearing a deep purple robe with python patterns, his hair was disheveled and his eyes were hidden in the shadows, like an owl lurking in the abyss.

He suddenly laughed.

It wasn't joy, nor ecstasy, but a sense of relief bordering on madness.

"Hahaha……"

Laughter burst forth from the silence, like a wild beast imprisoned for years seeing its cell door open, or like a long-planned scheme finally finding a way to break the deadlock.

He slowly rose, walked to the window, his gaze piercing through the thunder and flames, and murmured softly:

"Legend has it that there is no path beyond the first rank."

"Only by shattering the void and stepping through the Heavenly Gate can one attain eternal life."

"But for thousands of years, no one has been able to achieve it."

His tone was low and slow, but a fire quietly ignited in his eyes.

"The Blood Refining Hall, with its twelve evil spirits, are all remnants of former first-rank experts... With no hope of ascension, they resorted to blood refining and sacrificing their lives, attempting to forge a ladder to heaven with the blood and bones of others."

"The results of it?"

"Neither human nor ghost...in the end, they are still trapped in this world."

As he spoke, he walked back to his desk.

Looking at the extinguished golden lamp, he suddenly slammed his palm down.

"Snapped!"

The golden cup shattered, shards flying everywhere, cutting his palm, and blood slowly dripped onto a secret scroll inscribed with "Deployment Map of the Netherworld Thunder Array".

He remained oblivious, letting the blood stain the pages, a slow smile playing on his lips.

"But if..."

"This time, has someone actually done it?"

He looked up at the still-burning lightning eye, his eyes blazing with intense fire:

Even if it's just a phantom... a seduction.

"That's... enough."

"Enough for me to seize Qingzhou before anyone else."

He turned around, sweeping the objects on the table aside with a flick of his sleeve. A carved jade screen with gold decorations crashed heavily to the ground, shattering into several pieces. His sleeves billowed, and his entire figure was as tall as a mountain, yet his expression was one of obsessive madness.

The strategist standing to the side cautiously stepped forward, about to speak, but was interrupted by a cold laugh:
"What do you still believe in ascension? It's nothing but a dream woven by the strong for ants."

He clenched his blood-red palm, and a drop of bright red blood fell from his fingertip, splashing onto the four characters "Ninefold Thunder Scripture".

The voice was deep, yet it sounded like a mountain collapsing.

"Pass on the order—"

"Netherworld Palace - Yin Thunder Lock, expedite its deployment."

"The Ninefold Thunder Scripture will be activated beneath the Azure Cloud Arena... the day after tomorrow."

Lightning flashed outside the window like the low roar of a giant beast, and the night sky seemed to engulf the entire Qingzhou, as if the whole of Qingzhou had been drawn into this grand scheme that "transformed the way of heaven into power struggles."

At this moment, Prince Duan stood behind that window, his figure as hard as iron and as fiery as fire, like a demon lord raising his sword to confront the gods before the gates of heaven open.

For thousands of years, countless martial artists have trained diligently, all for the sake of reaching the first rank and glimpsing the path to "eternal life".

But when they embarked on this path of annihilation, they discovered:

The so-called "ascension" is nothing more than a myth.

Until tonight.

The Eye of Calamity appeared in the world, its thunder roaring like a god, as if someone... had finally struck the first blow on the sleeping Heavenly Gate.

-

Chu Ning stood at the edge of the Frosty Domain, where the thunder and fire had not yet subsided and blood-red snowflakes were falling.

His robes were half-ripped, his white hair was frosted, his feet were on frozen earth covered in blood and flesh, and behind him lay mountains of corpses and lightning marks. He himself was like a broken sword that had been tempered by the will of heaven but had not yet been broken.

Above the sky, the Thunder Eye slowly lowered, like an ancient deity looking down upon all living beings from its towering peak.

No one knows why it appeared, and no one knows who it is watching.

Only the last rays of the lingering thunder quietly fell upon Chu Ning.

The cold sunlight made him appear lonely and isolated.

He looked up at the thunderous eyes, his voice barely audible:
"...The Primordial Calamity".

"My sister is still missing, and Qingli has not returned."

"I can't fall."

"I must not fall."

The moment Lei's eyes closed, the entire sky suddenly darkened, as if heaven and earth were closing their eyes and falling asleep.

Suddenly, a streak of crimson blood seeped from the lightning pattern between Chu Ning's brows, the blood trickling down through his white hair, leaving a chilling and alarming red mark.

This unusual phenomenon could not be hidden from Xie Mingli.

She walked over quickly, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

"That thunderous eye...it wasn't illuminating the heavenly tribulation."

She gritted her teeth, her voice almost swallowed by the wind:
"It is your destiny."

Chu Ning remained silent and did not answer.

The warmth of the shattered lightning still lingered on his fingertips. He knew Xie Mingli was right; it wasn't a warning from heaven and earth to the world, but a destiny-bound tribulation sent specifically for him.

"Chun Ning."

Xie Mingli suddenly stepped forward, blocking his way, her voice rising abruptly, carrying an almost hysterical tone as she questioned him:

"Is there... something you've been hiding from me?"

"Why did you bring about this calamity?"

What exactly... are you planning to do?

(End of this chapter)