If You Awakened an Angel Spirit, Your Wings Would Definitely Be Black

Ning Fengzhi's heart tightened.

The Holy Son's gaze... didn't look like he was looking at a stranger. It seemed more like regret, with a hint of... pity?

"Your Highness the Holy Son?" Ning Fengzhi asked calmly, his smile still warm. "Is there something amiss with me?"

Huo Yuhao looked away. His voice had the tender quality unique to children.

"My teacher told me about the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the best auxiliary Martial Soul in the world."

When it came to business acumen, they were the best among all the sects.

Hearing Huo Yuhao say this, Ning Fengzhi understood where his pity came from.

Because of their Martial Soul, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda could only have seven Soul Rings added to it. Spirit Masters could never advance past Level 79 in their entire lives.

No matter how talented they were, that was their limit.

Ning Fengzhi's mood instantly soured.

Ning Yuanshan didn't know what his son was thinking. He followed Huo Yuhao's lead with a smile. "Your Highness the Holy Son flatters us. If the Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul could grow and flourish, we wouldn't dare claim ours was the best auxiliary Martial Soul."

"I've come today to congratulate Your Highness. This is a gift."

As Ning Yuanshan spoke, he took a small box from his Space Soul Tool and held it out.

"This is a small token of our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's regard. One item inside is a token from our sect. With it, Your Highness can get a thirty percent discount at any of our shops."

The other item was a Gold Soul Card, with one million Gold Soul Coins inside.

There was no need to mention that. It would only make the gift seem cheap.

It was better to let Huo Yuhao discover it himself. That would have a far greater effect than saying it outright.

The Ning family liked to invest early. This was Ning Yuanshan's investment in Huo Yuhao, the future Pope of Spirit Hall.

When it came to investment instincts, Ning Yuanshan really did outclass Ning Fengzhi.

After presenting the gift, Ning Yuanshan exchanged a few pleasantries with Huo Yuhao, then left with Ning Fengzhi.

During the whole visit, he didn't ask a single question about Huo Yuhao's Martial Soul, as if he wasn't interested in it at all.

On the way back from Spirit Hall to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Fengzhi remained silent.

"Fengzhi, what are you thinking about?"

"Father, is there really no way for our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda to evolve?"

Ning Yuanshan fell silent too.

They had always searched for a way to break through the limits of their Martial Soul, but across all these generations, no one had ever found one.

If something so miraculous really existed, would it be left lying around for others to learn of?

"Fengzhi, do you know how long Spirit Hall has existed?"

Ning Fengzhi didn't know why his father had asked about something so unrelated, but answered honestly all the same. "They say Spirit Hall was founded ten thousand years ago."

"Exactly. In all that time, Spirit Hall's legacy has never been broken. If we truly want to find a way to evolve our Martial Soul, perhaps only Spirit Hall can provide it."

Ning Fengzhi fell silent again.

When it came to Martial Soul Evolution, Spirit Hall wouldn't hand the knowledge over to outsiders so easily.

Unless the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was willing to become a subsidiary of Spirit Hall and follow its lead.

Unlike his conservative father, Ning Fengzhi had greater ambitions.

He wanted the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to be more than just one of the Seven Great Sects. He wanted it to become one of the Upper Three Sects.

With the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect taking the lead, the other sects also came to Spirit City to offer their congratulations.

It was the same old story: Spirit Hall could afford to keep a low profile, but they couldn't afford not to pay their respects.

The only exception was the Clear Sky Sect.

They'd be doing Spirit Hall a favor just by not sending people to mock them, and Spirit Hall expected them to send gifts and congratulations?

Dream on!

Qian Xunji merely smiled magnanimously and silently added the Clear Sky Sect to his little blacklist.

"Father's promise all those years ago has only made them more and more presumptuous."

Qian Xunji had discovered that his junior brother had a nimble mind. He often came to him to vent.

The more Huo Yuhao heard, the more suggestions he offered—and every one of them worked remarkably well!

Sometimes, simply grumbling could lead to unexpected rewards.

"Senior Brother, what Teacher said back then was, 'No one from Spirit Hall whose rank is below mine may set foot in the Clear Sky Sect,' right?"

Qian Xunji nodded.

"Then there you have it! Senior Brother, you're the Pope of Spirit Hall, and Teacher is only the Grand Elder now. You're not below him!"

It was true that the Worship Hall held a transcendent position within Spirit Hall, above the Pope.

But did outsiders know that?

The Worship Hall was just another form of the Elder Hall, wasn't it?

As the highest-ranking authority in Spirit Hall, who would dare say the Pope was beneath the elders?

Father and son?

When it came to Spirit Hall, there was no father and son—only rank!

Huo Yuhao's point made Qian Xunji's eyes light up at once.

"That makes sense! Junior Brother, you really are a genius!"

New brains really were useful.

"Once you inherit the position of Pope, go to the Clear Sky Sect and smash their mountain gate!"

Huo Yuhao: "???"

"Why do I have to be the one to do it in the future?"

Qian Xunji sighed. "The Clear Sky Sect may be full of brutes, but I can't deny that their disciples are talented. Even with Tang Chen missing, they still have several Titled Douluo."

"Even if I break through to become a Titled Douluo, it'll still be difficult for me to take on several of them at once."

"But you're different, Junior Brother. Before you even reached Level 30, you could already trade blows with Uncle Golden Crocodile when he was only using part of his strength. Give yourself a little more time to grow, and ordinary Titled Douluo probably won't be your match."

"The hope of washing away Spirit Hall's past humiliation rests on your shoulders!"

After truly witnessing how monstrous Huo Yuhao was, Qian Xunji suddenly felt at peace.

He thought it would be just fine to serve as a transitional Pope.

The most important thing he had to do while in office was to have a daughter, so Huo Yuhao could call him Father.

Huo Yuhao: "..."

Senior Brother, you're just giving up now?

"Senior Brother, if the Clear Sky Sect has you riled up, you don't actually have to go in and fight them one-on-one."

Qian Xunji nodded twice in quick succession. "Go on, tell me more."

"Teacher promised that Spirit Masters couldn't set foot in the Clear Sky Sect. He never said Soul Skills couldn't."

"If Spirit Masters sparred near the Clear Sky Sect and lost control of their strength, accidentally hitting the sect, well, there wouldn't be much anyone could do."

"Besides, their disciples are so arrogant when they travel outside. They have no idea who they might offend. If someone secretly shoots a cold arrow at them to get revenge, that's only natural, isn't it?"

"You don't have to use Spirit Masters' methods to vent your anger."

"They're Spirit Masters, but they're people too, and people need food and drink. You could drug the food delivered to them, or just put something in the water supply at the Clear Sky Sect. Either way, you'd teach them a lesson."

Qian Xunji was filled with admiration and sincerely praised his junior brother's wisdom.

"Junior Brother, if you awakened an Angel Spirit, your wings would definitely be black!"