Ning Zhiyuan's Madness

In the Outer Prefecture's East District of Qingcang Academy, the door to a cultivation chamber was tightly shut.

Inside the chamber, the walls were crisscrossed with knife marks of varying depths, a scene of utter disarray.

In the center of this chaos, a figure sat cross-legged.

Ning Zhiyuan.

His eyes were tightly shut, his face pale, his lips cracked and oozing dark red blood.

"Ah--!"

Suddenly, a hoarse roar erupted from the depths of his throat.

Ning Zhiyuan's eyes snapped open, bloodshot and gleaming with a mad light. He sprang to his feet, grabbed the battle saber beside him, and brought it down fiercely against the wall!

"Clang!"

The blade struck the stone wall, sending sparks flying and adding another deep gash.

"Trash... they actually called me trash..."

Ning Zhiyuan muttered to himself, his voice terrifyingly hoarse.

That scene was seared into his mind, refusing to fade—

On the martial arts stage, Qin Jue's calm face.

That sword strike, so fast he had no time to react.

That sword strike, which shattered all his pride.

"I am not trash!"

He swung his saber again, the blade whistling a mournful tune through the air.

He remembered the gazes of the people around him as he fell to the ground.

Shock, schadenfreude, mockery, and pity...

Those gazes were like sharp blades, piercing his heart.

What he found even harder to accept was Su Jin's look.

In her eyes, there was no concern, no worry, only... disappointment.

"Su Jin... my Su Jin..."

"Ahhh! Why... why did it turn out like this..."

Ning Zhiyuan collapsed to his knees, the battle saber clattering to the ground. He clutched his head, curling into a ball like a wounded beast.

He couldn't understand.

He was cultivating a Mortal Tier High-grade Cultivation Method, and he was a whole realm higher than his opponent...

Why did he lose to that trash?

Why did he lose so completely?

"Qin Jue! Qin Jue! How dare you? How dare you step on me? How dare you trample my dignity into the dirt like mud?"

He gritted his teeth, his fingernails digging into his palms. Blood trickled through his fingers, but he was oblivious.

"I want to become stronger... I want to kill him... I want to let everyone know that I, Ning Zhiyuan, am not trash!"

Just then, the chamber door was pushed open.

"Creak—"

A young man in white robes, wearing a jeweled crown, entered. He was exceptionally handsome, but a persistent arrogance lingered in his expression. This was Ning Zhiyuan's cousin, a direct descendant of the Ning Family, Ning Wuque.

Ning Zhiyuan's expression changed upon seeing him. He struggled to stand, but a groan escaped him as his wounds were aggravated. "Cousin... Cousin..."

Ning Wuque ignored him, merely letting out a cold snort, his words laced with obvious sarcasm. "You've disgraced the Ning Family completely. To be defeated by a mere nobody from a collateral branch, in front of everyone, is truly a humiliating disgrace."

"I also heard that the Su Jin you've been pursuing seems to favor him as well?" Ning Wuque's lips curved into a smirk, his gaze filled with a contempt that hurt more than Qin Jue's sword. "Truly useless. Can't win over a woman, can't win a fight."

"I didn't!" Ning Zhiyuan finally couldn't help but roar, "That kid just got lucky! If I hadn't underestimated him, he would never have been my opponent! I..."

"Enough."

"The family sent you to Qingcang Academy, gave you resources, gave you status, not for you to fight over women. Of course, if you could win, fighting over her would be fine. In the martial world, the victor has the right to explain everything. But you lost, and you lost miserably."

Ning Wuque paced slowly, stopping by the window to gaze at the pouring rain outside, his back to Ning Zhiyuan.

"Several elders from the main family are very displeased. They feel that the resources invested in the collateral branches are too high, yet they haven't produced any decent talents. Some have even suggested cutting the collateral branches' monthly allowance by thirty percent, to be fully dedicated to nurturing the few promising seedlings of the direct line."

This statement struck Ning Zhiyuan like a bolt from the blue.

A thirty percent cut in their monthly allowance!

For the collateral branches, who already depended on the main family for survival, this was no different from a devastating blow! If his disastrous defeat led to the entire collateral branch being implicated, then he, Ning Zhiyuan, would be an eternal sinner of the family, cursed by his parents and all his kin!

"No... no! Cousin, this absolutely cannot happen!" Ning Zhiyuan, ignoring his severe pain, suddenly knelt on the ground. "This is my fault, I will bear it alone! I beg you, Cousin, to speak well of me to the elders, and please do not let your anger fall upon the collateral branches!"

Ning Wuque turned around, looking at Ning Zhiyuan, who was kneeling on the ground, trembling. A flicker of disdain crossed his eyes.

This was the sorrow of the collateral branches. In this world of the strong preying on the weak, without strength, even breathing was a mistake.

"Get up," Ning Wuque said indifferently. "Since I'm here, I naturally brought you a path."

He took out a jade bottle and a sheathed long saber from his embrace.

"This saber is named Frost Blade, Mortal Tier Upper Grade. It's a gem from the family vault, capable of slicing through iron like mud and possessing inherent cold Sha energy."

"This pill is named Blood Boiling Pill."

Upon hearing the words "Blood Boiling Pill," Ning Zhiyuan's head shot up, his pupils trembling violently.

He looked up sharply, his voice shaking, "Blood... Blood Boiling Pill? Cousin, this... this is a potent medicine that overdraws one's potential! Once consumed, it can forcibly break through bottlenecks and rapidly boost cultivation in a short time, but... but my future martial path will likely be ruined!"

