Grinding Cultivation Toward Martial Saint

Prime Minister Li, Beicang King, Xiao Wuque, Xiang Yuan... and even all civil and military officials, except for Prince Pingjian Ji Xuan and a few members of the Demon Country delegation, everyone else was already prostrated on the ground.

"We pay our respects to the Martial Saint!"

"We pay our respects to the Martial Saint!!"

The sound waves echoed like tides in the grand hall.

Jiang Ning also bowed along with the others, but his heart was greatly shaken.

He never imagined that at this moment, the Martial Saint Spirit Body would suddenly descend.

He lifted his eyes and saw, amidst the hazy light, a young figure, not the old man he had seen in the cottage before.

Ji Xuan looked at the figure above, slowly cupped his hands together, and bowed deeply.

"Ji Xuan, pays respects to the Martial Saint Guardian of the Nation!!"

"Qingqiu Bai Li, pays respects to the Martial Saint!" Bai Li lowered her head at this moment, bowing in salute.

"Three-headed Golden Crow, Black Feather, pays respects to the Martial Saint!" The black-robed Demon King also cupped his hands in salute at this moment.

The hazy white light figure hovered a foot above the ground, its feet not touching the earth.

He raised a hand, and the Holy Martial Order flew from Bai Li’s hand straight into his grasp.

"The Martial Saint Order is real!" His voice was calm, "The agreement with the Demon Emperor from those years, I shall fulfill."

A trace of relief flashed in Bai Li’s icy blue eyes, and she bowed solemnly once more: "Qingqiu Bai Li, on behalf of the millions of people of the demon country, thanks the Martial Saint."

The hazy white light figure nodded slightly at Bai Li, flipped his wrist, and the token in his hand vanished instantly.

"Since that’s the case, let’s go! I will accompany you to the demon country!"

"Hold on!" Just then, the Demon King Black Feather suddenly raised his head, staring straight at the hazy white light figure hovering a foot above the ground.

Then, he spoke again: "Martial Saint, this seems.... not to be your true form, right?"

Upon hearing this, the hazy white light figure glanced at the Demon King Black Feather, then sneered.

"I know your intentions. Coming to the Great Xia Royal Capital, having you follow me, probing into my true nature! I also know the calamity of the evil dragon is also your ploy to probe me."

As the words fell.

The hall grew silent.

The pupils of the Demon King Black Feather trembled, seemingly in fear.

In the next moment.

Only to see the hazy white light point a finger.

Silently, a white light broke through the air.

Boom——

A deafening roar.

Only to see the head of the Demon King Black Feather explode on the spot, and in the middle of the shoulders, it became empty, without the existence of the head.

"Slaying your head today serves as a punishment!"

With these words, the shadow in the hazy white light retracted his finger, as if merely brushing away a speck of dust.

The body of the Demon King Black Feather stood rigidly, the smooth neck stump gleaming like a mirror, without a speck of blood splattering, only threads of black smoke rose silently from the wound, transforming into twisted crow shadows, issuing silent cries, and then completely dissipating.

The hall was enveloped in dead silence.

Civil and military officials remained prostrated on the ground, none daring to raise their heads, only the sound of repressed breathing fluctuating in the vast hall.

Jiang Ning watched this scene, his pupils contracted, and his heart surged with waves of shock.

The earlier action of the Martial Saint, he didn’t directly feel its might.

Even Ling Xuzi’s death didn’t seem overly exaggerated in his eyes.

After all, Ling Xuzi was a false immortal, not truly of high rank in the Flying Immortal Sect.

But this Demon King named "Black Feather" was different.

A Demon King with a true three-thousand-year Dao, of noble bloodline, his power during the Ancient Era was genuinely comparable to the immortals.

In today’s era, due to changes in the environment of heaven and earth, the power of the immortals and gods has declined severely, and the surviving immortals and gods are probably not as strong as this Black Feather Demon King.

And the shadow shrouded by the hazy white light in front is merely the Martial Saint Spirit Body, not the true self present.

This spirit body, he had seen several times.

He did not expect that just by the spirit body’s presence, a casual point, this strike which appeared without warning, did not even cause a violent turbulence in nature’s spiritual energy, yet contained power beyond logic.

Easily beheading the Black Feather Demon King’s head.

This was enough to illustrate the immense disparity in power between them.

