Nine Nether Dragon Emperor-Chapter 17: Scrape the Bone and Behead, This is Just the Beginning!

Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Scrape the Bone and Behead, This is Just the Beginning!

Wang Lin’s right hand formed a claw, hovering just inches from Ning Xuan’s chest. His left hand clutched his own neck as fresh blood seeped through his fingers.

"I thought advancing a realm was as simple as having hands?" Ning Xuan softly retorted.

Wang Lin’s eyes widened, filled with shock, horror, and despair.

With a frown, Ning Xuan took a step back. I should have focused on advancing my realm first. It cost me an extra sword strike.

His sword flashed again.

He stopped and sheathed his blade. Just as he did, a skeleton—which hadn’t even hit the ground yet—was already being wrapped by him in a cloth.

Wang Lin looked down at the gaping hole in his chest and pitched forward. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Even in death, he could not understand how Ning Xuan had done it. Ning Xuan’s swordsmanship was too eerie, too unpredictable, too unfathomable!

After Ning Xuan disappeared from the alley, a dust-covered, middle-aged man appeared before Wang Lin’s corpse.

He was Wang Mingfeng, the Patriarch of the Wang Family!

He had rushed back to his family estate at top speed, hoping to salvage his private stash of treasures, but the fire was too large and too fierce. In the end, he found nothing. Wang Lin’s earlier roar had revealed his position. When he arrived, this was the scene that greeted him.

With Wang Lin dead, apart from the fleeing servants, he was the only one left of the entire Wang Family.

Wang Mingfeng’s hair and beard stood on end, his face twisted in a mask of fury as an unparalleled aura erupted from his body.

"Ning Xuan, you little beast! There isn’t room for both of us in this world!"

With his furious roar, the surroundings exploded. He, too, vanished from the spot.

「On the square, atop the high platform.」

After Zhao Qian and Zhou Cheng attacked again, the Eighteen Death Warriors were teetering on the brink of collapse.

"Sometimes, there’s no strength in numbers," Zhao Qian said, standing with his hands behind his back, his face a mask of arrogance. "I’ll give you two choices: submit or die!"

The Eighteen Death Warriors remained silent, each swallowing an Instant Element Pill. Instantly, their complexions recovered at a visible rate. Several of them even advanced their Cultivation Realms, becoming stronger than ever before.

Zhao Qian’s face turned ugly. With a low shout, he and Zhou Cheng launched another powerful attack. The Eighteen Death Warriors still couldn’t withstand a single exchange.

"Let’s see how many elixirs you have to consume!"

Beside him, Zhou Cheng suddenly issued a reminder, "Brother Zhao, it is almost noon."

Chen Tai was about to speak when Zhao Qian’s supremely confident voice rang out, "Don’t worry. With us here, no one can kill you!"

"Hahaha, thank you, Brother Zhao!" Chen Tai roared with laughter, his hope rekindled.

"Is that so?"

A voice suddenly boomed like a clap of thunder.

Everyone turned toward the sound.

At the edge of the square, a youth in white appeared, carrying a makeshift bag fashioned from a torn shirt. A trail of blood dripped on the ground behind him.

"Ning Xuan!"

Cries of alarm rose from the crowd. At this point, even those who had never seen Ning Xuan knew that the person making his entrance now could only be him!

"Heavens! Even Wang Lin couldn’t stop him?!"

"By himself? He wiped out the Wang Family all by himself?"

"What is he carrying? It couldn’t possibly be..."

Voices filled with disbelief echoed through the square. This was too astonishing.

Under the watchful eyes of thousands, Ning Xuan walked toward the high platform. The crowd automatically parted, clearing a path for him. As he passed, he was met with gazes of shock, fear, and curiosity.

"Young Master, leave now! We’ve got this!" Number One suddenly shouted. The elders of the two great families were far too strong; the Young Master was definitely no match for them.

"Thinking of leaving? Dream on!" Zhou Cheng snorted coldly as he waved his hand. A group of Martial Artists charged toward Ning Xuan like a pack of hungry wolves.

HUM!

The soft sword hummed.

As Ning Xuan blasted the bag of bones forward, he vanished in a streak of white light. A few breaths later, Ning Xuan reappeared, catching the cloth bag as its momentum ceased and it began to fall. He landed directly below the high platform.

Behind him, corpse after corpse collapsed to the ground with a series of thuds.