Blood Boiling Pill, as the name suggests, allows the user to burn their vital blood to enhance their realm.

"Martial path?"

Ning Wuque acted as if he'd heard the biggest joke in the world. He scoffed, his eyes filled with undisguised contempt. "Zhiyuan, haven't you realized your situation yet? Your martial heart is already shattered, crushed to dust by that trash Qin Jue. A nobody who can't even defeat someone at the mere Hundred Refinements Third Layer dares to speak of a martial path?"

He strode over to Ning Zhiyuan and, looking down from above, patted his pale face.

"This is your last chance. Take it, break through to Hundred Refinements Fifth Layer, and before the Outer Prefecture Grand Competition, challenge Qin Jue to a fight to the death. If you win and prove your worth, the family will naturally re-examine you, and you won't lack resources from the collateral branches. Senior Brother Li Changfeng from the Inner Prefecture will still value you."

"If you lose..."

Ning Wuque stood up and brushed off his sleeves as if they had been contaminated by something dirty.

"Then you can take your shame and crawl back to the family to manage the mines. Don't embarrass yourself at the academy."

With that, Ning Wuque didn't even glance at him again. He turned and walked into the rain, leaving only a cold sentence echoing in the room:

"Remember, the Ning Family doesn't need trash. If you want to be someone, you have to be ruthless to yourself."

"Bang!"

The door to the quiet room slammed shut heavily.

Ning Zhiyuan stared blankly at the jade bottle and saber before him, feeling as if all his strength had been drained.

Manage the mines?

No! Absolutely not!

A life spent in darkness, surrounded by lowly miners, would be worse than death! He was a young master of the Ning Family; he should be the center of attention, basking in everyone's cheers. How could he go to such a hellhole!

"I am a genius... I just need to win it back... As long as I kill Qin Jue, everything will return!"

Ning Zhiyuan suddenly reached out and snatched the jade bottle, his fingers cramping from the force.

"Qin Jue, you forced me... You forced me onto this path!"

He tremblingly opened the jade bottle, and a pungent smell of blood assaulted his senses. Inside, a red pill lay quietly, like a solidified tear of blood, emitting an eerie glow.

Ning Zhiyuan stared intently at the pill, the fear in his eyes gradually fading, replaced by a growing madness.

He didn't want to be trash.

He didn't want Ning Wuque to look at him like a dog.

He even less wanted to forever be unable to look Su Jin in the eye!

"As long as I have power... as long as I can win..."

Ning Zhiyuan raised his head and let out a beast-like roar, shoving the Blood Boiling Pill into his mouth and swallowing it fiercely!

"Boom--!"

The pill dissolved upon contact with his mouth, transforming into a violent torrent of heat that instantly exploded within his body!

"Ahhhhh--!"

Agonizing pain shot through his entire body! Ning Zhiyuan's body arched violently, like a shrimp thrown into boiling oil. Beneath his skin, streaks of blood began to appear, as if his body was about to burst from the sheer power!

His consciousness blurred amidst the intense pain, but he gritted his teeth, letting blood stream from the corners of his mouth, his mind roaring with a single thought--

I can't lose! I absolutely cannot lose to that trash again!

Su Jin is mine! Glory is mine! My place in the Ning Family will also be mine!

"Break... for me!!!"

Amidst endless pain and indignant roars, a certain restraint within his body seemed to be forcefully shattered by this violent power! An aura far more refined and penetrating than before erupted from his body!

Hundred Refinements Fifth Layer!

Ning Zhiyuan gasped for air, his body drenched as if he'd been pulled from water, but he paid it no mind. He could clearly feel the condensed force within him, no longer scattered as before.

Bone Penetrating Force! This was the mark of Hundred Refinements Fifth Layer!

He slowly extended his hand and grasped the Frost Blade.

"Clang--!"

The saber was drawn, and a cold light instantly illuminated the entire quiet room, a chilling aura washing over him.

"Thousand Waves Saber..."

He roared, and the saber in his hand slashed out fiercely, its blade flashing!

[Wave Surge]![Wave Stacking]!

The blade's momentum grew heavier with each strike, filling the quiet room with dull roars! What surprised him even more was that with every slash, his joints emitted a faint "humming" sound, a sign of his bone density rapidly increasing! His strength at this moment was at least fifty percent greater than it had been just a few days ago!

"Not enough! Not enough!!!"

He could feel a new power surging within him. It was... the power of boiling Qi and Blood!

Although he was only in the Jade Bone Realm and hadn't truly entered the Blood Melting Realm yet, the medicinal effects of the Blood Boiling Pill allowed him to experience the sensation of surging Qi and Blood ahead of time!

"This is..."

His eyes widened as he squeezed out all the potential unleashed by the Blood Boiling Pill, channeling it entirely into the blade!

"Third Form... [Raging Waves]!!!"

Hum--!

The blade let out a sharp hum, and a dark crimson blood-red glow flashed across its edge! The next instant, an incomparably ferocious blade energy shot out from the blade, heavily striking the black iron stake in the center of the quiet room, which was used to test strength.

"Pfft—"

Ning Zhiyuan suddenly spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, his body swaying precariously, almost unable to stand. Forcibly unleashing power beyond his control further burdened his already overdrawn body.

But he didn't care.

He looked at the masterpiece on the wooden stake, felt the surging power within him, and a cruel smile spread across his face.

He slowly raised his hand, licked the blood from the corner of his mouth with his tongue, his voice hoarse but filled with bone-deep hatred.

"Qin Jue... This time, I'll bet everything, and I'll make sure you... die without a burial place!"