A girl in a white dress stood in front of the commoner disciples. The Ning family scion somehow carried an air of stern authority.
"The reason the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has endured for ten thousand years is that we embrace all rivers, not that we believe in bloodline supremacy!"
"You bullied your fellow disciples. How can you face the legacy of Ancestor Rongrong, Ancestor Oscar, and Ancestor Ning Fengzhi?"
Ning Tian took a deep breath. A dignity reserved for those in positions of power radiated from the girl.
"Go. Apologize to them!"
The Ning family disciples froze, but beneath that imposing presence, they lowered their heads almost without thinking.
"We're sorry!"
"We won't do it again."
Watching those arrogant direct disciples of the sect slink away, Huo Yuhao looked once more at the dignified woman in white, and his gaze turned dazed.
At that moment, everyone beyond the Sky Screen couldn't help clicking their tongues. Some even felt a hint of apprehension.
This mastery of people was worthy of a sect with ten thousand years of heritage. It was completely different from Shrek's industrial, assembly-line approach!
The scene on the Sky Screen continued, shifting to a secret chamber in the sect at night.
"Miss! Why? Why are you being so nice to that country bumpkin? Even when I just beat someone up, you made me apologize to those useless commoners!"
Wu Feng practically charged up to Ning Tian, her voice trembling with resentment, as if she were about to burst into tears.
"You're a stranger to me now! And you even—you even made soup for him yourself?"
With her back to Wu Feng, Ning Tian stood by the window, gazing at the moonlight. There wasn't a trace of the tenderness and kindness she'd shown that day on her face now.
"Wu Feng, you're too naive."
The girl's voice was cool and devoid of emotion. "This is called 'buying a thousand gold coins' worth of a horse's bones.'"
"A few words of apology and a little inconsequential dignity can win the unwavering loyalty of a genius who might one day surpass a Titled Douluo and even become a Limit Douluo. Isn't that a good deal?"
"A L-Limit Douluo?"
Even Wu Feng, her eyes red, was stunned.
"Exactly. You have no idea what Twin Martial Souls, a Body Martial Soul, or an Ultimate Martial Soul mean."
Ning Tian sighed, her gaze growing more melancholy.
"A genius like that is more valuable than anyone else in our entire sect. That includes me, and even... Father. Even Shrek Academy and Mingde Hall would do anything to recruit a genius like him."
"But..." Wu Feng's body trembled. "How long are you going to keep being so nice to him? Are you really going to..."
"Father has already issued the Patriarch Order."
Ning Tian turned around. Moonlight fell across half her face, making her look sinister. "For the sake of the sect, I can be his older sister, his lover, even the mother of his future child."
"As long as it keeps this future Ultimate Martial Soul Limit Douluo in the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, my body and my feelings are nothing but bargaining chips."
There were some things so shocking that she hadn't even told the girl who'd been by her side day and night. In ten thousand years, another Ning Rongrong or Oscar might appear.
Or even...
another Sea God Tang San.
Ning Tian walked over to Wu Feng and gently stroked the girl's hair. She sighed, her expression softening again, now with a hint of loneliness.
"Wu Feng. You and I both belong to the sect. If... if you really ruin Father's plan, then even though we grew up together, the sect's laws won't spare you. I truly don't want to see that day come."
"Miss, I... I understand!"
Wu Feng lowered her head and bit down hard on her stubborn lip, but tears still slid down her wheat-colored cheeks.
At the sight of this, everyone beyond the Sky Screen fell silent. In the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Wu Feng in the real world watched the scene, her whole body trembling faintly.
She told herself over and over that this was only another world, only one possible parallel outcome. But how could she not understand in her heart?
If such an opportunity really arose, wouldn't the sect as it was now—and even Miss herself—act just as decisively?
In the imperial palace of the Heaven Dou Empire, Princess Vina's face had gone pale. As she watched Ning Tian, she felt as if she were looking at another version of herself.
She'd seen this sort of tactic far too often in her imperial education. But if she were in Ning Tian's place, could she handle it so perfectly?
Perhaps that woman from the Star Luo Empire could not only do it, but do it even better.
At that moment, many more commoner Soul Masters began to imagine what would happen if they were in the same situation. The answer was obvious.
"A gentle embrace is a hero's grave! It's always been that way since ancient times. Better to pursue the sword and devote oneself to a single path..."
At Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, a plainly dressed young man held a meteor-iron longsword. As he watched the Sky Screen, the resolve in his eyes grew even firmer.
The scene on the Sky Screen continued to leap forward.
A Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect carriage inlaid with countless gemstones and lavish to the extreme pulled up outside Xilan Academy, followed by a large group of attendants.
The entire academy was in an uproar.
Ning Tian naturally took the young man's hand. Composed and generous, she followed the principal's nervous welcome and entered the campus with graceful poise.
"Yuhao, I heard this is where your dream began."
The girl in white smiled, her voice as pleasant as silver bells. "To thank the academy for nurturing such an outstanding disciple, I've decided to donate ten million Gold Soul Coins on behalf of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, to improve the training conditions for the commoner students."
"What?"
"Ten million?"
The commoner students of Xilan Academy erupted at once. They shouted Saintess Ning Tian's name, their eyes full of fervor. The white-haired Soul King principal was so shocked that he didn't know what to do with himself.
In all his life, he'd never seen such a staggering sum! When this academy was founded, all the initial investment combined hadn't even come to one ten-thousandth of it.
Ning Tian then announced in front of everyone that she would select five commoner students with decent talent from Xilan Academy and let them enter the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's inner sect without an entrance exam.
One of the selected junior students rushed excitedly over to Huo Yuhao, grabbed his hand, and shouted:
"Senior Huo, you're our idol from now on! You have to come back and visit the academy often!"
Everyone knew that if Huo Yuhao hadn't brought them good fortune, someone like Miss Ning Tian wouldn't have spared their academy a second glance!