Xu Qianqian in Sunset Forest

"Dad, are we really just going back like this?" On the way back to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Rongrong looked at Ning Fengzhi with a face full of confusion.

"I'm sorry, Rongrong. Because of the relationship between me and your Grandpa Sword, you can no longer remain at Shrek Academy."

Ning Fengzhi sighed.

"No, I did have some attachment to Shrek, but I don't really care that much." Ning Rongrong shook her head. She was not stupid; she simply did not think too deeply about many things.

She had learned a great deal during the past few months outside, and she could not exactly say she had been particularly happy at Shrek.

She had merely made a few more friends, but because of Xiao Wu, those friendships would probably cease to exist as well.

"I mean Xiao Wu. Dad, Grandpa Sword, don't you think it's a pity to give up just like that?"

As the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, how could she not know how precious a hundred-thousand-year soul beast was?

Ning Fengzhi had sometimes sighed over it himself. If they could obtain the soul ring and soul bone of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, perhaps they could elevate the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda to another level.

"Tang Hao is very strong. I'm not very confident," Sword Douluo answered.

"Is it because Dad and I would just hold you back?"

Ning Fengzhi: "..."

"I never thought that." Sword Douluo shook his head. "As for the specific reason, ask Fengzhi!"

Seeing their gazes turn toward him, Ning Fengzhi did not keep them in suspense and explained, "Rongrong, Spirit Hall is too overbearing. Any friction involving the Upper Three Sects could lead to trouble. Unless necessary, I will not further intensify the conflict between us."

"A vow made upon one's martial soul cannot be broken, but..."

"Tang Hao also swore upon his martial soul." Ning Fengzhi explained, "He promised to help us kill a hundred-thousand-year soul beast within ten years. Tang Hao has no ability to break that vow either."

Besides, Ning Fengzhi had not come away completely empty-handed this time.

Clear Sky Sect's Ring Detonation was indeed absurd. The first five soul rings alone had been enough to injure Sword Douluo.

If he had detonated a hundred-thousand-year soul ring, they might very well have suffered a disastrous defeat.

Since Tang Hao lacked the resolve to fight to the death, and they had their own concerns, they might as well let him go.

As for the vow, Ning Fengzhi had never intended to reveal the news of the Soft-Boned Rabbit.

The Clear Sky Sect had gone into seclusion, while Spirit Hall's pressure now fell upon the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

They could not possibly tell Spirit Hall about a hundred-thousand-year transformed soul beast. That would only weaken themselves while strengthening their enemy, bringing them trouble instead.

The information Tang Hao had inadvertently mentioned during their standoff also caught Ning Fengzhi's attention.

It corresponded with what Xue Qinghe had investigated in Notting City, especially Tang Hao's words—

"Did Xu Qianqian tell you that Xiao Wu is a hundred-thousand-year soul beast?"

Under normal circumstances, Ning Fengzhi would not have paid much attention to the name Xu Qianqian.

But Xue Qinghe had specifically investigated Notting City and Tang Hao again.

He had obtained a piece of information: the Lord of Notting City had an adopted daughter named Xu Qianqian, who was quite well-known in the academy.

Her martial soul was also a book.

That made Ning Fengzhi curious. One coincidence was a coincidence, but so many coincidences put together became inevitability.

The person who had told him about the hundred-thousand-year transformed soul beast was named Wendy, and her martial soul was also a book.

However, she possessed level 19 soul power, while Xu Qianqian had no soul power.

An ordinary person without soul power could not become a soul master no matter how special their martial soul was. This was a fundamental ironclad rule universally recognized in the soul master world.

Just a few months ago, Tang Hao had fought an unknown individual in the skies above Notting City.

The City Lord's Manor, Notting Academy, and the Spirit Hall branch had all been destroyed. Whether they were connected remained unknown.

Then there was the information Xue Qinghe had given him about Tang Hao. It mentioned a gigantic phantom of a wolf appearing in the sky, whipping up violent winds like a natural disaster.

It was practically cast from the same mold as the creature Wendy had summoned during her battle with Huyan Zhen.

Its attribute also seemed to be wind, which made it impossible not to wonder.

Wendy had truly evaded Huyan Zhen's attack, and the one who had evaded it was most likely a clone. It was simply outrageous.

"Once the people sent to investigate Notting City return, we'll take a closer look. We may find something unexpected."

On the way back to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Fengzhi thought about when he might be able to meet the other party again.

At this moment, within Sunset Forest.

Xu Qianqian's clothes were covered in blood and grime, and her silver-white hair was stained with murky blood.

"Die!"

Wind blades fell from the sky, cleaving a seven-thousand-year-scaled beast in two from the side.

Dark red blood gushed from the wound where the scaled beast had been split into two halves.

"Huff—"

Xu Qianqian panted heavily as she landed on the ground. She stumbled, barely managing to support herself with both hands on the ground.

Her martial soul, the Chronicle of Time, floated quietly before her.

Black and purple—two soul rings stood out glaringly.

"No, it's still far too little."

Xu Qianqian staggered to her feet and leaned against the trunk of a tree behind her.

Two months had passed.

She still needed at least another 1,500 years of accumulated age for her second soul ring to break through to ten thousand years.

Killing soul beasts of the same type could increase her soul ring's age, but...

Among soul beasts of the same category, only the one with the highest age counted.

With Xu Qianqian's current cultivation at Rank 29, hunting a seven-thousand-year soul beast—especially a rock-element soul beast known for its defense—was practically asking for her life.

In two months, she had risen from Rank 25 to Rank 29. Aside from meditating while resting, she had spent nearly all her time searching for and hunting soul beasts. Sometimes, she even had to forage for food on the spot.

If not for the six years she had spent at Notting Academy, where she had learned enough about soul beasts and read enough books, she probably would have long since died to some soul beast with powerful concealment abilities.

Sunset Forest was far inferior to Star Dou Great Forest, but it still had plenty of soul beasts that were several tens of thousands of years old.

A Rank 29 Grand Soul Master had slaughtered her way from south to north, from east to west.

All to find soul beasts she could kill that would also increase her strength.

"I wonder whether Ning Fengzhi has returned from Shrek Academy yet, and whether he got the Soft-Boned Rabbit."

Xu Qianqian wanted to use the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to make things difficult for Tang Hao, but there were risks involved.

Tang Hao knew Xu Qianqian's true identity. It would not be strange if it were exposed.

It was also within Xu Qianqian's expectations that, for safety's sake, Ning Fengzhi might not fight Tang Hao to the death.

The leader of a great sect could not rely on fists alone; he also needed a brain.

Therefore, she needed to increase her strength now. She vaguely guessed that once her soul ring reached ten thousand years, she would most likely awaken another ability.

It might not be as convenient as controlling Thousand Winds, but it would not be useless.

"Looks like I'll have to hunt a ten-thousand-year soul beast!" Xu Qianqian gritted her teeth and made her decision. Otherwise, it would be difficult to find another way to improve her cultivation.

With Thousand Winds' sensing ability and Bedrock's concealment ability, Xu Qianqian could quietly avoid powerful soul beasts in Sunset Forest. But killing soul beasts that were only several thousand years old now simply did not add enough to her soul ring's age.

"Ten-thousand-year soul beasts are hard to kill, but..."

She could still lure two soul beasts into fighting each other and reap the benefits. It was still dangerous, though.