He Cheated!

"It... it's nothing!" Gu Rong struggled to sit up, pushing away Ning Fengzhi's supporting hand. His eyes burned with devouring fury and lingering terror. "That little bastard... he cheated!"

"I had just chased him to the edge of the thunderclouds when he suddenly... suddenly summoned the lightning of heaven and earth!"

"That lightning... that lightning was incredibly sinister! Its power was utterly terrifying!"

"Caught off guard, I was struck by a bolt of lightning, and my Body Protection Soul Power collapsed instantly!"

"He took the chance to stab at me with his sword... If I hadn't desperately mobilized my Soul Power to protect my vital points... I'm afraid..." Recalling that world-destroying flash of lightning, his body still trembled involuntarily.

He forcibly suppressed his fear, leaving only the rage of having been schemed against. "I'm fine! Don't worry about me!"

Gu Rong struggled to his feet. Ignoring his scorched and disheveled state, he turned into a streak of pale light, filled with towering resentment and humiliation, and shot back to his residence without looking back to heal his injuries.

After Gu Rong left, the unease in Ning Fengzhi's heart did not fade. Instead, it grew even stronger.

Why had Zhao Linchuan come here?

Could it really have been nothing more than youthful recklessness and fearlessness?

Or had he learned of Gu Rong's scheme against him and come seeking revenge?

At that moment, Chen Xin flashed to the spot where Gu Rong had been knocked down, Frowned. "What an exquisite method... This boy's understanding of Martial Souls... has reached such a level?"

Ning Fengzhi's face turned livid as he looked at Chen Xin. "Uncle Jian, can you catch him?"

Chen Xin stared in the direction Zhao Linchuan had vanished and slowly shook his head, his voice grave. "His speed... is too fast."

"Moreover, with thunderclouds filling the sky and the aura in chaos, it's already impossible to catch up." He paused before adding something that made Ning Fengzhi's heart sink to the bottom. "In terms of speed alone, he... surpasses me."

Ning Fengzhi sucked in a sharp breath!

A Soul Saint's speed actually surpassed that of Sword Douluo Chen Xin, who excelled in both attack and speed?!

What kind of monster was Zhao Linchuan?!

Frowning, he slowly returned to the devastated Seven Treasure Grand Hall. The doubts and unease in his heart churned without end like the Dark Clouds outside.

Zhao Linchuan's actions today were far more than simple revenge!

He definitely had another move prepared!

That intense sense of foreboding coiled tightly around his heart like an icy venomous snake.

The torrential rain continued without showing the slightest sign of stopping.

By noon, the atmosphere within the Seven Treasure Grand Hall was oppressive.

Ning Fengzhi sat in the Main seat. Exquisite dishes lay before him, but he had no appetite at all.

An intense sense of foreboding wrapped tightly around his heart like an icy venomous snake, leaving him unable to sit or stand at ease.

Just then, a guard stationed at the mountain gate rushed into the hall through the rain again. Soaked to the bone, he spoke urgently. "Reporting to Sect Master! Someone else has delivered a scroll and a letter outside the mountain gate! That person claims to have been sent by someone you... someone you long for day and night!"

"Zhao Linchuan again?!" Ning Fengzhi's heart abruptly sank, and that foreboding instantly solidified into piercing coldness!

He sprang to his feet and shouted, "Bring them to me!"

The guard hurriedly presented the scroll and letter.

With an almost imperceptible tremble in his fingers, Ning Fengzhi tore open the letter first.

As his gaze swept across the paper, his pupils suddenly constricted. His face instantly turned livid, and his eyelids twitched wildly!

The letter read:

To Sect Master Ning:

To be frank, I, Zhao Linchuan, am the newly appointed Saint Child of Spirit Hall.

On this journey, I have been dispatched by His Holiness the Pope to your esteemed sect to complete a... well, rather arduous task.

For the details, please refer to the enclosed scroll.

The reason I resorted to such measures was truly out of necessity, solely so that I could "smoothly" invite Sect Master Ning to sign that most crucial contract.

By the time this letter reaches you, I imagine your sect's impatient senior, Bone Douluo, will already be on his way to hunt me down.

If Sect Master Ning immediately sends someone to the location marked on the map below—where a rough map Point To Little Lotus Mountain has been drawn—you may still make it in time to collect Senior Gu's corpse intact?

I am doing my best to flee, but Senior Gu simply refuses to let go.

Remember, before coming, you must sign the scroll first and have the messenger deliver it at once to the nearest Spirit Hall branch hall.

That way, I can still put in a good word for you before His Holiness the Pope and treat today's events as a... misunderstanding, letting the matter rest there.

Otherwise... hehe, Sect Master Ning knows His Holiness the Pope well enough.

He is extremely protective of his own, especially the future Saint Child.

If he learns that your sect dared to intercept and kill me, and in his rage invites Great Enshriner Qian Daoliu to personally visit your sect... I imagine I need not elaborate on the consequences.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's foundation of several thousand years may be reduced to ashes and become dust in the annals of history.

P.S.: Please be sure to pay the messenger nine thousand nine hundred Gold Soul Coins.

This is the reward I promised him. One must not break one's word.

Personally written by Zhao Linchuan, Saint Child of Spirit Hall

"You insolent brat! You've gone too far!!!" Ning Fengzhi could no longer suppress the surging fury in his chest and slammed his palm violently onto the purple sandalwood table beside him!

The sturdy table shattered on impact, sending splinters flying everywhere!

"Uncle Gu!! Uncle Gu!" He abruptly raised his head, his voice a desperate cry clinging to its last shred of hope. "Quick! Go invite Elder Gu here! Immediately!" In his heart, he prayed that Gu Rong had not yet left.

Sword Douluo Chen Xin appeared in the hall the instant he heard the commotion. Seeing Ning Fengzhi's deathly pale face and the shattered table, he Frowned. "Fengzhi! What has enraged you so greatly?"

"Uncle Jian! You came at the perfect time!" Ning Fengzhi said as though he had seized a lifeline. "Please sense it quickly! Is Uncle Gu... is Uncle Gu still within the sect?!"

"That old bag of bones left some time ago. What exactly happened?" Chen Xin wondered inwardly.

"What?!" Ning Fengzhi staggered as though struck by lightning. "He... when did he leave? What did he go to do?!"

"Not long after he returned to his room to recover." Chen Xin recalled, "Once his aura stabilized, he quietly departed. The time... was only enough for him to wash up and change clothes."

"Fengzhi, what exactly happened? What does this letter say?" His gaze fell upon the letter Ning Fengzhi was clutching tightly.

Ning Fengzhi drew a deep breath and forcibly swallowed the metallic taste in his throat. He handed the letter to Chen Xin, his voice hoarse. "Uncle Jian... see for yourself."

Chen Xin accepted the letter. His eyes swept over the arrogant, threatening words, and even with his state of Sword Heart Clarity, shock, disbelief, and uncontrollable fury flashed across his face!

The blood-red signature of "Saint Child of Spirit Hall" and the threat at the end were like red-hot brands!

He swiftly steadied his mind and said in a low voice, "The paper and seal on this letter... do not seem forged. Fengzhi, how do you intend to respond?"

"Sign such a treaty that humiliates the sect and forfeits its rights? Absolutely impossible!" Flames of humiliation burned in Ning Fengzhi's eyes, but reason told him that he had to act at once.

Forcing himself to remain composed, he instructed the guard, "Go immediately! Invite the messenger to the side hall and treat him well. Do not neglect him!"

"Without my orders, he is not to leave!"

"Yes, Sect Master!" The guard accepted the order and hurriedly withdrew.