Ning Fengzhi: I Thought I Was Here to Partner Up, but It Turns Out I'm Signing Away My Freedom!

"Nine-Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda."

Ning Fengzhi's head snapped up. A terrifying light blazed in his vacant eyes as he stared fixedly at Qin Feng.

Even his breathing stopped.

The Nine-Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda! It was a dream that none of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's ancestors had ever attained, the deepest regret etched into their bloodline! The sect's ancient records contained only a few brief mentions of the legend. And now, a young man not even twenty years old had spoken of it as if it were nothing!

"You... what did you say?" Ning Fengzhi's voice was hoarse. Each word seemed to scrape its way out of his throat.

"I said I can help you overcome your family's genetic defect." Qin Feng rose to his feet and looked down at him, his expression as calm as if he were stating a fact. "Seven rings are your physiological limit. But to me, that's just a program that can be modified."

"Arrogant!" Bone Douluo Gu Rong could no longer contain himself and shouted in anger.

"Bloodline inheritance is determined by fate. You can't just change it because you say so! Boy, if you dare spout any more nonsense, don't blame me for being impolite!"

Sword Douluo Chen Xin didn't speak, but the hand resting on his sword hilt said everything.

"Fate?" Qin Feng sounded as if he'd just heard the funniest joke in the world. "Don't talk to me about fate. Fate doesn't comply with the law of conservation of energy."

He didn't bother wasting more words on these old fossils with their rigid way of thinking. Instead, he simply glanced at Orochimaru, who had been quietly observing from the corner.

"Doctor, show Sect Master Ning what 'genetic optimization' means."

Orochimaru gave a sinister chuckle. In a flash, he disappeared from the spot.

The next second, a piercing wolf howl came from outside the workshop.

Then Orochimaru walked in, carrying a half-dead Nether Wolf, and tossed it carelessly onto the floor. It was one of the wolves the Sentry Turret had crippled earlier.

"The material's low-grade, but it'll do." Orochimaru slipped several syringes filled with liquids of various colors from his sleeve.

As Ning Fengzhi, his daughter, and the two Douluos watched in horror, Orochimaru swiftly injected the unknown compounds into the Nether Wolf one by one.

"Bzzzz..."

The Nether Wolf began to convulse violently. The fur on its body fell out at a visible rate, then grew back, darker and glossier than before. Its scrawny muscles swelled, and its bones cracked sharply.

"What's he doing?!" Ning Rongrong cried in fright, hiding behind Ning Fengzhi.

How was this treatment? It was clearly some kind of evil modification ritual!

Orochimaru ignored them and took out a headband strung with countless wires, fastening it around the Nether Wolf's head.

"Soul Power fluctuations are too erratic. Initiating forced regulation."

As he pressed the switch, the Nether Wolf let out an even more agonized howl. Yet the Soul Power inside its body really did begin to steady and flow smoothly under the interference of an external force.

On the screen behind Qin Feng, the energy model representing the Nether Wolf showed its blocked and dim nodes lighting up one by one as they were cleared.

The entire process took less than a minute.

Orochimaru pulled out all the syringes and nudged the Nether Wolf with his foot.

The wolf staggered to its feet. It no longer looked at Orochimaru with feral aggression, but with pure fear and submission. It was a full size larger than before, and its aura was far more powerful.

"Its Soul Power Level has increased by three ranks." Qin Feng glanced at the data on the screen and spoke calmly. "Energy transmission efficiency is up by seventeen percent, and muscle explosiveness by twenty-three percent. The only side effect is a five-year reduction in lifespan."

"Five years of life in exchange for three ranks of Soul Power. Sect Master Ning, do you think that's a good deal?"

Ning Fengzhi stared at the Nether Wolf, transformed beyond recognition. His body trembled slightly.

Was it a good deal?

It was an incredible deal!

For Soul Masters who had been stuck at a bottleneck their entire lives, they would leap at the chance to trade twenty years of life for a breakthrough, let alone five!

This young man had the ability to mass-produce powerful fighters!

"I... I understand." Ning Fengzhi took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. Drawing on a lifetime of experience in business negotiations, he carefully chose his words.

"Boss Qin, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect recognizes the value of your technology. Now, we can discuss the terms of our partnership." He regained the bearing of a sect master. "Whether you want Gold Soul Coins or rare treasures of heaven and earth, as long as the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has them, we can provide them."

