Chapter 182: Ninefold Divine Ability Perfection

Chapter 182: Ninefold Divine Ability Perfection

Ning Xiaochuan forcibly steadied the heavy sword and raised his head to glare at the enormous palm above, his voice icy. "This is a battle between me and Ming Yang. No one else may interfere."

Deputy Headmaster Yan soared into the air, landing atop the high tower to cradle Ming Yang. His face darkened as he stared at Ning Xiaochuan. "Ming Yang has already lost. This fight is over. Return his Divine Ability Sword."

Ning Xiaochuan sighed inwardly. Once again, it was the Deputy Headmaster. It seemed killing Ming Yang today was impossible.

There was no helping it. For a top-tier genius like Ming Yang, the Emperor's Martial Palace would never allow Ning Xiaochuan to kill him at will. To the Emperor's Martial Palace, such a loss would be devastating.

"Since he was defeated by me, his sword is now my spoils of war. If he wants it back, let him defeat me himself. I’ll return it then."

With that, Ning Xiaochuan strode away, the heavy sword in hand, showing no deference even to the Deputy Headmaster.

Deputy Headmaster Yan clenched his fists, his eyes burning with fury. But recalling the mysterious woman’s identity, he restrained himself and refrained from acting against Ning Xiaochuan.

With the mysterious woman backing Ning Xiaochuan, anyone who wished to move against him would first have to weigh their own worth.

Defeating Ming Yang meant Ning Xiaochuan had become the Champion of this year’s competition, earning him the right to cultivate in the Heavenly Palace for seven days.

However, Ning Xiaochuan did not head straight to the Heavenly Palace. Instead, he first visited the scripture repository to study the seventh layer of the Heaven and Earth Profound Qi, committing its cultivation method firmly to memory before proceeding to the Heavenly Palace.

The sixth layer of the Heaven and Earth Profound Qi allowed for a thirty-twofold absorption rate of Profound Qi.

The seventh layer of the Heaven and Earth Profound Qi doubled that to sixty-fourfold.

The higher the layer, the more difficult it became to advance, yet each breakthrough brought earth-shaking changes.

If one could cultivate the seventh layer of the Heaven and Earth Profound Qi, this once-common cultivation technique would instantly ascend to the level of a divine scripture. After all, many Martial Venerables only achieved absorption rates of sixty to seventyfold.

Entering the Heavenly Palace once more, Ning Xiaochuan began his cultivation.

This time, he had more leeway—seven full days to train.

The space-time within the Heavenly Palace was distinct from the outside world, as if it were an independent miniature realm.

First Day.

Ning Xiaochuan began refining the eighth Divine Ability, "Stars and Moon Sharing the Sky," integrating it into the bones of his left arm.

Right arm: "Lightning Divine Beast." Left arm: "Stars and Moon Sharing the Sky."

Second Day.

Ning Xiaochuan fully refined the eighth Divine Ability, his martial cultivation steadily approaching the peak of the Eighth Level of the Divine Body Realm.

Could he awaken the Ninth Divine Source?

In the Yulan Empire, no one had ever cultivated a Ninth Divine Source, nor had anyone ever awakened a ninth innate Divine Ability.

Those who could cultivate a ninth innate Divine Ability were known as "Ninefold Divine Ability Perfection," representing the pinnacle of the Divine Body Realm. Only the young True Gods of the Age of Divinity had achieved this level.

Ning Xiaochuan naturally yearned to reach that realm with all his heart.

Boom!

Fine threads of energy coalesced within his body, gathering at his heart to form a Divine Source.

Ning Xiaochuan was ecstatic. Success! Success!

The Ninth Divine Source!

The Ninth Divine Source had actually converged in the position of the heart. At this moment, it was still unstable, making it impossible to determine exactly what kind of Martial Arts Divine Ability it would manifest.

Ning Xiaochuan began to focus entirely on cultivating the Ninth Divine Source. He had no idea how long he spent cultivating, but eventually, the divine ability unfolded, forming the Ninth Divine Ability.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Sun and Moon Sharing the Sky.

A blazing sun and a full moon hovered around his heart, rotating around it and forming a Tai Chi Yin-Yang Diagram.

The blazing sun represented Yang, while the full moon represented Yin. Yin and Yang coexisted—Sun and Moon Sharing the Sky.

This was Ning Xiaochuan’s ninth divine ability.

The ninth divine ability, "Sun and Moon Sharing the Sky," was even more powerful than the eighth divine ability, "Stars and Moon Sharing the Sky," representing the pinnacle of martial arts.

After the Age of Deification, very few had been able to achieve "Ninefold Divine Ability Perfection." Yet, Ning Xiaochuan had now accomplished it.

Suppressing his excitement, Ning Xiaochuan began refining the ninth divine ability with all his might, aiming to fuse it directly into his heart, making it one with the organ.

Not only would this make the ninth divine ability even stronger, but it would also provide better protection for his heart.

He refined the blazing sun into the Demon Ventricle and the full moon into the Heart Ventricle.

Once Ning Xiaochuan circulated his profound qi, the divine ability would activate automatically, transforming into a Yin-Yang Diagram that absorbed the Heaven and Earth Profound Qi to strengthen itself.

It took another full day before Ning Xiaochuan fully mastered the ninth divine ability, reaching the peak of the Divine Body Realm—the ultimate state of the Divine Body Realm since the Age of Deification.

Now, Ning Xiaochuan’s combat power far surpassed Ming Yang’s. Even if Ming Yang wielded his sword, Ning Xiaochuan could slap him away with a single strike.

