Chapter 9 - Chapter Nine – Awakening to a New Dawn

The High Heaven Pavilion's challenges were behind him, yet Nie Yong's journey through Martial Peak was far from over. In the quiet solitude of a remote chamber, he faced a trial unlike any before—a test woven between blood, spirit, and ancient secrets.The Black Book he had found earlier pulsed faintly on the stone altar, its black leather seeming to breathe with otherworldly energy. Nie Yong reached out, his fingers brushing over the strange runes inscribed on its surface. The system interface flared, reacting to the relic's dormant power.Suddenly, the air grew heavy as golden light erupted from the book's pages, coalescing into the shape of a tiny skeletal figure—a dry Golden Monkey, seated cross-legged in silent meditation.Nie Yong's breath caught. The spectral skeleton's eyes glowed with a golden fire, fixating on him like a living spirit.This was no mere illusion — it was a fragment of divine power, the essence of an ancient martial soul forged in the depths of Martial Peak's history.As Nie Yong extended his mind to connect with the Golden Monkey's essence, waves of searing pain radiated through his body—the skeletal figure's power tearing at and reconstructing his very bones and veins.His muscles tore and healed in rapid succession, innermost meridians burning with renewed vigor and unimagined strength. The agony was immense, but a dark determination rooted him firmly."This is the path to true strength," Nie Yong whispered, teeth clenched. "To endure pain... to transcend death."The Golden Monkey's essence merged with his bloodline, infusing Nie Yong's body with the legendary Arrogant Golden Body—a martial physique believed to grant near-indestructible resilience and unparalleled battle prowess.But power demanded sacrifice. The system warned of rising corruption and mental strain, yet Nie Yong welcomed the trade. Every step beyond human limits brought him closer to the summit, and farther from the fragile past he once knew as Ryota.Outside the chamber, disciples and elders whispered of Nie Yong's transformation. Rumors spread quickly—whispers of the boy who stole powers and women and now wielded an ancient legacy unheard of in Martial Peak for centuries.Among the watchers was Yang Kai, whose gaze darkened with a mixture of admiration and bitter rivalry. Nie Yong was no longer merely an opponent; he was a force poised to redefine the mountain's fate, for better or worse.The chapter closed with Nie Yong standing atop Martial Peak's highest terrace, the morning sun flooding the valley below, signaling a new dawn—both for him and the turbulent future he was destined to carve.