The entire square fell silent.

"What... what kind of swordsmanship is this?!" Zhao Qian’s horrified cry finally snapped everyone out of their stupor.

"What just happened?"

"Was... was that Ning Xuan’s doing?"

Shocked murmurs rippled through the crowd.

Ning Xuan casually strode onto the high platform and surveyed the entire scene.

"Six years ago, Ning Yang stole my bloodline, and the major families slaughtered sixty-three members of my branch of the Ning Family!

"The spirit tablets of my ancestors were all destroyed!

"My grandfather fought to the death to protect me, allowing me, Ning Xuan, to narrowly escape. A kindness must be repaid, and a grudge must be avenged!

"Today, I, Ning Xuan, swear an oath: I will not spare a single person who participated in the events of that day!

"I will use your bones to carve new spirit tablets! I will use your blood as a sacrifice to my ancestors!"

Ning Xuan stood brimming with righteous fury, his words ringing with power and conviction. Even Zhao Qian and Zhou Cheng were awed into silence.

As his voice faded, Ning Xuan shook open the cloth bag, revealing Wang Lin’s bloody skeleton for all to see.

"Gods! A full skeleton!"

"Whose... whose is that?"

"Wang Lin went in that direction a moment ago..."

The crowd below gasped in unison. Zhao Qian and Zhou Cheng’s eyes narrowed.

Ning Xuan swept his gaze over them indifferently and announced, "Noon has arrived. Number One, take his bone!"

"You dare!" Zhao Qian erupted in fury. He, the magnificent Great Elder of the Zhao Family, had been intimidated by a mere whelp. This was a profound humiliation. Now, this youth wanted to kill someone right in front of him. How could he not be furious?

This time, before he could move, the Eighteen Death Warriors acted in unison. They abandoned Chen Tai, forming a circle around Zhao Qian and Zhou Cheng.

Their Young Master had arrived; their mission was complete. Besides, if their Young Master could annihilate the Wang Family and kill Wang Lin, then Chen Tai, with his destroyed dantian, couldn’t possibly stir up any trouble.

The Formation of Trapped Beasts could only unleash its greatest power with the enemy trapped inside. Zhao and Zhou were instantly shocked to find that the eighteen men had actually withstood their combined attack.

"Don’t kill me, I know I was wrong... Ah—"

Chen Tai’s pleas were futile.

Ning Xuan reached out, ripped the breastbone from his chest, and let the fresh blood splatter onto him. His white robes, which had remained pristine throughout the massacre at the Wang estate, were now speckled with shocking dots of red.

A flash of cold light, and Chen Tai’s head fell to the ground.

The Chen Family was completely annihilated.

Ning Xuan held the breastbone aloft, looked toward the direction of the Ning estate, and bowed.

"Grandfather, I promise you, this is just the beginning!"

His voice echoed throughout Wuling City.

"He’s dead!"

"The patriarch of the Chen Family, one of the four great families, was truly beheaded at noon!"

The head rolled off the high platform and landed upright. Those at the front gazed upon the face. Its eyes, wide with regret and horror, were not closed even in death. A chill seized their hearts.

"You little beast! For your audacity, you’ll die without a grave!" Zhao Qian roared from within the Formation of Trapped Beasts, his rage unprecedented.

"You’ll have to get out of there first," Ning Xuan retorted, turning his gaze to the edge of the square.

There, a disheveled middle-aged man was walking toward him step by step.

It was the Patriarch of the Wang Family, Wang Mingfeng!

"You little beast, I will crush every bone in your body! I will pull out every last one of your tendons!" Wang Mingfeng’s sinister voice sent shivers down everyone’s spines.

Ning Xuan did not respond, merely watching him with a cold stare.

"I heard the Wang Family Patriarch’s cultivation reached the Fourth Layer Heavens of the Profound Realm!"

"Indeed. Ning Xuan is still too young. With his subordinates tied up and him all alone, how can he possibly stand against a family patriarch?"

"Don’t forget about Chen Tai and Wang Lin!"

"He must have used some trick! Otherwise, how could he be a match for a Profound Realm powerhouse?"

"In the face of absolute strength, all trickery is futile!"

As if to prove this point, a long spear suddenly materialized in the advancing Wang Mingfeng’s hand.

"The Profound Mystery of Martial Arts! He’s condensing Element Force into a weapon!"