Overdraw the future and become a peerless martial god

Chapter 122 The Wrath of the Marquis of Wu

"what?"

"Colluding with the Devouring Abyss? No... He was clearly taking the lightning, we all saw it."

"He saved everyone at Qingyun Arena, so how did he become the sinner?"

"What...what kind of logic is this?"

No one could understand it.

Just moments ago, they were still in awe and admiration of Chu Ning's miracle, but in an instant, they heard that the king had issued a decree, and that he was guilty of heinous crimes.

It was like a bucket of cold water being poured over everyone's head, extinguishing the respect and emotion that had just arisen.

Li Jing'an, his face cold, looked up and stared directly at the high platform: "Your Highness, Chu Ning endured the tribulation of lightning in his mortal body to protect the people from the storm. What crime is there in such a righteous act?"

Prince Duan remained expressionless, his voice as cold and hard as a knife:

"Anything outside of the mandate of Heaven is futile. The Devouring Abyss is a remnant of ancient calamities; if its spirit is not eradicated, there will be no peace in the world."

"Chu Ning led him into the Qingyun Arena. Even if you are grateful for the moment, how can you tolerate such a cause of chaos in this world?"

Xie Mingli's eyes were red-rimmed, and she was furious:

"You're talking nonsense! He summoned lightning to destroy the abyss, and almost lost his life! How can you distort the truth and make false accusations!"

Chu Ning gently pulled her back and shook her head.

He gazed at the golden "Royal Decree" slowly descending from the sky, his eyes calm yet suppressing a surging chill.

He already understands.

This is not a trial; it's a pre-written script.

From the moment he survived the lightning strike, he had already become a threat to what some people considered "order."

“You don’t want to kill me,” Chu Ning looked at Prince Duan, her voice calm. “What you’re afraid of is me living.”

These words cleaved the silence like a sharp blade.

Prince Duan's eyes narrowed, but he remained silent.

A red-robed official from the Ministry of Justice immediately stepped forward, unfurled a document detailing the crime, and spoke in a booming voice:

"Chu Ning is bloodthirsty and has slaughtered entire sects; he harbored evil souls and disrupted the tribulation; he has violated three laws and broken one of the Heavenly Commandments. According to Chapter Nine of the Law, he is sentenced to 'soul and bone stripping, and eternal imprisonment underground'."

After he finished speaking, several figures swooped down, carrying murderous intent, heading straight for Chu Ning.

……

In an instant, countless people held their breath.

Xie Mingli shouted, "Who dares to touch him!"

Li Jing'an flipped his hand, drew his talisman sword, and stepped forward.

"Chu Ning has not yet been convicted; who dares to make a move against him!"

At that moment, the atmosphere became tense and on the verge of exploding.

Just as several menacing figures were about to approach.

The world suddenly turned cold.

An aura, seemingly emanating from the deepest, coldest depths, suddenly swept out from behind the crowd.

Before the chill even arrived, the constable's chains trembled and broke apart, as if sensing some irresistible force, automatically disintegrating into the air.

"boom--"

The earth trembled slightly, and a tall figure rode the wind.

His battle robes fluttered in the wind, his silver hair was like frost, his brows were cold and stern, and a chilling aura surrounded him. Wherever he passed, the air froze and frost appeared.

Without moving a hand or releasing a breath, he simply exhaled and inhaled, and all the constables from the Ministry of Justice who rushed at him were forced back, staggering backward with expressions of horror on their faces.

Xie Chengjun, the greatest general of the Great Qian Dynasty.

He was seriously injured in the battle with Tun Yuan, but he has recovered a lot. He seemed to emerge from the smoke and snow, and his Ice Soul True Qi was still flowing around him, carrying a powerful and murderous aura.

Xie Chengjun stopped, looked up coldly at the high platform, and spoke in a voice as steady and sharp as shattered jade and broken gold:
"Chu Ning is a member of my Marquis Wu's mansion."

"Until the Emperor personally arrives—"

His gaze swept over the head constables of the Ministry of Justice, the guards of Prince Duan's mansion, and the martial artists from various sects watching the battle, his tone as cold as a blade piercing to the bone:
"Who dares to lay a finger on him?"

As soon as the words were spoken, the wind died down, and the head constable of the Ministry of Justice felt a chill run down his spine, cold sweat trickling down his forehead.

