Chapter 197: A Single Punch Defeat!

Chapter 197: A Single Punch Defeat!

The next morning...

【Name】: Jiang Ning

【Source Energy】: 28.9

【Skills】:

Script Mastery (Third Limit Break 321/4000) (Characteristics: Photographic Memory, Extraordinary Senses, Swift Mind)



Five Animal Fist (First Limit Break 447/2000) (Characteristics: Essence Storage in Organs)



Firewood Chopping Blade Technique (Fourth Limit Break 5000/5000) (Characteristics: Touching and Relating, Blade Like Gale, Blade Operation Like Divine, Human and Blade as One)



Inner Core Nourishing Technique (Minor Success 245/5000)



Vajra Unshakable Body (Minor Success 453/5000)



Water Proficiency (Fifth Limit Break 6000/6000) (Characteristics: Underwater Breathing, Water Control Technique, Water Spirit Affinity, Cloud and Rain Incarnation, Water Spirit Body)



Gale Thunder Archery (Perfected 2000/2000)



Waterfire Essence Technique (20% Completion 31/500)



Jiang Ning glanced at his status panel after getting up.

All his hard work and cultivation from these days were reflected in the panel.

With the perfected Gale Thunder Archery, he now possessed a terrifying ability to kill enemies.

Jiang Ning envisioned a scene in his mind.

As night fell, he would use his Cloud and Rain Incarnation divine ability, enveloping the area in a torrential downpour.

In this era, once the bright moon was obscured by dark clouds, the world would plunge into darkness.

Under the cover of night, even a Sixth Stage Martial Dao practitioner, or even stronger martial artists, could see no more than a few dozen zhang, or at most, ten zhang into the distance without any light sources.

But Jiang Ning was different.

With his enhanced senses, his eyesight far surpassed that of ordinary people.

Even in pitch-black darkness, he could easily see a hundred zhang away.

Not to mention, water served as an extension of his senses.

In Cao Manor, he could perceive every movement and action within the estate through the rain.

With the further advancement of his Water Proficiency, his abilities in this aspect had improved.

Therefore, whenever a heavy downpour occurred, it became his domain, his arena.

The perfected Gale Thunder Archery could be fully displayed in such a scenario.

Arrows that broke through the sound barrier were instruments of infinite death in the darkness.

Moreover, the experience points for Gale Thunder Archery had reached its maximum.

With just 100 Source Energy Points, this archery skill could undergo another Limit Break.

The improvements brought about by the Limit Break of the lower-tier Five Animal Fist made Jiang Ning even more eager to break the limits of Gale Thunder Archery, a middle-tier skill.

It was easy to imagine that if Gale Thunder Archery underwent a Limit Break, its killing power would become even more terrifying.

Perhaps it could truly embody the concept of 'arrows bringing forth wind and thunder'.

Aside from Gale Thunder Archery, what pleased Jiang Ning even more was the Waterfire Essence Technique.

This was an upper-tier skill.

It was also his only upper-tier skill.

At this moment, feeling the destructive power of the Waterfire Essence Technique, a fusion of two opposing forces, Jiang Ning felt a sense of relief.

He didn't know how powerful this technique was, but he was certain it was formidable!

The only concern he had with the Waterfire Essence Technique was that after his transformation, the rate at which he gained experience points had slowed significantly.

The previous night, he had focused on cultivating the Waterfire Essence Technique for several hours, yet he gained less than 20 experience points.

At this rate, achieving perfection would not be a matter of a day or two.

However, he wasn't overly anxious.

The night before, after a brief attempt to unleash the Waterfire Essence Technique, he realized that even at the Minor Success level, it placed a significant strain on his body.

With his current physique, even if he continued to break through with the Waterfire Essence Technique, it might not be able to unleash its full power.

Jiang Ning finished his morning routine, brushing his teeth and eating breakfast, before continuing his warm-up exercises with the Five Animal Fist.

With each repetition of the Five Animal Fist, his qi and blood grew stronger.

The stronger his qi and blood, the smoother his path in the Martial Dao would be.

Having reached a high level in his skills, he began to shift his cultivation focus towards enhancing his foundation in the Martial Dao.

The foundation was the cornerstone of everything.

Each stage of the Nine Stages of the Martial Dao brought about a significant increase in strength and a further transformation of the body.

The core of Martial Dao cultivation always lay in strengthening the foundation.

After half a day of practicing the Five Animal Fist, Jiang Ning was fully warmed up.

Jiang Ning then poured the tiger tendon powder into the water pool in his courtyard, waiting for it to completely dissolve before jumping into the pool.

Under his control, the dissolved powder entered his body through millions of pores.

He then directed his qi to refine the powder.

Being in the water, any consumption of his body would be rapidly replenished.

