Nine Nether Dragon Emperor

Ning Xuan showed no awareness of his impending doom and simply repeated what he had just said.

This time, it was not just Kang Qing; even the crowd below could not contain themselves.

"What is his Cultivation Realm? Why is he so arrogant?!"

"He’s at the Venerable Realm, and definitely not transcendent yet!"

"Damn it! So he’s still just a Martial Artist all this time? What gives him the nerve to say something like that?!"

"’Only the Fourth Layer Heavens of the Holy Realm,’ he says! Ning Xuan, how old are you?!" someone shouted, defending Kang Qing’s honor as they questioned Ning Xuan directly.

"Eighteen, turning nineteen soon," Ning Xuan answered honestly.

"Holy hell! A nearly nineteen-year-old Martial Artist is actually mocking a young, transcendent prodigy. If I hadn’t heard it with my own two ears, I would’ve never believed someone so shameless existed in this world!"

"Ning Xuan, you’ve got some serious nerve! Are you tired of living?!"

The voices from the crowd rose one after another, all filled with mockery and accusation. Because of these words, however, Kang Qing actually began to calm down. But then, a single sentence from Ning Xuan nearly made him explode again.

"You’ve actually calmed down. Good, now you qualify to be my opponent!"

The moment Ning Xuan finished speaking, someone in the audience could not hold back and started throwing things. They wanted to storm the stage and kill the shameless scoundrel.

But after a moment of shock, Kang Qing’s resolve hardened. In the next moment, he actually bowed to Ning Xuan. "Thank you for your guidance, brother."

This completely baffled the crowd below.

"What’s going on with him?"

"What is happening?"

"Damn it, don’t tell me he caught Ning Xuan’s craziness?"

On the high platform, Tu Yu was also stunned.

"You still don’t understand?" Tu Jingcheng asked with a sigh.

Tu Yu shook his head.

"Ning Xuan is guiding Kang Qing!"

Hearing this, Tu Yu was utterly dumbfounded. "He’s guiding Kang Qing?"

Tu Jingcheng nodded. "You heard correctly. He is guiding Kang Qing. While anger can grant a temporary surge of power, true strength doesn’t come from rage. It comes from the heart!"

Now, Tu Yu understood. "The Dao Heart! With an unbreakable Dao Heart, one’s will can never be crushed! In that case, even after a thousand or ten thousand failures, they will only grow more courageous and stronger with each defeat! Huh? Kang Qing’s aura is even stronger now than it was when he was enraged!"

He looked toward the dueling platform, his eyes full of disbelief.

"Now do you see why I said he is Jiang Chan’s benefactor? His Cultivation Realm may not compare to yours, but his Mental State is far, far stronger! Think about it. Would you dare to be so brazen on that platform?"

Tu Yu shook his head.

"You all think he’s only this daring because he has Jiang Chan’s backing. In truth, this is simply who he is. He would be just as bold even without Jiang Chan!" Tu Jingcheng sighed, his gaze on Ning Xuan filled with a complex mix of emotions.

"Young Master, shall we continue?" Wang Teng sent a mental message to Tu Yu at that moment. Tu Jingcheng had not been using a mental message, so Wang Teng had heard everything.

It was as if he had just woken from a dream!

"Continue!" Tu Yu clenched his teeth and made his decision. "His strength is mediocre, yet he possesses such a Mental State? I will not allow someone like that to exist!"

The score from last night still isn’t settled! Ning Xuan, a nobody who popped up out of nowhere, actually made me lose face! This debt must be paid!

"Young Master, perhaps you should reconsider..." Wang Teng began, sensing something was amiss.

But before he could finish, Tu Yu’s chilling voice cut in, "If you won’t do it, I’ll do it myself! Still... hehehe."

A cold shiver ran down Wang Teng’s spine, and he hurriedly relented.

"Good! No matter how great his Mental State is, it’s futile in the face of absolute strength!"

Wang Teng had to agree with that point. Therefore, he watched Kang Qing with great anticipation.

If Kang Qing could handle Ning Xuan, there would be no need to use the person he had arranged. However, that would also mean Tu Jingcheng had overestimated Ning Xuan, and Tu Yu would likely hold a grudge against me for that. For a moment, I am completely torn. I hope Kang Qing can end the fight, but at the same time, I hope Ning Xuan can perform a miracle.

In the midst of this conflict, Kang Qing made his move on the dueling platform.

BOOM!

His first move was a killing blow!

Then...

PFFT!

Ning Xuan spat out a mouthful of blood, coming to a stop just at the very edge of the dueling platform.

Kang Qing was stunned. Wang Teng was also stunned. Tu Yu, however, burst out laughing along with many of the spectators.

"Hahaha, that’s priceless! What was that guy saying earlier?"

Immediately, someone mimicked Ning Xuan’s tone, "You’re already seventeen, so why are you only at the Fourth Layer Heavens of the Holy Realm?"

"Pfft, that’s too damn funny! How did he have the gall to say that?!"

"One move! He couldn’t even take one move! Now I finally understand what it means to bring disgrace upon oneself!"

The crowd below the stage unleashed a torrent of insults and mockery.

On the high platform, Tu Yu shot a triumphant smirk at Wang Teng before turning to Tu Jingcheng. "Father, you were wrong! That guy is just a piece of trash—"

His words caught in his throat as he froze. Tu Jingcheng had suddenly appeared on the dueling platform, right in front of Ning Xuan.

Ning Xuan was stunned as well.

My heart clenched. This guy is unbelievably fast! He tore right through space itself!

Ning Xuan looked down at the hand gripping his wrist and was about to speak, but Tu Jingcheng vanished.

The next moment, back on the high platform, Tu Jingcheng’s majestic voice rang out:

"Ning Xuan, if you continue to conceal your true strength, I will consider it an act of contempt toward the Emperor! When that time comes, I will personally escort you to the Imperial City to face the Emperor’s judgment!"

Everyone heard Tu Jingcheng’s words.

"Concealing... his strength?" Tu Yu, standing beside him, was dumbfounded.

So it wasn’t that Ning Xuan lacked strength, he was intentionally holding back! How could he dare?! His opponent was a Cultivator at the Fourth Layer Heavens of the Holy Realm! To conceal one’s abilities against such a foe, the slightest misstep would mean utter annihilation! And yet, he had only spat out some blood and landed perfectly on the edge of the dueling platform without falling. This meant he had absolute confidence! He had even calculated his exact landing spot in advance! Is this really a Martial Artist?!

As Tu Yu came to this realization, the other geniuses also began to understand. For a moment, aside from the still-battling Luo Ji and Zang Peng, every single person’s gaze was fixed on Ning Xuan.

At that moment, Ning Xuan wanted to cry but had no tears.

I never expected the one in charge of the recommendations would intervene personally! I was too careless! I was planning to lose on the second exchange just to be safe, but it seems my calculations were too precise, and that’s what caused the problem.

Ning Xuan stood up, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth while shaking his head with a bitter smile.

BOOM!

When the crowd heard Ning Xuan admit it himself, countless eyes widened in shock. A Martial Artist was actually contending with genius Cultivators! This was simply outrageous!

Below the stage, the spectators who had been mercilessly mocking and ridiculing Ning Xuan now wished they could find a hole to crawl into. They had thought Ning Xuan was the clown, but they never imagined that they were the clowns all along.