Deceiving a Young Man in His Early Twenties

"Clatter, clatter..."

Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps came from inside the mountain gate. Several thousand Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect disciples had assembled under the leadership of a dozen elders and stewards, and now they rushed over to reinforce the sect.

"Elder Bone." The sight that greeted them left the disciples stunned. So many of their fellow disciples lay on the ground, covered in blood and unconscious; quite a few had even stopped breathing. And Bone Douluo Gu Rong, the pillar of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, was sprawled on the ground in a truly miserable state. After standing dumbfounded for a moment, two elders from outside the clan came to their senses and hurried over to help him to his feet.

"Elder Bone, what should we do now?" they asked after helping Gu Rong up.

Xue Hen lifted his chin and looked at the several thousand Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect disciples who had been summoned. His brows furrowed slightly as he said, "Bone Douluo, are you planning to use your numbers to swarm me? If so, then come!"

As he spoke, Xue Hen swung his arm, holding the Imperial Power Sword horizontally in front of him. A golden pillar of sword energy shot straight into the heavens!

Gu Rong stood up and gazed at the golden pillar of light piercing the clouds. His heart sank. He looked back at the several thousand disciples behind him, but the pressure weighing on him did not ease.

The two sides... actually had no deep-seated grudge. It was all because of Ning Pianpian.

To preserve the sect's unity, he had to stand up and protect Ning Pianpian. But protecting her was one thing; how far he went to protect her was another.

This Xue Hen... was too strong.

If Gu Rong led the several thousand disciples behind him in a charge and fought Xue Hen to the death, there was no doubt that his side would win. But things could not be that simple. After killing many of their disciples, Xue Hen could simply withdraw at his leisure. They wouldn't be able to keep him here.

As long as he wasn't an idiot who stubbornly stayed to fight them to the death and refused to retreat, he would be invincible!

After he left, he could return another time and kill more of their disciples. The cycle would repeat, and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect couldn't withstand that.

In the end, it was because Fengzhi and Old Sword Man weren't here. If they were, keeping this kid here wouldn't be a problem... probably. Most likely.

"Sigh..." Thinking of this, Gu Rong sighed helplessly to himself.

"Elder?" When Gu Rong did not answer his question or respond to the enemy, one of the two elders from outside the clan supporting him looked at him and asked again, "What should we do now? Should we fight or make peace?"

"Young man, if I told you the people you're looking for aren't in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, would you believe me?" Gu Rong ignored the elder. After sighing, he looked at Xue Hen, who stood before him with his sword held crosswise, and spoke.

"I wouldn't," Xue Hen replied indifferently.

"They really aren't here." Gu Rong put on a helpless expression and spoke with an air of complete sincerity.

Really not here?

Seeing the old man's expression, Xue Hen began to feel uncertain. Could they really be gone? That didn't make sense. The Sky Screen had said that a month from now, he would go to the Balak Royal Palace for revenge and kill her son on the spot. After seeing that, would that woman really dare to stay there? If she wanted to flee, where could she go besides the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?

He's lying to me. The old man's lying to me!

"Bone Douluo, it's pretty disgraceful for a dignified Titled Douluo to deceive a young man in his early twenties," Xue Hen said to Gu Rong, a trace of mockery in his voice.

Yet Gu Rong wasn't angered by Xue Hen's taunt. He even shoved away the two elders supporting him, spread his hands, and said bluntly, "As a dignified Titled Douluo, I naturally wouldn't stoop to something so disgraceful. But the fact is, they aren't here. As the saying goes, a married daughter is like spilled water. If that's true of a daughter, then it's even truer of a cousin. Ning Pianpian has already married into the Balak Royal Family. She's one of them now, and her affairs have nothing to do with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect!"

Xue Hen fell silent.

He had a feeling that Gu Rong was lying. As someone who had read the original novel, he knew enough about the old man's character.

Absolutely shameless!

He was a powerful man without a shred of integrity. Lying through his teeth was exactly the sort of thing he would do.

But...

It didn't matter. He had come here today to settle accounts with Ning Pianpian, but that was just an excuse. His real goal was to make himself known to the world and let people experience his strength firsthand. He had already achieved that.

As for Gu Rong's brazen lies, hmph. He could pretend to believe him. The next time he came, he could use this as an excuse to shift from settling accounts with Ning Pianpian to settling accounts with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Then he could make an even bigger commotion and further raise the authenticity of the "Super Douluo—Xue Hen" character.

Thinking this, Xue Hen looked the "sincere" Gu Rong up and down a few times. Then he slowly lowered the arm holding the Imperial Power Sword and said, "Fine. Since Bone Douluo has put it that way, I'll take your word for now. But if I find out you're lying to me, you—and the entire Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect—will pay a heavy price."

"Whoosh!" As soon as he finished speaking, Xue Hen leaped into the air. His body transformed into a streak of sword light and shot into the distance, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

"Phew..." Watching Xue Hen "fall for it," Gu Rong let out a long breath. Then his legs gave way, and he slumped back onto the ground.

"Elder Bone!" The elders and disciples beside and behind him were alarmed by the sight and hurriedly called out, afraid something had happened to him.

"I'm fine. Quickly, send someone to the Balak Kingdom and tell the sect master what happened here. Ask him and Elder Sword to return at once!" Gu Rong instructed them.

"Yes, Elder Bone!" the two elders from outside the clan who had supported him earlier replied with a bow.

On a road not far from the Seven Treasure Mountain Range.

Xue Hen landed there and put away his Imperial Power Sword Martial Soul. An emotionless voice sounded in his mind.

Semi-Fictional Character—Super Douluo, Xue Hen.

Authenticity increased. Current value: 95.35%.

Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, Nirvana Black Tortoise corpse (contains Soul Bone): Available to materialize.

As Xue Hen walked along the road and listened to the voice in his mind, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

His authenticity had increased again. Once news of his "visit" to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect spread, his authenticity would surely rise a little more. He... would grow stronger and stronger!

Just as Xue Hen had expected, a few days later, Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin, who were far away in the Balak Kingdom, received a message from the sect and immediately decided to return.

At the same time, news quickly spread throughout the continent that Xue Hen, a Super Douluo with Twin Martial Souls, had arrived at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and defeated Bone Douluo with just three moves, despite Bone Douluo having been empowered by twelve Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Soul Emperors.

The entire continent was shaken!