Seven Treasures Glazed Tile, Ripples Stir

Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

One of the Upper Three Sects of the Heaven Dou Empire.

The wealthiest sect on the continent, bar none.

The roof of its main hall was covered in seven-colored glazed tiles.

When the moonlight spilled down, the entire structure would shimmer with a dreamlike, iridescent halo, so beautiful it hardly seemed like a building of this world.

At this moment, the night was deep and still.

The main hall was brightly lit.

Ning Fengzhi, Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, sat at his desk, reviewing the sect's recent financial ledgers.

He appeared to be in his early forties.

His face was lean and refined, and he wore a pair of gold-rimmed spectacles.

His temperament was scholarly and gentle, making him look more like a learned academic than the leader of one of the continent's top sects.

But to underestimate him because of this refinement would be a grave mistake.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had sat firmly among the Upper Three Sects for decades, and it relied on more than just money.

It relied on the calculating, fox-like mind of Ning Fengzhi.

The hall doors were pushed open gently.

The person who entered was not whom he had been expecting, but a middle-aged guard dressed in black tactical gear.

The guard's footsteps were silent, like a feline in the dark of night.

Upon entering, he knelt on one knee and bowed his head in salute.

Ning Fengzhi set down the ledger and raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly. "Where is Rongrong? Didn't she go out with you?"

"Reporting to the Sect Master, the Young Miss has already returned to her room to rest."

"Returned to her room?"

Ning Fengzhi tapped his fingertips lightly against the desk.

No one knew a daughter better than her father.

His daughter, Ning Rongrong, was the little demoness of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

When had she ever gone out and not played until the middle of the night before returning?

When had she ever returned without first running to him to make a scene, pestering him with stories of the interesting things she encountered outside, or bragging about how she had "punished evil and promoted good" by catching a few thugs?

Today, she had actually returned to her room without a sound.

Something was wrong.

"Tell me everything that happened after Rongrong went out today, from start to finish."

Ning Fengzhi pushed up his glasses, his gaze behind the lenses calm and focused.

"Do not omit any details."

The black-clad guard dared not delay and began his report from the moment Ning Rongrong left the sect.

"The Young Miss visited several jewelry shops today and had snacks at a teahouse; everything was as spirited as usual."

"After nightfall, she suddenly said she wanted to take the back paths and specifically chose to duck into secluded alleys."

This was not the first time such a thing had happened; the Young Miss had always enjoyed "fishing" in this manner.

She would intentionally lure those blind hoodlums into harassing her.

Then, she would have the guards hidden in the shadows step in to capture them.

Hearing this, a helpless, bitter smile tugged at the corners of Ning Fengzhi's mouth.

He truly did not know what to say about this daughter of his.

Other noble young ladies were surrounded by entourages when they went shopping, terrified of being looked at too closely.

His daughter, on the other hand, insisted on diving into dark alleys, just waiting for bad people to find her.

What kind of behavior was that?

"What about those three people who tried to make a move on Rongrong?"

Ning Fengzhi asked.

The gaze behind his lenses remained calm, but a hint of coldness entered his voice.

Daring to target his daughter.

And considering how young Rongrong was this year?

Those pieces of trash deserved to die.

The black-clad guard lowered his head. "Those three thugs... it was not my hand that struck them down."

"At that time, a young man and a young woman stepped in to help first. The youth single-handedly slaughtered all three of them."

Ning Fengzhi's brow twitched slightly. "It wasn't you who made the move?"

"It was not."

"Did Rongrong see the bodies?"

"She did."

The guard's voice lowered a fraction.

"After the Young Miss saw those three corpses, her expression turned quite poor. She stood in the alley for a long while without saying a word."

"Later, she had me handle the scene and said she wouldn't be going to Lantern Street, choosing to return directly to the sect."

Ning Fengzhi fell silent for a moment and let out a soft sigh.

So that was it.

He understood.

That girl, Rongrong, was usually spoiled rotten by everyone in the sect.

She treated catching thugs and hooligans like a game.

She would clap and cheer while watching the guards beat bad guys until their faces were swollen and bruised.

But she had never truly seen a killing.

She had never witnessed a genuine, bloody scene, let alone the sight of corpses being burned to charcoal right before her eyes.

She was still just a little girl, after all.

No matter how arrogant or willful she was usually, seeing real dead people would still make her afraid and nauseated.

She would also be struck speechless by such a cruel, visceral impact.

That was why she hadn't come running to him, chattering away as she usually did tonight.

Instead, she had locked herself in her room to digest those unfamiliar emotions alone.

"It is good to let her have some quiet."

Ning Fengzhi spoke as if to himself, his gaze deepening with meaning.

"Rongrong grew up in the sect and has been protected too well."

"Seeing the true face of this world with her own eyes for the first time may not be a bad thing for her."

