Overdraw the future and become a peerless martial god

Chapter 82 Ice Blood Puppet (Seeking monthly votes and favorites)
On the high platform of Qingyun Arena, an old man hidden in a red robe had a cold, serpentine gaze.

Wang Chongshan slowly clenched his fist in his sleeve, his knuckles cracking, his teeth clenched, his hatred almost seeping blood from under his skin.

"Chu Ning..." he murmured to himself, his eyes flashing with a cold, sharp light.

The Qingyang Royal Family, which had been built up under his scheme for thirty years, was completely destroyed by this young man. Now, not only is he not dead, but he is shining brightly on the arena in the prefectural city, overshadowing all the other geniuses. Even Xie Mingli has set up a bet for him and personally gifted him elixirs.

This child has become a serious threat to the future.

"He should be killed," he whispered, uttering three words.

But he didn't make a move. His gaze passed over the crowd and landed on the white-clad figure standing quietly on the edge of the platform further away.

Xie Jinghong wore a mask, his aura restrained, and even the setting sun could not reveal the slightest ripple in his heart.

"It's time for you to make your move," Wang Chongshan murmured to himself, a faint smile slowly curving his lips, his voice like the spitting of a cold snake: "You are the knife I left behind."

"Now, it's time to use it to kill someone."

The setting sun was like blood, and the thunder faded into the distance.

Only the blood-red compass hidden in Wang Chongshan's sleeve faintly glowed, as if some forbidden technique was quietly awakening in the darkness.

Xie Jinghong remained motionless throughout, except for a silent twitch at the moment Chu Ning and Xie Mingli left. It was as if some unhealed crack in her heart was quietly spreading.

He walked very slowly, yet with the steadiness of iron and stone, each step without the slightest hesitation, as if he had trodden every inch of the ground a thousand times in his dreams.

His eyes were cold and indifferent, his lips were tightly pressed together, and only a fleeting, almost imperceptible glint of cold light flashed from the depths of his pupils.

It wasn't anger, nor jealousy, but murderous intent.

Just then, a red figure swept past him. She suddenly stopped in her tracks, standing in the path he was sure to take, staring blankly.

The person who arrived was Feng Jin, and she recognized him. Even after so many years, even though he was wearing a mask, and even though his expression had long since turned as cold as ice, she still recognized him at a glance.

That was her stunning beauty.

A sudden glint of light and pain flashed in her eyes, like peach blossoms frosted in early spring, abruptly withering in the cold wind.

She opened her mouth, as if she wanted to call his name, but in the end, no sound came out.

He walked past her without stopping, without hesitation, without looking back, as if they were strangers.

She stood in the wind, her clothes fluttering, her gaze slowly lowered, her clenched fingers turning white, a pain of being torn apart alive.

He saw her, and he saw the scene on the stage. He was knocked off the stage by Chu Ning, but he remained unmoved.

Xie Jinghong's figure gradually blended into the horizon, leaving behind a solitary shadow as cold as a blade.

Feng Jin stared blankly, as if gazing at a belated dream, finally brushing past her once again.

The next moment, a gust of wind suddenly arose.

Before anyone could react, a streak of cold light flashed from afar, its sound like ice shattering and its chilling sharpness like frost falling on a blade.

The masked man swept back to the arena like a meteor falling to earth, his icy true energy swirling through the heavens and earth. The cold sword in his hand was drawn from its sheath in mid-air, pointing directly at Chu Ning, bursting with killing intent.

"Danger!" Xie Mingli exclaimed in shock, her eyes flashing with intense light.

Feng Jin's expression also changed drastically. That cold sword light was clearly aimed directly at Chu Ning's brow, showing no mercy.

Chu Ning raised an eyebrow, a golden light flashed in his eyes, and he lightly stepped into the void, suddenly dodging to the side, his sleeves fluttering.

"Chong-"

The clang of metal rang out, and shards of ice flew everywhere.

The two clashed in an instant, their sword energy surging and weaving into a silver-blue storm. The arena's protective shield trembled, as if a thunderbolt was about to strike.

The masked man's sword was as sharp as frost and snow, his sword intent as surging like a tide, continuous and unending. Chu Ning, on the other hand, held a blade in his hand, his inner energy surging with lightning, his figure like a shadow in the wind, moving amidst the sword's momentum. Every move he made was extremely precise, like a tiger breaking through the snow, fierce and exceptionally powerful.

"This person... is actually a high-grade eighth-rank martial artist!"

A gasp suddenly rang out from the crowd, like a stone thrown into a lake, stirring up an uproar.

"When did Qingzhou Prefecture produce such a master? I've never heard of him before!" someone muttered under their breath, their face filled with shock.

Below the arena, Xie Mingli's eyes shone brightly as she stared intently at the two figures clashing on the stage. Finally, unable to contain herself any longer, she spoke in a clear and sharp voice: "May I ask who you are, sir? May I ask your name?"

But the masked man seemed not to hear, his swordplay growing even more ferocious, and he remained silent.

Xie Mingli's expression changed slightly, her brow twitched, and anger surged up, but she did not dare to step forward to interfere rashly.

In that brief moment of stalemate, she suddenly sensed something amiss. The true energy flowing within the masked man was chilling and concentrated, and it seemed to share a faint origin with the Ice Heart Technique she herself cultivated!
However, Chu Ning's heart grew increasingly heavy. Just as they were exchanging blows, he sensed an unusual aura.

It was a deathly chill, as if the icy spirits sealed away for a thousand years beneath the snowfields, mysterious and stagnant, silently permeating the air and seeping into one's very bones.

