Eighth Rank

"My dear Chen'er, why waste words on the dying?"

A hoarse voice rumbled through the hall like muffled thunder, the pressure of an Eighth Rank martial artist descending!

Chu Ning's knees buckled, the blue bricks beneath his feet shattering into dust.

Wang Chongshan, the third elder of the Wang Family, approached slowly, leaning on a crimson copper cane. The taotie carved on its head dripped molten lava, turning the stone bricks into boiling sludge wherever he passed.

"The Marquis Wu's Estate protects you?" His cloudy pupils fixed on Chu Ning. "Today, I will teach you what... rules are."

The moment the cane was raised, Chu Ning's vision was flooded with crimson.

Wang Chongshan stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze heavy. "If you are willing to submit to the Wang Family, your Elder Sister will remain unharmed."

"Wishful thinking!" Chu Ning scoffed.

The Sky Burning Force instantly transformed into nine fire dragons, coiling and striking, while the Frost Lightning shield ripped apart like thin paper.

The instant the aura of death licked his throat—

"Since when has the Wang Family had the right to tear up the Marquis Wu's Estate's roster?!"

A profound iron halberd tore through the air, its blade entwined with the icy chill of a northern blizzard. The nine fire dragons let out mournful cries as they froze into ice sculptures.

Zhao Tianyu, clad in Meteorite Armor, strode into the hall. Each step forced Wang Chongshan's lava domain back by ten feet.

He raised his hand and flung out a golden scroll, the Cold Jade Seal bearing the words "Town Martial" burning as brightly as the midday sun.

"Chu Ning's name is already on the Marquis Wu's Estate's elite roster," he said, glancing at the ashen-faced Wang Chongshan. "Touch him again, and you declare war on the thirty million Town Martial Army of the Northern Territory."

The registration officer tremblingly took the golden scroll. The ink on the elite roster emitted an icy blue lightning glow.

Wang Chen's Sky Burning Force was extinguished inch by inch under Zhao Tianyu's pressure. He stared intently at Chu Ning's hand on the roster, then let out a sinister laugh. "On the Azure Cloud Arena, I will personally break your bones."

Chu Ning dipped his brush in ink and wrote, the final stroke falling like a blade. "I'll be waiting."

Chu Ning stepped out of the registration hall. The biting cold wind, carrying fine snow, whipped into his collar, but it couldn't suppress the cold sweat seeping from his back.

The terrifying scene of the ground within a ten-zhang radius melting into sludge when Wang Chongshan's lava cane struck the ground still flashed in his mind. The pressure of an Eighth Rank martial artist felt like a branding iron, searing a trembling mark onto his spine.

"Lord Zhao, thank you for your help today," Chu Ning said, cupping his hands solemnly.

Zhao Tianyu merely gave a cold smile. "Useless thanks are unnecessary. If you truly want to thank me, prove your worth."

With that, he flicked his sleeve and departed.

Chu Ning took a deep breath, his gaze sharp. Prove his worth?

The sound of Zhao Tianyu's profound iron armor grinding against itself faded into the distance, but his words felt like ice picks piercing his heart.

Chu Ning looked at his palm. Three bloodstains were deeply embedded in his flesh – traces of the burns from Wang Chen's Sky Burning Force's aftershock.

Returning to the Marquis Wu's Estate's separate residence, Chu Ning fell silent for a long time.

Chu Ning's eyes flickered slightly, and the comforting image of his Elder Sister appeared in his mind.

"Elder Sister..."

Chu Ning's fists trembled slightly.

He closed his eyes, scenes flashing through his mind.

That night, his Elder Sister, wearing a tattered outer robe, handed him the last of their warm congee. Her hands trembled in the cold wind, but her lips held a gentle smile. "Brother Ning, eat quickly."

She was his only family, his only blood relative.

But now, she was trapped in darkness, and he was powerless!

No! He couldn't go on like this!

Wang Chen's sinister laugh still echoed in his ears. The candlelight illuminated the shadows in Chu Ning's eyes. He raised his head, the struggle in his eyes instantly turning into resolve.

"No matter the price..."

"I will become stronger!"

Chu Ning took a deep breath and took out a jade box with trembling fingers.

As the lid opened, a Nine Revolutions Profound Sun Fruit, the size of a fist, lay quietly within. Its surface burned like the blazing sun, emitting a fierce radiance.

He had no more time.

He knew he couldn't possibly learn the art of alchemy in such a short time, let alone refine the Mysterious Sun Fruit into a gentle medicinal pill.