If she wanted to become the future successor of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, this kind of experience was something she would have to face sooner or later.

He paused, then shifted the topic. "What about that young man and young woman? Who are they?"

The expression of the black-clad guard became even more solemn.

"Reporting to the Sect Master, the aura of both individuals is around the level of a Soul Ancestor."

"The young woman's Martial Soul is a type of flood dragon, and its secondary attribute seems to carry a poison element. My assessment is that it should be some kind of mutated Martial Soul."

"A Mutated Poison Flood Dragon Martial Soul?"

Ning Fengzhi raised an eyebrow. "And the other one?"

"I could not discern the depth of that young man."

There was a hint of hesitation in the guard's voice, one he himself seemed unsure of.

"His Martial Soul is a Cyan Lotus, and his body is shrouded in a cyan flame that weaves together extreme cold and extreme heat."

"When he slaughtered those three, he didn't even utilize his Soul Rings."

"With just his control over that flame, he killed a Soul Ancestor and two Soul Elders in a single exchange."

Ning Fengzhi's fingertips froze in mid-air.

"Are you certain he didn't use any Soul Ring skills?" Ning Fengzhi's voice deepened.

"I am certain."

"From start to finish, not a single one of his Soul Rings lit up."

The great hall remained silent for a long time.

Ning Fengzhi picked up the teacup at his side and gently brushed aside the foam with the lid, but he did not drink, setting the cup back down on the table.

On the surface, he remained as calm as ever.

But the rhythm of his fingertips tapping against the table betrayed his thoughts.

To be able to instantly kill a Soul Ancestor using only the innate power of a Martial Soul—what did that signify?

It meant that the young man's precision in Soul Power control, the quality of his Martial Soul, and his combat awareness all far exceeded those of a Soul Master at the same level.

Such talent was rare to find, even across the entire Heaven Dou Empire.

Even Yu Tianheng, who was hailed as a genius within the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, could not achieve this.

"Do you know who they are?" Ning Fengzhi asked.

"I do not know, sir."

"After the youth killed the three men, he merely said 'Go home as soon as possible' to the young miss from a distance, then left with the girl accompanying him. He did not leave his name."

Ning Fengzhi's gaze flickered. "He didn't approach Rongrong to speak with her?"

"He did not."

"From beginning to end, he seemed to intentionally maintain his distance from the young miss."

"Interesting."

Ning Fengzhi slowly exhaled, his eyes narrowing behind his lenses.

After a moment of silence, he suddenly asked a question that caught the guard off guard. "Did he discover you?"

The black-clad guard froze.

He remained silent for several breaths before answering hesitantly, "I... am not certain."

"My Shadow Leopard stealth cannot be detected by soul masters of the same rank, and that youth is only at the Soul Ancestor level..."

"Yet he still did not approach Rongrong."

Ning Fengzhi interrupted him, his tone certain. "A person who performs a righteous deed, yet deliberately keeps his distance from the person he saved after killing the assailants, leaving in a hurry without even giving his name."

"This defies common sense, unless—"

He looked up, his gaze behind the lenses sharp as a blade.

"He sensed your presence."

"He knew Rongrong had a guard by her side, so he knew there was no need for him to meddle further."

Cold sweat beaded on the black-clad guard's forehead.

A Soul Ancestor, capable of sensing his Shadow Leopard stealth?

His martial soul was the Shadow Leopard, renowned for its concealment abilities.

When he was fully hidden, even an average Soul Douluo-level powerhouse might not be able to detect him.

How old was that youth?

How did he manage it?

Ning Fengzhi did not dwell further on this question.

He shifted his gaze away from the guard and back to the ledger before him.

His slender fingers gently stroked the paper.

"A Lotus martial soul, strange dual attributes of ice and fire, combat power capable of instantly killing a Soul Ancestor, and the ability to sense the stealth of a Soul Saint-level guard."

Ning Fengzhi spoke as if to himself, yet it seemed he was developing an irrepressible curiosity about this youth he had never met.

"A genius like this, yet I have never heard of him in Heaven Dou City. This is quite interesting."

He paused, a meaningful smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

The black-clad guard dared not respond.

"Investigate."

Ning Fengzhi's voice returned to a calm state, yet it carried an unquestionable weight.

"Find out the origins of these two people."

"Especially that youth."

"His background, his martial soul, and his purpose for coming to Heaven Dou City."

"But remember, do not alert him. Do not let him realize that someone is investigating him."

"Yes," the guard replied, cupping his hands in salute.

The guard rose, his figure silently melting into the night outside the hall.

The great hall fell silent once more.

Ning Fengzhi did not continue reading the ledger.

He pushed the files aside.

He removed the gold-rimmed glasses from the bridge of his nose and rubbed it gently with his fingertips.

Then, he put his glasses back on and stood up.

He decided to go and see Rongrong.