Yun Chen was still happily planning his future Soul Skill combinations, unaware that She Long beside him was breaking out in a cold sweat. Whenever Yun Chen looked his way, She Long's smile could not have been more forced.
"All right, Young Master Yun Chen. We should head back."
Yun Chen sighed inwardly and nodded.
It was time to go.
But Soul Rings and a Soul Bone were not all Yun Chen had gained from this trip. He had also gotten a rough sense of the Sunset Forest's terrain.
Only the outer region, of course.
The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was most likely deep in the Sunset Forest's core, but he had found no matching terrain on the map.
Looks like I'll have to take my time finding the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
While Yun Chen pondered, She Long was lost in thought too. The two walked on with their heads down, nothing like the lively pair they had been on the way in.
Near Heaven Dou City, inside the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
"Uncle Jian, is this true?"
Ning Fengzhi pressed the question so urgently that he all but forgot his usual gentlemanly composure. Clearly, this mattered a great deal to him.
"It's true. Salas had already reported it to Spirit Hall, but the crown prince got to the boy first."
Chen Xin's tone was calm, but his words darkened the faces of both Gu Rong and Ning Fengzhi.
"A talent like that... How did our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect fail to find him?"
Ning Fengzhi sounded bitter.
"There was nothing we could do. I've looked into the boy's background."
"He's an orphan. The orphanage took him to Spirit Hall's temple for his Martial Soul Awakening that day."
"Xue Qinghe happened to be there. He made contact first and snatched the boy right out from under Spirit Hall's nose."
The more Ning Fengzhi heard, the stranger his expression became. At last, he could not help asking.
"But... how exactly did Xue Qinghe persuade the boy to go with him?"
Gu Rong had the same question. No matter how he looked at it, the Heaven Dou Empire should have had no chance of recruiting a talent like that.
Salas had been there, after all. Had he really grown old? Or had he thrown in his lot with the Heaven Dou Empire? How else could he have let such a talent slip away so easily?
It was nothing like him.
"Well... the boy grew up in an orphanage established by the Heaven Dou Empire. He was taught from childhood that he should serve his country."
"So when he learned Xue Qinghe was the crown prince, he decided to go with him."
Ning Fengzhi was speechless. Even a man who had seen as much as he had was baffled by the child's peculiar reasoning.
"Well... that orphanage certainly taught him well."
"Fengzhi, I think we need to take steps. The Heaven Dou Empire took the boy away days ago, and we've only just learned the details."
"They're clearly on guard against us."
"The boy awakened a lion-type Martial Soul and has Innate Full Soul Power. I also heard that when it awakened, his Martial Soul exerted a suppressive force on everyone present."
"That tells us his future will be anything but ordinary."
"We should—"
Ning Fengzhi cut Gu Rong off.
"That's enough, Uncle Gu. Don't say any more."
"We absolutely cannot do that."
Ning Fengzhi spoke with such conviction that Gu Rong and Chen Xin both turned to him. He went on slowly.
"Uncle Gu, Uncle Chen. What was the continent like when I was a young man?"
"Wars raged everywhere, and Titled Douluo walked openly across the continent."
"But what about these past few years? Spirit Hall has so many Titled Douluo, yet it has fallen silent."
"It's as if someone pressed pause on the Soul Master World. Everyone settled down at once."
Neither Chen Xin nor Gu Rong looked concerned. Both had absolute confidence in their own strength.
"But we have two Titled Douluo too."
"No, Uncle Gu."
"Spirit Hall has far more Titled Douluo than we do."
"And over the years, we've had fewer and fewer allies."
"The Upper Three Sects are supposed to stand together, but in truth? Between us, we have only four Titled Douluo."
"And with the Clear Sky Sect hidden away, that leaves only three we can count on."
"What worries me more is the continent's future. I can't shake the feeling that Spirit Hall is brewing a tremendous storm..."
"The wind is rising before the rain."
Ning Fengzhi was deeply troubled. He had a feeling that a change capable of shaking the Soul Master World was close at hand.
Yet the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect did not seem to have enough strength to weather that storm safely.
"Uh... Fengzhi, I wasn't saying we should kill the boy. I meant, could we kidnap him?"
Ning Fengzhi had just settled into his gloomy mood. Gu Rong's words nearly made him wrench his back.
"Ahem... kidnap him?"
Ning Fengzhi stared at Gu Rong in disbelief, as if asking what sort of brain had come up with that solution.
"Gu Rong, you should eat more pig brain. Maybe it'll help yours."
"Could you take your brain out from under your backside and use it for once?"
Ning Fengzhi could not bring himself to say such things, but Chen Xin had spent a lifetime sparring with Gu Rong and held nothing back.
"You old sword bastard! What did you say? You're the one with no brains!"
Gu Rong rolled up his sleeves and started shouting.
"Don't like it? Then let's spar."
Chen Xin sneered. A razor-sharp hum rang out, and the Seven Kill Sword appeared beside him in an instant.
"Enough, Uncle Gu, Uncle Jian. Stop arguing."
"Have the servants prepare gifts and send a calling card to the Crown Prince's Residence. We'll meet this young talent tomorrow."
With Ning Fengzhi there, the two elders could hardly keep arguing. They snorted and turned away from each other.
"So are we going to kidnap him?"
Gu Rong asked again. Ning Fengzhi's mouth twitched before he answered helplessly:
"Of course not. How would we explain that to the Heaven Dou Empire?"
Gu Rong was no fool. The news of Innate Full Soul Power had simply gone to his head. He wanted to take a talent like that as his disciple, and he hated the thought of leaving the boy in the Heaven Dou Empire's hands. There was no telling whether the empire could even provide him with the resources he needed.
"Uncle Gu, if you really want to take the boy as your disciple, you can."
"We're allies with the Heaven Dou Empire, and you're a Titled Douluo. There's no reason he couldn't take you as his teacher."
"Right! You're the clever one, Fengzhi. We'll do that. Have the servants prepare a gift for my prospective disciple too. I'll go with you tomorrow, and that old sword bastard can stay home and guard the door."
Chen Xin snorted and ignored Gu Rong's provocation.
Ning Fengzhi nodded. As far as he was concerned, Yun Chen becoming Gu Rong's disciple was all but certain. With a bond between teacher and student, Yun Chen might lend the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect a hand someday.
Of course, they would not let Yun Chen lose out. They could protect him in his early years and help him hunt Soul Rings later on.
Before you continue