Ning Fengzhi's Calculations

Could she have fallen for him?

This thought surfaced in Chen Xin and Gu Rong's minds almost simultaneously.

It was no wonder the two Titled Douluo thought so.

In fact, after reading the letter, Ning Fengzhi himself had been filled with the same suspicions.

Although Ning Rongrong had thoroughly berated this "Lu Yuan" in the letter, saying that he had toyed with her, Ning Fengzhi knew that some couples truly did end up together because of this sort of "ill-fated bond."

If they went a day without bickering, they would feel something was off instead.

In short, Ning Fengzhi did not dare make any absolute claims when it came to feelings.

What was more, the "Lu Yuan" mentioned in his daughter's letter was an undeniable genius.

For a Support-type Soul Master, perhaps nothing brought more security than having a powerful Battle Soul Master as a partner.

However, perhaps even the word "genius" was insufficient to prove his talent.

If the letter's description was accurate, then...

He could already rival Spirit Hall's Golden Generation!

He might even surpass the Golden Generation!

Ning Fengzhi tapped his fingers against the table at an unhurried pace, his gaze drifting into the distance as though he could see Ning Rongrong and this "Lu Yuan" across time and space.

He understood his daughter's personality and traits well.

She was bold, impatient, liked to act cute, liked to play little tricks, always wanted to negotiate terms before doing anything, and was rather self-centered in her thinking.

These were all her shortcomings.

But Ning Rongrong had one virtue.

She never lied!

Now this is getting interesting, Ning Fengzhi thought. His expression remained calm as he began working out his little calculations.

He definitely had to recruit him.

He had gained the advantage in intelligence. If he did not at least try to recruit him, that would not be Ning Fengzhi's usual style.

The question was, how great a price would he need to pay?

And after paying that price, could the other party shoulder the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect in the future?

As long as the investment matched the returns, Ning Fengzhi was willing to make it.

A genius was hard enough to find, but a genius who shared a subtle connection with his daughter and could become his future son-in-law was even harder to find!

If things truly worked out, and the boy truly treated his daughter well, then a mere Clear Sky Douluo would amount to nothing before the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect!

If it had been the Tang Hao of old, backed by the Clear Sky Sect, Ning Fengzhi would still have shown him some respect.

But Tang Hao now was like a homeless dog, completely beneath Ning Fengzhi's notice!

He was merely a Titled Douluo.

It was not as if the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect did not have any!

With the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's support, Ning Fengzhi had no doubt that Sword Uncle could kill Tang Hao alone.

As for the issue of the three great sects turning against one another after Tang Hao was killed...

That simply would not happen!

Forget someone as clever as Ning Fengzhi—even anyone with a bit of sense could see that the three great sects had never had particularly good relations to begin with!

The Clear Sky Sect had been forced into seclusion by Spirit Hall.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was close to Heaven Dou and relied on the Heaven Dou Empire to resist Spirit Hall's suppression.

Meanwhile, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan maintained a state of chaotic neutrality, neither leaning too heavily toward Heaven Dou nor favoring Star Luo or Spirit Hall.

Given such a delicate relationship, even if Ning Fengzhi surrounded and killed Clear Sky Douluo Tang Hao, the Clear Sky Sect could only swallow their broken teeth.

After all, no one had expected that Tang Hao, that fool, would directly announce his withdrawal from the Clear Sky Sect at the critical moment!

Yes, in Ning Fengzhi's eyes, he was unquestionably a "fool."

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had both been persuaded by the Clear Sky Sect to band together for mutual protection. Had that not made their intentions clear enough?

Either Spirit Hall would give up pursuing the matter and preserve the existing situation, or the Upper Three Sects would declare war on Spirit Hall and, while their combined strength was still substantial, teach Spirit Hall a harsh lesson!

Strike first to prevent a hundred strikes from following!

The plan had been quite good.

Back then, the leaders of the Upper Three Sects had all possessed foresight. They could see the situation clearly, and their relations with one another had been fairly decent.

Yet not long after the plan was put into action, Tang Hao stabbed them in the back.

