A moment later, Ning Huan followed Ning Tian to the private training ground behind the main hall.
At a glance, it was much smaller than the one they had used during the tournament.
It was probably only about a tenth of the size.
But it had every kind of equipment a Soul Master could need for training.
From basic fitness equipment to Soul Tools that existed only as vague impressions in his mind,
he could find them all here with ease.
"Honestly... this is another up-close reminder of just how loaded the sect is~"
After letting out a sigh of admiration, Ning Huan turned to the blonde girl beside him and said pointedly:
"Uncle Ning must have gone to a lot of trouble to get these Soul Tools."
"Mm. Unlike everyday Soul Tools, those used to assist with cultivation are quite expensive, even in the Sun Moon Empire."
Though Ning Tian spoke softly, her undisguised pride was still clear.
"Especially in Tianhun, an empire that strongly rejects Soul Tools. Getting them safely back here was even more of a hassle."
A hassle?
Why not just buy a few high-grade Storage Soul Tools and arrange for a Titled Douluo to handle it?
Besides, more than that, Ning Huan wanted to know exactly how much money Ning Hao had wasted back then.
"Just tell me how much the markup was~"
Ning Tian: "..."
The overly blunt question and the burning gaze from beside her made the girl struggle to keep a straight face. She immediately thought to herself:
Does this guy not know he should be gentler with girls younger than him?
But she had already brought it up, and in a sense, Ning Huan was no outsider to her anymore.
There was no need to hide a few embarrassing secrets.
"On average, eighty-three percent. A few relatively rare Soul Tools had markups of ninety percent... or more."
"Eighty-three per—"
"Holy crap! How much?!"
At last, it was Ning Huan's turn to be stunned.
He had expected a hefty markup, but he had never imagined it would be this high!
The price had practically doubled!
What had gotten into Ning Hao to make him buy these Soul Tools at any cost?
Was he going all in to raise Ning Tian?
Or did he have more money than he knew what to do with?
He couldn't make sense of it!
"And that's just the cost of the Soul Tools themselves. It doesn't include transportation or the Soul Tool repair manuals, and so on."
"Actually, Father initially wanted to use them to develop Soul Tools himself."
"But... well, sigh~"
Mm, there was no need to say more. Ning Huan could already guess why it hadn't worked.
Without a solid foundation in theory, without a teacher to guide him, and relying entirely on tinkering by himself in a room—
it would have been a miracle if he'd succeeded!
Sigh, I need to put Soul Tools on the agenda.
Setting his shock aside for the moment, Ning Huan settled his thoughts, then looked at the two girls again.
"We can talk about that another time. Come on, let me see how strong you two are."
"Okay..."
"Wait!"
Before Ning Tian could agree, Wu Feng—who had been making a big fuss about fighting Ning Huan to the death—spoke up first and loudly objected.
Her unusual reaction left the other two astonished.
"What are you looking at me for?! You know how strong you are!"
"Black Tortoise, Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear—you summon those Soul Beasts, and how are we supposed to fight you?!"
"Is it something to be proud of, a Soul Ancestor bullying a Soul Grandmaster and a Soul Master?!"
As she spoke, Wu Feng pulled Ning Tian behind her.
Her cautious manner was nothing like what one would expect from a protector.
Ning Tian nodded too, fixing Ning Huan with a pair of bright, limpid eyes.
She hadn't said a word, yet somehow she looked as though she'd been bullied.
"Fine, fine. If you have a request, just say it!"
"Don't look at me like that. You're making me feel inexplicably guilty."
"Great! I only have one request!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Wu Feng poked her head out from behind Ning Tian.
She wore a broad smile, as if victory were already hers.
"You're not allowed to summon any Soul Beasts older than a thousand years!"
At that, Ning Huan raised an eyebrow. His opinion of her suddenly improved.
He had thought she was a hot-tempered girl with nothing in her head but muscles and Ning Tian.
Turns out she had some brains after all!
As for her condition, it did leave him in a bit of a bind.
There was only one reason: he had just two Soul Beasts under a thousand years old.
They were his first and Second Soul Rings, which he had never upgraded, just to keep them from drawing attention.
Even so, the Spirit Body contracted to his Second Soul Ring didn't seem like something the two of them could handle.
"Fine, I'll do as you say."
"Haha, it's a deal!"
Only after getting a clear answer did Wu Feng, convinced she'd gotten the better of him, step forward.
She put her hands on her hips, her little face brimming with smugness.
"Young Mistress, let's go!"
Though Ning Tian still felt that something was amiss,
her friend had already agreed to the terms, and Ning Tian couldn't go back on it and embarrass her.
In the end, she could only suppress her unease and walk slowly to the other side of the training ground before releasing her Martial Soul.
"Seven Treasures Turn Out Glazed!"
As the incantation ended, an exquisite little pagoda surrounded by a green glow appeared in Ning Tian's hand.
Two yellow Soul Rings pulsed up and down as the aura of a twenty-second-level Soul Grandmaster slowly spread out.
In front of Ning Tian, Wu Feng followed suit.
Her Red Dragon possessed her Martial Soul, and crimson scales rapidly covered half her body, instantly outlining curves beyond what one would expect of a girl her age.
"Here we go! Young Mistress, let's attack!"
"All right! Seven Treasures Have Names, first: Strength!"
"First Soul Skill, Dragon Fire!"
Sure enough, faced with a powerful opponent, the two girls went all out from the start.
And although they weren't related by blood, after years of living and eating together,
their teamwork was no weaker than that of pairs with a Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
"If circumstances hadn't forced their hands, perhaps their lives wouldn't have been so difficult."
Watching this, Ning Huan suddenly spoke from the heart, entirely unconcerned by the flames drawing closer.
"Forget it. I'm here this time, anyway."
"If I still let them fall into the Qiankun Asking Love Valley and torment each other, I might as well find a crooked-neck tree and hang myself!"
No one heard his muttering, but the simple hand sign he formed made Ning Tian and Wu Feng grow wary.
"Ripples of Luoshui, Pearl of the Vast Sea."
"Cang Lan!"
With a soft shout, five columns of water surged up around Ning Huan.
In the blink of an eye, they gathered into a pool of blue water, forcing Wu Feng to halt her charge.
"What?!"
But before she could figure out what was going on,
she suddenly spotted the shadow of a three-meter-long snake swimming beneath the surface.
"Hmph! Quit your tricks!"
As if to overcome the fear in her heart, Wu Feng poured all her strength into a punch at the water, bolstered by her enhancement Soul Skill and Dragon Fire.
Boom!
Splash!
In an instant, water sprayed everywhere.
Despite the protection of her flames, the girl closest to it was drenched on the spot.
Ning Huan, on the other hand, hadn't gotten a drop on him. An invisible barrier had shielded him completely.
"You... what is she...?"
Taking a closer look, she saw a blue-haired girl who looked about fourteen or fifteen, with a face of perfect beauty, glaring angrily at Wu Feng.
The girl's lower half was a snake's tail shimmering with seven-colored light. That was what had shocked Wu Feng. "She's my Second Soul Ring, Cang Lan, and the only humanoid Soul Beast Spirit Body I have right now!"
Before you continue