62: Chapter 62 Thundercloud

Today, Ning Liandie's defeat and loss seemed like taking a loss, but she unexpectedly subdued a sharp blade with such a ruthless Heart-Nature and bizarre Cultivation Technique like Ning Chuan.

A young man who could beat the Wang Family Disciples to the point of having no power to counterattack on the sparring ring might well become a formidable weapon given time.

This deal was a steady profit without any loss.

"Nephew Ning Chuan, entering my Sect, Foundation Establishment is just around the corner." Hua Shaoyang smiled, raised his hand, and signaled Ning Chuan to stand up.

Ning Chuan knelt on one knee, retracted his iron claws, and his red hair fell down to cover his eyes. His voice was hoarse and respectful: "I am willing to die for Young Master."

Great Elder Ning Shengkui stood to the side. Although the terror in his heart surpassed his joy, he still put on a warm smile on his face.

"Since Young Master Hua is willing to vouch for him, even if Ning Chuan is an evil Cultivator, the Wang Family will just have to swallow it and accept it."

He glanced at the Wang Family members and spoke respectfully to Hua Shaoyang.

"Young Master Hua possesses the Wisdom Eye to recognize jade, and for a child like Ning Chuan to follow Young Master is a blessing he cultivated over eight lifetimes."

On the other side of the spectator stand, Hu Shan put down the teacup in his hand.

He looked at Ning Chuan for a moment and suddenly spoke. His voice was not loud, but it suppressed the noise of the entire venue: "Hold on. The aura around this person is bizarre, and that beam of blood light just now—this official finds it somewhat familiar."

The smile on Hua Shaoyang's face froze slightly.

Hu Shan stood up, walked to the edge of the martial arts arena with his hands behind his back, and his gaze fell on Ning Chuan like lightning.

"Young Master Hua, this official has served as the Magistrate in Wanshan County for these years. I may not have learned much else, but I certainly have the ability to recognize evil Cultivators.

The blood light on this person's body is seven parts similar to the blood fiend Qi recorded in the case files left behind by the remnants of the Tiexue Sect back then.

According to the laws of the Yue Country, the county yamen has the right to inspect anyone suspected of being an evil Cultivator on the spot."

Elder Hua behind Hua Shaoyang slowly opened his eyes.

He had been closing his eyes to rest his mind just now. The moment he opened them, his murky eyes revealed a compelling, sharp glint, and his voice was aged and cold.

"Magistrate Hu, Ning Chuan is already a Disciple of our Baihua Sect. A Disciple of the Baihua Sect is not someone the Wanshan County Yamen has any right to inspect."

Hu Shan sneered, refusing to budge an inch.

"Elder Hua is mistaken. The laws of the Yue Country are written clearly—when inspecting evil Cultivators, no distinction is made between Sects and noble families; as long as there is suspicion, they can be inspected.

Although your esteemed Sect is one of the three major Sects of the Yue Country, the laws of the Yue Country are set by the imperial court, not by the Baihua Sect. Elder Hua, wouldn't you say so?"

Elder Hua narrowed his eyes and slowly said: "Is Magistrate Hu planning to make an example of the Baihua Sect to establish his authority?"

"This official is merely enforcing the law impartially." Hu Shan stood with his hands behind his back, his cyan official robes flapping loudly in the wind.

"If Elder Hua is unsatisfied, you are entirely welcome to submit a memorial to the imperial court of the Yue Country and accuse this official of overstepping authority. But before that—this person, this official will inspect him for sure."

The two confronted each other across the air, the pressure of the Foundation Establishment Stage colliding silently in the martial arts arena, and the faint sound of wind and thunder echoed in the air.

The Loose Cultivators held their breath in concentration, not daring to let out a major breath.

Just as both sides were at a stalemate, Ning Chuan suddenly spoke.

"Inspect then." He stood up from the ground, patted the dust off his knees, and wore a half-smile on his face beneath the red hair.

"An upright Junior fears no crooked shadow. If Magistrate Hu wants to inspect, please go ahead."

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire venue fell silent.

Elder Hua frowned and wanted to say something, but was stopped by Ning Chuan raising his hand.

Hua Shaoyang was also stunned—he did not expect Ning Chuan to actively let the Magistrate inspect him.

Great Elder Ning Shengkui's smile completely froze on his face, and his palms were full of cold sweat.

If Ning Chuan were found out, the entire Ning Family would have to be buried with him.

Hu Shan gave Ning Chuan a deep look and said no more. He raised his hand and pressed it onto Ning Chuan's crown, sending a Foundation Establishment Stage Divine Sense probing into his Meridians and Dantian.

