The Little Fox and the Old Fox

Inside a Seven Treasure Chamber of Commerce hotel, lavish dishes were brought to the table. Once the attendant locked the door, the discussion between the two sides officially began.

"Young friend Wendy's command of domains truly opened my eyes." Ning Fengzhi took a sip of tea and set the cup down.

"Hehe." Xu Qianqian showed no panic at having her secret exposed. A faint curve formed at the corner of her lips as her gaze fell on Sword Douluo.

"As expected of the holder of the Seven Kill Domain. Even though I was so careful to dilute my traces, you still noticed them?"

"But what if you noticed the domain?" Xu Qianqian smiled. "You couldn't possibly discover my true form. In fact, last time, His Excellency Bone Douluo was already quite curious about me, wasn't he?"

Xu Qianqian deliberately stressed the word "curious."

Ning Fengzhi smiled awkwardly. "Not at all. Perhaps you're overthinking things, young friend."

"A first soul ring of ten thousand years—if you say Sect Master Ning isn't tempted in the slightest, would you believe that yourself?"

"I wouldn't." Ning Fengzhi's lips twitched. That was true enough, but did she really have to say it outright?

"Actually, there's no harm in telling Sect Master Ning."

Xu Qianqian picked up the teacup before her and gently lifted its lid, but after thinking of something, she set it back down.

"A first soul ring of ten thousand years is merely because my martial soul is rather special, much like how the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda has only seven levels."

"Though perhaps by Sect Master Ning's generation, a Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda might appear by chance."

"Oh? Young friend Wendy has a way?" Though he knew Xu Qianqian was changing the subject, Ning Fengzhi still asked curiously.

"Hehe, who knows?" Xu Qianqian chuckled, not waiting for Ning Fengzhi's reply.

"Sect Master Ning, the contents of today's transaction do not include the advancement of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. There's no need to discuss irrelevant matters.

"I can tell you about the hundred-thousand-year soul beast that has taken human form.

"But whether your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect can obtain it is not within my consideration."

"Hmph, how is that any different from saying nothing?" Sword Douluo interjected. "If you say the transformed soul beast is in the Star Dou Great Forest, are we supposed to march right in?"

"It isn't in the Star Dou Great Forest. That hundred-thousand-year transformed soul beast is within human society, so Senior Sword Douluo can rest assured."

Xu Qianqian paused, her gaze sweeping back and forth between Sword Douluo and Ning Fengzhi as she enunciated each word.

"The hundred-thousand-year transformed soul beast is currently near Soto City, in an academy called Shrek."

"What?!" The moment Xu Qianqian finished speaking, Sword Douluo shot to his feet in astonishment, while Ning Fengzhi was also somewhat stunned.

Shrek Academy in Soto City—wasn't that the shabby academy his daughter had gone to?

Suppressing the complicated emotions in his heart, Ning Fengzhi said, "Young friend Wendy, are you certain it is Shrek Academy?"

"That's right." Xu Qianqian replied, "A Titled Douluo can recognize a hundred-thousand-year transformed soul beast. There's no need for me to say anything further."

"Why tell us such news?" Sword Douluo frowned. "As soul masters, neither you nor the people behind you could possibly be uninterested."

This was not some ten-thousand-year soul ring or soul bone, but a hundred-thousand-year soul ring and soul bone. That was also why Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo found it so puzzling.

In theory, it was a fair trade, but it was clearly not. The value of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast could not be measured like this.

"Who knows?" Xu Qianqian shook her head. "A word of advice: bring your strongest fighting force. Otherwise, you may not be able to take it down."

"The transaction is over. I look forward to our next meeting." Xu Qianqian snapped her fingers. Gusts of gentle wind veiled her body, and in the blink of an eye, she vanished as though she had never been there.

Sword Douluo and Ning Fengzhi stared at Xu Qianqian's seat for a long while, and silence fell over the room.

"Fengzhi, what do you think?"

"Hundred-thousand-year transformed soul beasts are things one can only hope to encounter, and Rongrong is also at Shrek Academy."

"Even for the sake of her safety, we need to make a trip there." Ning Fengzhi let out a long sigh.

"Then I'll go to Shrek with you this time. I'm a little worried about leaving that old fellow Gu Rong to handle it."

"Uncle Sword, Bone Uncle will be angry if you talk about him like that." Ning Fengzhi was speechless.

"No, I'm simply stating the truth this time. Based on my observations of that girl just now, if it were Gu Rong, you might very well be in danger."

Ning Fengzhi fell silent as well. After hesitating for a moment, he asked, "Uncle Sword, even you couldn't discover where she was hiding?"

"I couldn't. Her domain was not only covert, but its range was terrifyingly vast—perhaps even over a thousand meters."

"However, I could tell that she is an extremely cautious person."

"Yet when she chose her words just now, she told the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to bring its strongest fighting force."

"If she understands the rules of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, then she may have been saying that Gu Rong cannot handle that transformed soul beast."

Sword Douluo was not deliberately putting Gu Rong down; he was making a judgment based on what had been said earlier.

"That isn't impossible." Ning Fengzhi pondered. "Then we'll set out for Shrek Academy within the next couple of days—just treat it as going to attend a parents' meeting for Rongrong."

"Ah!" Hearing Ning Fengzhi say that, Sword Douluo sighed as well. "It was you who talked Rongrong into going out. Wasn't she doing perfectly well staying in the sect?"

"The two of you spoil Rongrong too much. What she lacks is not cultivation speed, but temperament."

"With me, her father, and you two elders around, it is difficult to be hard-hearted. If this continues, Rongrong will be ruined."

"I don't want Rongrong to become as troublesome as Xue Beng someday."

"Do as you please." Sword Douluo said helplessly. He had already acted first and reported later—what else was there to say?

As the two spoke, at a street corner several hundred meters away.

Xu Qianqian activated her domain and unleashed the Thousand Winds and Bedrock soul skills, reading the information fed back when her clone dispersed.

"Looks like the plan succeeded. Even Chen Xin, the Sword Douluo, couldn't detect me."

Whether the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect won or lost against Tang Hao had nothing to do with Xu Qianqian.

She had reminded Ning Fengzhi to bring the Sword Douluo along. If he had truly brought Gu Rong instead and gotten himself killed, that had nothing to do with her either.

No matter which of them it was, as long as Tang Hao's injuries worsened, that was enough.

She had not exactly deceived Ning Fengzhi. The terms of the deal were real, and so was the hundred-thousand-year soul beast.

"I told you to be careful. If you still can't win, then that's your own problem."

"Still, the fact that Tang Hao knows my true identity is troublesome."

Back when she had just broken through, she had not been familiar with her own strength. Before she had learned to conceal her soul rings and appearance, she had rushed off to save Xiao Chenyu.

She had even thought of using Hurricane Valley to draw the Book of Wind's power in and kill Tang Hao. That truly had been rather rash.

If she had done a better job concealing herself back then, she would not have to worry about her identity being exposed now.

"Strength. My strength is still far too lacking."

Honestly, she had already worked very hard, yet the mountain weighing over her head had not budged in the slightest.

The most urgent matters were raising her soul power to level 30 as soon as possible and increasing the age of her soul rings.

Whether the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and Tang Hao beat each other's brains out had nothing to do with her.

Thus, Xu Qianqian gathered supplies and headed for Sunset Forest once more.