Nine Nether Dragon Emperor-Chapter 77: Pride Hunting Ground, Opening Soon!
"This kid is so arrogant out there! I’ve lived for ages, and I still get the urge to beat him to death! Go ahead and mess with him. Break his spirit just once, and I’ll suppress him for another thousand years!"
Once the old man gave Shentu Yi the reassurance he needed, he relaxed and completely let loose.
But no matter what he did, Ning Xuan remained unmoved, turning into an emotionless fishing machine. Seeing Ning Xuan like this, Shentu Yi gritted his teeth and plunged into the icy water of the lake with a splash. He started swimming circles around the exact spot where Ning Xuan was fishing.
It really worked. Ning Xuan didn’t get angry, but it made catching fish impossible. After switching spots several times, he only managed to catch two or three fish. At this rate, catching a thousand would take forever.
Ning Xuan gave up on fishing. He didn’t blame the circumstances but continued to look for the fault within himself. The Element Qi isn’t pure enough. If the Element Qi were pure enough, they’d bite even with a knife at their throats. Why do moths fly into a flame? Isn’t it because they yearn for light in the darkness?
Both the old man and Shentu Yi were dumbfounded.
Ning Xuan closed his eyes and spent the next three days refining the Cultivation Technique the old man had taught him.
When Ning Xuan opened his eyes and cast his line again, Shentu Yi, who was still in the water, almost burst into tears. No matter how much he thrashed around, the fish rushed towards the hook with the courage of moths drawn to a flame. They even started fighting amongst themselves. The fish fought so fiercely to get to the hook that scales flew everywhere and the water was stained with blood.
Shentu Yi was utterly defeated. The Element Qi on the hook was simply too rich and alluring. Forget the fish, he himself wanted to take a bite! The old man was stunned speechless.
In the Tower River, Shentu Yi called out to Ning Xuan, "Brother Ning, how about we switch fishing rods?"
"Sure."
Ning Xuan agreed without a second thought and tossed his fishing rod over.
Without another word, Shentu Yi snapped the rod into countless pieces at lightning speed and tossed the hook into the water. After doing all this, he looked at Ning Xuan with a smug expression. You can’t make bricks without straw. Let’s see you fish now that your tools are gone!
"Brother Ning, you know this tower is for cultivating one’s heart. You don’t mind searching for a needle in a haystack, do you?"
Ning Xuan’s mouth twitched, but remembering the old man’s words, he simply shook his head.
「Outside.」
The old man couldn’t help but clap his hands and cheer, "Well done!"
Back in the tower, Ning Xuan remained as still as a mountain and closed his eyes again.
Shentu Yi watched amusedly. Now that you don’t even have tools, let’s see how you fish! One day passed, then two, then three...
「Five days later.」
Shentu Yi was resting with his eyes closed when the water’s surface suddenly began to churn wildly. When he opened his eyes, he was dumbstruck.
On the solitary boat, Ning Xuan sat cross-legged, as still as a mountain. All around him, fish were leaping from the water like the legendary carp at the Dragon Gate, vying with one another to jump onto his boat.
He didn’t know how long he’d been staring when a shared cry of disbelief broke the silence.
"Holy crap, that works too?!!!"
"Holy crap, that works too?!!!"
Shentu Yi inside the tower and the old man outside screamed in unison, both beginning to question their sanity. Especially the old man. He was completely floored. He had given Ning Xuan a timeline of one hundred years, but the kid had done it in just ten days! Crap! This is outrageously absurd!
Ning Xuan suddenly stood up, looked in a certain direction, and announced in a loud voice, "I used the sky as the rod, the void as the line, the boat as the hook, and myself as the bait. That’s not against the rules, is it?"
There was no answer. A beam of light suddenly enveloped Ning Xuan, and when it vanished, he was gone from that world as well.
First level, cleared!
Shentu Yi slumped down in dejection. A moment later, however, he sat cross-legged and quickly entered a state of meditative self-forgetfulness. At this point, he wouldn’t leave even if the old man let him.
「At the same time.」
Ning Xuan appeared on the second floor of the Blunt Stone Tower. Looking around, he saw lush green grass and herds of cattle and sheep.
"This time, all you need to do is count how many hairs are on their bodies," the old man’s voice echoed.
Despite being prepared, Ning Xuan couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth. Is this something a human is supposed to do? Counting every single hair can’t be the right way... I’ve got it!
His eyes lit up. Forming a sword with his fingers, he charged forward. In a flash of sword light, less than a day had passed before Ning Xuan had shaved every animal completely bald.
"All counted," he declared. "They don’t have a single hair on their bodies."
The old man was speechless. The flock of sheep was, too. You tricky bastard! Is that something a human would even think of doing? But on second thought, there’s nothing wrong with his logic.
Outside, the old man waved his hand, and another beam of light transported Ning Xuan to the third floor.
In the time that followed, the old man was nearly driven to spit blood by Ning Xuan. The kid was just too good at exploiting loopholes. No matter how airtight the old man made the challenges, Ning Xuan would find a vulnerability and clear the level with lightning speed.
Eventually, the original purpose of cultivating the mind had been completely forgotten. It had devolved into a battle of wits between the two of them. And without exception, the old man’s intellect was utterly crushed every time.
When Ning Xuan broke through the eleventh floor, the old man finally couldn’t stand it anymore. "Damn it! Is it you or me who’s supposed to be cultivating the mind here?!"
When Ning Xuan was sent to the topmost level, there was nothing but twelve mountain-sized rocks and a chisel.
"Carve twelve distinct crickets for me out of these rocks! You can only use this chisel, and you have to chip away at them bit by bit!"
To prevent Ning Xuan from cheating, the old man had not only removed every trace of Element Qi from the area but had also sealed the power Ning Xuan had accumulated from his Cultivation Technique.
Seeing the bitter expression on Ning Xuan’s face, the old man finally felt vindicated. Let’s see you turn the tables now!
Ning Xuan took a deep breath. With one strike of the chisel, he left only a shallow mark on the rock.
Outside, the old man watched with a smirk, just waiting for Ning Xuan to lose his temper. But who would have thought that Ning Xuan would actually get excited?
"Now this is more like it! What the heck were all those previous challenges?!"
The old man was left speechless, so stunned he just shut down.
After a long moment, the old man muttered, "Let’s see if you’re still laughing in a hundred years!" before leaving with a dark expression.
「In the outside world.」
「One day later.」
A piece of news suddenly exploded across The Capital.
In five days, the Pride Hunting Ground would open!
This time, all previous survivors of the Pride Hunting Ground who were still alive would return.
Furthermore, the three top-tier factions would send their own disciples to participate!
In an instant, the whole of Dong Cang was shaken. This was undoubtedly the grandest and most challenging bloody feast since the establishment of the Pride Hunting Ground.
"The three top-tier factions are sending people? Could this be specifically targeting Ning Xuan?"
"The Divine Son—no, the Human Emperor himself never received this kind of treatment! Ning Xuan is making history!"
"Does he really warrant such a massive response?"
"I think he’s just an afterthought. The real purpose is for the three top-tier factions to use this opportunity to temper their own disciples!"
"That makes sense! What has he done to deserve this? The three top-tier factions command countless prodigies and heaven-blessed talents. Any one of them could probably kill him in an instant!"
"Absolutely. I’ve heard that any disciple from the three top-tier factions, at the same Realm, has ten times the strength of an outside Martial Artist!"
"Speaking of Ning Xuan, there’s been no news of him for more than a day. He hasn’t been killed already, has he?"
Inside the Blunt Stone Tower, Ning Xuan sneezed.
