Overdraw the future and become a peerless martial god

Chapter 205 The Tragedy of Conferring Authority
He used all his strength, all his will, and all his obsession.

A struggle against fate, a thirst for power, and a promise to those who protect.

All of it converged on the soul imprint that rose from the fifth rune, transforming into a dazzling spear of light that surged upstream, attempting to tear apart the chaos, and fiercely met the destructive torrent.

"Break for me!!!"

"boom--"

An indescribably terrifying roar! It was as if two worlds had collided and annihilated.

The blinding light instantly engulfed everything! The violent energy shockwave swept in all directions like a tsunami, forcing Li Jing'an, Yu Xingshui and others on the high platform to concentrate on resisting, while the soul cultivators below were overturned in droves.

The light lasted for more than ten breaths before slowly dissipating.

In the center of the square, a huge, bottomless pit was clearly visible.

At the edge of the pit, Feng Wuyai was pale and his breathing was disordered. The six black-gold soul nails were dim and trembling slightly in front of him, clearly indicating that he had consumed a lot of energy.

The terrifying black mirror had vanished without a trace.

In the center of the pit, a figure still stands.

It's Chu Ning.

He maintained his posture of raising his left hand to the sky and glaring angrily, his clothes torn to shreds, revealing a strong body covered in cracks and flowing with pale golden soul blood.

The purple-gold key to destiny was deeply embedded in his palm, its light faint.

The five Soul Lock patterns still flowed across the body's surface, but their light was extremely dim, especially the fifth pattern, whose eerie glow was almost extinguished, leaving only a faint connection.

The crescent moon mark between his eyebrows had also faded and lost its luster.

He stood there, like an indomitable war god who had fought to the last moment in a bloody battle.

But it only lasted for a moment.

"Pfft—!" A mouthful of golden soul blood mixed with fragments of internal organs gushed out.

The indomitable light in his eyes quickly dimmed, his body swayed, as if all support had been removed, and he fell straight backward.

"Chu Ning!" Lei Jingjing could no longer hold back and transformed into a streak of light, rushing over and managing to catch him in her arms just before he fell to the ground.

The surface was icy cold to the touch, and the soul's energy was as weak as a candle flickering in the wind. The five patterns on the soul lock glowed uncertainly, as if they might be extinguished at any moment.

The wisp of soul imprint conveyed a near-complete exhaustion and excruciating pain that penetrated to the very marrow.

Her fingertips trembled as she traced his pale, bloodied cheek, her voice choked with sobs:

“You lit the Soul Lock Lamp for me, but why is your own soul source almost shattered?” Tears finally welled up and dripped onto his cold chest.

Li Jing'an followed closely behind, looking at Chu Ning, who was barely breathing in Lei Jingjing's arms, and then glancing at Feng Wuyai, whose face was extremely ugly, and Yu Xingshui, whose expression was complicated. He sighed heavily.

He crouched down and carefully examined Chu Ning's condition, his brows furrowed.

"Take him back to Jingyunzhai," Li Jing'an said in a deep voice, his tone leaving no room for doubt. "The Soul Mirror Pavilion will do everything in its power to treat him." His gaze swept across the entire room like lightning, lingering for a moment on Yu Xingshui's face, carrying a silent warning.

Yu Xingshui met his gaze, her expression had returned to calm, but a trace of undisguised shock remained deep in her eyes.

She looked at the unconscious Chu Ning, then at the deep pit, and murmured to herself:

"He actually withstood the Six Trials of Locking Back, albeit at a heavy price. This demonstrates his solid foundation and unwavering will."

Her fingers, hidden in her sleeve, twitched slightly. "Perhaps, this lock really should belong to him."

But the thought was fleeting, quickly replaced by a deeper calculation.

She turned around and silently gestured for the people from the Soul Map Pavilion to leave.

Soul Mirror Pavilion · Jingyunzhai
In the dimly lit room, Chu Ningjing lay on the warm jade soul bed, her breathing weak and disordered, like a candle flame in a storm.

