Ning Fengzhi!

"Bought more?"

Oscar frowned. "What does he need so many for? He can't eat them all."

"They're not for eating. He's studying them." Fu Wen took a sip of soup. "He wants to figure out how Flying Sausages are made."

Oscar's expression changed. "Th-then did he figure it out?"

"No." Fu Wen set down his bowl. "The key to Flying Sausages isn't the recipe. It's your Martial Soul and Soul Ring. Even if he took a sausage apart molecule by molecule, he still couldn't replicate it."

Oscar breathed a sigh of relief, but soon grew tense again.

"Will he come after me, then?"

"So what if he does?"

Fu Wen glanced at him. "This is Suotuo City. My father and Teacher Zhao are both Seven-Ring Soul Sages. Who'd dare start trouble here?"

Oscar thought it over and decided that made sense. He picked up his chopsticks and continued eating.

But Fu Wen knew things weren't that simple.

The man in black had come more than once. Ever since his first visit, he had bought a few sausages each time and left without speaking to anyone or asking for more information.

Someone like that was either a spy for some faction or a lone alchemist.

Either way, they couldn't afford to let their guard down.

But it was too early to worry about that now.

Meet each challenge as it comes.

If it came to that, they still had ways to deal with it.

After dinner, Oscar went to the auction house to make sausages.

Ma Hongjun went back to the dormitory to rest.

Fu Wen sat alone in the courtyard, looking up at the sky.

The sun shone brightly, and white clouds drifted lazily overhead.

But his thoughts were already on the next step.

He had broken through to level eighteen.

Next came level nineteen, then twenty, and after that, his Second Soul Ring.

What kind of Soul Beast should he choose for his Second Soul Ring? What age? What Soul Skill?

There were plenty of questions.

The cultivation method of the Innate Divine Crocodile Art told him that choosing the Second Soul Ring was crucial.

The first ring was the foundation, and the second was the framework. With a solid foundation and a well-built framework, the road ahead would be much easier.

"What are you thinking about?"

Li Yusong's voice came from behind him.

Fu Wen turned and saw Li Yusong approaching at an unhurried pace, a cup of tea in hand.

"Teacher Li, I'm thinking about my Second Soul Ring."

"It's still a long way off. No need to rush."

Li Yusong sat down beside him and took a sip of tea. "The most important thing now is to make steady progress from level eighteen to twenty. When the time comes, we'll find a way to deal with the Soul Ring."

"Teacher Li, what did you choose for your second ring back then?"

"My Dragon Pattern Staff. For my second ring, I chose a hundred-year-old Iron Bone Python. Its Soul Skill was 'Iron Bone,' which strengthened my defense."

Li Yusong continued, "I didn't give it much thought back then. I just felt defense was important, so I went with that. Looking back now, it wasn't the best choice, but it wasn't a bad one either."

"If you could choose again?"

Li Yusong thought for a moment. "I'd choose a Soul Skill with control abilities. The Dragon Pattern Staff already has decent offensive power. What it lacks is control. If I had a binding-type Soul Skill, my combat power would improve by at least thirty percent."

Fu Wen nodded thoughtfully.

"You're different."

Li Yusong looked at him. "Your Martial Soul is a Mutated Sea Crocodile, which already has formidable attack and defense. What you lack isn't control, but burst damage. The kind that decides a fight with one move."

"Burst damage?"

"Right." Li Yusong nodded. "Your first Soul Skill, Primordial Bite, is already very strong, but it's a close-range skill. What if your opponent won't let you get close? What if they keep their distance and wear you down? What will you do then?"

Fu Wen fell silent.

He really hadn't considered that.

"For your second ring, choose a mid-range burst skill."

Li Yusong said, "It doesn't need to kill your opponent outright. At the very least, it should make them think twice before trying to keep their distance."

Fu Wen stood and bowed to Li Yusong.

"Thank you, Teacher Li."

"What are you thanking me for?" Li Yusong waved a hand. "I'm your teacher. This is what I'm supposed to teach you."

Fu Wen lifted his head and looked into the distance, his gaze resolute.

He already had a direction for his second ring.

That afternoon, in the auction house's back room.

Oscar was making Flying Sausages. He finished five and lined them up neatly on a tray.

