Overdraw the future and become a peerless martial god

Chapter 89 Testing the Waters (Seeking monthly votes and favorites)
The Ice Soul True Qi suddenly exploded within Xie Mingli's body, unleashing a burst of silvery-white cold light.

The fragments solidified into a blade, its chilling edge reaching the Prince's throat in an instant.

Her voice was as cold as iron striking jade:

"Your Highness, please have some self-respect."

For a moment, the atmosphere in the hall froze.

Suddenly, several dark figures emerged from between the pillars and cracks in the walls of the palace. The guards, with their eighth-rank cultivation, arrived on ice, clad in iron armor, exuding a stern aura.

Prince Duan raised an eyebrow, his figure flashed, and with a flick of his finger, he instantly shattered Xie Mingli's Ice Soul True Qi, instead imprisoning her in his arms.

He chuckled softly, his eyes gleaming with a wicked and seductive light.
"This rebellious spirit in your bones... is even more alluring than your mother was back then."

Before the words were finished, the palace doors exploded with a deafening roar.

A bolt of lightning struck from the sky, and a gale-force wind swept in, accompanied by a thunderstorm. The blazing white lightning caused the airflow in the entire palace to reverse and the golden bricks to crack.

Amidst the lightning, a figure strode forward against the light.

Electricity danced around him like silver snakes; lightning condensed into a blade in his palm, and with a thunderous slash, he repelled the eighth-rank guards on his left and right, as if struck by the wrath of a thunder god.

Chu Ning stepped into the royal palace, his white hair flying wildly. His eyes were like an abyss, cold and deep, with lightning surging and churning in the depths of his eyes.

Everyone in the hall paled, but then they saw that before the lightning in front of him had not yet dissipated, he suddenly stopped.

He withdrew his lightning, cupped his hands slightly, and said in a low and steady voice, "Chu Ning greets Your Highness."

With this gesture, the thunder and lightning ceased, and the raging wind subsided.

Like Leifeng Pagoda concealing its sharpness, like a soaring dragon humming softly.

Its sharpness was concealed, yet its murderous intent remained, sending chills down one's spine.

Prince Duan's eyes flickered slightly, and the corners of his lips slowly curved up. He glanced at Chu Ning with a half-smile before finally releasing Xie Mingli.

He clapped his hands casually, as if he had just put down prey he was tired of playing with, his tone flippant:
"Your demeanor is quite good."

Xie Mingli, freed from her restraints, was startled and lunged at Chu Ning, embracing him tightly. Her hands were still trembling, but she didn't say a word, only burying her head in his chest.

Prince Duan had already slowly descended from the high platform.

His robes trailed on the ground, his steps were as steady as a mountain, yet his aura pressed down on him like a night tide.

With each step he took, the temperature in the hall seemed to drop a few degrees.

Those eyes, finally devoid of mockery, now held a chilling glint, sharp as a knife. His voice, too, became deep and sinister, like a viper's forked tongue.
"Top-grade, Rank 10?"

"But on the arena, you effortlessly and calmly defeated eight-rank martial artists. For ordinary martial artists, even a single minor realm difference in a fight against someone of a higher rank is already impressive. But you..."

He stopped in his tracks, his gaze sharp as an eagle's, as if he wanted to dissect Chu Ning and examine him closely.

"Yet you have crossed two major ranks and still have the upper hand."

"If you don't provide an explanation that will convince me today..."

He slowly raised his hand, a soft sound, as if triggering a hidden thunderclap:

"I'm afraid we won't be able to leave this palace."

Before the words were finished, the shadows of the palace shifted slightly, and several more guards with chilling auras emerged from the shadows and surrounded them.

The air seemed to freeze completely at that moment.

Even the wind stopped moving, and the lightning seemed to freeze around Chu Ning, making him look like a sculpture.

The hall was so quiet you could hear a heartbeat. You could hear a pin drop; the sound of a needle was like the beating of a drum.

All eyes were fixed on the young man in black robes, waiting for him to reveal the truth, or for him to die at this moment.

Xie Mingli held her breath, her eyes fixed on him, her heart pounding like a drum.

Chu Ning did not respond immediately.

He simply lowered his eyes, seemingly oblivious to the guards surrounding him who were killing him.