His face was as pale as paper, devoid of any color. Although the hideous cracks on his body were slowly healing under the influence of the soul medicine and the array, the wounds to his soul source inside were still shocking.

The "Soul Master's Mark" on his palm was deeply embedded in his flesh, its light dim, as if it might go out at any moment.

The five Soul Lock patterns flickered faintly beneath the skin, like a severely damaged precision instrument struggling to repair itself, especially the fifth pattern, whose connection was so weak it was almost severed.

Lei Jingjing stayed by the bedside, never leaving her side.

She had changed out of her blood-stained finery and was now dressed in plain white clothes, her hair loose with a few strands falling beside her cheeks.

Her once cool and aloof face now only showed deep worry and exhaustion, and her eyes were red.

She held Chu Ning's cold hand, carefully channeling strands of pure and gentle lamp spirit power into her fingertips, trying to warm his depleted soul source, as if protecting a spark that might be extinguished at any moment.

The weakness and excruciating pain transmitted through the Soul Silk Imprint resonated deeply with her, causing her immense heartache.

“Soul locked in the lamp.” Her fingertips trembled slightly as she traced the dim mark on his palm, her voice low and barely audible, “You lit a lamp for me, but burned yourself like this.” Tears silently slid down, dripping onto the back of his hand.

The door was pushed open silently, and Li Jing'an walked in.

His expression was more solemn than usual, and a dark cloud hung over his brow.

He walked to the bedside and silently gazed at the unconscious Chu Ning, his eyes filled with complex emotions—gratification, sorrow, and deep worry.

After a long while, he let out a heavy sigh, as if he had unloaded a thousand-pound burden and then shouldered an even heavier mountain.

"From this day forward," Li Jing'an's deep, clear voice echoed in the silent room, "the position of Soul Mirror Pavilion Master will no longer be an empty shell."

“You can’t hide anymore.” He looked at Chu Ning, as if speaking to him.

Immediately, he flipped his palm, and a dark cyan "Soul Authority Talisman Slip"—neither gold nor jade, of an ancient material, with complex soul patterns flowing across its surface—quietly appeared. He gently placed the talisman slip beside Chu Ning's pillow.

A condensed whisper of soul power entered the depths of Chu Ning's dormant soul sea like a brand, and also clearly reached Lei Jingjing's ears:

"The Soul Map Pavilion will not give up. The Six Trials of Locking Return is just the beginning, and Jade Star Water will surely have a backup plan. The Soul Form Pavilion will not sit idly by either. After Xian Fenghuai's defeat, the pavilion will surely harbor resentment and will definitely seek an opportunity to 'test' your strength."

"This talisman contains the initial guidance of the Soul Mirror Pavilion Master's authority and the secrets of the three pavilions' vital points."

"The moment I woke up."

Li Jing'an's gaze seemed to pierce through the roof, looking towards the sky where wind and clouds gathered.

"This is the true 'battle of the pavilions'!"

The room was completely silent, save for the low whistling of the wind outside the window, which stirred the corners of the curtains like waves about to rise. The dark blue "Soul Authority Talisman" lay quietly beside Chu Ning's pillow, like an unlit beacon tower, and the entire Soul Mirror Pavilion was the taut string surrounding it.

After the Soul Lock Five Patterns were reshaped, Chu Ning fell into a deep slumber.

This is not simply a recovery from injury, but a "natural closure" of the soul consciousness itself after reconstructing the structure of the fifth soul imprint.

Healers call it "soul breath sealing the sea." In this state, martial artists cannot wake up on their own and need external stimulation or the spontaneous resonance of their soul sea as a trigger.

Inside Jingyunzhai, Lei Jingjing stayed by his side constantly, adjusting his soul meridian guidance during the day and guarding his bedside at night, observing the changes in Chu Ning's soul sea with her soul eyes.

Chu Yun was responsible for receiving daily messengers, documents, and information about the outside world from the Soul Mirror Pavilion. He often made more than ten trips a day, with beads of sweat on his forehead and his soul steps never stopping.

