Overdraw the future and become a peerless martial god

Chapter 178 One Person, One Woman, One Oath (Seeking Monthly Tickets and Subscriptions)

In that brief moment of silence, her fingertips slid down slightly, following his robe to the right side.

It was just a habitual action—she wanted to hold his hand, even if it was just an inch of fabric.

But at that very moment of contact, her fingertips felt as if they were touching nothing at all.

That piece of cloth in the sleeve was light and fluttering, without any support, like an empty shell hanging in the wind.

She paused, her hand tightened slightly, and her fingertips traced upwards again—moving upwards, along the shoulder line to the elbow, and then to the wrist.

empty.

It's still empty.

It has no skeleton, no flesh and blood, and no warmth.

The soft cloth clung to the wind, like a piece of drawing paper with its bottom half cut off, leaving only a tear, hanging beside me.

That hand that once shielded her from a knife, held her hand, and illuminated the night with thunder.

Missed.

She was stunned.

It was as if a string in my brain had snapped, and for a moment I couldn't understand what it meant.

She didn't believe it, so she touched it a third time, and a fourth time.

The more she touched him, the lighter her movements became, as if even the slightest bit of force would shatter this last vestige of hope.

Until the fifth time, when there was not an inch of warmth in return.

She stopped moving.

She looked up at him.

Her eyes went from blankness to surprise and doubt, to shock and pain, until finally they slowly turned white.

Like winter snow pressing down on a lake, the lakebed eventually freezes solid.

Her lips parted slightly, but she couldn't utter a single word.

The tears didn't fall, but they felt heavier than ever before.

That look in his eyes was asking:

"Where did that hand go?"

He knew all along that she would find out.

But he never looked back at her.

He simply stood there, head slightly bowed, as if waiting for the snow to finish falling.

He neither dodged nor avoided the situation.

He simply looked at her silently for a long time, then reached out his still-present left arm and gently lifted her up.

The movements were extremely slow and light, as if afraid that they might accidentally reveal a weakness in their balance.

But the more careful they were, the more it seemed like they were using what little they had left to say a silent farewell.

He didn't speak.

He didn't even say "I'm fine".

Because he knew—she already understood.

And she knew that he didn't want her to hear an explanation.

That hand was already broken, and she couldn't bear to leave it behind.

But this person is still here—she can't afford to miss him again.

She simply buried her face in his neck, her eyelashes brushing against his neckline, saying nothing and asking nothing.

I've stopped crying.

She simply gripped his left collar, her knuckles turning white, afraid to let go—as if she feared that if she let go, he would disappear into the lingering smoke and flames.

It was as if they were afraid that if they were any later, even this one hand would be taken away by fate.

She finally understood.

He came to save her, but not "with all his might".

Yes—giving it my all.

At that moment, the lightning in the Mirror Prison had not yet ceased, and all the souls were in the air.

Beneath the raging thunder and flames, two silent souls, who had guarded each other until their brokenness was gone, finally came close together without any barriers.

They don't need to say anything more.

Because they have paid the heaviest price in the world to achieve this moment of completeness.

He held her in his arms and slowly walked out of the depths of the Soul Mirror.

The Mirror Prison gradually collapsed behind them.

The Thirty-Nine Layers of Soul-Sealing Array collapsed, the underground soul veins shattered as if cracked, and the soul-suppressing chains exploded and flew up, turning into ashes that scattered into the void.

Countless wisps of souls broke free from the remnants of the soul array as lightning pierced through them.

The lingering images of souls imprisoned for decades or even centuries burst forth from the shattered array core and broken monuments like a torrent of dark water, as if a celestial river were flowing backwards from the bottom of an abyss.

They no longer howled or struggled, but quietly rose into the air, lingering and ascending.

Some glimmers of light resembled the first light of a newborn child, while others were like the lingering flames of an old soldier's unyielding will after his armor has cracked. One by one, like a surging tide, they passed through the rubble and over the barriers, rushing toward the still-burning peak of the heavenly light.

At that moment, the world seemed like a still, ancient scroll.

The wind stopped, the thunder roared, and all sound seemed to be sealed away in that instant.

Countless ghosts rose and fell amidst the lightning, intertwining with each other like thousands of lit soul lamps, slowly ascending into the air above the Black Prison.

They are silent, yet bright, as if issuing the quietest protest for the injustices of the past thousands of years.

It illuminates not the sky, but this already soulless and decaying mirror prison.

It was as if the fire of the dead was guiding the way for the living.

In the center of this abyss of thunder and flames where countless souls rise, a blood-soaked figure, carrying the woman, slowly emerges, stepping on lightning.

His hair was unbound, his clothes were still bloodstained, and he held her in his arms.

He walked slowly, but very steadily.

With each step, the Thunder Diagram unfolds; with each breath, countless souls submit.

Xie Mingli pressed her face against his chest without saying a word.

But she could hear his heartbeat.

Not fast, but resolute.

Each sound seemed to come from the depths of distant years, following her all the way.

She finally heard it.

He walked very steadily.