It was breathtaking. "This aura..." Chu Ning's gaze narrowed slightly, lightning flashing in his golden eyes, deep and unfathomable.

He once faced the auras of the three blood puppet guards—wind, fire, and thunder—below Wang Lin's blood pool.

This aura is exactly the same as the original. It's like a hidden beast lying in the depths, silent and still, waiting for the trigger to appear.

“This is not human true energy…” Chu Ning’s fingertips trembled slightly, but his chest suddenly felt hot.

That was the blood curse that Wang Lin planted in his body before his death, and now it has suddenly revived, instinctively attracting a certain kind of aura.

"His aura comes from Wang Lin!" Just as the masked man flicked his sword sleeve, Chu Ning's gaze sharpened like an eagle's.

He saw it!

A barely perceptible wisp of blood-red light slid down from Xie Jinghong's sleeve, swirling almost imperceptibly, faintly revealing a familiar pattern.

That was the core of the Wang family's puppet control technique, the phantom of the blood-red compass.

"You are the Ice Blood Puppet!" Chu Ning roared, lightning surged, and he slashed horizontally with his angry blade, a blade light that shattered the sky with thunder.

The frost shattered, and the sword shadow was forced back half an inch. In the midst of this attack, Chu Ning slashed at the man's mask with his backhand.

"Hiss-!"

The mask shattered with a "crack," exposing half of the face. In the cold light, that familiar face seemed to have been torn out of an old dream, carrying a hint of unbelievable eeriness.

A murmur of surprise rippled through the crowd. "That...that's Xie Jinghong, the young master of the Marquis of Wu's mansion!"

His appearance remained unchanged, handsome as a sculpture, but his eyes were lifeless, with a faint, inhuman crimson light flickering deep within his pupils, like a burning, deathly stillness.

Xie Mingli's expression changed drastically, and her voice trembled: "Brother? Weren't you still recuperating in the manor...when did you wake up?"

She tried to remain calm, but her voice betrayed a hint of panic.

Feng Jin seemed to have been struck by lightning. Her lips parted slightly, and a sentence almost escaped her lips: "It really is him..."

Amidst the chaos, a staggering figure rushed through the crowd—it was Qin Henian, the old steward of the Marquis of Wu's mansion. He ran breathlessly to Xie Mingli's side, his face ashen: "Miss...Young Master suddenly disappeared at noon today. This old servant ordered a city-wide search...but unexpectedly, he appeared at...Qingyun Arena..."

Before he could finish speaking, the entire room fell into a deathly silence.

Prince Duan had just stepped off the edge of the platform when he stopped abruptly upon seeing the mask shatter. He gazed at Xie Jinghong on the platform, a deep, unfathomable light flashing in his eyes. His thin lips parted slightly, and he murmured, "Xie Jinghong?...Didn't he mysteriously disappear years ago?"

The guards nearby overheard these words and were about to speak when Prince Duan raised his hand to stop them. His gaze was deep, like mist or a sword, and he quickly sketched a clue in his mind.

“A top-grade eighth rank! If it really is him, why is the Marquis of Wu keeping it a secret?” He chuckled lightly, but there was no hint of amusement in his eyes. “If it is the Ice Blood Puppet… then who dares to use the Marquis of Wu’s son as a vessel for his puppet?”

A chilling, scheming aura, characteristic of a king, was quietly growing in his eyes. From this day forward, Qingzhou Prefecture would likely never have a peaceful day again.

Beside the arena, Feng Jin stared blankly at Xie Jinghong, her gaze complex and unfathomable, like the oppressive and turbulent atmosphere before a sudden rainstorm. She suddenly spoke slowly, her voice as soft as a withered flower in the wind, yet sincere:

“Jinghong…I’ve waited for you for five years.”

A hint of pain, accumulated over a long period of time, surfaced in her eyes. "In these five years, I went from hating you for abandoning me, hating you for disappearing without a trace... to getting used to waiting, getting used to throwing myself into the wind to look for traces of you."

“I thought you were dead… but you’re back.” Her eyes reddened, but she bit her lip to keep the tears from falling. “As long as you’re alive, I won’t blame you… I’m willing… I’ll agree to marry you right now.”

This deep affection, though silent, burned like a raging fire, yet Xie Jinghong remained unmoved.

His eyes were empty, his aura icy, and with a flick of his sword, he charged at Chu Ning once more, as if her words had never existed.

At that moment, Feng Jin seemed to be shattered. She swayed and almost fell, but Xie Mingli quickly caught her.

"Brother! Do you know she... she's been waiting for you!" Xie Mingli suddenly looked up and shouted angrily, "Why did you attack someone from the Marquis of Wu's own family?"

Chu Ning's gaze turned cold as she said in a low voice, "He... is not your brother."

The situation on the arena changed suddenly. Lightning flashed in Chu Ning's eyes, and his voice was low and suppressed: "He is the Ice Blood Puppet that was refined by the Wang family patriarch."

These few words sent a jolt through everyone.

"Ice Blood Puppet?" Xie Mingli murmured repeatedly, her tone full of confusion and unease.

Chu Ning spoke each word with chilling precision: "That is using the body of the Cold Extreme True Meridian as a vessel, the blood of living people as a guide, infusing it with blood pills, sealing the soul, and refining the body using puppet techniques. It is neither human nor ghost, and does not perish after death. Wang Lin, the patriarch of the Wang family, possessed this secret technique in his early years and has been secretly refining blood puppets in Qingyang County."

"This puppet has neither consciousness nor emotion; it only acts according to orders."

Xie Mingli was pale and almost couldn't stand: "But...this is my brother..."

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(End of this chapter)