Tai Tan's Death! Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo Arrive! Your Highness, What Kind of Swordsmanship Are You Practicing?

"You can't kill me!"

"Spare me! My master is Clear Sky Douluo. You can't kill me!"

"Spare me—"

He had only just tried to activate his Martial Soul Avatar,

but he hadn't had time—

In an instant, just like his son, he turned into a cloud of ash. A breeze swept through, scattering it until not a trace remained.

"Teacher... he's dead just like that?"

Qian Renxue's eyes widened.

A Soul Douluo, a powerful man whose strength rivaled that of a Titled Douluo, had just... turned to ash in the blink of an eye?

"What did you expect? All right, let's go. It's time to head back."

Ling Xiao sighed as he spoke.

Perhaps because his soul had been damaged, even the power of his Heavenly Flames seemed to have weakened quite a bit.

That fellow had struggled for so long. He shouldn't have. He really shouldn't have.

Qian Renxue nodded.

She sensed several concealed auras approaching, and the Heaven Dou Royal Knights, who were responsible for keeping the peace, had also been dispatched.

She didn't want to cause any more trouble—

She glanced at the few innocent people lying gravely injured on the ground,

pulled a bottle of pills from her robes,

and fed one to each of them. Then she blurred away into the night.

Qian Renxue had left, but the entire Heaven Dou City had been jolted awake.

Tai Tan, clan leader of the Strength Clan, had attacked people in the street,

only to be killed in turn by a mysterious young man right there on the street. The news left countless factions stunned.

Tai Tan was an old and formidable Soul Douluo,

with strength that could even rival a Titled Douluo's.

Who could have imagined he would fall just like that?

"Are you sure Spirit Hall didn't do it?"

Ning Fengzhi had just returned to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect when Tai Tan's death startled him. He questioned the scout.

After all, Tai Tan had just clashed with Salas, Spirit Hall's bishop,

and had been killed shortly afterward.

It was hard not to suspect Spirit Hall.

"Reporting to the sect master, plenty of people witnessed what happened.

It was a young man in white.

According to the eyewitnesses, Tai Tan approached him first and provoked him. Then the young man in white turned him to ash with a spark of flame."

The scout replied.

The moment he heard "young man in white," Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo immediately thought of "Fei Xue," who had made such a dazzling impression at the Soul Fighting Arena.

But on second thought,

the other boy was only a Soul Elder. He couldn't possibly... It couldn't have been him!

"Alas, this really is a troubled time. A troubled time indeed."

Sword Douluo sighed.

First, Spirit Hall had revealed a tremendous vision. Then a peerless prodigy had appeared, sweeping through the Soul Fighting Arena.

After that came Tang San, son of Tang Hao,

and their relationship with Spirit Hall had grown ever more strained.

"Once that little brat wakes up, we should send him away as soon as possible."

Bone Douluo was also secretly worried.

Ning Fengzhi was silent for a long while before he finally spoke softly:

"Things are unsettled within the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, too.

Xue Xing's side has been making frequent moves, while Emperor Xue Ye's attitude remains ambiguous.

Tomorrow, I'll go to the palace and see His Majesty."

Bishop Salas had also heard the shocking news upon returning to the church.

At first, he was stunned. Then, he was overjoyed.

"Hmph! That old ape got what he deserved!

Serves him right!

He even dared to look down on me!

And Ning Fengzhi, Xue Xing, Yu Luomian...

Just you wait. Sooner or later, I'll get my revenge!"

He had originally wanted to use the excuse of Tang San being a "remnant of the Clear Sky Sect" to seize him outright,

but Tai Tan had appeared and stubbornly interfered.

Then Yu Xiaogang had even produced an Elder Token.

He was a useless nobody.

Why would Salas take seriously an Elder Token of unknown origin in his hands?

Once Salas absorbed Tang San's External Soul Bone,

he would become a Titled Douluo and an elder of Spirit Hall. Why would he fear that man?

But the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had all exerted pressure behind the scenes in turn,

forcing him to back down and let the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect take Tang San away.