Even after losing his right arm, he never wavered.

It was as if he was afraid that if she trembled even slightly, she would shatter.

She didn't struggle.

She didn't cry.

She simply closed her eyes and tightened her grip on his shirt with her knuckles.

At this moment, everything in the world is collapsing. Yet they keep moving forward.

High in the sky, the soul map still lingered.

It was like a setting sun, hanging high above the capital.

At the center of the image, a thin, white beam of light, like a rainbow or a silken thread, descended from the clouds and landed at his feet, illuminating the person in his hand.

The lightning still lingered, and the remnants of souls cascaded down like a waterfall.

But there was no oppressive aura emanating from him, only stillness.

He carried her as they walked up the broken stone steps left by the shattered Soul Mirror.

With each step, a shattered array stone fell beneath his feet, like the lingering echoes of the old soul path.

The high walls collapsed, the imperial seal crumbled, and they emerged one after the other from the depths of the world, like two names that had come from legend, finally returning to the mortal realm.

And she finally looked up and saw the real sky.

She murmured, "The sky is finally bright."

He said, "Hmm."

Retu saw their shadows in the distance, stretching long across the ruins.

Beneath their feet lay a prison of the overthrown old order; behind them, countless floating rays of light—the remnants of souls who had died by the law and were imprisoned in chains, shining like lamps to greet the new sun.

And ahead of them lay the capital city.

In the distance, some Soul Guards huddled beside the remnants of the array, still panting, while some martial arts prisoners had just awakened from the released forbidden array.

But no one spoke up.

They simply watched silently as these two people, who had come from hell, leaned on each other amidst the ruins, like a pair of soul lamps that had weathered countless storms.

Everyone knew that this time belonged to them.

It does not belong to the imperial power, nor to the world, nor to hatred, nor to war. It belongs only to them.

—One person, one arm, one vow, one woman.

As they stepped out of the last crumbling gate of the Mirror Prison, the sunlight finally shone upon them.

That was a sliver of lightning shining through from above the shattered underground palace.

No longer scorching, no longer sharp, but a misty, perfectly timed dawn.

She felt a gentle push in her heart, and tears welled up again.

She said softly:
"Thank you for still being here."

Chu Ning did not answer, but simply raised her hand and gently tidied her hair.

It was as if nothing had happened, yet it was also as if everything had been said.

In this war, the most tender and humane victory is not about who they beat.

They were the ones who finally never lost each other again.

……

Above the capital, the Soul Map still hangs high, with lightning streaks like a net covering the sky.

The Five Elements Thunder Rings swirl like the sun and moon in parallel, while the Oath Thunder pierces through the heart of the diagram, falling from the sky like an unsheathed knife, like the Emperor's heart crumbling.

Meanwhile, in the northwest corner, at the edge of the sky, behind the crimson-gold walls of the Duan Prince's Mansion, pillars of light formed by soul power arrays were rapidly rising.

Crimson Soul Heavenly Lock, seven layers of garrison troops formed an array.

Five thousand rank-level warriors of the Soul Suppressing Army quickly took their positions and formed the "Heavenly Reversal Locking Elephant" formation—the only remaining formation in the capital capable of withstanding the Oath Thunder, sealing off the four directions of the Soul Field, cutting off the trajectory of the Thunder Diagram, and directly targeting the Thunder Soul.

The seventy-two generals stood in formation like a tower, most of them martial artists being of the sixth rank or above. They spread their souls to the heavens and gathered their qi to the earth. Even before the formation was fully activated, it was already like an iron wall of monsters.

The sky hangs low, and the soul array resounds.

Prince Duan Zongshu stood on the high seat of the rooftop, his back like a mountain, coldly watching the figure that was stepping on lightning as it approached.

"He's here," Zong Shu whispered, feeling a slight lump in his throat.

"The Xie family can be wiped out, but what about that map...?" Prince Duan looked up at the sky, a sinister glint in his eyes.

"Now that she has been released from prison, he has arrived like a thunderbolt."

"If you want to shake the law, you should first be buried in the bloodline of the imperial court."

Prince Duan Zongshu stood atop the Soul Platform, his voice booming like the thunder of a mountain.

He slowly raised his right hand, his sleeves fluttering, and a dark purple soul imprint emerged from his wrist bone, like a sleeping ancient beast opening its vertical pupils.

—The Imperial Weapon, the Soul-Suppressing Axe, is unsheathed.

It was an ancient battle-axe, its blade as wide as a door, its entire body jet black and without luster.

“The axe is an imperial decree, used to guard the borders—to suppress his rebellious heart.”

Before the battle even began, the entire Soul Tower of Prince Duan's Mansion started to tremble. The aura of the army was frantically flowing back, and the Soul Array was drawn back to its source, forming a Soul Tower Domain Array with intertwined energies and an aura of authority.

When Zong Shu took that first step, the whole world turned its attention to him.

He did not fight Chu Ning alone, but came carrying the will of the entire Imperial Court's soul system.

