Burning Life

Cliff winds wrapped around shattered stones and howled past, while Chu Ning's robes snapped loudly in the gale.

The instant the sensation of weightlessness swallowed his entire body, he unexpectedly remembered that dusk when he had climbed the old locust tree at the village entrance as a child.

Back then, he had thought falling was the most terrifying punishment in the world. Now, the darkness of the abyss was about to swallow even the sound of his heartbeat.

"Crack!"

The hundred-zhang abyss opened its enormous maw, and the gold-inlaid carriage shattered beside him.

The moment the carved carriage shaft broke, twenty ingots of official-minted gold scattered like stars.

The temperature of the charred little beast in his arms was rapidly fading. Its nine illusory fox tails peeled away inch by inch in the wind, like burned incense ash drifting toward the endless darkness.

He suddenly remembered the day in Blazing Flame Valley when the Azure-Eyed Snow Fox had proudly raised its chin while licking its wounds. This little creature would never learn to wag its tail and beg for mercy, not even unto death.

At that moment, his mind seemed to be instantly hollowed out, leaving behind nothing but dead silence.

Could it be... that everything was about to end?

No!

Chu Ning clenched his teeth hard and forced himself to calm down.

He could not die!

If he died, what would happen to his elder sister? She was a weak woman; sooner or later, the Wang family would drive her into a dead end!

If he died, what about Thunderclap Martial Hall? Lei Wanjun had placed great hopes in him and had even promised to let him inherit the martial hall in the future. How could he let all that down?

If he died, who would repay the Wang family's blood debt?

No!

His desire to live surged forth like a rising tide, smashing through all his fear.

A chill brushed his fingertips.

Chu Ning suddenly opened his eyes and saw that Little White Fox's curled claw tips were still hooked into his bloodstained lapel.

Little White Fox's figure flickered amid the chaotic currents of air. Its body was curled up, as if it had already given up struggling.

"No... I can't die..."

Chu Ning's heart pounded wildly. His instinct to survive drove him to squeeze out the last shred of his strength and think of a way out, but the bottomless darkness below was like a merciless death sentence.

The scorch marks on its back ran deep enough to expose bone, yet its azure eyes stubbornly reflected the moonlight shining through the rift in the clouds.

It looked exactly like that day in Blazing Flame Valley, when it had proudly raised its chin while licking its wounds.

Chu Ning drew a deep breath and tried to steady his posture, but he was falling too quickly to adjust himself in midair.

Suddenly, he saw the gold scattered all around him.

That gold had once belonged to the Wang family's pawnshop. Now, it was falling into the abyss alongside him.

Gold...

The prompt from the Chaos Divine Order suddenly surfaced in his mind.

"Golden Cudgel Spell" outstanding debt:

One hundred taels of gold...

That was it!

With a thought, he immediately sank into his sea of consciousness and summoned the Chaos Divine Order.

Current bearer's repayment cost for "Golden Cudgel Spell": One hundred taels of gold, one year of lifespan

The scattered gold ingots suddenly halted in midair, spiderweb-like cracks appearing across their surfaces.

Threads of golden radiance were forcibly drawn out, converging into the order token like a hundred rivers returning to the sea.

The suction force of the Chaos Divine Order abruptly surged. Chu Ning clearly saw his lifespan being frantically siphoned away, while a strand of black hair above his brow turned frost-white inch by inch.

He felt part of the vitality within his body being stripped away, as if he had aged several years in an instant.

He raised a hand and touched his hair, only to discover that a strand of white had appeared among his originally jet-black locks.

Buzz—!

The instant Chu Ning's consciousness sank into the Chaos Divine Order, a strange golden light suddenly burst from the body of the Azure-Eyed Snow Fox.

The Golden Cudgel Spell had originally been an imprint invisible to the naked eye, but now a brilliant rune surfaced on the snow fox's left forepaw, as if flames were burning between its fur.

"Whine—!"

Little White Fox abruptly opened her eyes. Violent struggle surged deep within her pupils. Her entire body trembled fiercely, as if she wanted to resist that binding force.

But the power of the Golden Cudgel Spell burrowed into her spirit like chains, ruthlessly clamping down on her will.

At that moment, Chu Ning also clearly sensed this mysterious connection.

It was a perception completely different from anything he had experienced before. It was as if... he could hear the snow fox's heartbeat and sense her anger, fear, resistance, and even her instinct to fight.

"So this is the power of the Golden Cudgel Spell?"

Chu Ning was utterly shaken. In that instant, he had even sensed part of the snow fox's battle instincts.

Her keen perception of changes in the airflow, her ability to catch the slightest openings in an enemy's defense, and even her methods of attack all flashed through Chu Ning's mind.

The night wind was like a blade, howling wildly through the depths of Eagle Beak Cliff.

Although he had finished repaying the cost of the Golden Cudgel Spell, his downward momentum did not lessen. It was as if endless darkness was about to swallow him whole.

Beneath his feet lay the pitch-black base of the cliff, while the shadow of death shrouded his entire body.

"It's not enough... I have to live!"

Chu Ning's gaze sharpened. He could not stop here. He had to seize complete control over life and death.

At that moment, the Chaos Divine Order's prompt flashed through his mind.

