The preciousness of a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone surpassed imagination.
Whenever one appeared, the major powers would scramble to seize it.
Across the entire continent, the force with the most Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones was undoubtedly Shrek Academy.
Next came the reclusive Body Sect.
With their bandit-like nature and their zero-cost acquisitions, it was practically a business without capital.
Moreover, they had once slaughtered Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts throughout the Star Dou Great Forest on a massive scale many years ago. They surely possessed quite a few Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones.
After that came the imperial families of the Douluo Three Kingdoms.
As for the Sun Moon Empire, it was indeed somewhat lacking in this regard.
Of course, that was only what was known openly. Ning Que had not forgotten the reclusive Clear Sky Sect, nor Sea God Island out on the ocean.
No one knew how deeply those two forces had hidden themselves, or just how profound their foundations truly were.
After tidying up, Ning Que left Shrek Academy's inner court alone and arrived at a Nine Treasures trading house in Shrek City.
Once he revealed his identity, someone quickly led him to the top floor.
Inside a reception room on the top floor, an elderly man and a middle-aged man were waiting for him.
Both were Title Douluo.
The old man was named Lei Yun. His martial soul was the Thunder Eagle, and his title was likewise Thunder Eagle. He was a level 95 Super Title Douluo and one of the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect's consecrated elders.
Because he lacked a hundred-thousand-year soul ring and was advanced in years, he had remained at level 94. With Ning Que and Ye Guyi's help, he had activated a wisp of Gold of Life's power, allowing him to advance further and reach level 95.
The sect had sent him to protect Ning Que and Ye Guyi.
The other man was middle-aged, named Dai Chengfeng—the Dai of the Star Luo Ducal Estate.
His martial soul was the Vajra Tiger. He was a level 93 Title Douluo, with the title Golden Tiger!
Ning Que and Ye Guyi had invited him into the sect. Not only had he saved his entire family from the hands of Evil Soul Masters, but with the sect's assistance, he had also gained a hundred-thousand-year soul ring. To put it bluntly, Ning Que's words carried more weight with Dai Chengfeng than even the sect master's.
Regarding this matter, Ning Que sometimes truly found those so-called aristocratic families absurd.
They tightly controlled all resources and gave collateral descendants no opportunities whatsoever. Even if a collateral descendant was talented and possessed level 9 Innate Soul Power, merely because his martial soul was not the direct line's White Tiger, they would not only deny him resources but even secretly suppress him in certain ways.
By comparison, while a sect might bind you with emotions and interests, as long as you possessed talent and remained loyal to the sect, it would nurture you vigorously.
Ning Que could mobilize both of these Title Douluo.
Beyond them, there was one more person whom he could also mobilize through Ye Guyi and Jin Sheng.
A remnant of the former Spirit Hall, a descendant of the Golden Family, Jin Sheng's grandfather—Jin Heng, titled Crocodile King!
His martial soul was the Golden Crocodile. He was a level 96 Title Douluo and also an eighth-ranked Soul Engineer.
There were two people in the sect most likely to become ninth-ranked Soul Engineers. One was the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect's stabilizing pillar, Mountain-Prop Douluo, while the other was Jin Heng.
He had only agreed to join the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect because of Ye Guyi's arrival and for the sake of cultivating his grandson.
Within the sect, Jin Heng held an extremely special position. Although he enjoyed the sect's benefits and resources, he rarely obeyed its orders. Unless the sect faced a crisis, he spent most of his time traveling outside, searching for the things Ye Guyi and Ning Que needed and secretly obtaining blueprints for ninth-ranked Soul Tools from the Sun Moon Empire.
Ten thousand years ago, Ning Fengzhi had needed to be the sect master before he could command the aid of two Title Douluo. Now, Ning Que was merely the young sect master, yet three Title Douluo could help him carry out tasks. Naturally, he was not arrogant enough to believe it was all his own achievement. It was nothing more than the benefits of the era and the sect's support that had made it possible.
"Que, after the sect's investigation from multiple angles, we currently have information on two gemstone-type soul bones from hundred-thousand-year soul beasts. One is in Shrek Academy's collection: a 290,000-year torso bone from a Diamond Mammoth. However, that information dates back two thousand years, so whether it still exists cannot be confirmed."
"The other piece of information regarding a gemstone-type Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone comes from the Star Luo Empire. It is a hundred-thousand-year right arm bone from a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, the Jade Demon Bird. It is said that this soul bone has fallen into the hands of the Star Luo imperial Xu Family."
Upon seeing Ning Que enter, Lei Yun immediately got to the point and relayed the information they had received not long ago.
Hearing this, Ning Que fell into thought.
As for Shrek Academy's soul bone, putting aside whether it still existed, even if it did, obtaining it would be unimaginably difficult.
The soul bone possessed by the Star Luo imperial family, on the other hand, could be planned for.
The simplest and most direct method would be to openly exchange resources under the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect's name.
The key problem was that he could not presently offer a price of equivalent value.
He could only keep digging into the sect's reserves.
"Perhaps it isn't impossible?"
After a round of brainstorming, Ning Que quickly formed a rough direction.
"Grandpa Lei Yun, there's no need to rush into planning this matter. Have the sect keep watch for it, and help me find two special spiritual herbs and make two more Heaven-Grasping Bottles."
After thinking it over, Ning Que decided not to use the sect's foundation for the time being.
That meant he could only continue quietly shearing Shrek's wool.
Furthermore, he wanted to investigate whether Shrek Academy's 290,000-year gemstone-type soul bone was still there.
If it was, then he would find every possible way to obtain it.
"I'll arrange it. I'll give you an answer within three months."
Although he did not know what Ning Que intended to do, Lei Yun supported him with all his strength.
"Oh, there's one more matter. The location where the soul beast you were searching for is hiding has been roughly confirmed. Should we capture it immediately, or wait until you need it?"
Lei Yun brought another piece of good news.
"Capture it immediately. Delays invite change. However, this matter is no small matter, so it would be best to wait until Elder Jin returns and act together. Guyi and I will remain in the academy to cultivate during this period and won't casually leave to take missions, so there's no need to worry about our safety."
Upon hearing this good news, Ning Que's face immediately broke into a joyful smile.
The entire Nine Treasures Glazed Sect had searched for that soul beast for several years. Finding it now was perfect.
After discussing the matter in further detail, Ning Que finally returned to Shrek's inner court.
What followed was tedious cultivation.
In the blink of an eye, three months passed.
Shrek's new student assessment was about to begin.
His younger sister's group was a popular contender for the championship. As her older brother, how could he not go watch?
And while he was at it, he would see just how great a change his intervention had brought.
Ye Guyi also emerged from seclusion and accompanied him to watch the new student assessment matches.
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