Martial Soul Avatar

From inside the carriage came Cloud Marquis's voice. "Sword Pavilion Marquis's legitimate grandson? Are you Ning Qianwen's descendant, or Ning Qianwu's descendant?"

Ning Xiaochuan replied neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Ning Qianyi!"

"Oh?"

Cloud Marquis let out a startled sound. "So it is Ning Qianyi. So that's how it is, so that's how it is. That's right—you should indeed be this age."

Ji Hanxing was also somewhat astonished. She stared blankly at Ning Xiaochuan. He was actually Ning Qianyi's only son?

Back then, that peerless genius had defeated even marquises four times.

Cloud Marquis said, "Since you are an old friend's son, I will not make things difficult for you today. Step aside! I am here today to capture a criminal wanted by the court. No one can block my path. A mantis trying to stop a chariot will only find a dead end."

Whoosh—

Luo Mufeng led the personal guards of Cloud Marquis's Mansion toward Begonia Manor with an imposing bearing.

Since Cloud Marquis had spoken, anyone who dared stand in their way would be opposing the entire court. Even the legitimate grandson of Sword Pavilion Marquis could be killed.

"Haha! Cloud Marquis is certainly imposing. He actually does not even put our Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion in his eyes." A domineering, deep voice came from beyond the clouds, like muffled thunder exploding.

Clatter! Clatter!

A group of soldiers riding Iron Hoof Blood Wolves galloped in from afar, carrying a surging killing intent.

The man at the very front rode an Azure Dragon.

The dragon's body was as tall as a mountain. Every step it took shook the ground. When it let out a long roar, humans and beasts within a hundred miles were seized by terror.

That man leaped from the dragon's back. Wrapped in profound qi, he crossed more than ten miles and landed outside Begonia Manor. Standing beside Ning Xiaochuan, he swept his gaze over the personal guards of Cloud Marquis's Mansion and barked, "Kneel Down Before Me."

Under the enormous pressure emanating from the man, all those personal guards fell to their knees.

The entire scene was stunned.

Who was this newcomer, to dare oppose Cloud Marquis?

With a single roar, he had forced a group of experts from Cloud Marquis's Mansion to their knees.

Ning Xiaochuan and Ji Hanxing stood beside the man and could clearly sense the powerful fluctuations bursting from him. They were as vast and mighty as an ocean; with a single stomp, he seemed capable of crushing an entire city.

It was an utterly shocking feeling! The man looked to be around thirty, but his actual age had definitely surpassed fifty. He stood tall and straight, dressed in battle armor with a cloak flying behind him. Especially his eyes—they were sharp and iron-blooded, filled with wild arrogance. Hardly anyone dared meet his gaze head-on.

The man inhaled, immediately whipping up a fierce gale.

In the distance, the soldiers riding Iron Hoof Blood Wolves and that Azure Dragon all transformed into streams of air, which he sucked into his mouth and made vanish from the wilderness.

"A soul shadow!" Ji Hanxing looked at the man with some reverence, knowing that he was a peerless expert.

Ning Xiaochuan nudged Ji Hanxing with his elbow and asked, "What is a soul shadow?"

Ji Hanxing took two steps back and glared at Ning Xiaochuan. "That is something only supreme experts can cultivate. Ordinary people like us possess only Three Souls and Seven Spirits, but those who have cultivated Martial Dao to an extremely high realm can fuse other things into their souls, forming soul shadows and making their souls many times stronger than those of ordinary people."

"Like those soldiers riding Iron Hoof Blood Wolves and that Azure Dragon you just saw—they did not truly exist. They were merely this man's soul shadow! How strange. According to legend, soul shadows remain hidden within the body and are latent power. How could his soul shadow manifest outwardly?"

Ning Xiaochuan stared at the man. Could he also be a descendant of Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion? "Who dares disturb Cloud Marquis's carriage? Do you not know that this is the Imperial City's Bianji? No matter whether you are demons or monsters, you must keep your distance." Someone shouted angrily.

The man merely gave him a cold glance. "Yue Wuyang, ten years have passed, and your prestige has only grown greater. Even the soldiers in your army dare yell and shout before me now."

Pfft!

With merely a glare, the man made the armored soldier from before cough up blood and collapse among the crowd! A single look possessed the sharpness to kill.

Cloud Marquis spoke a sentence that revealed the man's identity. "Ning Qiancheng, you truly returned!"

This man was Sword Pavilion Marquis's second son, Ning Qiancheng.

He was also Ning Xiaochuan's father's second elder brother.

Ning Qiancheng had left the Imperial City ten years ago and had been leading armies in battle outside ever since. Recently, news of victory had arrived: he had led an army of two million to conquer the Heavenly Mystery Dynasty, and before long, he would return to the imperial court in triumph.

This matter had long stirred up a tremendous storm in the Imperial City. Many people had been guessing what reward Ning Qiancheng would receive upon his return. Some even said that he might be Enfeoffed as Marquis.

Now, this man who had stirred the winds and clouds had returned.