Jiang Ning's efficiency soared, and he could clearly feel the essence of the powder merging with the large tendons in his body, strengthening them.

Time passed...

In the water pool...

"Feng Jiuge has arrived."

"Could there be a matter at the Inspection Office?"

Jiang Ning's ears twitched slightly, and his eyebrows furrowed.

Then, with a leap, he landed on the shore.

As his body trembled, the water stains on him instantly transformed into countless water droplets that sprayed in all directions.

By the time Feng Jiuge arrived in his courtyard, he had already been waiting for a long time, dressed.

"Sir!" When Feng Jiuge saw Jiang Ning, she slightly cupped her hands in greeting.

"Is there something important?"

"Sir, Lord Hong is looking for you!" Feng Jiuge said.

"Understood!" Jiang Ning nodded.

The two of them immediately headed towards the Inspection Office.

Inspection Office.

"Lord!"

When Jiang Ning arrived in the main hall, he saw that the four commanders had already gathered, along with two deputy commanders, Tang Miaomiao and Yuan Hua, both of whom were Seventh Stage Martial Dao experts.

Apart from himself, the only deputy commander who hadn't arrived yet was He Jinyun.

Seeing this, Jiang Ning instantly understood that something important must have happened.

If not, how could all the personnel be present?

Especially the other three commanders, whom Jiang Ning had rarely seen before.

Today was also the first time he had seen all four commanders gathered together.

"Sit!" Hong Minghu pointed to the empty seat beside him and said to Jiang Ning.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning sat down.

"Why did Lord Hong summon me here today?" Jiang Ning took the lead in asking.

Hong Minghu said, "Commander Ye, you speak!"

"Okay!" Ye Qiu nodded.

He was already accustomed to such dirty and tiring tasks.

Just then—

Wah wah—

He Jinyun, who had suddenly appeared at the entrance, clapped his hands, making a sound.

Then he yawned loudly.

"Lord, you had me summoned so early in the morning, what's the matter?!"

At this moment, the crowd seeing this scene was momentarily speechless.

Subsequently, Hong Minghu said, "Deputy Commander He, please take your seat. Commander Ye will explain it to you later."

"Lord, I don't like hearing the word 'deputy' in 'deputy commander'. I'd rather not listen to it!" As He Jinyun spoke, he plopped down on the chair beside him.

Upon hearing this, Hong Minghu smiled but said nothing.

Just then, He Jinyun suddenly looked towards Jiang Ning.

"Deputy Commander Jiang, I heard that you previously obtained a Nalushimi Ring?"

As soon as these words came out, the gazes of everyone present in the hall turned towards Jiang Ning.

Ye Qiu, Hong Minghu, and the others also showed expressions of surprise.

The Nalushimi Ring, with their status, was naturally something they had heard of and understood to some information about.

This object was a strange relic left over from ancient times.

It had the effect of containing the heavens and earth within the Sumeru.

Unfortunately, this object was not easy to use.

Even among the great grandmasters of the current generation, there were very few who could use such a strange artifact.

But this didn't mean that such a relic had no value.

Because there weren't many of these ancient relics left in the world today.

Moreover, the method of crafting them had been lost.

So, one less meant one less.

Many people would collect and store them.

In the main hall.

Jiang Ning saw the gazes of everyone in the hall turn towards him, and his heart instantly froze.

He immediately understood that Xiao Tianhe must have confessed this matter to He Jinyun.

And He Jinyun might have visited Huang Dazheng, who, facing He Jinyun, most likely confessed everything as well.

He told him that the last storage ring passed down in his family had been given to Jiang Ning.

Originally, Jiang Ning had planned to visit the prison to see if Xiao Tianhe would be sensible and willingly hand over the Sumeru Ring in his possession.

But now it seemed that there was no need to visit the prison.

Clearly, the Sumeru Ring was no longer in Xiao Tianhe's possession but in the hands of He Jinyun, the young lord.

At the same time.

He Jinyun also took out a ring from his body, a dark black ring.

69 Book Bar

The ring flew and flipped in his hand, and he gently tossed and caught it, repeatedly, in a continuous cycle.

"Deputy Commander Jiang, I'm very interested in your Nalushimi Ring. How about selling it to me?"

Speaking to this point, he shook his head, "But I've questioned him in every way, and he can only produce two family heirlooms. It's impossible for him to have a third one."

At this moment, Jiang Ning's heart turned cold.

Huang Dazheng.

His fate was uncertain.

"What? Deputy Commander Jiang, are you unwilling to communicate with me?" He Jinyun continued to toss the Nalushimi Ring in his hand and then said, "Rest assured, the price I'm offering is very fair. How about one thousand taels of silver for one ring?"