"...Even if you're unconscious, don't let me down." She sat on the edge of the bed, gently smoothing Chu Ning's disheveled white hair, her tone smiling, but her eyes were slightly red.

As night deepened, strange phenomena occasionally appeared deep within Chu Ning's soul sea—

Sometimes the light of the Soul Lock would emerge from the palm of his hand, with a chaotic remnant pattern swirling endlessly;
Sometimes, in my dreams, I return to the Lock Source Palace and hear the name "Hun Yuan" echoing from the distant beyond the realm.

More often than not, he dreamt of the ancient sealed gate slowly opening, and in the darkness, a pair of eyes stared at him from the abyss of the boundary sea.

Someone from the Soul Pavilion privately investigated this matter and called it "Soul Suppressing Prophecy Dream"—only those souls who have truly been "marked by the boundary" will experience this strange phenomenon of soul dreams.

Chu Ning has been asleep for six days.

Inside the Soul Mirror Pavilion, tensions had already escalated.

Fu Mingchuan, the chief scribe of the outer cabinet, secretly joined forces with three elders to submit a memorial to the Soul Mirror Council, advocating that "Chu Ning is still unconscious and should not hold the cabinet power seal. Li Jing'an should temporarily take full power, and another person should be selected to manage the inner cabinet."

Although his words were polite, his real intention was to take the opportunity to bypass the power of the soul and succeed to the throne, and to re-establish the old system.

Li Jing'an ignored it coldly, replying with only one sentence:
"The Pavilion Master is not yet awake, but his soul power has already manifested."

"Anyone who dares to disturb the soul tablet will be recorded in the 'Book of Crimes of Seizure from the Palace'."

But this crackdown was only a temporary measure; the undercurrents did not subside.

Meanwhile, Yu Xingshui of the Soul Map Pavilion quietly recalled the "Soul Abyss Scouts" from various parts of the Soul Mirror and launched an ancient decree called "Soul Abyss Trial." On the surface, it was a test of soul power for the "initial appointment of the master," but in reality, it was mostly a touchstone for the battles between the outer pavilions.

Upon receiving this order, the Soul Mirror Pavilion had no choice but to send someone to respond.

"If Chu Ye is not awake, who will lead this battle?"

Inside the Soul Mirror Pavilion, someone cast a cold remark at the council meeting.

Li Jing'an remained silent, only casting his gaze towards Jingyunzhai, his eyes like a deep, ancient well, the meaning of which only he knew:
"He will wake up—otherwise, who will make the next move in this game?"

The following day, the atmosphere in the inner council hall of the Soul Mirror Pavilion was as heavy as a leaden cloud.

Several elders sat around the Soul Throne, while Li Jing'an stood in the main seat, solemnly placing a talisman slip in the center of the Soul Throne.

Chu Ning stepped into the main hall, his soul robe fluttering slightly in the wind, his gaze calm and clear.

Li Jing'an said:
"Chu Ye's soul lock is stable, and although the foundation of the fifth pattern is damaged, it is not destroyed."

"From this day forward, in the name of the Pavilion Master, you shall enter the inner cabinet directly to test the Pavilion Master's legal authority."

Zhou Yan, a conservative elder with white hair and beard and a deep, composed demeanor, spoke first, his voice hoarse with the weariness of years:
"Elder Li, isn't this move too hasty? Chu Ye is indeed a prodigy, having withstood the sixth trial of the Locked Return Sect without dying, which is astonishing. However, his soul source is severely damaged, like a flaw in a piece of jade, and there may be hidden dangers. To bestow the title of 'Pavilion Master' and grant him such great power at this time, if his foundation is lost in the future, wouldn't that put our Soul Mirror Pavilion in a dangerous position? Not to mention the three pavilions eyeing us covetously..."

Li Jing'an's gaze was as calm as a still well, and he interrupted calmly:
“I am aware of Elder Zhou’s concerns. However, what we are worried about is not whether he can recover, but rather…” He paused slightly, his gaze suddenly becoming sharp as a sword, “but rather, when he returns to the sea as a true dragon, with all five markings restored, and under his magnificent divine might, will you… still have even the slightest thought of ‘suppressing’ him?!”

