Nine Nether Dragon Emperor

Ning Xuan had just passed through the Street of Melted Gold, and his ears had barely enjoyed a moment of peace when the man leading him suddenly halted.

"We’ve arrived," the man said coldly.

Ning Xuan focused his gaze and instantly understood why those people had looked at him with such pity and sympathy.

Before him stood a massive high platform, and beneath it lay an enormous Blood Pond. As far as the eye could see, the pond was filled with severed limbs. However, the area was clearly sealed off by some means; he could not smell blood or the stench of rot.

"That is the Judgment Platform," the leader spoke again, his voice just as cold. "Are you going to walk up yourself, or do we have to escort you?"

"I think I’d rather not—"

Before he could finish the word "not," Ning Xuan vanished. Yet, neither the leader nor the other members of the enforcement team showed any intention of giving chase. A moment later, Ning Xuan’s voice rang out from above. "Damn it, you people play dirty!"

A crisscrossing, net-like object had suddenly appeared in the empty space above. As Ning Xuan shot upward, he was like a fish swimming willingly into a net. The astonishing elasticity of the net then launched him like a cannonball from a slingshot, sending him flying straight toward the high platform.

That was not all.

CLICK!

Bars shot up around the platform, instantly trapping Ning Xuan within a cage. The moment his feet touched down, fetters sprang from the floor and shackled his legs.

It truly was an inescapable net!

"Impressive," Ning Xuan muttered.

Despite having his legs shackled and his body caged, Ning Xuan was not the slightest bit flustered. Panic would not solve anything at a time like this. He decided to meet every change with an unchanging response.

"Who stands before this court?" a voice suddenly demanded from behind him.

The platform beneath Ning Xuan’s feet spun abruptly, turning him around. He was now facing a pitch-black dais. Seated behind it was a Judge with a stern face and a menacing aura.

Beneath the platform stood seven people on either side. On each side, two of them stood on a step higher than the other five. Ning Xuan found himself standing at the same height as the ten lower-ranked guards.

BANG!

Before Ning Xuan could even open his mouth, the two guards closest to him swung their cudgels from the left and right, aiming for his legs with mighty, heavy blows.

Amidst the loud impact, all ten guards stared with wide eyes.

The specially made cudgels had actually bent. Yet their target stood there, proud and unharmed.

This was utterly preposterous! Everyone knew that anyone sealed here couldn’t use their Cultivation! Under such circumstances, no one could take two blows without falling! This guy had inadvertently created a miracle!

The two attackers were terrified by their catastrophic failure. Just as they were about to beg for mercy, the ground beneath them split open. The next moment, they both fell into the Blood Pond.

That was no pool of blood—it was more like high-concentration acid. They let out two short screams before falling silent.

Ning Xuan curled his lip.

Damn. So they aren’t just targeting me. They’re this ruthless even to their own people! With that thought, his indignation vanished.

Up on the dais, the Judge seated behind the black dais had a flicker of an unusual glint in his eyes, which vanished in an instant.

This youth, who appeared from nowhere, is unlike any criminal I’ve ever encountered. Anyone else who witnessed that scene would have had a severe emotional reaction, yet his Mental State shows no signs of fluctuation!

He was certain of this because the shackles on his ankles had given no feedback. The moment a prisoner’s Mental State wavered, even slightly, the shackles were designed to attack and apply further psychological pressure. But this time, there was no reaction at all.

The boy’s calm isn’t an act. Now this is interesting.

A flicker of excitement passed through the depths of the Judge’s eyes.

Below, the four individuals whose status was clearly a tier higher had the same reaction. It had been a long time since they had encountered such a challenging criminal.

"Seeing as you’ve just arrived, I’ll spare you the courtesy of kneeling," the Judge’s voice rose an octave, his authority swelling. "State your name!"

At the same time, the eight guards at Ning Xuan’s level slammed their cudgels on the ground in unison, roaring, "Might!"

In response, Ning Xuan actually let out a snort of laughter.

The dozen or so people present were dumbfounded. They had no idea what to make of this.

"Ahem, sorry, nothing against you guys," he said. "Oh, right. My name is Tu Yu."

To avoid being found by Zang Peng, Ning Xuan had decided to borrow Tu Yu’s name.

He never expected that upon hearing the name, the Judge on the dais would completely ignore his previous disrespect. "Did you say your name is Tu Yu?"

Ning Xuan nodded immediately. It’s not like this guy would know the real Tu Yu, anyway.

"How dare you impersonate the son of Lord Tu! Your crime is compounded! I sentence you to death by dismemberment!" the Judge roared, slamming his gavel, ready to pass judgment on the spot.

"What Lord Tu? That *is* my name!" Ning Xuan protested at once. He had nothing to fear, since the real Tu Yu would never show up here.

"Are you certain?"

"Absolutely!"

"Then your crime is even greater! I sentence you to death by a thousand cuts!"

Ning Xuan was flabbergasted. What the hell is going on now?!

"Of all the names to have, you just had to have this one. That name itself is your cardinal sin!" the Judge sneered.

Ning Xuan’s expression turned cold. "Just because someone you deem to have a higher status has this name, I can’t use it? And you’re sentencing me to death by a thousand cuts just for a name?!"

"Yes," the Judge replied, his face a mask of mockery. "And so what?"

"I’ll kill you."

The words had barely left his lips when Ning Xuan vanished.

Before anyone could react...

PLOP!

The Judge, a new hole in his brow, had already fallen into the Blood Pond below. As for Ning Xuan, he was nowhere to be seen.

The remaining court members were stunned once more.

Immediately, a thunderous roar shook the platform. The four high-status guards closest to the Judge shot off in four different directions in pursuit. They, too, quickly disappeared from view. The remaining eight guards scrambled off the platform, forming pairs to follow in the same four directions.

The enforcement team that had brought Ning Xuan here was long gone, and there were no other spectators. Soon, the area returned to its former silence.

Just then, Ning Xuan’s head popped out from under the platform. He glanced around, swiped a set of robes from behind the dais, and then departed at his leisure.

Not long after he left, one of the four main pursuers reappeared.

It occurred to him that Ning Xuan might have never left!

After a brief search, he stood stunned behind the platform.

A moment later, he began muttering an incantation.

Bubbles rose to the surface of the Blood Pond, and four hounds made of blood emerged. At a low command, the four hounds transformed into streaks of red light and vanished.