Skyward Flight

"Crack!"

The sound of exploding ice crystals rang out like thunder. Chu Ning slowly stepped out of the storm's center, and every ice blade in his path shattered. With each step he took, purple-gold lightning fire burst from the cracks in the ice. The sabers of the guards from Marquis Wu's Estate were shattered by the shockwaves, their broken blades embedded in the corridor pillars and trembling with a buzz. Even more terrifyingly, the Purple-Gold Saber Light in his hand was wrapped in Zhao Tianyu's Nine Nether Cold Qi, which fused with the Profound Yang Fire into an Ice-Fire Tornado!

The instant the saber light cleaved down, the Ice-Fire Tornado let out the roars of dragons and the cries of foxes. The profound ice covering the Sword Testing Platform was overturned into sharp icicles. Amid the weaving ice and fire, sparks burst from the chestplate of Zhao Tianyu's Meteorite Armor, while the Town Martial Division inscription on the armor was burned into charred ravines.

Zhao Tianyu abruptly retreated, his soles scraping a deep mark across the bluestone ground. The chestplate of his Meteorite Armor shattered with a boom, and silver metal fragments scattered everywhere. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, a trace of shock flashing through his eyes.

As he wiped away the blood, he quietly crushed an ice-crystal talisman between his fingertips—the secret treasure of the Town Martial Division that recorded battle images.

"Hahaha! An Ice-Fire Tornado? What a move!" Zhao Tianyu suddenly raised his head, his gaze turning solemn. "The third strike... Forget it. There's no need. You're enough to represent Marquis Wu's Estate and ascend the Azure Cloud Arena."

The entire scene erupted!

"This... is this Chu Ning?" a martial artist murmured, cold sweat sliding from his temple. "When he first arrived at Marquis Wu's Estate, he was only a worthless Tenth-rank Martial Artist!"

"His aura... No, that's not right. This aura definitely isn't limited to the Tenth Rank!"

"This is impossible!" The Cold Marrow Pendant at her waist suddenly exploded, its fragments piercing her palm. The pain jolted her awake. She had just been ensnared by Chu Ning's Golden Eyes, her mind seized so completely that even her breathing had stopped for three breaths.

Chu Ning was clearly only an ordinary Tenth-rank Martial Artist. Even though he had revealed his edge several days ago and slain the Ninth-rank Feng Li, there was no way he could have transformed to such a level in just a few days!

She had never seen Chu Ning like this before.

Calm, decisive, with his killing intent held deep within.

It was as if... he had become another person.

Xie Mingli stood outside the Sword Testing Platform, watching Chu Ning approach slowly, her mind in turmoil.

Yesterday, his black hair had fallen like a waterfall, and his gaze had been cool yet faintly sharp. Now, overnight, his temples had turned white. The youthful innocence and sharpness between his brows had faded, replaced by profound indifference and a detached killing intent. His pupils, threaded with flowing golden patterns, were like the eyes of Gods and Devils hanging high in the Nine Heavens. Just one glance at them made her heart turn cold.

"What... exactly did he go through?"

Xie Mingli clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms. She clearly remembered that just days ago, Chu Ning had still needed her protection at Marquis Wu's Estate. Even with extraordinary talent, he had remained merely a Tenth-rank Martial Artist. Yet now, the man standing before her possessed an aura as deep as an abyssal sea. Even Zhao Tianyu, a battlefield asura, slightly narrowed his eyes and revealed a scrutinizing look.

She could not imagine what kind of transformation could make someone seem reborn overnight!

Xie Mingli drew a deep breath, her eyes following Chu Ning's every step as her heart involuntarily quickened. She wanted to ask, to confirm, yet an unease she dared not voice rose in her heart... even awe!

The Cold Marrow Pendant around Xie Mingli's neck suddenly exploded, its fragments piercing her skin. Blood slid down along her collarbone. This was the first time she had lost control since cultivating the Ice Heart Art.

"What kind of existence has Chu Ning become?"

It was not that she had never seen prodigies before, but she had never seen anyone transform in just a few days from a young man lingering at the fringes of the Martial Path into a powerhouse who made everyone hold their breath, none daring to meet his gaze!

She watched Chu Ning's frost-white hair brush across the frozen bloodstains on Wang Lie's head. Chu Ning walked up before Xie Mingli and slowly cupped his hands. "Miss Xie, there are still six days until the Azure Cloud Arena. I wish to withdraw. I need to return to Qingyang County to save someone."

Xie Mingli was silent for a moment before suddenly speaking. "The Wang family's informants in Qingyang County were replaced by people from Marquis Wu's Estate yesterday."

Chu Ning abruptly raised his head, the golden patterns in his pupils flaring like blades.

