Nine Treasures Glazed Tile, the Beginning of Breaking the Limit

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's leader had personally come and entrusted his beloved daughter to another with lavish gifts. The news seemed to grow wings, spreading through every corner of Heaven Dou City overnight and causing a tremendous uproar among its upper circles.

"Myriad Manifestations Academy? Never heard of it! What's its background? How could it make Ning Fengzhi personally send his daughter there?" "That's not all! I heard Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo went too! And they were extremely courteous!" "They say the academy's headmaster is a six- or seven-year-old child? What kind of joke is that?" "Ning Rongrong is a genius the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect sees once in a century, and they just sent her away? Could that academy truly possess something so extraordinary?" "Investigate! Find out the details of this Myriad Manifestations Sect immediately!"

For a time, Undercurrents stirred within Heaven Dou City. Countless forces frantically investigated the suddenly emerged "Myriad Manifestations Academy" and the "Myriad Manifestations Sect" behind it. Yet no matter how they searched, they found pitifully little. They only knew that it seemed exceedingly ancient and mysterious, with unfathomable strength. This only shrouded Myriad Manifestations Academy in an even deeper veil of mystery.

Meanwhile, the Myriad Manifestations Academy construction site at the center of the storm continued in an orderly, bustling fashion. The disturbances outside seemed not to affect it in the slightest.

Ning Rongrong officially stayed behind and was temporarily settled in one of the newly completed, best-equipped private courtyards. Once the novelty of leaving home faded, the busy construction site and unfamiliar surroundings inevitably left the little princess somewhat uneasy and homesick. But whenever she thought of the miraculous Ten Times Cultivation Space and the hope of breaking through the seven-ring limit, she was immediately filled with motivation again.

Qin Mo did not make her wait long.

On the evening of Ning Rongrong's third day there, Qin Mo came to her courtyard.

"Get ready. I'm taking you somewhere." Qin Mo's tone was as calm as ever.

Ning Rongrong's eyes instantly lit up, and her heart pounded. She immediately guessed where they were going! Suppressing her excitement, she nodded forcefully.

The two arrived at a secluded spot in the courtyard. Qin Mo raised his left hand, and the phantom of the Nine-Story Demon Pagoda appeared, enveloping them both in nine-colored radiance.

The next instant, space shifted.

As she stepped into the tower space again, where Nine-Colored Flow swirled and vital energy was as vast as the sea, Ning Rongrong could not help letting out a satisfied sigh. Every breath felt as though she were devouring Soul Power. The sensation was simply wonderful.

"Sit cross-legged and calm your mind," Qin Mo instructed. "You've been stuck at the Level 29 bottleneck for some time, and your foundation is fairly solid. With the vital energy here, try to break through to Level 30 today."

"Yes!" Ning Rongrong immediately obeyed, suppressing the excitement in her heart as she tried to enter a cultivating state.

She summoned her Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul. The Glazed Pagoda, over a foot tall, floated before her, radiating brilliant seven-colored light. It was dazzling and exquisite, yet upon closer inspection, the tower truly had only seven levels, symbolizing its limit.

As Ning Rongrong circulated her cultivation method, the tower space's incomparably dense vital energy seemed to find an outlet, surging madly into her body, washing through her Meridians and flowing into the vortex of Soul Power within her Dantian.

The originally solid Level 29 bottleneck began to loosen and crumble at a speed visible to the naked eye under this terrifying flood of energy!

Ning Rongrong held her breath and focused her mind, guiding this enormous force with all her strength as it charged toward that invisible barrier!

Once! Twice!

Boom!!!

In less than the time it took to burn an incense stick, a faint rumble sounded within her body, and the bottleneck that had troubled her for so long was effortlessly swept away by an irresistible torrent of Soul Power!

Level 30! Soul Elder!

Vast Soul Power surged and circulated through her body, more than twice as powerful as before! Ning Rongrong opened her eyes in delight, savoring the joy of her breakthrough.

However, when her gaze fell upon the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda before her, her smile faltered slightly.

The tower shone more brilliantly, and its Soul Power was more abundant, but... it still had only seven levels. It had not evolved as she had imagined.

A trace of disappointment inevitably crept into her heart.

"There's no need to rush." Qin Mo's voice sounded beside her, as though he had anticipated this all along. "The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda's limitation comes from its bloodline and Martial Soul Origin. It cannot be broken through by accumulating Soul Power alone. Level 30 is merely the beginning, laying sufficient groundwork for your future evolution."

He walked before Ning Rongrong and extended a finger, lightly touching the tip of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda.

In an instant, an unusual power flowed from Qin Mo's fingertip. It was not Soul Power, but the even more profound Origin Power of the Nine-Story Demon Pagoda, carrying the essence of "analysis" and "guidance"!

