Jealousy

Candlelight cast two figures onto the wall.

"Uncle Sword, if you don't make your move soon, dawn will break." Ning Fengzhi spoke with a smile.

Only then did Chen Xin slowly place a black stone in one corner of the board. "One must calm one's mind when playing chess. Stop rushing me."

"It isn't me rushing you. Uncle Sword, your mind doesn't seem to be on the game today." Ning Fengzhi replied confidently as the white stones gradually closed in.

"Rongrong has only been gone for a few days, and you're already unable to sit still, aren't you?"

At the mention of Ning Rongrong, a flicker of emotion finally appeared on Chen Xin's face.

"That child has never left the sect since she was young," he said blandly, placing another stone. "The outside world is dangerous, and she is spoiled by nature. I'm worried she'll suffer."

You know she's spoiled too?

Ning Fengzhi thought, but he could not help smiling. "It would be good for her to suffer a little. How else can she grow up if she never does?"

Chen Xin raised his eyes to look at him. "You really can bear to let her suffer."

"Even if I can't bear it, I must." Ning Fengzhi sighed softly and lifted his tea cup for a sip. "Uncle Sword, you and I both know that if Rongrong remains in the sect, protected by you and Uncle Bone, she will spend her entire life as nothing more than a flower in a greenhouse. The heir of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect cannot merely be a flower."

"She can learn slowly."

"But time waits for no one." Ning Fengzhi shook his head, his expression gradually turning solemn. "Undercurrents are surging across the continent. Spirit Hall has been making frequent moves these past few years. The Upper Three Sects appear united on the surface, but in truth, each harbors its own schemes. Uncle Sword, you know what my sons are like. In another ten years, Rongrong will have to take over the sect. If she is still like this then, how can I rest easy?"

Chen Xin fell silent.

To be honest, Ning Fengzhi's sons were not particularly talented, and none of them had even half of Ning Fengzhi's intelligence. Each had only learned a portion of his abilities.

Together, they made one Ning Fengzhi. Separately, they were a pile of...

They did not even know how to flatter people.

They always ended up kicking the horse's legs instead.

The sound of chess pieces landing on the board rang out one after another.

After a long while, Chen Xin suddenly asked, "Have you investigated that youth called Zhou Qiubai?"

The change of topic was abrupt, but Ning Fengzhi was not surprised.

"I knew Uncle Sword didn't ask me to play chess today merely because of Rongrong." He set down his tea cup and took a dossier from his sleeve. "All the intelligence sent back by the Shadow Guards is here. His background is clean to an excessive degree—or rather... too clean."

Chen Xin took the dossier and quickly scanned the words.

Zhou Qiubai, approximately seventeen years old, origins unknown.

When Spirit Hall awakened Martial Souls in small villages, those records might have been used as toilet paper within months. What could possibly be gathered?

He first appeared near the Star Dou Forest, then traveled all the way to Suotuo City.

Even his work as a guide for others in the Star Dou Forest had all been recorded.

During that time, he had experienced several battles. His opponents included Soul Grandmasters and Soul Elders, and he had won every one.

His swordsmanship was peculiar and his movement technique nimble. To this day, he had yet to reveal a Soul Ring, making it likely that he possessed a Self-Created Soul Skill or some sort of secret art.

"That's all?" Chen Xin frowned.

"That's all." Ning Fengzhi shrugged. "He is like someone who appeared out of thin air. He has neither family background nor a lineage of masters, and there are almost no traces of his past. Either an expert behind him erased everything for him, or..."

"He is a true wandering martial artist," Chen Xin finished. "Starting from nothing and forming his own school."

"Uncle Sword seems to think highly of him?"

"My Sword Dao pursues ultimate offense—pressing forward without hesitation and cutting through everything." Chen Xin spoke slowly. "But within that youth's Sword Intent, there is a sense of desolation. It is not weakness, but a clarity born from seeing all prosperity and understanding that everything will eventually return to silence. It is the lone courage of doing what cannot be done despite knowing it cannot be done."

He paused briefly, a rare trace of emotion appearing on his face. "My father touched upon a hint of such a realm back then. That person at the academy only reached it at the age of thirty-five. Yet I saw its embryonic form in a youth of merely sixteen or seventeen."