She pointed at the head rolling on the ground and said indifferently, "This man was the captain of the Wang family's death squad, Wang Lie. Last night, when Wang Lie infiltrated the county with thirty death warriors, Commander Zhao was conducting patrols in Qingyang County and slew him."

The Little Snow Fox suddenly leaped onto Chu Ning's shoulder, the flame patterns on its claws flickering between light and dark. Chu Ning's five fingers dug deep into the profound-ice wall. The ice-fire lightning dragon spun violently in his dantian, shaking the ice crystals around him into powder.

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" His voice was hoarse, like gravel grinding against gravel.

Chu Ning suddenly looked toward that head with its eyes still open in death, the blood not yet dry and its appearance ghastly. His brows drew together slightly, and his heart jolted. Last night, he had thought Xie Mingli was merely using him. But now, it seemed that this cold-looking woman had secretly protected his family.

His emotions churned. In the end, he reined in his edge, and his tone unconsciously softened a little. "Miss Xie... thank you."

Xie Mingli's gaze lowered slightly, and she said nothing. Her white robes fluttered, making her seem like a solitary snowy peak. Zhao Tianyu glanced at Chu Ning and suddenly grinned. "There's no need to thank her. If you're truly grateful, then win the championship for Marquis Wu's Estate."

Xie Mingli untied the Frost Pattern Jade Pendant from her waist and tossed it toward him. "Take this. Every guard in Qingyang County will obey your orders." The pendant traced an icy-blue arc through the air, but the instant it touched Chu Ning's palm, it was shredded by the Purple-Gold Saber Light.

"I don't need to borrow influence to save someone." Amid the flying jade fragments, Chu Ning's white hair whipped wildly like silver snakes. "Six days from now, at the Azure Cloud Arena... if any idlers block my path, I'll crush them all together."

For an instant, the air atop the Sword Testing Platform seemed to freeze.

Chu Ning lightly tapped the ground with his toes. The profound ice beneath him exploded with a boom, and his entire body slowly rose into the air. His robes fluttered in the wind, while his frost-white hair streamed like banners in the howling gale.

Everyone present held their breath, staring with their mouths agape.

"He... flew?" A guard's long spear clattered to the ground.

Qin Henian tilted his head up at the figure hovering a hundred zhang above the ground, his Adam's apple bobbing. "That isn't lightness kung fu. It's true Skyward Flight."

"How is that possible? Walking through empty air?!"

"That's an advanced technique that can only be mastered by someone whose cultivation has reached the Peak Fifth Grade—or even the Fourth Rank!"

The guards of Marquis Wu's Estate, Zhao Tianyu, Xie Mingli, and even the martial artists watching around the Sword Testing Platform were all shaken beyond words.

On the Sword Testing Platform, Zhao Tianyu tightened his grip on the Mysterious Iron Heavy Halberd. His gaze contracted slightly as he said in a deep voice, "That brat Chu Ning... he's been hiding his strength all along!"

Xie Mingli was even more stunned as she gazed upward. In just a few days, Chu Ning's growth had already reached a height she needed to look up to.

From the ordinary youth she had first met to the white-haired powerhouse who now flew through the sky, his transformation had happened too quickly—so quickly that it was hard to believe.

Chu Ning looked down at everyone indifferently, paying no attention to their shock. His thoughts were not here at all.

He was thinking about his elder sister's safety.

He could not wait any longer.

"Elder Sister, wait for me."

Chu Ning raised his right hand toward the sky, and a blood-red bolt of lightning descended from the clouds. This was not the Chaos Tribulation, but a celestial phenomenon he had deliberately drawn down. As lightning coiled around his body, the Little Snow Fox poked its head out from his collar, pressing its paw against the lightning pattern over Chu Ning's heart. Ice-blue runes flowed along his meridians.

"Sit tight." He flicked the fox's ear with a bent finger.

"Boom!"

An explosive cloud burst behind him, and the profound-ice ground of the Sword Testing Platform instantly cracked. Xie Mingli raised her hand to shield herself from the ice fragments rushing at her. When she opened her eyes again, only a streak of purple-gold afterimage remained in the sky. He was so fast that he plowed a hundred-zhang vacuum passage through the clouds.

"That speed..." The veins on Zhao Tianyu's hand bulged as he gripped the halberd. "Even the Town Martial Division's Grand Commander may not..."

"Pass down my order." Xie Mingli stamped through the ice. "Appoint Chu Ning as the Town Martial Division Inspector, with full authority to handle matters in Qingyang County."

Xie Mingli watched him leave, her heart still unable to settle. At this moment, all she could do was help him as much as she could.

She let out a soft sigh, unable to tell whether what she felt was relief, or...