Like the finest carving knife and the gentlest spring rain, this power slowly seeped into the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda.

Ning Rongrong's delicate body suddenly trembled!

She clearly felt that her Martial Soul had seemingly "come alive" at that very moment! A stirring from the depths of her soul spread through her. The invisible, unyielding shackles that had plagued her family for countless generations seemed to have been lightly "touched" by this external power. Though they could not immediately be broken, their vague outline had been revealed!

Above the seventh level of the pagoda, an illusory glow twisted, as though something was being painstakingly conceived, struggling to break free! An extremely faint yet incomparably real Eighth Color flashed past!

Though it was only a fleeting glimpse, the illusory glow soon dissipated due to insufficient energy, and the pagoda returned to normal.

But Ning Rongrong was utterly stunned, as if struck by lightning!

She had felt it! She had truly felt it! That barrier to a higher realm! And... the possibility of breaking it!

It was no longer an ethereal legend, no longer a desperate fantasy, but a path of hope she could truly see and even touch!

Tears of excitement instantly filled her eyes and slid down her smooth cheeks. She raised her head to look at Qin Mo, her voice choked with emotion yet filled with unprecedented determination and fervor. "I... I saw it! There really... really is an eighth level! Headmaster, thank you! Thank you so much!"

At that moment, all her arrogance and young mistress's temper vanished. The way she addressed Qin Mo naturally changed to "Headmaster," and her heart was filled with boundless gratitude and conviction.

Qin Mo withdrew his finger and said calmly, "I merely let you see the path. Whether you can truly walk it, and how far you can go, will depend on your own future efforts and fortune. Stabilize your cultivation first. Afterward, it will be time to find your Third Soul Ring."

"Yes, Headmaster!" Ning Rongrong forcefully wiped away her tears and nodded heavily, her eyes blazing as if flames burned within them. She closed her eyes once more and frantically absorbed the surrounding vital energy to stabilize her cultivation, more motivated than ever before.

At the same time Ning Rongrong broke through.

On a newly cleared patch of open ground outside the academy construction site.

Zhu Zhuqing and Ye Lingling stood facing each other.

After several days of recuperation, along with Ye Lingling occasionally using the Nine Heart Begonia to tend to her, Zhu Zhuqing's injuries had fully healed. At that moment, following Qin Mo's guidance, she was attempting a peculiar form of training.

Her Netherworld Spirit Cat Martial Soul possessed her body, making her light and agile like an elf in the night. She moved rapidly across the clearing, leaving behind streaks of afterimages as her speed increased.

Suddenly, her figure swayed slightly!

The next instant, two blurry "Zhu Zhuqings" appeared simultaneously along her rapid path of movement!

Though the two afterimages were extremely faint and lasted only an instant before dispersing, utterly incomparable to Qin Mo's nearly tangible Ghost Tiger Phantom, they were genuine phantom clones created through the combination of her own speed and Soul Power!

This was precisely Qin Mo's targeted guidance based on her Martial Soul's characteristics and certain principles behind his Second Soul Skill, Ghost Tiger Phantom—pushing speed to its absolute limit, beyond the limits of visual perception, to create phantom clones that could confuse enemies!

Zhu Zhuqing stopped, and a glimmer flashed through her cool eyes. Though it was only an initial form, it had undoubtedly pointed her toward a brand-new path. She looked toward Qin Mo, who was quietly watching from nearby, and gave a slight nod.

Elsewhere, Ye Lingling sat cross-legged beside a newly transplanted spiritual plant that looked somewhat wilted. Her hands hovered over it as the Nine Heart Begonia floated beneath her palms, radiating soft white light brimming with vitality.

Nourished by the white light, the spiritual plant visibly perked up. Its leaves unfurled, regaining their emerald luster. Yet Ye Lingling's brows knit slightly. She felt that her healing seemed to be missing something, always falling short of the most perfect result, as if separated by a thin veil.

Qin Mo's calm voice sounded beside her. "Life is not only nourishment. There is also the cycle of withering and flourishing. Perhaps your begonia should not bloom in pure white alone."

Ye Lingling paused slightly, deep in thought. She tried guiding her Soul Power, and along the edges of the pure white petals, an extremely faint ink-black pattern appeared and vanished—a symbol of "purification" and "withering"...

Bing'er and Yan'er were sparring. Extreme ice and blazing flames collided, while frost mist and steam filled the air. Through actual combat, the two steadily improved their control over their Martial Souls.

Though Myriad Manifestations Academy was still under construction, its first group of core members had already begun their respective paths of transformation under Qin Mo's guidance.

A flourishing vitality, mingled with the clamor of the construction site, was taking root and rising upon this land.