A few breaths later,
Ning Chuan and Xiao Lian each dragged three people, winding their way into the deepest part of the Imperial Guard's Heavenly Prison.
The Heavenly Prison was dimly lit, filled with miserable howls. Strange and terrifying instruments of torture hung everywhere.
Zhang Jiao, Wang Meng, Huang Long, and the other eight captains under Xiao Lian had long since received their orders and were waiting here.
The men yawned. Having been dragged over in the middle of the night to work overtime, they were mildly dissatisfied.
When they saw Lord Ning and Xiao Lian arrive together, both of them soaked through,
they exchanged glances, the flames of gossip blazing in their hearts.
"What's going on here?!"
"Did the two of you take a dip in a boiling pond?!"
"Lord Ning has quite the taste. Instead of rolling around on a nice soft bed, he had to seek thrills in the water in the dead of night.
Lord Ning really knows how to have fun!"
Wang Meng and the others raised their brows and winked at Ning Chuan,
secretly giving him a thumbs-up, leaving Ning Chuan with his face full of black lines.
Seeing that they were acting without the slightest decorum, Xiao Lian's face flushed faintly as she snapped,
"What are you staring at? Get to work!"
"Understood!"
The men hurried forward and helped drag away the six bandit bosses.
"Holy shit! The Six Bandit Overlords!"
"The two of you wiped out all the bandits in Qingshan County in one fell swoop!"
Wang Meng jumped up, disbelief written all over his face.
The others also sucked in cold breaths, looking at Ning Chuan and Xiao Lian with delight, awe, and utter disbelief.
These six bosses were Martial Arts Sixth Rank experts. They had claimed mountains as kings in Qingshan County and lorded over the region.
They even had the secret backing of the Han Family, where the County Magistrate resided. Officials and bandits colluded, running wild without restraint.
After Lord Leng arrived at the Imperial Guard, she had been planning a decapitation operation to capture these six bosses.
But with too few Imperial Guard experts, the plan had yet to be carried out. Who would have thought it would be accomplished like this?
After their burst of excitement, the men busied themselves in a flurry.
First, they pierced the six bosses' shoulder blades with hooks. Then they bound them tightly with dragon-binding ropes and hung them from torture racks.
"Hehehe, once you enter our Imperial Guard prison, you'll have to confess every evil deed you committed in your previous life!"
"The two of you are mighty! As long as we torture out proof that the Han Family colluded with bandits, County Magistrate Han Zhang will not be far from death!"
Crash...
Zhang Jiao brought over a large bucket of icy water and poured it over the head of Black Crow, First Boss of Black Wind Stronghold.
Black Crow slowly opened his aged eyes, only to be greeted by the Great Ming Imperial Guard's one hundred and eight earth-shattering tortures.
"Ah!..."
One shrill scream after another tore through the night sky, making every listener tremble with fear.
Xiao Lian immediately frowned and left, with Ning Chuan following her out of the Heavenly Prison.
"Brothers, don't kill them. Save them for me to handle personally!"
Ning Chuan did not forget to leave this instruction before departing, making Wang Meng and the others shudder.
"Is Lord Ning really this bloodthirsty?"
Outside the Heavenly Prison, lanterns shone brightly. Countless Imperial Guards stood watch, the air steeped in a grim, murderous chill.
At the entrance was a main hall. Leng Hanshuang sat high in the seat of honor, while an old man in blue stood behind her with his head lowered.
The old man in blue was Uncle Liu, Leng Hanshuang's guardian, a Martial Arts Third Rank expert.
Martial Arts Third Rank was also known as the Martial Emperor—the emperor of martial arts. Among martial artists, such people stood high above all others, looking down upon the masses.
The old man's brows were mottled white, his eyelids half-closed, as though he hovered between sleep and wakefulness.
Eight Squad Leaders sat in two neat rows below,
and of the Imperial Guard's ten Squad Leaders, everyone except Ning Chuan and Xiao Lian had arrived.
The men were uneasy and afraid of Leng Hanshuang. They did not dare speak to one another, so they could only communicate silently with raised brows and meaningful looks.
"Demoness Leng called us here in the middle of the night. What medicine is she selling in her gourd?"
"I heard Lord Xiao Lian captured an important prisoner and just had him locked up. Who could it be?"
Unable to make heads or tails of it, they were curious and guessed wildly.
One impatient Squad Leader finally could not hold back. He stood, cupped his hands in salute, and asked in a deep voice.
"Lord Leng, may I ask what important person was just imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison?"
"Ask no more. You need only carry out your orders!"
Leng Hanshuang spoke slowly, her tone beyond question.
"If the person imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison escapes, I will hold all of you accountable!"
"Furthermore, without my permission, no one may leave even half a step. Violators will be killed without mercy!"
Leng Hanshuang's voice was icy to the bone and carried killing intent, as cold as her name.
