Ning Fengzhi's Humiliation

The summit of Little Lotus Mountain looked as though it had been struck by a massive hammer, a vast section instantly collapsing!

Countless shattered stones were melted into scorching magma by the violent current!

Azure lightning serpents raged wildly, spreading a flickering, eerie blue web of electricity across the ground!

"Remember my words!" Zhao Linchuan cast one final glance at Gu Rong, who was convulsing in pain amid the lightning and howling miserably as flying debris struck him. The azure Light Wings on Zhao Linchuan's back suddenly erupted with dazzling radiance!

Whoosh—!

He transformed into an Azure Meteor, piercing through the storm and the yet-undispersed thunderbolts before vanishing over the horizon in an instant. All that remained was a scorched wasteland and Gu Rong's miserable wails.

Zhao Linchuan had his reasons for sparing Gu Rong's life.

First, if Gu Rong died, Chen Xin would fight Spirit Hall to the death.

Having lost its two great pillars, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would either completely submit to Spirit Hall or be annexed by the Clear Sky Sect.

Neither outcome suited Zhao Linchuan's plan to disrupt the continent's balance of power and profit from the chaos.

Second, a half-dead Gu Rong who had suffered utter humiliation and hated him to the bone was far more valuable than a dead Gu Rong.

That deep-seated hatred would become an excellent chess piece for Zhao Linchuan to manipulate the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect in the future, even to stir conflict between the Upper Three Sects and Spirit Hall.

Third, this "achievement"—this achievement of forcing the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to bow its head and gravely injuring one of its Titled Douluo—could not be credited to Qian Xunji.

It should belong to him, the future master of Spirit Hall, or to the person he chose.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect could fall, but it had to fall within Zhao Linchuan's game!

"Uncle Gu—!!!"

A shrill cry pierced through the wind and rain.

Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin had finally arrived!

When Ning Fengzhi saw the scorched earth atop the mountain, as though it had been cleansed by heavenly punishment; the dancing lightning serpents; and the charred, smoking figure in the crater, still twitching faintly and groaning in pain, his eyes nearly split apart!

"Glazed light flows from the Seven Treasures! Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda True Body... First... Sixth!" Ning Fengzhi summoned the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda True Body without hesitation, all seven Soul Rings blazing to their peak at once!

Six unprecedentedly concentrated, tangible pillars of seven-colored light, each carrying different enhancement properties, instantly enveloped Gu Rong at the bottom of the crater!

Chen Xin stood by the crater's edge, his sharp gaze sweeping across the devastated battlefield.

The enormous crater blasted open by Heavenly Lightning, the azure arcs still dancing on the ground like living creatures,

the scorched stench and violent aura of thunder pervading the air, as well as the twelve Specialized Kites wreckages scattered everywhere, still emitting wisps of smoke...

Everything silently told of the brutality and terror of the battle that had just taken place.

He slowly spoke, his voice carrying a trace of gravity and lingering fear. "He... held back."

"If he hadn't diverted most of the lightning's power into the earth, this old bone would have... already turned to ash."

Ning Fengzhi poured all his strength into his Martial Soul. Watching Gu Rong's charred skin slowly writhe and heal beneath the powerful healing light, and listening to his agonized groans, felt like knives twisting in his heart.

He raised his head and looked in the direction Zhao Linchuan had disappeared, his eyes filled with endless humiliation, fury, and a trace of... indescribable fear.

He clenched his fists tightly, his fingernails digging deep into his palms. Blood trickled through his fingers and mingled with the muddy rainwater.

"Uncle Jian..." Ning Fengzhi's voice was hoarse and exhausted, carrying the bitter resignation of someone accepting his fate. "It seems... we have no choice but to sign that humiliating Agreement Contract..."

He took a deep breath. The icy rain struck his face, yet it could not extinguish the chill in his heart.

"This man... completely disregards convention. His methods are ruthless and sinister, his actions utterly unrestrained. More terrifying still... he possesses the potential to command Heavenly Might!"

"Today, he paid such a price to gravely injure Uncle Gu. If we refuse to sign and completely enrage him... when he someday ascends to the rank of Titled Douluo..."

Ning Fengzhi's voice was filled with despair.

"Our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's foundation... built through the painstaking efforts of countless generations of ancestors over thousands of years... may truly... vanish into ashes at a single thought of his... scattered in a day!"

Overwhelming hatred began to grow wildly in his heart.

He secretly swore that he would push forward the agreement for the "Upper Three Sects to stand together" at all costs and with the greatest possible speed!

Only by uniting the forces of the Clear Sky Sect and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect would they have any hope of resisting Spirit Hall, that savage beast baring its fangs, and... Zhao Linchuan, an even more terrifying future threat at their side!

Zhao Linchuan's figure galloped through the skies far from Little Lotus Mountain, but his consciousness was like a candle in the wind, swaying on the verge of collapse.

His out-of-control Soul Power surged chaotically through his body. The edges of his vision began to blur, while waves of dizziness continuously battered his strained nerves like a rising tide.

Forcing himself to retain his last shred of clarity, he reached tremblingly toward the Ruyi Hundred Treasures Pouch at his waist, took out a small white carrier pigeon, and released it.

It vanished into the Clouds in the blink of an eye.

After finishing this, he could no longer hold on. He only wanted to find a secluded place as quickly as possible and heal this nearly fatal wound.

However, the heavy drowsiness came faster and more fiercely than he had expected.

He forcefully shook his head, which felt as heavy as though it had been filled with lead, trying to dispel the sticky darkness, but it was all in vain.

His vision suddenly went black. His body completely lost control, and like a kite with its string cut, he plummeted toward the vast Mountain forest below.

Boom!

His heavy body crashed into the icy stream in a mountain ravine, sending up a huge splash and scattering the fish in panic.

Blinding crimson seeped from beneath his torn clothing, quickly spreading through the clear current like an eerily blooming flower of death.

The intense scent of blood, like the deadliest temptation, immediately drew out the apex predator lurking in the shadows of the deep ravine—a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, an Iron Spine Crocodile Dragon over five meters long, its scales gleaming with a dark luster.

The crocodile dragon's enormous body silently slipped into the water. Its murky vertical pupils locked onto the seemingly lifeless human form beneath the surface.

It was exceedingly cautious. It did not attack at once, but slowly approached, its huge maw covered in barbs nearly touching Zhao Linchuan's skin as its cold breath washed over his face.

After repeatedly confirming that this "prey" that had fallen from the sky posed no threat, greed finally overwhelmed caution.

It suddenly opened its massive, blood-filled jaws. Its stark white fangs glinted coldly in the dark water as it viciously bit down toward Zhao Linchuan's waist and abdomen!

At that critical moment, a Sudden Change occurred!

Twelve dazzling rays of light in different colors burst from Zhao Linchuan's body Without Warning!

The light contained the most primordial and pure source power in the universe.

Metal was incomparably sharp, as if it could sever Space.

Wood teemed with Life Force, carrying the fresh scent of growing grass and trees.

Water was enduring and supple, like rivers flowing endlessly onward.

Time was ethereal and unfathomable, as though it had frozen that instant.

Space was profound and mysterious, distorting the nearby scenery.