Currently available for advance borrowing: Profound-tier intermediate flight technique, "Sky-Rending Shadow Flight Technique"

Chu Ning suddenly understood. He hurriedly pulled the book titled "Sky-Rending Shadow Flight Technique" from his waist.

This was a true flight technique. It could borrow the power of heaven and earth to walk upon the wind, moving like a shadow carried by the breeze.

If he could master this martial art, he might find a chance to survive this deadly fall.

He had no time to hesitate. The bottom of the cliff was drawing closer and closer, and the shadow of death already hung over his neck like a blade.

The taste of rusty blood foam surged up his throat. Amid the raging wind, Chu Ning roared, "Chaos Divine—!"

Deep within his sea of consciousness, the bronze order token shook with a thunderous roar.

"Advance borrow!"

Current bearer successfully advanced-borrowed "Sky-Rending Shadow Flight Technique" through the Profound-tier intermediate technique.

Advance-borrowing condition: One year of lifespan must be paid.

Repayment condition: Kill a ninth-grade martial artist to complete repayment. Once repaid, the next advance-borrowing effect will be unlocked!

Currently available techniques and martial arts for advance borrowing: 0

Boom!

In an instant, a strange energy surged into Chu Ning's meridians, and a completely new martial art was branded into the depths of his sea of consciousness.

Chu Ning felt his qi and blood churn violently, as if a raging whirlwind were wreaking havoc through his organs.

His meridians were torn apart, then instantly repaired as purer true qi flooded into them. His muscles seemed to be split open by lightning, only to grow back even tougher.

Pain! Agonizing pain!

But this was not merely suffering. It was also an unprecedented transformation!

A faint azure radiance surfaced across the skin of Chu Ning's body. His arms seemed to grow incomparably light, while an instinct born for flight emerged within his consciousness.

"What is this feeling?"

He suddenly opened his eyes. The world before him seemed to have slowed somewhat. The paths of the air currents were clearly visible, and every change in the wind's direction was engraved in his mind.

Wind!

Chu Ning abruptly realized that he could clearly sense the movement of the air around him. He could even see how every current coiled around his body.

This perception was like taking control of an invisible force, as if a sense humans had never possessed had been completely awakened.

"Is this the Sky-Rending Shadow Flight Technique?"

He fiercely adjusted his body. His falling speed instantly slowed, as if he were being supported by invisible wings.

At the same time, a sharp pain struck his forehead.

His lifespan was being stripped away. The corners of Chu Ning's hair turned frost-white in an instant, yet he threw back his head and laughed wildly. "One year of lifespan for a life? This deal made me rich!"

One year of lifespan was no longer a heavy price to him.

The true test was the repayment condition.

A ninth-grade martial artist...

But Chu Ning had no time to concern himself with that.

A sharp pain exploded from his dantian.

Newborn qi surged through his meridians like countless silver needles. Yet amid the pain, Chu Ning laughed out loud.

He spread his arms and let the raging wind fill his sleeves. At that moment, every wisp of air brushing across his skin became an extension of his limbs.

The thunder in the clouds resonated with his heartbeat.

"Rend the sky!"

His downward momentum stopped dead. With a light tap of his toes against the empty air, he unexpectedly stamped a ring of ripples into the space between the cliffs.

His body, which had been plummeting at tremendous speed, actually steadied in midair.

The wild wind howled, and his robes snapped loudly.

Chu Ning's entire body hovered quietly in midair, his eyes blazing like torches.

"I did it..."

At that moment, he had mastered the art of flight.

He slowly adjusted his breathing, his body drifting lightly through the air as he experimented with controlling his direction.

"Whoosh—"

A wind blade howled out from a crack in the cliff face. Chu Ning tilted his body and dodged it with ease.

He floated in the air for a moment before slowly descending.

The ground at the bottom of the cliff was strewn with shattered rocks, and a gloomy aura permeated the surroundings.

Chu Ning stepped onto a flat rock and landed steadily.

The instant he stood firm, he could not help drawing a deep breath, his heart pounding wildly.

He had survived...

He lowered his head and looked at his hands, feeling the new power flowing through his meridians.

The Sky-Rending Shadow Flight Technique... truly wondrous beyond compare!

A smile slowly lifted the corners of his mouth.

Now, not only had he survived, he had also mastered a true art of flight.

However, he did not relax.

He raised his head and looked toward the top of the cliff.

The enemy was still searching for his trail up there.

He had to leave as quickly as possible.

Around Eagle Beak Cliff, dozens of Wang family martial artists carried torches and searched along the edge of the cliff, their gazes sharp.

"Where is he?"

A black-clad guard frowned at Wang Zheng beside him. "We clearly saw him fall just now. How can we not even find his corpse? The fallen gold ingots are gone too!"

Wang Zheng's expression was dark. His gaze swept across the unfathomably deep cliff below as he said in a low voice, "Send people down to search! Even if he was smashed into meat paste, bring the remains back!"

However, after sending several people down one after another, they found nothing.

"Could it be... that he's still alive?"

Everyone exchanged glances, and horror appeared in each other's eyes.

"Impossible! That cliff was so high. How could he possibly have survived?"

Wang Zheng let out a cold snort. "Keep searching! Alive or dead, what the Wang family wants is a definite answer!"