Ning Rongrong

Qian Renxue returned to the East Palace. Thinking about how Xue Ye had belittled Qin Yuan, she flew into a rage and smashed the desk in her office with one slap, sending everything scattered across the floor.

"That old bastard is asking for death! He's belittled my Xiao Yuan again and again. I'll kill him tomorrow!"

Qian Renxue's chest heaved violently, her face full of fury, as though Xue Ye had committed some unforgivable crime.

"Miss, you mustn't!" Just then, two figures suddenly appeared in the room like ghosts. They hurried forward to dissuade her:

"How can we let a moment of anger destroy the Spirit Hall's years of planning?"

"Miss, your position hasn't been completely secured yet. Xue Ye can't die..."

Porcupinefish Douluo and Snake Lance Douluo tried their best to reason with her.

It took every ounce of effort they had to drag Qian Renxue back from the brink of fury, when she'd lost all reason.

"Let that damned old bastard live a few more years. Sooner or later, I'll kill him with my own hands and vent my hatred!"

Qian Renxue said through gritted teeth.

Xue Ye had clearly insulted and belittled Qin Yuan, yet she seemed to be the one who'd suffered the most.

After a long while, she finally calmed her anger and turned to look at Porcupinefish Douluo and Snake Lance Douluo:

"You both know about Ling Tian, right?"

Porcupinefish Douluo and Snake Lance Douluo nodded.

"Your next mission is to find Ling Tian. I'll recruit him personally! I want him to serve me, not the Heaven Dou Imperial Family or... that woman!"

Qian Renxue's tone was stern and commanding.

Porcupinefish Douluo and Snake Lance Douluo exchanged a glance, then nodded solemnly. Their figures vanished into thin air like ghosts once more.

After they left, Qian Renxue was alone in the room. She stepped outside and looked toward where Qin Yuan was, her gaze deep and her voice soft but firm:

"Xiao Yuan, as long as I'm here, even if you can never become a powerful Soul Master, I won't let anyone wrong you in the slightest."

Then her tone suddenly turned incredibly gentle:

"It won't be long now, Xiao Yuan. Wait for me a few more years. By then, no one on the continent will dare bully you..."

Qin Yuan sat in the courtyard, lost in thought.

What exactly was a Sword Heart?

He'd recently sought out several experts in the Sword Path and sparred with them. Each encounter had given him some insight, but he still had no clue about the elusive Sword Heart.

There was no other reason: not a single swordsman in the entire Heaven Dou City had comprehended a Sword Heart and become a Sword Master.

As someone who'd reached the Half-step Sword Dao Grandmaster realm, he was already the greatest swordsman in Heaven Dou City.

After racking his brains over it for a long time, he still had no leads, so he simply stopped thinking about it.

"Forget it. Rongrong and the others are coming tomorrow anyway, and Sword Douluo is sure to come with them. I'll just ask him."

At last, Qin Yuan's tightly furrowed brows relaxed.

White Butterfly and Red Moon, who stood at either side of him, were both strikingly beautiful and graceful, with curvaceous figures. The moment their young master stopped brooding, they immediately came forward to serve him.

One massaged his head from behind, while the other massaged his body from the front. Qin Yuan reclined in his chair and closed his eyes in comfort, enjoying the attentive service of the two beauties.

He'd barely closed his eyes when he suddenly remembered something. Keeping them shut, he asked lazily:

"What time is it?"

"It's four in the afternoon, young master," White Butterfly replied softly, her slender fingers massaging his temples from behind.

"What?! It's already that late!" Qin Yuan's eyes flew open. He immediately got up, leaving the two beautiful maids looking at each other in confusion.

"You two go rest." Without explaining anything to the maids, Qin Yuan hurried out of the courtyard, headed for parts unknown.

The two lovely women were left behind, staring at each other in bewilderment.

At the same time, outside the Heavenly Dou Imperial Palace, a luxurious carriage pulled by three white horses came to a slow stop before the palace gates.

Once it had stopped, an elegant, middle-aged man stepped down from the carriage.

A beautiful young woman followed behind him. She had a noble air and a slender figure, and her long, lustrous black hair fell like satin to her pert hips.

Whoosh!

A white figure descended from the sky.

It was an old man, dressed in an immaculate snow-white robe. His hair and beard were both white, and his long silver hair was neatly combed back. His features were ancient, and his face was as smooth as an infant's.

The old man's expression was indifferent. His eyes seemed blind to everything around him. He simply stood there in silence without saying a word.

Yet, even standing still, he gave off the impression that all creation bowed before him and he alone stood supreme.

"Grandpa Sword." The young woman's voice rang out like a silver bell as she called to him.

The old man's indifferent expression melted away like snow. He smiled kindly at the beautiful young woman. "Rongrong."

The three of them were none other than the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's sect master, Ning Fengzhi; its young sect master, Ning Rongrong; and Sword Douluo Chen Xin, who had been expected to arrive the following day.

Not long afterward, Qian Renxue heard from a servant that they had arrived. She came to the palace gates and greeted the three with a gentle smile, like a refined gentleman, then escorted them inside to meet Xue Ye.

After meeting Xue Ye and chatting for quite a while, the three from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect prepared to leave.

Qian Renxue hadn't forgotten about Qin Yuan. As they left the hall, she smiled at Ning Fengzhi and asked:

"Teacher, how long do you plan to stay this time? I can make arrangements."

"Hehe, I came mainly to discuss a few matters with Xue Ye. We've just finished talking. Once I've taken care of the second matter, I'll return to the sect."

Ning Fengzhi chuckled.

"Father, I haven't even seen Yuan Gege yet." When she heard Ning Fengzhi was leaving so soon, Ning Rongrong pouted and protested. She'd agreed with him on the way here that they would stay for a while.

Qian Renxue's heart skipped a beat at her words. Her brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, and even her gentle smile turned slightly unnatural.

Ning Fengzhi acted as if he hadn't heard his daughter. He simply smiled and said:

"The second matter is to find Ling Tian and talk to him."

As expected, Ning Fengzhi wouldn't pass up a chance to recruit a top genius like Ling Tian... Qian Renxue thought, unsurprised.

But even she couldn't find Ling Tian right now. Ning Fengzhi would probably have no luck either.

That was exactly what she wanted. She wasn't afraid that Ning Fengzhi would recruit Ling Tian; she was afraid that Ning Rongrong might set her sights on her Xiao Yuan.

The sooner they left, the better!

But before they went, she still had to ask Sword Douluo to give Xiao Yuan some pointers. It seemed her Xiao Yuan had hit a bottleneck in the Sword Path and was troubled by it.

How could she bear to see Xiao Yuan, whom she'd raised herself, furrowing his brow in frustration?

So Qian Renxue turned to Sword Douluo, who had remained silent all along, and said with a light smile:

"Sword Douluo, may I ask you to do something? Qinghe will offer a generous reward afterward."

Sword Douluo looked puzzled, as did Ning Fengzhi and Ning Rongrong.

"Your Highness, please tell me," Sword Douluo said solemnly. Though he was a Titled Douluo, he couldn't be discourteous to the crown prince of a nation.

"For you, Sword Douluo, this will be a simple matter," Qian Renxue said with a smile.

"Please give Xiao Yuan a few pointers on the Sword Path."