Blue light shimmered across their surfaces, and the feathered patterns were exquisitely detailed.

Manager Gu came in, glanced at the tray, then at Oscar. He seemed to want to say something, but held back.

"Manager Gu, is something wrong?" Oscar asked.

Manager Gu hesitated, then lowered his voice. "Xiao Ao, I'll let you in on something. One of today's guests is someone important. He's a noble from Heaven Dou City, surnamed Ning."

"Surnamed Ning?"

Oscar raised an eyebrow. "A Ning from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?"

"Shh!"

Manager Gu raised a finger to his lips. "It's enough that you know. Don't say it out loud. Mr. Ning is very interested in Flying Sausages. He came all the way from Heaven Dou City especially for them. Keep that in mind when the auction starts."

Oscar nodded without a word.

But his thoughts were already racing.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, one of the Seven Great Sects of the Continent. Its sect master was Ning Fengzhi, wielder of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul and the strongest support-type Soul Master of the age.

Had someone from the Ning family come to buy Flying Sausages for personal use, or to study them?

Either way, it wasn't bad news.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was rich. If they were buying sausages, they were bringing in money.

As for studying them... Fu Wen had said the key to Flying Sausages wasn't the recipe, but Oscar's Martial Soul and Soul Ring. No matter how long anyone studied them, they couldn't replicate them.

With that thought, Oscar relaxed.

The auction began.

The bidding on the first Flying Sausage started at two Gold Soul Coins and quickly shot up to sixty, with the price still climbing.

"Sixty-five!"

"Seventy!"

"Seventy-five!"

A well-dressed man in his thirties raised his bidding paddle.

"One hundred."

The entire room fell silent.

One hundred Gold Soul Coins. It was the highest price a Flying Sausage had fetched since they'd first gone up for auction.

No one else bid.

The well-dressed man stood, went backstage, paid, and collected his sausage.

"Are you Oscar?"

The man looked at him, his gaze warm but keen.

"Yes."

Oscar nodded.

"I'm Ning Fengzhi, sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."

The man smiled faintly. "Your Flying Sausage is excellent."

Oscar froze for a moment.

Ning Fengzhi, sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, had come in person?

"Your praise is too kind, Sect Master Ning."

Oscar steadied himself and replied neither humbly nor arrogantly.

Ning Fengzhi nodded, picked up the Flying Sausage, and examined it. Then he put it away and turned to leave.

He asked no questions, said little, and simply walked out.

Oscar stood rooted to the spot, stunned for a long while.

When he returned to the academy, Oscar recounted Ning Fengzhi's visit in full.

Flender listened, his expression grave.

"Ning Fengzhi came in person. That means the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect takes Flying Sausages very seriously."

"But he didn't ask much or inquire into Xiao Ao's background," Fu Wen said. "He just bought one and left."

"That only makes it more worrying."

Flender frowned.

"No."

Fu Wen shook his head. "It's the opposite. Ning Fengzhi is a clever man. He knows the key to Flying Sausages is Xiao Ao's Martial Soul and Soul Ring, not the recipe. So he doesn't need to ask questions. They'd get him nowhere. He bought one to show the people in his sect."

"To show the people in his sect?"

"Right." Fu Wen nodded. "He's telling them that Flying Sausages are real and worth taking seriously. But there's nothing underhanded about them, so there's no need to study them in secret."

Flender thought it over and found it reasonable.

"What do we do from now on?"

"Carry on as usual," Fu Wen said. "Keep holding auctions and keep training. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect isn't our enemy, at least not for now."

Flender nodded and said nothing more.

That night, Fu Wen lay in bed, still thinking about Ning Fengzhi.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had its eye on Flying Sausages.

That wasn't bad news, but it certainly wasn't good news either.

At least Ning Fengzhi wasn't from Spirit Hall. He wouldn't resort to force.

But Fu Wen knew there was a long road ahead.

He was only at the second ring now. Once he reached the third, fourth, and fifth, the value of Flying Sausages would only grow.

By then, more and more people would set their sights on Oscar.

They had to prepare in advance.

He turned over and looked at Oscar, who was already asleep.

That guy still had no idea what a treasure he was holding.

But he'd find out.

One day.