Ning Fengzhi fell into thought.

He did not understand the Sword Dao, but he understood people.

For Chen Xin, the foremost figure of the Douluo world's Sword Dao, to say such words, that youth was destined to be extraordinary.

As for the person at the academy Uncle Sword had mentioned, that was not someone they could discuss...

If Chen Jianjun's death was taken as a premise, and the Sword Dao of the world were one stone, then that person alone occupied five pecks, Uncle Sword occupied three, and everyone else shared the remaining two.

"So Uncle Sword wishes to meet him?" Ning Fengzhi asked.

"I do." Chen Xin spoke bluntly. "To discuss swords, seek the Dao, or... see whether he is willing to inherit my Sword Dao."

"Inherit your Sword Dao?" Ning Fengzhi chuckled. "Uncle Sword, are you thinking of taking a disciple?"

"It is not impossible." Chen Xin spoke calmly. "Though his Sword Intent differs from mine, both his talent and temperament are exceptional. If he receives guidance from a good master, he will surely become a Titled Douluo within thirty years. By then, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect will have another guardian deity of the Sword Dao."

After saying that, Chen Xin shook his head with a self-mocking smile.

A good master?

He did not count as one.

The world called him the foremost figure of the Sword Dao, but compared to that person at the academy, he was nothing.

Therefore...

He was not suited to be that child's teacher.

Ning Fengzhi smiled and shook his head. "Uncle Sword, do you know why I had Shadow Seven deliver fifty thousand gold coins and a Sword Talisman, yet did not mention recruiting him?"

Chen Xin paused slightly and looked up at him.

"Because he cannot be recruited." Ning Fengzhi rose and walked to the window, gazing up at the stars in the night sky. "Judging by that youth's way of doing things, he values freedom greatly. Unrestrained, acting according to his heart—people like him hate restraints most of all. The more you try to recruit him, the farther he will stay from you."

"So you merely formed a good connection with him?" Chen Xin raised a brow.

"A good connection has been made, and he owes us a favor. If something happens in the future, he will naturally come." Ning Fengzhi turned back, a gentle smile on his face. "Uncle Sword, some things slip away faster the tighter you grasp them. Like sand in your hand—if you loosen your grip, you can keep more of it."

Chen Xin was silent for a moment before snorting coldly. "You people who play politics are far too meticulous."

"Not meticulous—simply following the current." Ning Fengzhi returned to the chessboard and gently placed a stone. "If Uncle Sword truly wishes to meet him, wait a little longer. Since he travels the martial world, he will sooner or later come to Heaven Dou City. When that time comes, you may discuss swords however you wish."

"What about Rongrong?" Chen Xin suddenly asked. "Are you truly at ease letting her stay outside alone? What if she encounters danger again...?"

"She has already encountered danger." Ning Fengzhi spoke softly. "The Shadow Guards reported that Rongrong had a conflict with Zhou Qiubai on the streets of Suotuo City. He intimidated her with his sword, and she cried for a long time."

Chen Xin's aura instantly turned cold.

The temperature in the Study seemed to plummet. The candle flame swayed violently, and the shadows on the walls seemed to become incomparably savage.

"He dared!"

"Uncle Sword." Ning Fengzhi raised a hand. "That youth did not harm Rongrong. He merely used his Sword Intent to make her see how insignificant she was. It was a lesson Rongrong needed."

Chen Xin stared at him, Sword Intent surging in his eyes. "You can truly be so heartless?"

"It is not heartlessness, but necessity." Ning Fengzhi remained composed. "Uncle Sword, you and I can protect her for a time, but not for a lifetime. Rather than let her capsize amid greater storms someday, it is better to let her choke on a few mouthfuls of water in a small ditch now and learn how to swim."

He paused, his tone softening. "Besides, if that youth had truly intended to kill her, Rongrong would not be alive now. Of course, he may have been wary of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, but that precisely shows that there is likely no great background behind him, leaving us room to maneuver. He held back, which means he understands restraint. A child like that is instead worth associating with."

The coldness around Chen Xin gradually faded.