The wind stirred his robes, and he raised his finger and flicked it lightly.

With a clear, light sound, an antique and exquisite bell slid out from his sleeve and hovered in mid-air between his palms.

The bell is entirely black, with a layer of obscure and mysterious patterns on its surface that flow slowly like water.

A sliver of cold light quietly emanated from the bell, suddenly piercing the deathly silence.

The next moment, the world fell silent.

Chu Ning slowly exhaled, her gaze lowered, and her fingertips twitched slightly.

Just when everyone thought he had fallen silent and backed down, a faint current of air quietly escaped from his body, so subtle as to be almost imperceptible.

But in an instant, that wisp of energy seemed to ignite a fuse deep within the wind and thunder.

"boom."

A muffled thunderclap erupted from the depths of the earth, like the first mournful cry of mountains and rivers breaking apart.

Chu Ning's clothes billowed and fluttered.

His back was as straight as a mountain, and his whole body seemed to be activated by the sea of ​​thunder. Streams of light and lightning flashed around his body, and thunderous breath clung to him like dragons and snakes, surrounding him endlessly.

The true energy surged like a river, then exploded with a deafening roar.

The first shock.

Grade 10, top-grade.

The light surged and the aura was chilling, like a thunderclap from a clear sky, causing those around to instinctively take a half step back.

The second wave of oscillation.

Ninth grade, medium.

The air seemed to be sucked out instantly, many guards felt a jolt in their eardrums, a tightness in their chests, and their breathing became slightly disordered.

The third wave of oscillation.

Peak of the Ninth Rank.

A bolt of lightning exploded from between his brows, as if his soul was resounding. The sunlight in the sky seemed to be pulled apart, casting a blinding golden light.

The fourth oscillation.

Rank 8, lowest grade.

"Hiss—" Someone gasped, staggered backward, their steps faltering, their knees buckling for a moment.

This is a level that most sect elders can only reach after a lifetime of hard work.

The fifth level, the most terrifying shock. Middle grade of the eighth rank.

It was as if the Milky Way had reversed its course, and purple lightning had entered the sea.

In an instant, the entire hall seemed to be struck by a thunderbolt. The glazed lamps shook violently, the beams and pillars made a cracking sound, and even the flying beasts on the roof ridge seemed to be about to fly off the roof tiles.

Lightning swirled around Chu Ning, coalescing into a lightning tiger that crouched on the ground and growled, as if the heavens had chosen their master and all things were in submission.

All the guards were horrified, as if they were witnessing the appearance of the Thunder God, and not one of them dared to take another step closer.

Someone's Adam's apple bobbed as they whispered, "This...how could this be? He's a mid-level eighth-rank martial artist?"

Even Prince Duan's eyes narrowed slightly for a moment, and a look of seriousness flashed in his eyes for the first time.

Chu Ning's expression remained unchanged. He simply put the bell back in his hand, and as his robes fluttered, his aura was as powerful as if the heavens and the earth were about to collapse.

Feng Jin's pupils dilated violently, and he couldn't help but take a step back. "How...how is this possible..." he murmured, his face showing unprecedented horror.

Xie Mingli froze, her eyelashes trembling slightly, her eyes flashing with shock and complexity.

She finally understood why Chu Ning was never afraid of powerful enemies and never admitted defeat.

It turns out that what he had been hiding all along was another unfathomable iceberg.

"No wonder you dared to trespass into the Prince's mansion."

She murmured softly, her tone filled with an unprecedented solemnity and respect.

In the hall, Prince Duan's smile finally froze, his gaze gradually darkened, and a chill spread from his brows to the depths of his eyes.

He slowly rose, his gaze sharp as a blade, his voice low and cold, carrying a hint of disbelief:

"Eighth-rank, mid-level?"

His tone was no longer frivolous, but for the first time, it revealed a hint of probing and apprehension.

"They hid it very well, so well that even I, the king, did not notice the slightest disturbance."

He took a step forward, and the air pressure in the hall suddenly plummeted:
"how did you do it?"

Chu Ning remained calm and composed, his expression unchanged.

He raised his hand, and the black bell in his palm trembled slightly, rising into the air, its eerie light slowly rotating.

He looked directly at Prince Duan, his tone steady and forceful:
"This item is the Spirit Bell."