He understood, given this situation, the Martial Saint Spirit Body could easily kill this Demon King-level powerhouse in an instant.

Meanwhile.

Bai Li watched the scene, her icy blue eyes trembling intensely, the lips under the veil slightly parted but unable to utter a sound.

Beside her, several demon clan attendants were even more stiff and cold, almost collapsing on the ground.

"Considering your difficult cultivation, I spare your life." The Martial Saint Spirit Body’s voice remained calm, "The Three-headed Golden Crow bloodline, slay one head today, a hundred years of hard cultivation can recover. Do you accept this punishment?"

Black Feather’s headless body shook, the flesh on the neck stump slowly squirmed, growing bones, nerves, and skin at visible speed...

In a few breaths, a new head, pallid and eyes tightly shut, had already formed.

He opened his eyes, the divine light dim, the aura greatly weakened, yet dared not harbor any resentment.

He bowed respectfully toward the figure shrouded in the hazy white light, his voice hoarse: "Black Feather... accepts the punishment, thanks Martial Saint for sparing my life."

The Martial Saint Spirit Body no longer looked at him, instead turning toward Bai Li: "As for the evil dragon matter, since I have promised, I will not renege. I will accompany you to slay the evil dragon. This nearly five-thousand-year evil dragon, about to transform into a dragon, just right to help me restore some Primordial Energy!"

"When you see the Demon Emperor, you can directly tell him! I’m running short on longevity now, my Qi-Blood is waning, I’m at my weakest. If he wants to glimpse into my Martial Saint mysteries, let him come to Great Xia himself, it’ll also allow me to see if he has gained much strength over the years."

Bai Li took a deep breath, suppressing the horror in her heart, then solemnly bowed.

"Qingqiu Bai Li, on behalf of the demon country, thanks the Martial Saint for the help."

"Let’s go! Let’s resolve the matter early!" the Martial Saint Spirit Body said.

"Martial Saint!" At this moment, Ji Mingyuan suddenly kowtowed heavily to the Martial Saint Spirit Body.

The hazy white light paused slightly, its gaze swept toward Ji Mingyuan kneeling on the ground.

"My father’s health is ailing, please Martial Saint lend a hand!"

"This calamity, I cannot help him! The Curse Killing Skill involves the Dao of causation, which is my weak point!" the Martial Saint Spirit Body spoke lightly, then continued: "What Great Xia must do now is to choose a suitable heir."

As the Martial Saint Spirit Body’s words fell, the Taiji Hall became silent.

The eyes of the princes instantly flickered with thoughtful glimmers.

The words of the Martial Saint represent his will, his stance.

A court decision to select a suitable heir to succeed the throne.

This is the Martial Saint’s will.

At this moment.

Prime Minister Li cupped his hands toward the Martial Saint.

"Martial Saint, among the princes, who should be the heir to the throne?"

As the words fell.

The Taiji Hall grew even quieter, with only a few hurried breaths echoing.

Whether Ji Minghao, Ji Mingyuan, Ji Mingyu, or other princes, their breathing became rapid at this moment.

They understood that their previous schemes, various secret contacts and exchanges with the ministers, countless promises of benefits, were now all meaningless.

Once the Martial Saint speaks and appoints, even the youngest Sixteenth Prince, with little support, would undoubtedly become the next Lord of Great Xia, without any changes or surprises.

At this moment.

The Martial Saint Spirit Body spoke lightly: "This is a court affair, decide amongst yourselves, I’m not interested!"

Leaving those words.

He turned to Jiang Ning.

"Dongling Marquis, would you be willing to accompany me to the demon country?"

All at once.

In the Taiji Hall, every gaze fell on Jiang Ning.

Among them were astonishment, speculation, envy, and discreet jealousy...

All kinds of gazes, in boundless variety.

This is the favor of the Martial Saint, a coveted honor for many.

Especially among the princes, the envious gazes were particularly intense.

They understood that if they too obtained the Martial Saint’s favor like Jiang Ning, the position of Lord of Great Xia would undoubtedly fall upon them.

At this moment, Jiang Ning contemplated briefly, then took half a step forward, cupped his hands and responded, "Invited by the Martial Saint, this junior must comply."

The voice was steady, neither humble nor overbearing.

Compared to others, his heart did not fluctuate much.

He had seen the true face of the Martial Saint more than once.

He also knew that the Martial Saint favored him because of his previous performance.