"Yes!"
"We obey!"
The eight Squad Leaders in the hall trembled with fear and did not dare ask further questions, afraid of angering Demoness Leng and following in Ma Dayuan's footsteps.
Ning Chuan followed Xiao Lian out of the Heavenly Prison and was just about to step forward to greet Leng Hanshuang,
when his spine suddenly prickled, as though he had become prey fixed in a tiger's gaze.
He hurriedly turned his head, only for his eyes to meet those of the old man in blue behind Leng Hanshuang.
The old man's eyelids opened slightly, and a thread of pressure bore down upon Ning Chuan, carrying the might of heaven collapsing and earth splitting apart.
Damn it, this old bastard is pretty strong!
Ning Chuan cursed inwardly, abruptly driving the blood and qi throughout his body to the utmost limit as he gritted his teeth and faced it head-on.
As the pressure descended, Ning Chuan felt his head boom, as though a great hammer had smashed into it,
golden stars exploding before his eyes. His body swayed as if drunk, nearly toppling over.
"Ning Chuan, are you all right?"
Seeing something wrong with him, Xiao Lian quickly supported him and asked with concern.
The sharp gleam in the old man's eyes faded, and he was inwardly astonished.
"Eh? What formidable physical constitution, what formidable external cultivation!"
"What a pity. At sixteen, he still has not cultivated true qi. He has already passed the best age to learn martial arts. Such an uncut jade has gone to waste!"
For an instant, the old man in blue had the thought of accepting Ning Chuan as a disciple, but then he lost interest.
He sighed inwardly, then closed his eyes. His face showed neither joy nor sorrow, as though he had lost all interest in Ning Chuan.
What the old man in blue did not know was that Ning Chuan's Body Tempering Realm had reached a terrifying one hundred and seventeen levels, far beyond this world's understanding.
It was precisely because Ning Chuan's Body Tempering Realm was too powerful that the old man could not see through him, causing him to miss out on a peerless disciple who defied the heavens.
Ning Chuan shook his head for a while before gradually regaining clarity. Seeing that the old man had already closed his eyes, as though he had lost interest in him,
his eyes shifted. Then his body suddenly went limp, and he conveniently fell into Xiao Lian's arms.
"Lord Xiao Lian, my internal injuries have flared up. I fear there is no saving me now. I will no longer be able to accompany you and Lord Leng in conquering the world!"
The moment Xiao Lian heard this, her heart fell into chaos. She hugged Ning Chuan tightly and began feeling all over his body in a panic.
"Ning Chuan, tell me quickly, where are you injured?!"
"Miss has plenty of medicine for injuries. Even the gravest wounds can be healed!"
Xiao Lian's voice was urgent as she tried hard to recall the scene where the six bosses had ambushed them, yet she could not remember Ning Chuan being injured at any point.
Ning Chuan secretly reveled in it, feeling his entire body and soul enveloped in softness and fragrance,
as though he were floating in the clouds, soft and weightless.
He suddenly rolled his eyes white and made a hoarse sound in his throat, as though he were struggling at his last breath.
His head rubbed wildly against Xiao Lian's chest, while one large hand conveniently wrapped around her slender waist and began groping about.
This scene stunned everyone in the hall. Xiao Lian was too concerned to think clearly, but the onlookers saw everything plainly.
The old man in blue's mouth twitched. His closed eyelids quivered slightly, and he grew secretly annoyed.
"This brat, I merely pressed him with my aura once. Was there any need to put on such an act?"
The Squad Leaders' minds were in disarray. They looked at Demoness Leng, then at Ning Chuan, silently mourning for him.
"Wasn't it said that Ning Chuan was Demoness Leng's male favorite?"
"Lord Ning, Demoness Leng is watching. Isn't it a little improper to molest a respectable woman like this?"
"This brat actually dares take liberties with Lord Xiao Lian right in front of Demoness Leng. He's dead, absolutely dead!"
Some secretly gloated, eagerly waiting for Demoness Leng to chop Ning Chuan into eight pieces.
When Leng Hanshuang saw Ning Chuan and Xiao Lian emerge, the faint smile at the corners of her lips gradually vanished, and her pretty face turned cold.
"Ning Chuan, have you had enough?"
Leng Hanshuang's icy words echoed through the hall, and the temperature seemed to drop several degrees.
Bang!
Lord Ning was still floating in the clouds, enjoying himself, when Xiao Lian unexpectedly threw him to the ground, sending him into a butt-first Wild Goose Landing on Flat Sand.
"Pervert!"
Xiao Lian cried out and flashed to Leng Hanshuang's side. Gritting her teeth, she glared furiously at Ning Chuan, flames practically about to burst from her eyes.
Ning Chuan rose from the ground and rubbed his backside with an innocent look, his old face faintly burning.
Just then, a loud shout came from the entrance.
"The County Magistrate has arrived!"
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