"Oh, right. Spread the word—this has nothing to do with Spirit Hall. Don't let them pin the blame on us."

Salas was grateful to whoever had intervened from the shadows,

but he didn't want to cause himself trouble at such a critical juncture,

or let anything get in the way of his promotion to Titled Douluo!

"Also, send people to keep a close watch on every move the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect makes.

Report to me the moment anything happens,

especially anything concerning Tang San."

He didn't believe Ning Fengzhi would keep Tang San at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect forever.

If they dared to take that External Soul Bone,

he would naturally make a huge fuss about it, turning that supposed "unity among the Upper Three Sects" into a joke.

And if that could even draw the Clear Sky Sect out of hiding, so much the better.

That would be a great merit!

After returning to the Crown Prince's Residence,

Ling Xiao didn't waste any time. He immediately gave Qian Renxue an enhanced Soul Raising Pill.

After taking the pill,

her Soul Power instantly broke through to level forty-nine.

Feeling the abundant Soul Power within her, Qian Renxue almost couldn't stop herself from letting out a long cry.

The sensation was simply wonderful.

"For the next few days, don't go to the Soul Fighting Arena. Get used to the changes brought by your increased Soul Power first."

"All right, teacher."

Qian Renxue was exceptionally obedient this time.

She could feel that after Ling Xiao's training, her Soul Power was now at least twice as concentrated as before.

She really did need to adapt to it properly before she could make the most of her strength.

Daybreak came,

but Qian Renxue had already grown accustomed to replacing sleep with cultivation.

She went to the Martial Practice Arena and began another day of training.

Snake Lance Douluo and the others were used to it by now and no longer found it strange.

At noon,

two visitors suddenly arrived at the Crown Prince's Residence.

They were Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo, who had just come from the palace.

"Greetings, Sect Master Ning and Your Excellency Sword Douluo. His Highness is training. I'll go call him over at once."

Snake Lance Douluo bowed in greeting and was about to leave, but Ning Fengzhi stopped him.

"There's no need. We can go to him directly. Don't trouble yourself."

Recently, Heaven Dou City had been beset by turmoil, with one strange event after another.

Even the court was unsettled,

as Prince Xue Xing made moves against them from the shadows and applied pressure time and again.

Ning Fengzhi had naturally noticed. As someone who stood on the Crown Prince's side,

he had to come and see how things were,

and have a talk with Qian Renxue, while also checking on how her secluded cultivation was going.

Snake Lance Douluo thought it over.

For the past few days, his young mistress had done nothing but meditate and practice her sword. There was nothing she needed to hide.

So he gestured for them to follow and led them toward the Martial Practice Arena.

The three of them had barely reached the edge of the arena when they all stopped in unison.

Afternoon sunlight filtered through the branches of towering old trees, scattering gold across the flagstone ground.

Qian Renxue stood in the middle of the Martial Practice Arena, practicing a set of sword moves they had never seen before.

The swordplay was incredibly slow.

The tip of the sword crept forward inch by inch,

yet her wrist was as steady as a rock, and the blade didn't tremble in the slightest.

Ning Fengzhi raised an eyebrow.

He wasn't deeply versed in the way of the sword, but he had seen plenty of people practice.

The fast, the fierce, the flashy, the bloodthirsty—what hadn't he seen?

But he had never seen anything this slow!

Sword Douluo, however, had not taken his eyes off her since the moment he stopped.

At first, he had frowned too, thinking the swordplay was so slow it seemed to have no method at all.

But the longer he watched, the more he felt something was amiss,

though he couldn't quite put his finger on what.

Qian Renxue had noticed their arrival long ago. She calmly lowered her sword and stood at attention,

steadied her breathing,

then walked over and cupped her hands in greeting.

"Greetings, teacher. Greetings, Your Excellency Sword Douluo!"

She was graceful, humble, and courteous, just as she had always been.

"Your Highness, what kind of swordsmanship are you practicing? I've never seen anything like it."

Sword Douluo spoke frankly.