Overdraw the future and become a peerless martial god

Chapter 52 New Master

Shen Yan whispered, "Have you noticed that there have been a lot of missing persons cases in Qingyang City recently?"

Chu Ning's eyes darkened slightly: "You mean...?"

Shen Yan nodded slowly, and spread out his palm, with a blood-red pill lying quietly in it. "This thing is not just a cultivation resource, it... is more like a medium for sacrifice."

A cold light flashed in Chu Ning's eyes, and he seemed to hear a secret whisper coming from somewhere, cold and weird.

"Ten days ago, you came to me because you suspected I was involved in the grain merchant's family murder. I don't care about other cases, but I know this grain merchant, the Zhao family. They are protected by a top-level tenth-grade warrior."

"A top-ranking 10th-grade warrior?" Chu Ning's eyes narrowed slightly. Warriors were extremely alert, so it wasn't surprising for ordinary people to be killed. But how could a top-ranking 10th-grade warrior be killed so silently?

Shen Yan nodded and said in a low voice: "At that time, I followed the clues to the ruins of Xishi and found him."

He paused, his fingertips trembling slightly, obviously he still couldn't get over the scene.

"His body was shrunken, his skin clinging tightly to his bones, as if something had drained him of everything. But the strangest thing was—his eyes were still open, and there was even a hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth..."

"Do you suspect that this is related to the blood pill?" he said slowly.

"Yes." Shen Yan stared at the blood pill with a deep look in his eyes. "I later investigated the places he had visited during his lifetime and found that he was last seen in a side hall of the Wang family... and it was at that time that the aura of the Wang family ancestor changed."

Chu Ning narrowed his eyes, quickly sorting out the clues in his mind: the grain merchant's family murder, the mysterious death of a top-ranked 10th-rank warrior, his entire body drained of blood and essence; the sudden change in the Wang family's ancestor's aura; the source of the blood pill...

He said in a deep voice, "So you speculate that the Wang family's ancestor is absorbing these blood pills to restore himself?"

The corners of Shen Yan's mouth twitched slightly, as if he was struggling. Finally, he whispered, "The true purpose of the blood pill is far more terrifying than you can imagine..."

Chu Ning stared at Shen Yan with sharp eyes.

"Isn't it used to improve cultivation, or as a medicine to refine the 'Elixir of Immortality'?"

Shen Yan smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"That's just an appearance... Its true function is as a medium—not only does it allow warriors to quickly break through, it can also subtly alter the user's constitution, causing their vitality to gradually resonate with a certain entity. And ultimately, when the Wang family has collected enough blood pills, the sacrificial ceremony will begin... At that time, the Wang family ancestor will be fully revived!"

Chu Ning's eyes narrowed slightly.

"You mean, the Wang family isn't just refining blood pills, but is also preparing for Wang Lin's revival?"

Shen Yan smiled bitterly, his eyes filled with bitterness and anger: "I initially thought they were just ordinary blood pills. It wasn't until a batch I accidentally hid was consumed by someone that I discovered...that those blood pills contained some extremely strange power."

He paused, then gritted his teeth and said, "This kind of power, when accumulated within the body, will gradually erode a person's mind, making them bloodthirsty and violent, and even completely turning them into a puppet of the Wang family—a walking corpse without a self, solely obeying the Wang family's orders."

Chu Ning's heart sank suddenly, and it seemed as if a bolt of lightning suddenly exploded in his chest.

If what Shen Yan said was true, then the Wang family's plan was a thousand times more terrifying than he had previously imagined.

"Blood Pill... does it have such a secret?" He murmured, the lightning at his fingertips flickering faintly, reflecting the golden patterns in his eyes like molten gold flowing.

Shen Yan looked at Chu Ning with a complicated expression: "So, I decided to escape with these blood pills. But the Wang family would never tolerate the secret being leaked. They sent assassins to surround and kill me, trying to completely erase all traces..."

Chu Ning was silent for a moment, then sneered, his voice low and sharp: "The Wang family is really brave."

Lightning flickered in his palm, as if suppressing a thunderstorm that could erupt at any moment. He recalled the past when his elder sister was persecuted by the Wang family, and anger surged in his heart like a raging tide.

He slowly reached out his hand and gently patted Shen Yan's shoulder, his eyes as firm as a mountain: "Wait for me in the capital."

Shen Yan nodded slightly, without saying much, turned around and stepped onto the official road, his figure gradually walking away.

Even after Shen Yan's figure disappeared into the sky, the arc of lightning on Chu Ning's fingertips had not dissipated.

Chu Ning lowered his eyes, his voice as cold as frost as he murmured, "The Wang family...sacrifice..."

boom!
A lightning arc exploded in the palm of his hand, and the bluestone under his feet instantly cracked, and a scorch mark spread hideously.

His eyes were extremely cold, with lightning swirling in the depths of his golden pupils: "I have to go back to the martial arts gym to find my sister first."

Before he finished speaking, his figure suddenly flashed and he took off into the air!

A strong wind, swirling with icy flames, trailed a long, purple-gold streak behind him, and lightning ripped through the darkness of the night sky. The people of the villages and towns along the way felt only the thunder streak overhead, shaking the eaves of their houses. When they looked up, they could only see a single streak of blazing white lightning lingering in the clouds.