As he spoke, He Jinyun's gaze locked onto the Nalushimi Ring already on Jiang Ning's finger.

On the other side.

"Nalushimi Ring."

Yuan Hua watched this scene, murmuring softly, his eyes flickering.

Tang Miaomiao sat beside him, and when he seemed to hear his murmur, he glanced at him.

"I don't lack money!" Jiang Ning said indifferently.

"You don't lack money?" He Jinyun smiled upon hearing this, "Deputy Commander Jiang, your words make me feel ashamed! Living until today, as a young lord, I've always been short of money!"

His voice fell.

He Jinyun let out a sigh: "Fine! Since Deputy Leader Jiang doesn't lack money, why don't we make a bet?"

He Jinyun then raised the Dark Black Ring in his hand.

"Deputy Leader Jiang, you see this Sumeru Ring! It's the same as the one you have!"

"Let's make a bet using the Sumeru Rings as stakes!"

Jiang Ning's heart skipped a beat at the suggestion.

"What kind of bet?"

He Jinyun said: "We've never had a fight before! I've been wanting to have a good fight with you, and today's the perfect opportunity. Let's make a bet, and the winner gets the other's Sumeru Ring!"

"A fight!!"

"If you win, my Sumeru Ring is yours!"

"If you lose, your Sumeru Ring is mine?"

"How about it?"

He Jinyun's eyes locked intensely onto Jiang Ning.

"What are you two doing? You're both part of the same family, why must you ruin the atmosphere?" Hong Minghu intervened, trying to smooth things over.

At that moment, Jiang Ning nodded.

"Lord Hong, will you be our witness?" Jiang Ning turned to Hong Minghu and asked.

Hong Minghu let out a sigh and said: "Fine, since you two want to spar, I won't stop you!"

Jiang Ning, I've suddenly taken a liking to you! He Jinyun's face broke into a wide grin, his cheekbones standing out prominently.

They moved outside, and He Jinyun suggested: "Let's settle this with a simple fight, using fists and feet to determine the winner."

Jiang Ning nodded calmly.

A moment later, He Jinyun asked: "Aren't you going to make a move?"

"You go first," Jiang Ning replied.

He Jinyun nodded, and Jiang Ning suddenly smiled.

The next instant, Jiang Ning's figure moved, and the stone brick beneath his feet exploded, sending shards flying everywhere. The onlookers' eyes widened in shock.

"Martial Dao Seventh Stage!!" Ye Qiu exclaimed.

"Martial Dao Seventh Stage!!" Hong Minghu's expression turned serious.

In that moment, Jiang Ning's display of explosive power far surpassed his previous showings, and the onlookers immediately recognized his true strength.

He Jinyun's face turned pale with shock.

Facing Jiang Ning's overwhelming speed, he couldn't react in time and was quickly overtaken, crossing several meters in an instant.

A punch sent He Jinyun flying, and he crashed into a fake mountain in the courtyard, causing it to collapse and sending dust flying everywhere.

After a few breaths, He Jinyun struggled to his feet, his face red, with blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, looking utterly defeated.

"Do you want to continue fighting?" Jiang Ning asked calmly.

He Jinyun looked at Jiang Ning with a deep gaze.

"You win!!" he said, his voice filled with frustration.

"The ring," Jiang Ning said.

He Jinyun pulled out the Sumeru Ring and tossed it to Jiang Ning, who caught it easily.

"Lord Hong, I'll take my leave. If there are any tasks, please notify me directly," He Jinyun said before turning to leave.

After He Jinyun had left, Ye Qiu turned to Jiang Ning and said: "Brother Jiang, you're incredibly talented! You've secretly reached Martial Dao Seventh Stage, giving me a huge surprise! That young master has been thoroughly defeated, and it's only fitting that he's been beaten by you."

Jiang Ning smiled slightly: "I was just lucky. I had a breakthrough a few days ago, and it happened to coincide with our encounter today."

Meanwhile, Yuan Hua broke out in cold sweat, feeling a mix of shock and fear. He had been thinking about the Sumeru Ring, but those thoughts were instantly dispelled.

He knew how strong He Jinyun was. Although he was only at Martial Dao Eighth Stage, ordinary Martial Dao Seventh Stage practitioners might not be able to defeat him. As the son of a noble, He Jinyun had access to abundant resources from a young age and had a solid foundation. Moreover, he possessed innate divine power, making him unpredictable.

Even with Jiang Ning's Martial Dao Seventh Stage strength, he might not have been able to defeat He Jinyun so easily.

Yuan Hua realized that the gap between him and Jiang Ning would only grow wider. Jiang Ning had the potential to become a Grandmaster one day, while he could only dream of reaching Fourth Stage.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end