The candlelight suddenly extinguished the moment the jade box opened. The crimson, lava-like core of the Nine Revolutions Profound Sun Fruit illuminated the walls.

Chu Ning's fingertip hovered above the fruit's skin. The Azure-Eyed Snow Fox's warning and Wang Chen's sinister laugh warred in his mind:

"Mortals who consume this fruit will have their meridians destroyed!"

"On the Azure Cloud Arena, I will crush your bones inch by inch!"

He couldn't wait.

He could only place his hope in the Chaos Divine Order once more.

"If I consume the Mysterious Sun Fruit and cannot withstand the violent energy, will the Chaos Divine Order trigger again and match me with a suitable cultivation method?"

He didn't know.

This was his only chance.

"Even if it costs... my lifespan!"

He had no other choice.

"I'll risk it."

Crack—

The sound of the shell breaking was exceptionally clear in the dead silence. Chu Ning's pupils contracted sharply as he shoved the fruit into his mouth.

The moment the flesh touched the root of his tongue, his throat felt as if it were being filled with lava. Chu Ning stumbled and crashed into the bronze medicine cauldron, denting its side with a "clang." A violent heat surged from his internal organs, exploding outwards to his limbs. His skin cracked inch by inch, and golden-red blood seeped out, instantly igniting and burning black pits into the floor of the secret chamber.

"Is this... the pain of burning oneself?" Chu Ning roared, his vocal cords already scorched, his voice erupting directly from his chest.

The excruciating pain surged like a tide.

A terrifying heatwave erupted from within and without, the ground instantly cracking, and sparks of fire igniting in the air.

"Ah—!"

Chu Ning couldn't help but let out a low growl, his eyes bloodshot. His consciousness was almost swallowed by this violent energy, his sanity beginning to collapse.

On the brink of death, Chu Ning's sea of consciousness suddenly fell silent.

A wisp of ice-blue light ignited from his heart. The phantom image of the Chaos Divine Order hovered within. The afterimage raised a hand and pointed towards Chu Ning's brow, a torrent of vast information, carrying ancient pronouncements, pouring in:

"Trade lifespan for life, use tribulation to prove the Dao."

[Chaos Divine Order, detecting pre-advance in emergency situation, matching...]

[Match complete: Chaos Body Refining Method]

[Advance Cost: Consumes three years of lifespan]

[Repayment Cost: After advance, must undergo the baptism of the Chaos Tribulation. Next advance effect will be unlocked after repayment!]

[Current cultivable techniques, martial arts: Zero]

"Bring it on!"

"Ughhh—!"

Chu Ning's left hand carbonized in the scorching sun flames. As the charred outer layer peeled off, it made a crisp sound like shattering porcelain. However, the newly formed finger bones were not white jade, but dark gold skeletons covered in blood-red lightning patterns.

Nine blood-red chains pierced Chu Ning's flesh from the void, embedding themselves in vital points such as his brow, chest, and dantian.

Before Chu Ning could even ponder what the "Chaos Tribulation" was, the piercing shriek of the Chaos Divine Order penetrated his sea of consciousness. Countless chains extended from the void, not to restrain the sun's power, but to guide the rampaging energy into the black hole deep within his dantian.

[Chaos Body Refining Method: Use the body as a furnace, refine stars into bone]

As the golden light of the Chaos Body Refining Method pierced his soul, Chu Ning felt as if he had been thrown into a star-forging furnace.

The sun's power was no longer a tyrant, but a blacksmith's hammer for tempering steel.

The first hammer strike: his spine "cracked," and the newly formed vertebrae gleamed with the cold light of meteorite iron.

The second hammer strike: his heart exploded into a mist of blood, and upon reassembly, it throbbed like a war drum.

The third hammer strike: his eyes turned to ash, and when they reopened, his pupils were branded with golden sun patterns.

Amidst Chu Ning's screams, the chains transformed into blood-red lightning patterns, forever etched onto his shoulder blades.

He "saw" his spine transform into a dragon spine of meteorite iron, the blood pumped by his heart carrying stardust, and his double pupils displaying a vast lightning prison.

He raised his hand and gently clenched, the air producing a crisp sound like shattering glass.

His body was forged like diamond, scorching energy coursing through his meridians. Impurities within his bones were thoroughly incinerated, his blood became incredibly pure, and every beat of his heart sounded like a thunderous roar, carrying astonishing might.

The barrier of Ninth Rank Middle Grade was instantly broken!

Eighth Rank Lower Grade!