After Lu Chen took the initiative to greet them!
Xue Qinghe cleared his throat and gave Ning Fengzhi a meaningful look.
They had come to resolve a conflict; they must not deepen the conflict between them over this instead.
Receiving Xue Qinghe's look, Ning Fengzhi said with apparent helplessness:
"Uncle Bone!"
Only after Ning Fengzhi spoke did Gu Rong give a measured snort and withdraw his killing intent.
He walked aside and plopped down in a chair.
He had already memorized Lu Chen's aura!
Although Lu Chen had disguised himself, and that face was certainly fake, his aura could not be falsified.
Having memorized Lu Chen's aura today, he could kill him to silence him another day.
Only after Gu Rong withdrew his killing intent did Lu Chen escape that feeling of being surrounded by malice.
Even though Lu Chen had now become a Spirit Emperor, the killing intent of a Titled Douluo still left him feeling suffocated.
Unless he used the Blue Silver Domain to resist it, he had no good way to respond.
At that moment, Xue Qinghe stood up, adopting the manner of someone who treated worthy men with courtesy. With an apologetic expression, he said:
"Mr. Lan Chen, my teacher and I came today to mediate the conflict between you and him, so that you will no longer need to hide yourself, and can openly travel the continent with your true face and your real name."
"Your talent and aptitude rank among the very best on the entire continent. They are more than enough to bring you status, wealth, and honor. Today, on behalf of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, I invite you to become one of our Imperial Shrine Attendants."
After hearing this, Lu Chen replied expressionlessly:
"Mediate a conflict? I thought you had come to put me in my place!"
"I presume this gentleman is one of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's two Sect Protecting Douluos, the renowned Bone Douluo? Truly unfathomable, and enough to strike fear into anyone's heart."
"A conflict! How would a nobody like me dare come into conflict with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect? Your Highness must be mistaken."
Wearing an expression that said, "I already know everything," Xue Qinghe spoke sincerely:
"Mr. Lan Chen, please stop sulking. Let us open the skylight and speak plainly."
"You are only around thirty, yet you already have rank 69 Soul Power, and you are a Support Spirit Master besides. Any faction would welcome you enthusiastically."
"Yet now, you have no choice but to change your appearance and conceal your identity, afraid to use your true face or real name. That can only mean one thing: you have a conflict with my teacher."
"Today, I have come on behalf of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family to mediate the conflict between you, and to invite you to become an Imperial Shrine Attendant of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family."
"You still have a long life ahead of you, Mr. Lan Chen. You cannot remain immersed in the past forever. We should look toward the future and give more thought to the days ahead."
Lu Chen finally understood.
Apparently, these people had mistaken his disguising his true appearance for a sign that he had a conflict with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Simply because he was a Support Spirit Master, they all assumed Ning Fengzhi had been suppressing him.
Ning Fengzhi, oh, Ning Fengzhi!
Your reputation really is on everyone's lips in the Heaven Dou Empire!
You can practically rival Duan Zhengchun on Shaoshi Mountain.
On Shaoshi Mountain, Xu Zhu's mother had refused to say who his father was, and everyone had looked at Duan Zhengchun.
Now, simply because he, a Support Spirit Master, had changed his appearance and concealed his identity, they assumed he must have been suppressed by Ning Fengzhi.
It had to be said that Ning Fengzhi's reputation was firmly established.
Lu Chen fell silent.
Previously, he had had no conflict with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
But now he did.
With the talent he had displayed, Ning Fengzhi would certainly not let him go. Bringing Gu Rong along was clear proof.
Xue Qinghe had probably been counting on precisely that as well.
If he did not do as Xue Qinghe said and join the Heaven Dou Imperial Family as an Imperial Shrine Attendant,
he would inevitably face endless covert attempts on his life by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Anger surged through Lu Chen's heart. What did these people take him for? A chess piece they could manipulate at will?
He had no desire to join the Heaven Dou Imperial Family and become a pawn for others to command.
With his talent, he would one day be able to roam the continent unchallenged. He had no wish to place himself under anyone's control now.
Facing Xue Qinghe and Ning Fengzhi, Lu Chen slowly said:
"My apologies, Your Highness. I am accustomed to living freely and without restraint. For now, I have no wish to join any faction."
"As for a conflict with Sect Master Ning, you have all misunderstood. There is no conflict between us."
"A nobody like me had never even met Sect Master Ning before. How could I have come into conflict with him?"
"Still, I thank Your Highness for your kindness. Brother Dugu and I enjoyed our conversation immensely, and we now address each other as brothers. Should I encounter any trouble, Brother Dugu will naturally stand up for me."
Bang!
As Lu Chen finished speaking, Gu Rong slammed a hand on the table. His sinister eyes stared unblinkingly at Lu Chen as he spoke with a smile that never reached his eyes:
"Heh! Don't spurn the respect you're offered. We came to resolve this conflict today because we thought you worthy."
"We gave you a choice, so you had better accept it. Yet you dare refuse, rejecting a toast only to drink a forfeit! If I truly wanted to kill you, that Old Poison could not stop me."
"Don't think you can sleep without a care just because you've latched onto that Old Poison's thigh. Crushing you would be as easy for me as crushing an ant..."
Hearing Gu Rong's undisguised threats, Lu Chen's face turned utterly cold. He lowered his head, his eyes already brimming with fury.
This again!
These Titled Douluos really did stand so high above everyone else!
Tang Hao back then, and Gu Rong now-they were all the same, relying on their great strength to humiliate others as they pleased.
Lu Chen thought viciously:
I haven't even avenged my grudge against Tang Hao and his son Tang San yet, and now Gu Rong wants to join the fun.
Fine. Just fine. Once I grow strong enough, I will pay every last one of them back.
Strength! At the root of it all, I'm still not strong enough!
Just as Lu Chen decided to endure it for the time being,
a powerful aura came forcefully surging in from the courtyard outside.
The owner of that aura was none other than Dugu Bo!
Dugu Bo strode inside. His gaze swept over Xue Qinghe and Ning Fengzhi before finally meeting Gu Rong's eyes. Staring at him with sinister eyes, he said in an icy voice:
"Old Bones, you took advantage of my absence to bully the younger brother I just acknowledged. You really think far too little of me."
"I admit you are very strong, but I am no pushover either. If you want to kill my younger brother, you will have to get past me first."
"You wouldn't want to see me spreading poison all over your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, would you?"
Dugu Bo was angry as well.
He had not expected that, in just the time it took him to take his granddaughter to school, someone would come bullying their way to his door.
These people had come into his home and bullied his guest. They clearly had no regard for him, Dugu Bo.
Dugu Bo might have only rank 91 Soul Power, but he was still a dignified Titled Douluo, with pride and an unbending spine. There was no way he would take bullying without fighting back.
Moreover, Dugu Bo still had to rely on Lu Chen to remove his poison. He absolutely could not stand by and watch anything happen to Lu Chen. If anyone tried to lay a hand on Lu Chen, Dugu Bo truly would fight with his life on the line.