Everything Was Ready

The next morning, the sun slowly rose.

Pale morning light spilled across the land.

Yet for those still lost in sleep, the warmth and serenity of its rays had become unbearably glaring.

The young man lying in the ruins, who had slept unconscious through the night, was one of them.

"Yawn... It's morning already."

Ning Huan slowly opened his bleary eyes, exhaustion and drowsiness constantly showing in them.

His rumpled clothes had long since been soaked through with morning dew, clinging tightly to his body.

The clammy feeling was miserable, but pain pulsing through every part of him made him want to keep lying flat and not move a muscle.

There was no helping it. His Soul Power and spiritual power had fully recovered, and he even seemed on the verge of a breakthrough.

But the memory of the Seven Kill Sword Qi torturing him for dozens of minutes before he passed out still haunted his subconscious.

The pain in his body also left him without the slightest bit of energy.

"Making my first Contract with a Spirit Body was brutal, but at least the results are worth it!"

As he spoke, Ning Huan calmed his mind and carefully sensed the Seven Kill Sword Seal imprinted in his Sea of Consciousness.

Then the corners of his mouth lifted slightly, and he looked quite pleased.

"With Sword Douluo vouching for me, no one will dare bring up 'hiding my talent' during the sect's assessment!"

"As for more resources and attention..."

"You can't have one without the other. Having someone to teach me is better than hiding on the frontier and building a carriage behind closed doors."

When he finished speaking, Ning Huan could no longer stand the damp, uncomfortable feeling of his clothes.

He immediately endured the pain, raised his left arm, and formed a hand seal with fingers that trembled slightly.

"Rainbow light, shine again; nourish and heal my body!"

At his soft incantation, a Spirit Deer shimmering with seven-colored light leaped out of thin air.

Looking closely, though its spirit form was illusory, its bearing remained as noble and graceful as a sculpture.

"Yoo~"

The Spirit Deer landed lightly beside Ning Huan. Its distinctive cry carried a hint of anxiety.

In an instant, seven-colored rays, like a rainbow, burst into bloom.

They became particles of rainbow light floating in the air, dazzling and brilliant beneath the rising sun.

A moment passed. Only when the Seven-Colored Deer's Spirit Body had turned translucent and was about to vanish did the particles finally fill the space within a three-meter radius.

At last, thousands upon thousands of particles gathered into a torrent.

They all burrowed into Ning Huan's body at once, rapidly healing his pain-racked form.

"Yoo~"

Having done all this, the Seven-Colored Spirit Deer finally set aside its worries and let out another joyful, drawn-out cry.

Then it lowered its head and docilely rubbed against its master's shoulder.

"Mm, good girl."

Ning Huan smiled as he stroked the deer's head, and his opinion of Jinbao rose another notch.

After all, it had helped him find most of the Spirit Bodies he could Contract.

Deer antler from a Seven-Colored Deer, poison extracted from the stingers of a Man Faced Demon Spider, the mane of a century-old Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear...

It had played a part in finding all sorts of rare materials that ordinary people would struggle to identify.

Thinking of this, Ning Huan resolved that no matter what, he must never reveal Jinbao's existence.

After all, the Treasure Seeking Mouse was exceptionally gifted and renowned far and wide.

Its bloodline abilities were enough to make royalty, nobility, and sects scramble after it.

After ten thousand years of being hunted, it had now been completely wiped out.

If outsiders learned that a Treasure Seeking Mouse still existed on the mainland, it would bring a disaster he could never handle.

"I wonder how strong Jinbao's talent will be once he becomes a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Body."

"Maybe he could even dig up the Golden Tree..."

The sudden fantasy made Ning Huan shake his head and chuckle.

Still, deep down, he had a powerful premonition.

His precious golden-furred mouse might really give him an earth-shattering surprise at some point in the future.

Tianluo City lay close to the border between the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire.

But it sat on open grassland, with a clear view in every direction and no natural defenses for a hundred li around. It was easy to attack and difficult to defend.

Moreover, with the Sun Moon Empire watching from the other side, the Star Luo Empire wouldn't risk the outrage of the entire world by invading it.

So for a thousand years, the Heavenly Soul Imperial Family had never considered it a strategic stronghold.

Though plenty of merchants came and went, most treated it as no more than a temporary place to rest.

The Nine Treasures Glazed Sect had likewise established a business here without any expectation of making money.

It was simply so information could flow in time, and they wouldn't be left in the dark.

Yet because of the threat posed by the Sun Moon Empire, the three great empires had no choice but to unite with all their strength.

As a result, the mainland had been peaceful within its borders, with few conflicts.

Over the past few centuries, useful intelligence from Tianluo City could be counted on one hand.

If the information in the sect's register hadn't been constantly recorded and updated by someone, the sect disciples stationed here might as well have been exiled to Ningguta.

From this, one could see just how invisible Ning Huan had been after his Martial Soul was labeled "trash."

But a sect that could rise anew from Destruction and stand firm on the mainland for ten thousand years had to possess its own way of survival.

Especially since, although underdogs making a comeback were rare over the millennia, one would still pop up every now and then.

Therefore, having learned from past experience, the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect held a Soul Fighting tournament every few years.

They used it both to assess the progress of the headquarters' disciples and to seek out those who had been sent away because their Innate Soul Power was insufficient when their Martial Souls Awakened.

Wasting money was certainly a shame.

But once the sands were sifted and gold emerged, it would be the sect's greatest reward.

After all, choosing between mountains of gold and silver and Soul Masters who could become the sect's backbone in the future was sometimes an easy decision.

Especially for a special sect like the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect, whose direct disciples had support-type Martial Souls.

"What?! You, with your 'trash' Martial Soul, want to return to the sect for the Soul Fighting tournament? And you want me to get you a carriage and money?!"

"What a joke!"

A furious, scornful shout rang through the building, making passersby stop and glance sideways.

But when they saw that the source was the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect's residence, they quickly looked away and hurried off.

Even a skinny camel was bigger than a horse.

No matter how far the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect had fallen from its glory ten thousand years ago, it still commanded one Super Douluo and two Titled Douluos.

It was no force that small-time families like them could afford to offend.

At the same time, in a spacious room in the residence, a short, middle-aged man with shifty eyes wore an expression of fury. His words dripped with mockery.

"I may not know what the others are like, but you, hmph, with a mere 'trash' Martial Soul, what right do you have to return to the sect for the... tournament?"

Suddenly, the steward seemed to have seen a ghost. His voice grew quieter and quieter.

The contempt in his tone was instantly replaced by panic.

"Go on, then. What's wrong with my trash Martial Soul?"

Ning Huan sat leisurely on the sofa, one leg crossed over the other and his fingers forming a hand seal. Four Soul Rings—yellow, yellow, purple, and purple—pulsed beside him.

The steward, by contrast, didn't dare move a muscle. He was afraid the Man Faced Demon Spider exuding a vicious aura before him might accidentally slash him with one of its legs.

"Well? Does a twelve-year-old Soul Ancestor like me have the right to return to the sect, Steward Ning Zhen?"

Gulp...

The middle-aged steward swallowed with difficulty, then cautiously nodded again and again.

"Yes, yes, yes! Young master, please be magnanimous and put away your power! I... I have a heart condition. I can't take a fright like that."

"Hmph, I'll let it go this time, since you haven't made things difficult for me these past six years."

"Remember to prepare a carriage and travel money for me. You owe me a favor."

With that, Ning Huan recalled his Spirit Body and Soul Rings, then strolled out of the room, leaving the steward slumped on the spot and drenched in sweat.