These words struck at the heart! Zhou Yan's face stiffened, and the other elders who had been observing the situation were also shaken.

Before they could object, Li Jing'an continued, his tone full of meaning:

"Moreover... do you really think that pushing him to this position is merely wishful thinking on the part of my Soul Mirror Pavilion? This title of 'Pavilion Master,' this path of testing the laws of the Inner Pavilion," he lightly tapped the armrest of the Soul Seat with his fingertips, producing a dull echo, "has already been predetermined in the undercurrents of the Three Realms."

"The undercurrents of the Three Realms... a predetermined fate?" Lin Feng, a relatively young deputy law enforcement officer, couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice, his eyes filled with astonishment and doubt.

A suppressed commotion and whispers immediately erupted throughout the hall.

Li Jing'an's words were like a boulder thrown into stagnant water, implying a higher level of instruction or rule-driven action far exceeding the internal power struggles within the Soul Mirror Pavilion, casting a deeper fog of mystery and awe over everyone's hearts.

The dissenting voices have temporarily fallen silent under this invisible pressure.

Lin Feng hesitated for a moment, then asked cautiously:
"Elder Li, if Ruo Chuye wakes up, will he have the option to refuse this position?"

Li Jing'an remained silent for a long time, his gaze seemingly piercing through the hall, looking towards Jingyunzhai, before finally uttering only a cold and realistic sentence:
"Refuse?"

"If he refuses, he will be guilty of possessing a treasure. Without the Soul Mirror Pavilion as a shield, he will immediately become the most naked, tempting, and most needy 'prey' in the eyes of all the ambitious and fearful people of the three pavilions."

"If he accepts," Li Jing'an's voice was resolute, "then he will establish the pivot for defining the future of our Soul Mirror Pavilion for the next hundred years!"

Inside Jingyunzhai, Chu Ning's soul sea was like a shattered harbor after a storm, his consciousness struggling to rise in the murky tide.

While unconscious, Chu Ning seemed to have fallen into a dark and desolate realm.

The sky was filled with shattered mirrors, reflecting his figure at different times: the young man roaring with obsession, the back view of him fighting alone against a group of enemies in the sealed realm, and the moment when he lit the soul lamp for Lei Jingjing with gentle eyes.

He walked among them, but no one responded in the mirror. Deep within his soul sea, the dormant fifth soul rune suddenly trembled, and an ancient, almost indistinct voice whispered in the void:
"The Soul Master... has not returned."

"With the three keys now in place, the soul lock must be opened."

"Only by undergoing tribulation in a dream can one inherit this power."

Chu Ning followed the sound and suddenly saw a broken path paved with fragmented inscriptions, leading to an ancient stele with four faded and almost illegible seal characters engraved on it:

"Hun Yuan Shou Quan".

Just as he was about to approach, the dream suddenly collapsed, and a talisman with a faint light, as if it were engraved in his bloodline, fell from the sky and slowly embedded itself into the fifth soul rune in his palm.

Beside the bed, Chu Ning's fingers twitched slightly, and the dark blue soul power talisman in his palm emitted a faint glow.

This talisman is not an official seal or title, but it contains an extremely refined power of soul law reflecting authority.

It is the continuation of the main will of the Soul Mirror Pavilion's authority, the condensation of the power souls of successive pavilion masters, and only those with the Soul Master's imprint can receive it.

Lei Jingjing was guarding the bedside when she suddenly felt her soul threads being pulled, and her mind was shaken—she saw that the fifth soul pattern on Chu Ning's palm had been activated by the talisman, and the unstable dark gold soul flow had reappeared.

One after another, unfamiliar, cold fragments of soul consciousness, imbued with the aura of ancient laws, collided and intertwined in Chu Ning's mind. These were complex information about the core rules of the Soul Mirror Pavilion and even the Realm within a Realm, forcibly instilled by the Soul Master's mark.

(End of this chapter)