Xie Chengjun turned to look at Chu Ning, his gaze as firm as iron: "You endured a tribulation of lightning, and were tainted by evil spirits, yet you saved the common people."

"I, Xie Chengjun, do not believe that the world has deteriorated to the point that even someone who desperately protects others will be discarded after being used."

“If you are taken away today, I, Xie, will return this Seal of the Marquis of Wu.”

Xie Mingli looked at her father, tears welling up in her eyes.

Chu Ning remained silent for a moment, then finally nodded slightly.

"Thank you, Marquis Wu."

Xie Chengjun remained silent, simply standing there with his sleeves fluttering, as immovable as a lone pine tree in the mountains.

In the wind, his battle robe fluttered slightly, and the mysterious ice battle patterns on his back shimmered, bearing the mark of "the number one person of the Great Qian standing firm" from countless battlefields and bloody battles.

At this moment, everyone understood that anyone who touched Chu Ning was tantamount to touching Xie Chengjun.

To attack Xie Chengjun would mean becoming an enemy of the last "sword of military spirit" of the Great Qian Dynasty.

……

On the high platform, a cold wind rises slightly, and the banners are as hard as iron.

Prince Duan's face was as cold and still as water. His gaze was deep as he stared at the two figures, an old man and a young man, standing side by side below the stage, remaining silent for a long time.

The air seemed to freeze, every inch filled with a chilling, desolate atmosphere.

Finally, he let out a cold snort, his tone grim:

"Since Zhuge Liang has stated that an imperial decree is required..."

"Well, I do have one."

After speaking, he waved his long sleeves, and a royal edict with gold edges and purple patterns was presented by his personal guards. The dragon patterns on it were faintly moving, and its aura was chilling.

"Announce—the Emperor's decree!"

The imperial envoy, carrying the imperial decree, read it aloud with an unquestionable air of authority:
"Evil spirits are now rampant, infiltrating the Great Qian Dynasty, wreaking havoc on the land, disrupting order, colluding with calamities, and undermining the foundation of the Heavenly Way. The Heavenly Way is clear and its laws are strict. I hereby decree: All such scourges shall be killed rather than spared!"

"Appreciate this!"

The imperial edict resounded, shaking the entire audience.

"Better to kill the innocent than to let the guilty go free."

This sentence was like an iron coffin falling from the heavens, sealing off Chu Ning's path to survival.

The atmosphere instantly became extremely tense, and everyone fell silent, their gazes shifting back and forth between the imperial edict and Chu Ning.

Xie Mingli's face was pale, and her lips trembled slightly.

Li Jing'an was furious. Although he was not a subject of the Great Qian Dynasty, his forceful intervention would inevitably cause trouble.

Although Chu Ning's lightning aura was absorbed by the Duanwang Formation, and his cultivation level had become that of an ordinary person, his body had been tempered by heavenly lightning, so ordinary martial artists could not harm him at all.

In that deathly silence, Xie Chengjun slowly raised the dark blue jade seal, his hands trembling slightly. It wasn't fear, but a trembling of anger that had been suppressed for too long, finally reaching its breaking point.

He looked up at the high platform, at the imperial edict, his eyes as cold as a blade.

His voice was deep, yet resolute:

"His Majesty decreed, 'Better to kill the innocent than to spare the guilty,' alas..."

"What a fine saying, 'Better to kill the innocent than to kill the guilty,' and what a fine saying, 'Never let them live.'"

"I, Xie Chengjun, have fought in the northern border for ten years. How many innocent people have died under the principle of 'better to kill the innocent than the guilty'?"

"How many loyal souls, whom we said 'absolutely must not be spared,' have been buried alive in icy valleys, simply because they saw half a step further than the imperial court and spoke a word that carried more weight than the emperor's heart?"

His gaze was sharp as frost, and he slowly uttered each word:

"I, Xie Chengjun, went to the north at the age of seventeen, guarded the pass at twenty, fought thirty-seven battles without a single defeat, and guarded the northern border for ten years without returning home."

"I have believed in destiny."

"I have trusted the Emperor's grace."

"My son's body is not yet cold, and I have only one daughter left."

But now, I only believe one thing—

"Human life."

(End of this chapter)