——Benlei Martial Arts School.

The sky and the earth suddenly became gloomy, dark clouds covered the city, and thunder rumbled.

A figure wrapped in thunder suddenly descended!
boom! ! !
Chu Ning descended from the sky, his white hair dancing wildly, his golden eyes gleaming with lightning. The moment his footsteps touched the ground, the entire martial arts hall seemed to tremble slightly, and the air was filled with a burning atmosphere. "Who is he?!"

"White hair...Deacon Chu?!"

The gatekeeper disciples were so shocked that they lost their voices, their pupils constricted, and some of them instinctively took a step back, with cold sweat running down their backs.

The plaque on the door of the martial arts hall was crooked and the red paint was peeling off. The two words "Ben Lei" written on it were torn apart by a sharp knife mark. The crack was charred and broken, as if it had been burned by thunder and fire.

When Chu Ning landed on the ground, the snow fox on his shoulder suddenly tightened its claws and whimpered softly in its throat.

The air was dead.

The once bustling martial arts training ground is now deserted.

Dark red bloodstains seeped through the cracks in the blue bricks, the courtyard pillars were covered with charred palm prints, the wood that had been struck by lightning for a hundred years had turned mostly yellow, and the bronze bells were broken and scattered all over the ground, emitting a faint mournful cry when the wind blew.

Chu Ning walked in slowly, lightning flashing in his eyes. His fingertips unconsciously stroked the rusty knife at his waist. His voice was as cold as ice: "Who did it?"

A ragged errand disciple stumbled out from the corner of the corridor. Upon seeing Chu Ning's white hair and golden eyes, his face suddenly turned pale. He stumbled and almost fell, his voice trembling: "Chu, Chu Senior Brother? The master took Miss Chu Yun to retreat to the North Mountain three days ago! In the past few days... the martial arts hall has been repeatedly attacked at night. They specifically target female disciples, and their methods are extremely cruel..."

Chu Ning's heart surged with murderous intent after hearing this, and a faint golden light flickered in his eyes. He moved, passing the withered lightning-struck trees in the courtyard and heading straight for the Qingzhu Villa on the west side - that was the place where Lei Wanjun had specially set aside for Chu Yun to rest.

Along the way, the dead silence was so oppressive that it was suffocating.

The door was half-open, and the dim candlelight reflected on the wall, casting a distorted shadow.

There was no one on the bed, only a tuft of black hair slowly falling.

In the corner, the remaining bloodstains were still wet. Upon closer inspection, they looked like distorted characters, faintly outlining a strange word "祭" (sacrifice)...

"Who?!"

A low shout, carrying with it a lingering murderous aura.

At the entrance to the wing, a figure in silver armor stood, sword in hand. The blade trembled slightly, revealing a hint of hidden fatigue. The bandage on her shoulder had long been stained with black blood, and her face was pale, clearly not yet fully recovered.

Seeing that it was Chu Ning, her tense back relaxed slightly and she whispered, "Three days ago, there was a night attack. The owner of the pavilion took Miss Chu to evacuate through the secret passage."

Chu Ning's eyes narrowed slightly as his gaze fell on the window frame - five pitch-black claw marks were deeply embedded in the wooden beams. The finger marks were hideous, as if they had been corroded by extremely evil power, emitting a heart-pounding aura of death.

"Is my sister injured?"

"No injuries! Miss Chu left in such a hurry that she didn't even have time to take her calming incense." The female warrior fished out a cracked porcelain vase from her bosom, her expression solemn. "But the owner personally cast the 'Thunderbolt Talisman' to clear the way, and the pursuers were all wiped out. She should be safe."

Chu Ning reached out to take the porcelain bottle and gently stroked the broken bottle with his thumb.

The next moment, the five fingers suddenly clenched together.

boom!
The broken porcelain shattered and cut the palm, blood oozed out, but did not drip. Instead, the lightning arc overflowing from the palm instantly evaporated into a blood mist and dissipated into nothingness.

"Fortunately, there's still time."

Chu Ning turned and walked back to the hall, his steps steady and his murderous intent growing stronger.

However, before he stepped into the hall, the ground suddenly shook!

Tiny cracks appeared on the bluestone slabs, and from the shadows of the beams and pillars, an old yet steady figure slowly stepped forward. An elder with white hair and beard in a gray robe held a gilded wooden box. Nine interlaced lightning patterns crisscrossed the box, faintly shimmering with lightning.

"Elder Han Xu..."

Han Xu's eyes were as deep as the abyss. He slowly raised his hand, clasped the lock of the box with his skinny fingertips, and then twisted it gently.

Click!

The low sound of the bronze mechanism turning echoed in the hall, like thunder rolling across the sky.

"Before leaving, the owner entrusted this item to me." Han Xu's voice was hoarse, and every word was like a sharp blade chiseling into the stone wall. "Chu Ning, take the order!"

The wooden box suddenly popped open, and a letter slowly rose up. The handwriting was as red as blood, floating in the air.

"From now on, Chu Ning will inherit my mantle and become the successor of the Benlei Martial Arts School!"

(End of this chapter)