A faint imperial seal and soul symbol appeared on the ceiling, as if binding him to the "national laws and regulations".

"Do you think you can overturn the millennia-old laws of the soul with just a surge of passion?"

"You have a soul, you have a vow, but you have no principles."

"I uphold the laws of the imperial system and safeguard the lives of all under heaven. If you break these laws, you will die under them."

This is a proud belief that "I fight not for myself, but for the system." He is not evil; he is a "guardian of order" who is wrong but unaware of it.

Chu Ning stood quietly atop Thunder Breath, holding Xie Mingli in his arms. Her fingers were tightly clasped around Chu Ning's left arm, and the warmth of her embrace still lingered.

Xie Mingli secretly looked up and saw that his eyes were unmoved, and his voice was extremely soft, yet it shook the distant sky:
"You think you're guarding the laws of the soul, but in reality you're guarding the shackles that lock everyone into the soul furnace."

"You protect the emperor's soul, but do you know how many people have died because of your 'peace'?"

"You're not afraid of me."

He leaned forward slightly, and the lightning wheel in his palm slowly opened, like a judgment seal from beyond the past:
"What you fear is that I will let the world know—that you are not holy."

"You are just a group of people who feed yourselves."

Zong Shu, enraged, laughed instead, raised his battle axe and struck, unleashing a thunderous roar.

That was not a single strike, but an order from an ancient soul system.

In an instant, Lei Tu seemed to be suppressed for a moment, the chaotic flow of his five souls was slightly halted, the seven-fold formation of the Zhenjun Army was simultaneously unleashed, the barrier appeared, the soul lock was sealed, and the nine soul chains, like mountains hanging from the sky, crashed into Chu Ning's sea of ​​consciousness, attempting to forcibly suppress his soul wheel under the Emperor Seal.

The air seemed to be flattened, the earth trembled, and the void felt as heavy as iron.

Chu Ning stood still, his gaze calm, his killing intent silent.

He looked down at Xie Mingli, his lips twitched slightly, and his tone was almost gentle:

Wait for me a moment.

"I have to settle this score myself."

Xie Mingli nodded slightly, her eyes shining, but she did not stop her.

She knew this wasn't his killing; it was him erasing those names, each one written in blood, for her.

She simply said softly, "Be careful."

The voice was so low it was as if it were being spoken to the wind, but he heard it.

He gently placed her on a section of the roof that was not yet broken, his gaze unwavering.

Then he turned around, raised his left hand, and lightly clasped his fingers together.

Simply press your fingers together lightly.

—If he does not speak, he will be killed.

That finger strike was like snow covering ashes, devoid of thunder, flame, or name.

He only whispered:
"The world is extinguished."

Two fingers fell silently.

But the moment they touched the soul chains, all nine soul chains shattered.

There was no roar, no burst of light, only a very short silence—and then in an instant, the barrier cracked, the array plate collapsed, and the seven layers of the array turned to dust from the inside out, like old paper catching fire.

The Soul-Suppressing Axe had already struck down, but Chu Ning neither dodged nor blocked it, instead meeting it head-on with just two fingers.

When the golden axe struck the finger, it emitted a long, resounding cry, as if "iron and blood were splitting apart."

The air exploded.

The void shattered like a mirror.

The axe blade snapped back, cracks spreading to its core. Although Zong Shu did not retreat, the platform beneath his feet cracked inch by inch, his blood surged, his internal organs trembled, and a strong, sweet, metallic taste rose in his throat.

Beneath the shattered sky, she looked at Chu Ning—his body, though missing an arm, still stood tall, his gaze as still as a deep spring.

Her heart tightened, a mixture of shock and admiration. He wasn't a divine weapon, but he wielded the "invisible" as a blade—a power she had never seen before.

She breathed softly, tears still glistening in her eyes, yet they seemed to melt away like snow in her heart.

"You..." His voice trembled and softened, but he didn't turn around, only gently tucking her hair.

At that moment, she knew that he had fought through countless battles just so that she could survive.

What she should have said wasn't "thank you," but rather:

"I... am willing to go this way for you too."

Suddenly, her eyes welled up with tears.

That figure standing tall amidst the thunder and fire was not just her companion, nor just her vow.

He was—the Xie family's response.

She murmured softly, almost inaudibly, as if speaking to heaven and earth, and also to that figure in the afterlife who would never return:

"Father...did you see that?"

"My daughter made the right choice."

"The person you tried so hard to protect truly—split open this sky for me."

Her voice was soft, yet firm, like a snowflake blooming from blood.

“You said that the soul should not be enslaved by power. You said that there will eventually be someone who, without relying on a surname, can reach the highest point in this city.”

“I saw it today.”

"That person is not me."

"But—I will stay with him to the end."

She lowered her eyelashes, her fingertips gripping the lightning marks beneath her soul robe.

Lei Tu remains, his spirit still shines.

She knew that the vow did not belong to Chu Ning alone.

She will also dedicate her entire life to responding to it.

Even if my body is broken and my soul is shattered, I will have no regrets.

(End of this chapter)