He wanted to regain the initiative in the negotiations.

Qin Feng merely shook his head.

He pulled a freshly printed document from the printer beside him and tossed it in front of Ning Fengzhi.

Several large, bold characters at the top of the document leapt out at them.

Resource Exchange and Technology Transfer Agreement

"Gold Soul Coins? To me, they're nothing but wastepaper." Qin Feng put his hands in the pockets of his lab coat. "What I want is simple."

"Article One of the Agreement: From the date this agreement is signed, all rare-metal deposits owned by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect within the Heaven Dou Empire—including but not limited to Mithril, Deep Silver, Cold Iron, and Star Steel—shall be transferred to the Umbrella Corporation free of charge, including all ownership, mining, and distribution rights."

"Boom!"

Ning Fengzhi felt as if his mind had exploded.

He had thought the other party would make an outrageous demand, but he hadn't expected him to ask for everything—not just a portion!

That wasn't money! Those deposits were the lifeblood of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the foundation of its status as the richest sect on the continent!

"In your dreams!" Ning Rongrong shrieked first. "If you take all our mines, what will our sect eat and drink? You're robbing us!"

"Qin Feng! Don't push us too far!" Gu Rong's Soul Power erupted completely. Nine Soul Rings rose beneath his feet, and the terrifying pressure made the metal fixtures throughout the workshop hum.

Ning Fengzhi's face darkened. "Boss Qin, that joke isn't funny at all."

"I never joke." Qin Feng completely ignored the killing intent from the two men. He simply walked unhurriedly back to the workbench and picked up the tablet.

He tapped it lightly.

An incredibly complex, dazzling three-dimensional schematic appeared in midair, its design both sacred and geometrically beautiful.

It was a nine-layered pagoda made up of countless energy circuits and runic nodes. Each layer was intricately connected, and every line seemed to contain the principles of the universe.

"This is the Soul Ring load-bearing structure for the eighth level of the Nine-Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda."

Qin Feng's voice was like a demon's whisper.

"Look here." He pointed to a complex energy hub in the diagram. "Your bloodline can only bear seven rings because, at this node, energy overload causes the gene chain to collapse. My solution is to build a 'Bypass Recoil Energy Buffer Matrix' that guides excess energy into the eight extraordinary meridians, then stores and releases it through three hundred and sixty 'Micro Soul Power Capacitors.'"

"That solves the problem of bearing an eighth ring. It also increases your total Soul Power by thirty percent compared to a Soul Master of the same rank."

Qin Feng casually explained less than one ten-thousandth of the principle behind it, yet Ning Fengzhi, Chen Xin, and Gu Rong listened as if entranced.

This was knowledge from a higher dimension, something they had never encountered before.

It wasn't a miracle, but it inspired even more longing than one!

Ning Fengzhi's breathing grew ragged.

He stared at the schematic as if he were a man dying of thirst in the desert who had just glimpsed an endless oasis.

He knew that if he obtained this, he would no longer be merely Ning Fengzhi. He would become the greatest sect master in the history of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect! He would usher in an entirely new era with his own hands!

But the price... was the sect's century-old foundation.

"Father..." Seeing him standing there in a daze, Ning Rongrong was terrified.

Ning Fengzhi stood motionless, locked in an inner struggle.

On one side lay his ancestors' legacy; on the other, his family's future and unparalleled glory.

What should he choose?

"Sect Master Ning, my time is valuable." Qin Feng's voice rang out again, breaking through Ning Fengzhi's turmoil.

He switched off the holographic projection. The beautiful schematic vanished into thin air, leaving Ning Fengzhi with an aching sense of loss.

"My next research project requires a special metal called 'Vibranium' to manufacture an energy core. It's only found in associated ore deposits deep in the earth's crust, and it's extremely difficult to mine."

Qin Feng stepped over beside Ning Fengzhi and lowered his voice.

"I've studied the Heaven Dou Empire's mining maps. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect happens to own the three largest Vibranium deposits."

"If you're unwilling to cooperate..."

Qin Feng paused, a teasing smile appearing on his face.

"Then I'll have to discuss it with someone else."

"Someone like... Spirit Hall? I hear Pope Bibi Dong has recently taken an interest in new technology, too."