Forget the Clear Sky Sect back then—even Ning Fengzhi had been furious upon receiving such absurd news.

The enemy had not even made a move, yet their ally had fled first!

No words could describe the helplessness Ning Fengzhi had felt at the time.

Even now, whenever he occasionally thought back on it, he still felt somewhat frustrated.

Ning Fengzhi sighed wistfully, sealing away those memories in his mind before saying gently, "We should find a suitable time to visit Rongrong. She's been away from home for so long—I wonder if she's suffered any hardships."

"Sword Uncle, Bone Uncle, what do you think?"

Chen Xin and Gu Rong nodded helplessly.

After all these years, who didn't know what this kid was really planning?

Was this simply a visit to see Ning Rongrong?

Clearly, he was picking a suitable opportunity to inspect his future son-in-law!

However—

Chen Xin frowned slightly, picked up the letter, and read it over carefully once more.

Four Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings.

That description reminded him of certain events from the past.

Naturally, Lu Yuan had no idea what was happening within the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

However, he knew that Tang San had been so angry that he skipped dinner.

That made Lu Yuan extremely happy, so he found an excuse to eat Tang San's portion as well.

"Food mustn't be wasted."

That perfectly reasonable excuse nearly made Yu Xiaogang faint with anger.

Anyone who didn't know better would have thought they had only made enough food for one person!

But this was a restaurant!

A restaurant!

Xiao San skipping dinner—was that really worth being so happy about?

It wasn't as though he couldn't eat!

Yu Xiaogang looked at Lu Yuan's shameless expression, slammed the door in anger, and left. He went to the front desk, paid out of pocket, packed up a meal, and delivered it to Tang San.

Unlike Yu Xiaogang, Lu Yuan's attention was focused on something else.

Tang San's mentality had become unbalanced!

Otherwise, with Tang San's prideful personality, he would never have chosen not to come when he knew everyone was having dinner together.

Especially when Xiao Wu was still in his hands!

Thinking of this, Lu Yuan gave Xiao Wu a strange look.

What should I do if I suddenly feel like I've become the villain?

As the saying went, going dark made you three times stronger, while redemption weakened you by thirty percent.

Since he could no longer redeem himself anyway, he might as well develop in the direction of becoming three times stronger!

Xiao Wu suddenly felt a chill run down her body. She instinctively shrank back, turning her head to look around.

Then—

She saw the greed in that demon Lu Yuan's eyes!

Trembling, Xiao Wu picked up a piece of meat from her bowl and pitifully placed it in Lu Yuan's bowl, her eyes full of pleading.

Obviously, this innocent little rabbit thought Lu Yuan no longer intended to wait until later to take her bones.

She suspected that Lu Yuan wanted them now!

But that definitely wouldn't do. At the very least, she hadn't lived long enough yet...

The corner of Lu Yuan's eye twitched. The chopsticks in his hand had already instinctively picked up the piece of meat and tossed it into his mouth.

He ate it! He ate it!

A trace of delight flashed through Xiao Wu's eyes, and she hurriedly stuffed all the meat from her bowl into Lu Yuan's.

Eat someone's food, and you owe them a favor.

Since he had eaten the meat she gave him, he definitely couldn't make a move against her anytime soon, right?

And if he did make a move anyway...

It seemed she had no way to stop him?

Bang Bang Bang!

Someone knocked on the wooden door of the inn.

Tang San, whose thoughts had been interrupted, suppressed the bitterness in his heart and walked over to open the door.

Standing outside was his master—Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang.

Yu Xiaogang was still holding a box of steaming hot food, its lid freshly opened.

"You haven't eaten yet, have you?"

Tang San suddenly felt the urge to burst into tears. He pressed his lips together, steadied his emotions, took the boxed meal from Grandmaster's hands, and invited him inside.

After closing the door, Tang San got straight to the point.

"Master, I want to leave this place—leave this environment that makes me feel suffocated!"

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I've finally written the second variable. Honestly, the further I write, the more panicked I become, because no one can give me clear guidance.

And as a newbie, I know I'm bound to make plenty of mistakes. But I want to write something of my own, rather than something flawless.