This Is the Power of Numbers!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Fists tore through the air.

On the ground, Wu Feng's entire body was pressed down onto Ning Tian by Ning Wuque's domineering fist winds, as if she were being crushed. The sudden assault left the latter unable to release even a soul skill before she collapsed on the ground beneath Wu Feng.

They wanted to get up, but Ning Wuque's fists followed close behind!

His fists, like city walls, flashed endlessly before their eyes. The fierce wind pressure forced Wu Feng, who was trying to rise, back to the ground time and again.

Impossible! How could this be!

Body, get up already! Why can't I stand? It's only his fist wind! Wu Feng, get up!

She frantically mobilized the Soul Power within her body, trying to resist, but it was useless! Completely useless!

Every blast of Ning Wuque's fist wind struck precisely at the joints of her limbs, her abdomen, and her chest, crushing her from every direction!

Defiance flickered in Wu Feng's dragon eyes, but it soon turned into fear. She could no longer move or struggle. Every muscle in her body had been beaten until it ached unbearably.

Watching the fists leave afterimages before her eyes and feeling the Jinba force and impact contained within them, she had no doubt that every single blow could have taken her life!

Beneath her, Ning Tian bore the least pressure. The fist winds passed through Wu Feng's body and lightly struck her, barely affecting her at all.

But she was only a Support System Soul Master. She had no way to push Wu Feng off herself and roll away. Her strength was insufficient—completely insufficient!

"This kind of power..."

She struggled to open her eyes and faced Ning Wuque, who was throwing punches directly ahead of them. She felt it—felt this strength with perfect clarity!

Before even ten seconds had passed, Wu Feng could no longer hold on under Ning Wuque's deliberate restraint. Her clothes were covered in fist marks, pressed tightly against her skin.

The power of the fist winds weakened, allowing Ning Tian, who had nearly been unable to breathe, to catch her breath.

But the real onslaught was still to come!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The explosive howl of air rang by their ears. Even stronger fist winds came from both sides, like a closing cage, exerting even greater pressure upon them. The force suppressed even their instinct to tremble and left them utterly afraid to move!

On the ground, as Ning Wuque finally unleashed his full power, a miracle like dripping water piercing stone unfolded before everyone's eyes.

Using nothing but fist winds, he cracked the Jade Stone Bricks beside the two girls! He even left tiny yet distinct fist marks on them!

"Ha... ha..."

This torment lasted a full half-minute before Ning Wuque stopped. The wind by their ears vanished, and Ning Tian, who had not suffered any injuries, watched the boy retract his fists and stand tall beneath the setting sun.

But before he could say a single word—

"Ha... ha... cough!"

A mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips onto Wu Feng. Then Ning Wuque's body fell backward limply, like an emptied scarecrow or a kite with its string cut, losing consciousness.

Whoosh!

In an instant, the prepared Zhang Can flashed onto the arena and caught Ning Wuque, who had completely exhausted his Soul Power. He pulled out a bottle of medicine and quickly made him swallow it.

"Quick! A healing Soul Master, now!"

Without hesitation, Zhang Can shouted toward the medical team.

Then, with another flash, he carried Ning Wuque away from the scene for treatment.

"It hurts... it hurts so much... sob..."

Ning Tian was stunned by the sudden turn of events. Only when Wu Feng whimpered in her arms did she come back to herself.

Wu Feng had already withdrawn from Martial Soul Possession. Tears streamed down her face from the pain as she curled up like a kitten in Ning Tian's embrace, whimpering miserably.

Ning Wuque had held back appropriately, but he had not shown mercy! He had ruthlessly struck every part of Wu Feng's body except the vital areas, leaving more than half the muscles in her body in agony!

"Ning Tian and Wu Feng versus Ning Wuque. Ning Wuque wins!"

The belated verdict declared the victor of this battle. Anyone could clearly see that Ning Wuque had gone easy on them—he had held back tremendously!

Just look at the stone bricks beside them. If that force had struck their bodies directly, forget the fists—even the fist winds were beyond what Wu Feng could withstand. Repeated strikes over time would leave her crippled even if they did not kill her!

"He... he's incredible, so..."

Holding Wu Feng, Ning Tian recalled Ning Wuque standing beneath the sunset. Even after exhausting all his strength and Soul Power, he had still stood upon the earth like steel—upright and unyielding!

In the stands, most of the audience could not recover for a long time.

Many of them knew Ning Wuque. He was Elder Zhang Can's adopted grandson, an ordinary martial soul master with level-three Innate Soul Power, a strange child who had begun "going mad" ever since his Martial Soul Awakening.

Today, battle after utterly crushing battle proved that his efforts had not been delusional. He proved that heaven never seals off every path!

Strength, talent, will—every one of his admirable qualities deeply shook the elders who had come to observe, including Sect Master Ning Fengxiao.

"Zhang Can... what a fine grandson he raised. What a fine grandson!"

"How could I ever dream that an ordinary one-ring soul master could unleash peak strength comparable to a top-tier three-ring Beast Soul Master?"

"Can hard work and talent truly change one's fate?"

"Ring Blasting, Ninefold Yama Gates. What a Ring Blasting through one's own body, what a power wrested from death!"

The crowd discussed fervently, unable to recover from their earlier shock for a long while.

"Familiar ceiling."

When Ning Wuque woke again, he was already lying in the bed in his bedroom. He opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling above, memories of the final battle resurfacing in his mind.

Half a minute was not his limit—it was the limit of what he could sustain while going all out.

Under normal circumstances, a thousand-year soul ring could maintain his first-stage state for around seven minutes. After that, he would be forcibly removed from the activated state of the Ninefold Yama Gates.

He simply had not expected the backlash from using this Self-Created Soul Skill for the first time to be so severe. It had knocked him unconscious before he could even say his final cool line.

But it probably would not happen again. His body had already begun adapting to the activated state of the First Gate. The next time he exhausted his Soul Power, at most he would be unable to move his entire body.

At least he would remain conscious.

"But... do I need to go through this kind of coma nine times in total? That really makes my skin crawl."

Ning Wuque muttered to himself.

Actually, he knew very well that perhaps he would only fall unconscious eight times at most. The ninth time... perhaps he would never wake up again.

Unless he could obtain a treasure capable of saving his life, such as—the Gold of Life!

"Wuque, you're awake! That's wonderful! The doctor said you exhausted all your blood and vital energy and Soul Power. I... next time, you have to explain something this dangerous clearly, understand?!"

"Grandpa... I understand. I didn't expect the backlash to be this severe either. I still overestimated myself. The price my martial soul bears is at least three times the price my body has to bear!"

Ning Wuque nodded to show that he understood. At the same time, this experimental attempt had provided him with a vast amount of theoretical data and room for adjustments.

An extra chapter, because the number of readers following has exceeded one hundred.

Let's set a rule here: for every additional hundred readers following, the author will add an extra chapter, with a maximum of one extra chapter per day.

This book has gotten off to a strong start, so if you wonderful readers continue supporting this little author, then once the reader count reaches a certain threshold, I'll make a new rule and release chapters in bulk for everyone.

Of course, I can't release too many chapters in bulk during the new-book period. If there are too many, I can only save them for the rules after the book goes premium.

Oh, and more comments would be even better. The Qidian New Book Rankings now count comment activity too. (Begging.)