A moment later, Elder Hua also stepped forward, using the secret arts of the Baihua Sect to probe the circulation of Qi around Ning Chuan's body.

Wang Chongyang stood in place without moving, but had already released his Divine Sense to cross-verify from the side.

The three of them probed for a full half-cup of tea's time.

Then, their expressions simultaneously turned subtle.

Hu Shan's brow was tightly locked, Elder Hua stroked his beard in silence, and a flash of surprise crossed Wang Chongyang's eyes.

The Qi in Ning Chuan's Meridians circulated stably and orderly, and his Dantian was clear, without a shred of residual blood fiend Qi.

Although his Qi attribute was of the fire element, it was pure and flawless, carrying not a trace of evil strangeness.

What surprised the three even more was that Ning Chuan's Spiritual Root Aptitude was clearly only a four-attribute Spiritual Root, yet the thickness of the Qi within his body far surpassed Cultivators of the same realm, and his Foundation was solidly built to an absurd degree.

"How is it?" Ning Chuan raised his eyes, a trace of imperceptible smugness flashing in those gloomy eyes.

Deep within his Sea of Consciousness, that hoarse and aged voice sneered: "My Qi-concealing technique can even deceive Golden Core Cultivators, and mere three Foundation Establishment ones want to find out the origin of the Blood Demon Scripture?"

Hu Shan withdrew his hand, fell silent for a moment, and said: "The Qi is pure, with no traces of an evil Cultivator."

Elder Hua also slowly nodded: "The Meridians are unblocked and the Dantian is clear. It is indeed an orthodox fire-element Cultivation Technique. Magistrate Hu, do you have anything else to say?"

Hu Shan let out a cold snort and flicked his sleeves back to his seat.

Ning Chuan turned around and faced the Wang Family camp.

Having just been probed by three Foundation Establishment Cultivators simultaneously, not only was he not nervous in the slightest, but it seemed to have stirred up a restless violence within him.

He raised his iron claws, pointing at the Qi Refining seventh-layer Disciple standing with his hand on his sword in the crowd, his hoarse voice echoing across the entire venue: "The inspection is done. Next, or—does your Wang Family have anyone stronger?"

Dead silence fell over the Wang Family camp.

Wang Shoudong tightened his grip on the sword in his hand, took a deep breath, and was about to step onto the stage.

The sky darkened abruptly without any warning.

"What is going on! Why did the sky suddenly turn dark?"

Rumble!

A thunderclap suddenly came from the edge of the horizon.

At first, the sound of thunder was extremely distant and muffled, sounding like someone beating a giant drum deep within the clouds.

But in the blink of an eye, the muffled thunder transformed into earth-shaking lightning. A purple bolt of lightning as thick as a mountain crashed down from the Nine Heavens, piercing through the clouds above Lotus Pier and illuminating the entire Wogui Mountain as bright as day.

Everyone in the martial arts arena unconsciously raised their heads.

The originally clear blue sky for ten thousand miles was now surging with a thick layer of thunder clouds at a speed visible to the naked eye.

That thunder cloud was not an ordinary dark cloud, but a strange phenomenon radiating a purple light. Deep within the clouds, thousands of lightning serpents slithered and intertwined, surging and roiling like a boiled sea of thunder and lightning.

The thunder cloud pressed lower and lower, descending straight down from the height of ten thousand zhang right above the martial arts arena. A scorching atmosphere permeated the air, the ground began to tremble slightly, and the gravel on the martial arts arena was shaken into rustling jumps.

"This thunder cloud is wrong. Ordinary thunder clouds drift with the wind, so why is this thunder cloud descending straight down? It's descending towards the sparring ring!"

"The direction of the back mountain! The thunder cloud is heading towards the back mountain!"

"A treasure is being born! There must be a treasure being born in the back mountain! This thunder cloud is an artifact tribulation!"

"That's the only possibility!"

On the spectator stand, Elder Hua stood up abruptly, his gaze locked tightly onto that surging thunder cloud in the direction of the back mountain, his pupils shrinking sharply.

Hu Shan also stood up, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, and the composure on his face had completely vanished.

As a Magistrate sent out by the Spirit Sword Sect, his knowledge was far broader than the Loose Cultivators present. This patch of thunder clouds was by no means a sign of a treasure being born.

If it wasn't a treasure being born, then what on earth was in the back mountain of the Wang Family? He subconsciously turned his head to look at Wang Chongyang.