Ning Xiaochuan wanted to seize this perfect opportunity to break through to the Transcendent Realm in one go. However, no matter how hard he tried, his cultivation refused to advance even a fraction further.

He had hit a bottleneck—one that could no longer be overcome through cultivation alone.

To reach the Transcendent Realm, what he needed now was continuous battle—teetering between life and death, growing through combat, and comprehending the truth of transcendence in the midst of struggle.

Ning Xiaochuan clenched the Bone Bead in his hand and began cultivating the seventh layer of the Heaven and Earth Profound Qi, hoping to increase his absorption rate of profound qi to sixty-four times its original speed.

Yet, even after spending an entire day, he only managed to reach the introductory stage of the seventh layer, with no further progress possible.

Ning Xiaochuan stopped his cultivation and put away the Bone Bead. "It seems I’ve truly hit a bottleneck. To break through again, I must seek more experience. Cultivation alone won’t cut it anymore."

Cultivation was like pouring water into a small bottle—the more water you poured, the higher your cultivation.

But Ning Xiaochuan’s bottle was now filled to the brim. To pour in more water, he needed a bigger bottle.

This was the bottleneck.

Having spent only five days cultivating in the Heavenly Palace, Ning Xiaochuan resolutely decided to leave, unwilling to waste any more time there.

He planned to save the remaining two days for later use.

"You’ve already defeated Ming Yang. What are your plans next?" Yu Qianqian sat by the desk, a gentle smile on her face as she handed Ning Xiaochuan a jade cup filled with fragrant tea.

Ning Xiaochuan picked up the teacup, took a sip, and said, "I plan to leave the Emperor's Martial Palace to train and seek the truth behind the decade-old case."

"The truth from a decade ago? The Jade Emperor has already issued an imperial decree punishing the culprits of that time. If you try to overturn the case now, you’ll be challenging the Jade Emperor, challenging imperial authority," Yu Qianqian advised.

Even a Martial Venerable who dared to challenge imperial authority would face certain death, let alone Ning Xiaochuan, who was far from reaching that level.

Ning Xiaochuan said, "The decade-old case concerns my parents' deaths. I must investigate it."

Yu Qianqian sighed softly, "I suppose you’re also doing this for Yu Ningsheng. She was another victim of that case. In truth, your fates are quite similar—no wonder you love her so much. Perhaps it’s the bond of shared suffering."

Ning Xiaochuan could detect the hint of jealousy in her words but chose not to explain further. "I promised her I would help her regain her freedom. Even if it means defying imperial authority, I won’t hesitate."

Yu Qianqian pressed her lips tightly together. "I’ve also sent people to investigate the decade-old case. Ten years ago, your father, Ning Qianyi, led an army of 700,000 to attack the Blood Devouring Demon Sect’s stronghold, Nine Death Cliff. At the time, the Cloud Marquis, Yue Wuyang, and Yu Ningsheng’s father, Mo Longting, were both in the army, following your father’s command. But Ning Qianyi and Mo Longting secretly colluded with the Demon Sect, betraying the army’s movements, leading to the deaths of all 700,000 soldiers at Nine Death Cliff."

"This case directly resulted in your father and mother being executed. The Left Commander-in-Chief, Mo Longting, had his entire family exiled to the borderlands, with the women reduced to prostitute slaves. Yu Ningsheng was sold into the Jade Viewing Tower at that time—she was only seven years old, and her name was still Mo Ningsheng."

Ning Xiaochuan clenched his fists tightly. "I already have a good idea of the truth behind this case, and I even have witnesses. It’s enough to expose Yue Wuyang for the hypocrite he is and clear my father’s and Mo Longting’s names."

Ning Xiaochuan trusted Yu Qianqian enough to share this with her openly.

Yu Qianqian shook her head. "Xiaochuan, I know you’re intelligent and talented. But you don’t understand the political landscape of the court or the minds of those who wield power. Do you really think Yue Wuyang alone could have orchestrated everything back then? Could he truly have had such overwhelming influence? Could he have defied the Jian Pavilion Marquis House and forced the Jian Pavilion Marquis’ own son to his death?"

"At least ten years ago, Yue Wuyang didn’t have that kind of power. There was someone else behind him—the true mastermind behind the entire case."

Ning Xiaochuan’s expression darkened.

Yu Qianqian continued, "In the past decade, Yue Wuyang’s influence has grown a hundredfold, and now he truly holds immense power. Do you know why?"

"The Jade Em...peror..." Ning Xiaochuan’s face paled further.

That’s right.

Ten years ago, who else would have dared to move against the Jian Pavilion Marquis House except the Jade Emperor?

Only the Jade Emperor could have made even the Old Marquis of the Jian Pavilion Marquis House swallow his grievances.

Yue Wuyang was merely a sharp blade in the Jade Emperor’s hand.

The Jade Emperor had long harbored intentions to deal with the various feudal lords and diminish their power. However, directly stripping them of their authority would inevitably provoke fierce backlash, even threatening his imperial throne. Thus, he could only employ gentler methods.

Of course, all of this remained mere speculation by Yu Qianqian and Ning Xiaochuan, with no concrete evidence to support it. Moreover, if their conversation today were to leak, both of them would lose their heads.

Yu Qianqian let out a deep sigh and said, "So, if you want to overturn the decade-old case, witness testimony alone won’t be enough. You need more substantial evidence—evidence so irrefutable that even the Jade Emperor cannot dispute it. Where do you plan to start your investigation?"

Ning Xiaochuan lightly twirled the cup in his hand, his gaze sharp, and replied, "The Demon Sect’s headquarters—Nine Death Cliff."