Chu Ning's brow furrowed tightly, and a cold shout exploded like thunder: "Nonsense!"
As his sleeves billowed, a fierce wind suddenly surged, hurling the snow fox several yards back. He abruptly raised a hand and touched behind his ear. The black hair beneath his fingertips faded inch by inch, instantly turning a blinding frost-white, as though a section of his years had been forcibly gouged away.
Chu Ning turned his head slightly, his indifferent gaze sweeping over everyone.
"Now, who still wants to try the taste of the Thunder Prison?"
Among the disciples below the platform, someone's knees went weak, and his forehead slammed heavily against the blue bricks. An instructor's fingertips dug deeply into his palms, blood beads seeping out unnoticed. Even the usually arrogant elders crawled like shrimp, their backs trembling beneath their wide sleeves.
The remaining purple lightning on the Lightning Punishment Pillar flickered like a darting snake's tongue. Wisps of green smoke seeped from the pillar's charred cracks, while the air brimmed with the fishy stench of scorched flesh, as though a gluttonous beast were licking its fangs after gorging itself.
Chu Ning withdrew his gaze, not a ripple stirring in his eyes, as though this had been nothing more than an insignificant cleanup.
The lingering might of the Thunder Prison still remained, and the air was thick with the scent of scorching and dread. Chu Ning swept his eyes over the crowd and indifferently put away the Lightning Punishment Pillar. With a clench of his hand, the lightning scattered, and the heavens and earth seemed finally to return to silence.
He did not leave the execution ground at once. Instead, he strode forward and ascended the high platform, looking down at the disciples, instructors, and elders still kneeling across the grounds. At that moment, no