Nine Nether Dragon Emperor-Chapter 81: The Graceful Girl Wu Pianpian, Ascends the Heavenly Command List!
"Is this the Pride Hunting Ground?"
Ning Xuan passed through the Dao Xuan Barrier and appeared on a boundless grassland.
The area was eerily quiet. The only other creature was a Martial Artist who had suddenly appeared from the void. Ning Xuan silenced him with a single sword strike to the throat.
Honestly, I’m a little disappointed.
But a moment later...
BOOM!
A loud rumble erupted as the ground beneath his feet suddenly split apart.
Amid the howling, eerie wind, the stench of blood assaulted his senses.
Ning Xuan tried to leap away, but he found that the grassland had vanished. Before him now was a terrifying, barbaric wilderness.
He was standing on a jutting rock. Not far behind him was a bottomless precipice!
A colossal python, hundreds of feet long, was coiled among the boulders. It opened its massive, blood-red maw to swallow him whole.
The ones hunting the prodigies were not just humans, but also terrifying Element Beasts!
SWISH!
With a flash of sword light, the python’s enormous head went flying.
THUD!
It slammed against the mountainside with a tremendous crash.
Ning Xuan scanned his surroundings, looking for a way out.
CRACK!
The rock beneath his feet suddenly shattered, and Ning Xuan plummeted toward the abyss.
Just as he was about to save himself, the scene changed again.
He was now in mid-air, a vast, endless sea stretching out below him. A massive shark waited with its blood-red maw agape, ready for him to fall right in.
At Ning Xuan’s low shout, the water splashing around the shark transformed into countless sharp swords.
PFFT! PFFT! PFFT!
A terrifying wave of Sword Qi raged, riddling the shark full of holes in an instant.
THUD!
Ning Xuan’s body crashed down, but not into the sea. He landed on solid ground.
Warily scanning his surroundings, Ning Xuan saw humans this time.
There were quite a few young men and women around his age, all of them looking a bit dazed.
"This is the real Pride Hunting Ground? How can this be? This isn’t right..." a young man muttered.
A thought struck Ning Xuan, and he immediately asked, "The real Pride Hunting Ground? What do you mean?"
The others, while remaining vigilant, all perked up their ears.
"What we just experienced wasn’t the real Pride Hunting Ground. It was an entrance trial."
"An entrance trial? What’s that?"
"Yeah, I’ve never heard of one."
The group chattered among themselves.
Ning Xuan raised an eyebrow. "Let him speak."
Everyone immediately fell silent.
"In the entrance trial, every time you kill a creature, you’re randomly teleported to a different scene. Only after killing ten creatures do you qualify to enter the true Pride Hunting Ground."
"I don’t know what happened this time," the young man said, completely bewildered. "I only killed one creature before I was teleported into the actual Pride Hunting Ground."
"I have a question," a young woman asked timidly. "The random scene changes introduce too much uncertainty. If you’re unlucky enough to die during the trial, is it a true death, or is your real body just transported out?"
"It’s a true death, your soul scattering to the winds! The Pride Hunting Ground is that cruel. Once you enter, there are only two paths: die and remain here forever, or survive and leave with infinite glory!"
Now that he understood, Ning Xuan grew excited. The Pride Hunting Ground felt new and refreshing.
Just then, a cold voice suddenly rang out.
"The Pride Hunting Ground has suffered severe damage. Hunters are being replenished. Please remain where you are. Move without authorization, and you will be executed on the spot!"
"What the hell?"
"Impossible! Since its creation, nothing like this has ever happened in the Pride Hunting Ground. What’s going on?"
The knowledgeable young man stared at the sky, his eyes filled with shock.
Ning Xuan’s eyes flickered. He suddenly thought of the young woman in red who had forced her way into the Pride Hunting Ground earlier.
There’s always someone better out there. I must not become arrogant! Ning Xuan silently cautioned himself, yet his expression grew even more excited. This is what makes things interesting! Being unrivaled for too long can make one complacent.
"Come on! Here in the Pride Hunting Ground, I seek defeat!"
A golden light flashed in Ning Xuan’s eyes, his battle intent surging.
Time passed quietly.
The young men and women in the area grew increasingly restless.
Ning Xuan sat cross-legged, meditating with his eyes closed, as calm as still water.
Seeing him so motionless, the way some of the others looked at him began to change.
Ning Xuan’s name was now known throughout The Capital. Just before the Pride Hunting Ground opened, he had not only clashed with a prodigy from the previous Prodigy List but also with a genius from the Martial God Temple. It was hard not to recognize him.
If I could kill him, both the Martial God Temple and Su Yue Zhuai would surely think more highly of me, right?
Similar thoughts began to sprout in their minds. As time wore on, this urge grew stronger.
HUM!
Suddenly, the sky trembled.
A list materialized in the void. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮
It was called the Tianming List!
On the list, besides Ning Yang’s name, another had appeared!
Wu Pianpian!
Everyone within the Pride Hunting Ground saw the name. They were all stunned.
Ning Xuan opened his eyes at that very moment.
Gazing at the two names on the Tianming List, his battle intent swelled like the sea!
"The Tianming List, is it? Just you wait for me!" Ning Xuan murmured.
"You won’t get the chance!" a voice suddenly cried out.
The young men and women in the area attacked Ning Xuan in unison!
The well-informed youth was leading them. He realized the appearance of the Tianming List meant the previous warning was void, as the Hunters for the Pride Hunting Ground had been replenished.
Ning Xuan couldn’t possibly know this. This is our chance!
After the youth identified himself via voice transmission, the others chose to trust him.
And he was right. Seeing that there was no backlash, the group instantly pushed their combat strength to its absolute peak.
However, a sword light flashed.
Heads soared into the air!
Except for that one youth, everyone else was slain.
Ning Xuan was slightly surprised. The youth’s body had flared with the power of runes. His sword strike had been blocked, allowing the youth to dodge the fatal blow.
"Don’t kill me! I’m the King’s son! I know a lot about—"
PFFT!
Stacking Sword!
Sword Sixteen!
A single strike to the throat.
Ning Xuan pursed his lips. He had overestimated the power of that guy’s runes.
「Meanwhile, at the Dong Cang Royal Palace.」
A chief eunuch came to report, "Your Majesty, the Eighth Prince’s Soul Lamp has gone out."
"If his skills were inferior, he has only himself to blame. You may leave."
"Yes..."
"Is there anything else?"
"Your... Your Majesty. I have just received news that Princess Mingzhu has disguised herself and has also entered the Pride Hunting Ground."
The King of Dong Cang completely lost his earlier composure. "What did you say?! Hurry—once inside the Pride Hunting Ground, outsiders cannot interfere... What is to be done?!"
He was as frantic as an ant on a hot pan.
"The moment I received the news, I took the liberty of sending in a team of the Divine Martial Guards."
"Well done! But that’s not enough. Send in all the Shadow Guards!"
"Your Majesty, the Shadow Guards are responsible for your safety."
"With my strength, unless the Human Emperor himself appears, who could possibly kill me?! Go! Quickly!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
「Inside the Pride Hunting Ground.」
Ning Xuan looted the Storage Rings and was no longer in any hurry to move on. He sat down on the spot, activated the Chaos Ancestral Dragon Scripture, and used his Taotie Divine Vein to greedily devour the heaven and earth Element Qi.
After all, the Element Qi here was far denser than any he had ever encountered.
Soon, the entire Pride Hunting Ground began to shake violently.
