Ning Rongrong's Swan Song

"Rongrong! Rongrong!"

A breathless voice rang out beyond Ning Rongrong's bedroom door.

Inside, Ning Rongrong, wrapped head to toe in her blankets, heard the calls and slowly opened her eyes in weakness.

Ever since her face had been ruined, she had lost her appetite and had not stepped outside her room even once.

When she saw that the wound on her face had healed but left behind a vicious scar running across her cheek, her heart had collapsed in an instant.

From that day onward, she had done nothing but wrap herself in blankets and completely refuse food. She would not even see Ning Fengzhi, her own father.

By now, Ning Rongrong had been starving herself for five days.

Thankfully, she was still a Soul Master. Otherwise, she would probably have had only her last breath left by now.

"Rongrong! Rongrong! Open the door! It's me!!!"

The voice outside grew increasingly urgent and panicked. Hearing it, Ning Rongrong furrowed her brows tightly.

The voice was so familiar that she naturally knew it belonged to her father, Ning Fengzhi.

Yet even when she had refused to eat before, Ning Fengzhi had never spoken to her in that tone.

Could something truly urgent have happened?

Ning Rongrong's heart tightened. Just as she was about to get out of bed and open the door, her hand instinctively touched her cheek.

That deeply sunken, rough sensation instantly filled her face with pain.

"Heh, so what if it is urgent? Looking like this, what face do I have left to keep living..."

The hand lifting her blanket paused, then slowly pulled it back down, tightly covering her head and body once more...

Seeing that Ning Rongrong still did not respond, Ning Fengzhi knew he could not delay any longer.

The next moment, he gritted his teeth and kicked straight at the door with Soul Power behind his foot.

Bang!!!

With a deafening crash, the pair of wooden doors flew straight into the room.

Accompanied by the howl of the wind, they smashed viciously into an expensive tea table.

"Father, you!"

Startled by the massive noise, Ning Rongrong jolted upright in bed.

When she opened her eyes and realized it was Ning Fengzhi, her face instantly filled with fury.

"How could you barge in without my permission! I already told you! I don't want to eat, get out!"

Under normal circumstances, Ning Fengzhi, who doted on his daughter beyond measure, would not have dared say another word.

But now, at this critical moment of life and death, Ning Fengzhi could no longer concern himself with anything else and stepped directly into the room.

Only then did Ning Rongrong clearly see Ning Fengzhi.

They had been apart for only a few days, but the changes to Ning Fengzhi made Ning Rongrong's heart wrench, leaving her unable to utter another complaint.

"Dad, Dad! Your hands! What happened to your hands? Where are both your hands!!!"

Ning Rongrong leaped from the bed in disbelief, wanting to rush to Ning Fengzhi's side. But her body was too weak; her legs gave out, and she fell to the floor.

"Rongrong! I'm fine. Hurry! Come with me right now, we need to leave the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect!"

Faced with Ning Fengzhi's hurried urging, Ning Rongrong did not take in a single word.

She staggered over to him and frantically reached for where his arms should have been.

But when she pressed down hard, she found that there was nothing there but empty space...

"No! That can't be! Dad! Y-your arms, how are they gone? Tell me this isn't real!!!"

As though she had seen something utterly terrifying, Ning Rongrong kept backing away, her pupils filled with terror.

"There's no time to explain! Rongrong, listen to me!"

"Star-Plucking Tower has already attacked the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Those disciples won't hold them off for long. Come with me now, or we'll both die here!"

"Star-Plucking Tower attacked us? Impossible! Aren't Grandpa Jian and Grandpa Gu here? How could they dare be so reckless!"

Seeing Ning Rongrong's disbelieving expression, Ning Fengzhi pressed his lips together, his eyes filled with hatred.

"Heh, Grandpa Jian?"

"Your Grandpa Jian betrayed the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect long ago. He's helping Star-Plucking Tower kill us!!!"

"How... could that be..."

Seeing Ning Rongrong seemingly freeze up, Ning Fengzhi did not dare delay any longer and immediately roared at her.

"NING RONGRONG!!! This is a matter of life and death now. There's no time to think about all that. Come with me, now!"

For the first time in her life, Ning Rongrong heard Ning Fengzhi roar at her. Tears instantly welled in her eyes.

But she at least knew the situation was dire. Without saying anything, she lowered her head and hurried after Ning Fengzhi.

However, just as the two skirted around the plaza and reached the rear mountain of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, preparing to flee—

A voice Ning Fengzhi feared most, and least wanted to hear, rang out.

"Well, well, isn't this the great Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?"

"Didn't you say you would live and die with your sect? So what's this?"

"You've got your disciples fighting at the front. Where are you taking your beloved daughter?"

"Q-Qin Jianjiu? How is that possible? Why are you here!"

When Ning Fengzhi saw the newcomer, that familiar silver-white mask immediately made his voice tremble.

Seeing how cowardly Ning Fengzhi looked, Qin Shiyuan's face immediately filled with boredom. He gave a disdainful smile and said,

"Heh, did you really think your little trick could fool everyone?"

Indeed, the real Ning Fengzhi had already escaped from the Sect Master Hall.

The one still sitting cross-legged in the plaza was merely a smokescreen, something akin to an illusion.

This method was not particularly clever. Any Soul Master capable of projecting their Soul Power could expose it easily with even a little attention.

But Ning Fengzhi's cleverness lay in this: amid the battle, he had deliberately placed the deception in the most conspicuous location.

That way, with everyone already too busy to care about anything else, who would go out of their way to divert their attention and probe it with Soul Power?

Ning Fengzhi's move had originally been flawless.

Unfortunately for him, Qin Shiyuan, who had nothing better to do, had been keeping a close eye on him, and his plan ultimately fell short.

"What do you want!"

Ning Fengzhi swallowed hard and quietly shielded Ning Rongrong behind him, panic filling his eyes.

He knew full well that he stood no chance against Qin Shiyuan. He could only find another way.

"Tower Master Qin, how about we make a deal?"

"You are a magnanimous man. Let us go, and in exchange, I'll tell you where the hidden treasure vault of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is."

"My treasure vault contains rare heavenly treasures unlike any found elsewhere in this world."

"Immortal Herbs and divine stones, it has everything. Even Titled Douluo would covet them. What do you say?"

Hearing this, Qin Shiyuan smiled indifferently and took several steps forward, closing the distance between himself and Ning Fengzhi.

"I don't think much of that. Once you die, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect will naturally be mine, and everything inside it will be mine as well."

Hearing Qin Shiyuan's outright refusal, Ning Fengzhi instantly broke down.

"Qin Jianjiu! You and Chen Xin have already cut off both my arms. What else do you want from me before you'll spare me!"

"I'll apologize to you for what happened at the Soul Master Competition that day. Are you truly unwilling to leave me a way to live?!!!"

"What! You cut off my father's hands?!!!"

Qin Shiyuan had yet to react to Ning Fengzhi's words when Ning Rongrong, who had been hanging her head at the side, suddenly raised it in fury.

"You hurt my father! Go die!"

The instant the words fell, a strange-looking Steel Crossbow appeared in her hand.

"Don't!"

Ning Fengzhi's eyes widened as he shouted in an attempt to stop her.

Unfortunately, it was already too late.

More than a dozen sharp arrows burst from the crossbow and shot straight toward Qin Shiyuan...