Ning Qiancheng swept his gaze over the soldiers. "Yue Wuyang, back then you could still compete with my third brother. Now, you can only compete with my third brother's son. It seems that over these years, you have only gone further and further downhill!"

Cloud Marquis said, "I serve the court, ease the Holy Emperor's worries, and act for the sake of the realm. Ning Qiancheng, could it be that you wish to oppose the court? Oppose the Holy Emperor? Oppose everyone under heaven?"

Ning Qiancheng said, "With you, a mere non-hereditary marquis, daring to barge into the manor of Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion—who gave you such courage? Do you have the Holy Emperor's imperial decree?"

In the current court, Cloud Marquis's power soared to the heavens. He was a favored figure at Jade Ripple Great Emperor's side, and even ordinary kings and marquises dared not speak to him in such a manner.

Only someone as unconstrained by any taboo as Ning Qiancheng would dare berate him like this.

Ten years ago, Ning Qiancheng had been a famously unruly man in the Imperial City. Back then, he had even dared beat up the Crown Prince and smash the National Teacher's gate. He had simply been a great tyrant in the Imperial City.

Now, ten years later, he had returned bearing military achievements all over his body. Naturally, he had become even more unrestrained.

Ning Qiancheng swept his gaze over the soldiers. "Do you think our Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion is easy to bully? Or do you think Cloud Marquis's Mansion carries greater prestige than Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion, that you actually dared surround the manor of Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion? Believe it or not, this general can have your heads rolling to the ground in minutes?"

The soldiers looked at one another, every one of them fearing for his own safety.

Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion had endured for more than eight hundred years without decline. Cloud Marquis had only been enfeoffed in recent years. In terms of foundation and influence, they were simply not on the same level.

"Let us go!" Cloud Marquis said flatly.

The great army surrounding Begonia Manor retreated like a receding tide.

Ji Hanxing rode a dragon-elephant beside Cloud Marquis's carriage. "My lord, why should we fear Ning Qiancheng? Minister Tian is surely hiding within Begonia Manor. Once we find Minister Tian, I fear the entire Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion will be implicated."

"Hanxing, you are still too young. This time, Ning Qiancheng breached a Fourth-Rank Dynasty and rendered an unparalleled service to Yulan Imperial City. He returns to court carrying the momentum of a great tide, his edge fully exposed. If we clash head-on with him, even if we win, it will be a miserable victory. That is the first reason."

"Second, Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion has been passed down in Yulan Imperial City for over eight hundred years. Its roots run deep, its branches spread wide, and its influence has long seeped into every corner of the empire—the court, the imperial harem, the military camps, and the common folk. Their power lies everywhere. Even the Holy Emperor must be wary of such hereditary marquises and cannot move against them lightly. Even if we found Minister Tian in Begonia Manor, we still could not shake Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion."

"Third, we truly do not possess absolute evidence. We cannot guarantee that Minister Tian is really inside Begonia Manor."

Ji Hanxing said, "But those footprints truly led into Begonia Manor. Minister Tian must have been rescued by Ning Xiaochuan."

Cloud Marquis said, "Can you be certain this is not a trap laid by Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion and Minister Tian for us? They deliberately lured us into Begonia Manor. If we failed to find Minister Tian inside, how would we clean up the mess? And what methods would the enemy use to strike at us?"

Ji Hanxing narrowed her eyes. "I have learned from your instruction. I was wondering how Ning Xiaochuan, who clearly knows nothing of cultivating Martial Dao Profound Qi, could rescue Minister Tian. It seems there truly is a conspiracy at work. My lord, could Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion and Dark Emperor City be joining hands against us?"

"Whether there is a conspiracy cannot yet be determined, nor can we speak of it carelessly. Remember in the future to be cautious in both speech and action. Neither Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion nor Dark Emperor City is an existence you can afford to provoke right now. Sometimes, a single sentence can leave you dead without a burial ground," Cloud Marquis said gravely.

Cold sweat broke out all over Ji Hanxing's body. She added, "There is one thing I do not understand. Was Ning Qiancheng not supposed to return to the imperial court in triumph two months from now? Why has he returned so soon?"

"What you saw just now was not his true body. It was merely his Martial Soul Avatar!" Cloud Marquis said.

Martial Soul Avatar!

No wonder, no wonder Ning Qiancheng's arrival had been accompanied by a soul shadow. It turned out that this was merely one of his Martial Soul Avatars.

If even a Martial Soul Avatar was so powerful, then how powerful was his true body?

Ji Hanxing suddenly stopped. "My lord, I wish to remain behind. I believe Minister Tian is surely still inside Begonia Manor."

"Then stay behind! Remember to be careful. If you truly discover Minister Tian, flee immediately. For the moment you discover him, he will surely have discovered you as well. Escaping from his hands will not be easy. This will also be a challenge for you."

Cloud Marquis extended his hand from the carriage, and a white profound pearl flew from his palm and landed in Ji Hanxing's hand.

"When danger comes, swallow this Dragon Wing Profound Pearl. It may be able to save your life."

Cloud Marquis's carriage slowly departed into the distance.

Ji Hanxing leaped down from the dragon-elephant's back and secretly slipped back into Begonia Manor.