"By sealing one's aura and regulating spiritual pressure, one can compress and disguise one's true cultivation level to any level."

After speaking, he gently cupped his hands in a respectful gesture, his voice calm and composed:
"This treasure was bestowed upon me by my master and was originally intended for honing my skills. Today, I am making an exception to show it to others in order to protect the person I am protecting."

The eerie light of the Spirit Bell burned like a night fire, making the faces of the guards around it pale.

A secret treasure that can disguise one's cultivation level to the point of being a fake, making an eighth-rank expert appear to be a tenth-rank expert?
This means that the enemy is in the dark while we are in the light, and our fate is uncertain.

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became tense.

A complex emotion flashed in Prince Duan's eyes, as if he were weighing his options or recalling something, before he finally uttered a sentence slowly:
"My mentor...?"

His eyes changed, as if he realized something, and then he let out a cold laugh, his tone carrying undisguised surprise and doubt:

Legend has it that before becoming famous, the Master of the First-Rank Pavilion, Hunyuan Shangshi, possessed a mysterious treasure that could completely conceal fluctuations in his cultivation level.

He narrowed his eyes, staring at the bell in Chu Ning's hand:
"Could it be—this is it?"

The air seemed to freeze in that instant, the oppressive force was immense, and everyone in the hall held their breath.

Chu Ning, however, simply smiled calmly, slowly tucking the bell into her sleeve, her tone as still as water:

"Your Highness is indeed very knowledgeable."

Prince Duan did not respond, but his gaze narrowed slightly, his thoughts churning like a surging tide.

“Just a month ago he was a nobody hunter, and now he’s already a mid-level eighth-rank hunter… Such a leap is something even royalty has never seen.”

He wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes.

"I originally wanted to use him to activate the seal of the Nine Heavens Thunder Scripture... but if he is really the disciple of the Primordial Master, even if I can kill him, I may not be able to escape the consequences."

"Moreover, his Yang Thunder has not yet taken shape, so let's give him a break for now and observe how things develop."

Thinking of this, Prince Duan's expression darkened, and he suddenly changed the subject:

"Are you aware that your act of annihilating the Wang family in Qingyang County has already shaken the court and drawn constant criticism?"

Chu Ning's expression remained unchanged, but his voice became even more composed:
“The Wang family annexed Qingyang, oppressed the good and honest, and imposed heavy taxes on their own, which caused long-standing resentment among the people.”

"Although I hold no official position, I cannot bear to see the common people suffer. Although this action is against the rules, I have a clear conscience."

Prince Duan slammed his hand on the jade table and coldly shouted:

"A clear conscience indeed!"

"You think you're destroying the royal family? What you've cut off is the arm and power that I've painstakingly built up over more than a decade."

He approached step by step, his tone as chilling as ice piercing bone:

"You are but a commoner, yet you dare to arbitrarily kill royal vassals with just a surge of passion?"

"How dare you, with your laws and rules of the Great Qian Dynasty, use force to command and act like heroes?"

Chu Ning did not back down, his voice resounding:

"According to the laws of our dynasty, any martial artist who kills an enemy above his rank enjoys special privileges outside the law, and the government shall not arbitrarily judge him."

"I destroyed the Wang family by relying on my own true strength and challenging those of higher levels, which falls within the scope of the protection of martial artists' privileges."

"Isn't this precisely the intention of the Great Qian Dynasty to protect martial artists with greater potential?"

The hall fell silent for a few moments.

Prince Duan sneered:
"You seem to know the rules of the imperial court very well."

He abruptly changed the subject and threw out:

"Then how do you explain the Marquis Wu's mansion's unauthorized deployment of troops to incorporate the remnants of the Wang family? Is it an attempt to rebel?"

In that split second, Xie Mingli stepped forward, cupped her hands in a fist salute, and spoke in a clear voice like the first clap of a sword:

"All of the Wang family's assets, deeds, and members have been registered and can be transferred to the imperial court at any time."

"The Marquis of Wu's mansion adheres strictly to its duties as a subject and has absolutely no intention of rebelling."

She stood tall and straight, her aura like the sharp edge of a sword sheath, concealed yet exuding an imposing presence.

(End of this chapter)