Let's Talk

The next second, the scene before his eyes twisted and shattered!

The blood-red moon, the fractured space, and Ei's figure all receded in an instant.

A powerful wave of dizziness struck him. It felt as though he were plummeting from a great height.

"Gah—!"

Qian Qizhou sucked in a sharp breath, his consciousness snapping back to reality.

When he opened his eyes, he no longer saw the desolate, lifeless Plane of Euthymia. Instead, he was in a guest room of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

"Musou... no Musou, huh..."

Qian Qizhou murmured under his breath. Turning his head, he saw Guang Ling looking worried as he hurried toward the door.

"Ling?"

At the sound of his voice, Guang Ling stopped abruptly and turned around at once.

Seeing Qian Qizhou awake, he finally let out a sigh of relief, concern filling his eyes.

He hurried back to the bedside, dropped onto the stool, and leaned in to examine Qian Qizhou closely. "You're awake, Xiao Zhou?"

"You were talking just now, then you closed your eyes and collapsed."

His breathing had been steady, but no matter how they tried, they couldn't wake him. It had been frightening.

"I was just about to ask Ning Fengzhi to come take a look. How are you feeling now?"

Then, to Guang Ling's astonishment,

Qian Qizhou raised a hand. A streak of purple lightning burst forth, and in an instant, gathered in his palm into a twisting, flickering ball of thunder. Its light cast shifting shadows across his face.

Qian Qizhou seemed a little surprised himself. He dispersed the ball of lightning and hesitated as he sensed the state of his body. Then he looked up at Guang Ling. "I should be fine. I feel pretty good."

Guang Ling nodded. "Good. As long as you're all right. You must be starving now that you're awake. I'll get you something to eat. Rest here for a while."

Come to think of it, the poor kid hadn't had a proper meal in days. He'd either been injured or unconscious...

Once Guang Ling left, Qian Qizhou was finally alone in the room.

Leaning against the headboard, he listened to Guang Ling's footsteps fade beyond the door. Slowly opening his palm, he let a complicated look pass through his eyes.

"Unbound..."

Inside the main hall of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the gentle glow of Soul Tools illuminated the smooth, jade-like floor, yet an unusual tension hung in the air.

Chen Xin stood with his arms crossed. "Fengzhi, did you notice that child just now?"

Ning Fengzhi's gentle, jade-like expression remained composed, as befitted a sect master, but he couldn't entirely conceal the shock in his eyes.

He nodded slowly. "He just awakened his Martial Soul and has no Soul Rings, yet his Soul Power is extraordinarily vast. At least level twenty."

That alone was nearly enough to prove the boy's identity.

Gu Rong picked up the thread. "Level twenty right after awakening? Wouldn't that mean..."

He paused, his gaze unconsciously turning toward the guest room where Qian Qizhou was staying.

Though no one had said it outright, the fact that Guang Ling Douluo had brought the child here himself was enough to speak for his identity.

But if that was the case, why had he come to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect? The Spirit Hall wasn't short of auxiliary Soul Masters, was it?

Chen Xin furrowed his brows. A note of wariness crept into his voice. "With talent like that, it would only make sense for the Spirit Hall to keep him hidden."

"Yet Guang Ling brought him to us in such a public manner... Fengzhi, do you think the Spirit Hall is testing us?"

But as soon as the words left his mouth, he shook his head. "No, a test? Using him as bait? The cost would be too high, and the risk even greater."

"If anything happened to him, even the Spirit Hall couldn't bear the consequences. It makes no sense."

Ning Fengzhi's gaze sharpened slightly as he spoke slowly. "It does defy common sense. But the Spirit Hall sometimes acts in ways that seem haphazard, while hiding profound intentions."

He paused and looked at the other two. "Perhaps they aren't testing the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's position, but..."

They were testing the limits of the Upper Three Sects' solidarity. Or perhaps they wanted to see what kind of waves a 'miracle' like this would stir up if placed in their hands.

After all, if anything happened to the child here, whatever the reason, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect wouldn't escape blame, and its relationship with the Spirit Hall would immediately plummet to the breaking point.

Gu Rong gave a cold snort. "Quite the masterstroke. They've sent us a hot potato—or a trap we know we have no choice but to step into."

Accept him, and endless trouble would follow. Refuse, and they would be slapping the Spirit Hall in the face on the spot.

Just then—

The door creaked softly as someone pushed it open from outside.

The three men in the hall immediately looked toward the entrance, their Soul Power instinctively gathering.

Even setting Ning Fengzhi aside, how could the Sword and Bone Douluo, with their cultivation, fail to notice someone approaching the hall door in silence?

Standing at the entrance was the very person they had been discussing: Qian Qizhou, the child brought by Guang Ling Douluo.

A trace of exasperation crossed the boy's face, so out of place for his age. He let out a faint sigh. "There's no need for you all to be so wary."

Silence.

A deathly silence spread through the hall.

For the first time, clear astonishment appeared on Ning Fengzhi's gentle, jade-like face.

When had the boy arrived? How much had he heard? Two Super Douluos and a top-tier Soul Saint, and not one of them had sensed his presence?

But Qian Qizhou seemed not to notice the suffocating tension that had instantly settled over the hall, or the three astonished, suspicious gazes fixed on him.

He simply walked farther inside, curiously taking in his surroundings.

So this was the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Just as expected, it was magnificent—more lavish than his palace.

Then Qian Qizhou found a seat and sat down, raising his head to meet Ning Fengzhi, Chen Xin, and Gu Rong's astonished, appraising, disbelieving gazes.

Thanks to the influence of Soul Power, children on the Douluo Continent generally matured early.

After receiving Ei's gift, he hadn't been awake for much time. As a result, neither Guang Ling nor Qian Qizhou himself had noticed.

As his Spiritual Power grew, his mind had shed its childishness and matured to that of someone in their teens.

"Allow me to introduce myself by my former identity. I am Qian Qizhou, son of the Spirit Hall Pope and grandson of the Great Enshrined, Qian Daoliu."

The words fell, and not a sound could be heard in the entire hall.

All warmth vanished from Ning Fengzhi's face. His pupils contracted sharply, and his hand behind his back clenched into a fist.

Son of the Pope? Grandson of the Great Enshrined?! His identity was far more shocking than any of their earlier guesses.

The bloodline at the very heart of the Spirit Hall, the most exalted of them all...

Of course, even knowing this, no one would dare harm the child under the pretext of eliminating a potential threat.

Before they could recover from the immense shock of that revelation, Qian Qizhou spoke again. "But as I am now, I'm just Qian Qizhou."

"Sect Master Ning, shall we discuss a deal?"

But Ning Fengzhi was, after all, the master of a sect, with a mind far beyond ordinary people's.

He swiftly suppressed the turbulent waves in his heart, and that familiar, gentle smile returned to his face.

He took a light step forward and looked calmly at the small boy seated in the chair. "Oh?"

"Qizhou, is it? I'm sorry, but even with your special identity, what could you possibly have to discuss with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?"

How could empty words convince anyone? And they certainly weren't enough to negotiate as an equal with a sect master.

At that, Qian Qizhou didn't argue. He simply raised his eyes and looked straight at Ning Fengzhi. "But you won't refuse."

He believed that human curiosity was boundless.

It was like fishing: as long as you cast bait where there were fish, sooner or later, one would take the hook.