A Talk with Ning Tian, Silky Tulip Still Exists

The following evening.

Clear evening clouds spread across the entire sky above Shrek Academy. The warm afterglow of the setting sun filtered through layers of leaves, bathing the century-old parasol trees lining both sides of the campus's main road.

Fine flecks of golden light swayed in the wind, falling across the bluestone path and the white walls of the teaching buildings. The evening breeze rustled through the parasol leaves, scattering gilded shadows across the ground and lending the solemn academy a gentle warmth of dusk.

Huo Chen had just finished an afternoon of guiding the students through practical combat and was slowly returning from the noisy training grounds.

The lingering ripples of soul power had yet to disperse from the training grounds, and the air still carried faint spiritual traces left behind by the collisions of various martial souls.

His simple, light-colored teacher's uniform was lightly dusted, and a fine sheen of sweat clung to his brow. Yet he remained steady and upright, without the slightest sign of fatigue.

Upon returning to his private office, he casually brushed the dust from his hem. Just as he was about to sit down, rest, and review the dossiers recording his students' cultivation progress, a soft knock sounded at the door.

The knocking was exceedingly measured—gentle without being abrupt, regular and even in rhythm, with each interval perfectly timed. From the manner of that knock alone, one could tell that the visitor had observed proper etiquette since childhood and received an excellent upbringing.

"Come in."

Huo Chen spoke calmly, his voice mild and warm.

The wooden office door was gently pushed open, and two slender young women slowly appeared in the doorway.

The first to enter was Ning Tian.

Today, she had shed the crisp academy uniform she usually wore during training and changed into an elegant pale blue-green dress. Its tailored hem and graceful lines accentuated her slender, upright figure and gave her an ethereal, refined air.

Her waterfall of jet-black hair was combed without a strand out of place, still gently tied with her signature pale blue ribbon. A few loose strands fell by her cheeks, making her look gentle and serene.

Standing amid the twilight, her features were clean and clear, her bearing proper and elegant. She was neither flamboyant nor dazzling, yet she resembled a lotus blooming after rain, possessing the dignified grace unique to a direct-line daughter of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect—warm as jade and poised with ease.

The instant she entered, she instinctively shifted slightly aside, gently yielding half the spacious doorway.

The girl following behind her had a head of fiery, eye-catching red hair.

It was Wu Feng.

Wu Feng had her arms tightly folded across her chest, her back ramrod straight. Her pretty face was filled with undisguised impatience and casual indifference, while her brows carried a trace of untamed pride. Everything about her radiated blatant perfunctoriness, making it abundantly clear that Ning Tian had dragged her here by force—she herself had no desire whatsoever to see Huo Chen.

Seated behind his desk, Huo Chen took in their utterly contrasting expressions and temperaments, and he was not surprised in the least.

He had seen the threads of fate from the era of Unrivaled Tang Sect and was thoroughly familiar with this inseparable pair of exceptional partners.

Ning Tian was a legitimate direct-line daughter of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and a top-tier auxiliary-system genius soul master of the continent. Gentle and reserved by nature, she was composed, courteous, meticulous, and perceptive, treating others with measured humility. Among her peers, she was a rare talent of true steadiness.

Wu Feng, meanwhile, was an assault-system soul master. Her Fire Dragon Martial Soul was tyrannical and blazing, while her personality was fiery and straightforward, proud and stubborn. She did everything with blazing intensity, wearing every grudge, preference, and dislike plainly on her face.

One was still as water, the other fierce as fire. Their personalities were polar opposites, while their martial soul systems—one support, one assault—complemented each other perfectly. They seemed utterly incompatible, yet they had been inseparable since childhood and were each other's most trusted friend. Their bond was known to every student in Shrek.

"Teacher Huo."

Ning Tian walked slowly to the desk, slightly bowed, and performed a standard, respectful disciple's salute. Her tone was soft and gentle, every word clear and unhurried.

"You previously said that if we had any questions regarding martial soul cultivation, we could come seek your guidance when you were free. I wonder if this is a convenient time? We would like to ask you for some advice."

"It is."

Huo Chen raised his eyes, his gentle gaze sweeping over the two of them. He gestured toward the chairs opposite him, his tone composed and calm.

"Sit. Both of you."

At that, Wu Feng raised a delicate brow, her red lips curling faintly in obvious reluctance. "I don't have any cultivation problems. I only came to keep her company, so there's no need for me to sit, right...?"

She had intended to wait where she stood and leave once Ning Tian had finished asking her questions. Yet before her words had fully fallen, Huo Chen's clear voice rang out, striking precisely at the issue she had kept hidden.

"The old injury in your right arm flared up again during last week's team combat class, didn't it?"

Without even looking up, Huo Chen lightly smoothed the wrinkled lesson-plan pages on his desk. His tone was certain, without a trace of hesitation.

"Come in and sit down. I'll examine it and help you treat it while we're at it."

Wu Feng froze at once, her slightly open mouth stiffening as shock filled her eyes.

The old injury in her right arm had been left behind years ago when she had been too eager for results in cultivation and forcibly attempted a breakthrough. It was usually completely hidden, only aching faintly when she exerted her soul power at high intensity or fought fiercely. The symptoms were extremely subtle. Even she herself had only vaguely sensed the discomfort and had never deliberately told anyone about it. Not even Teacher Zhou Yi, who personally guided the students, had noticed it in such detail.

Her mind instantly filled with doubt, with only one thought echoing in her heart: How did he know? Yet if she asked outright, it would somehow feel as though she had yielded to him, which made her particularly frustrated.

After struggling with herself for a while, Wu Feng ultimately pressed her lips together and swallowed all her doubts. She stopped refusing and walked silently into the office.

She dropped heavily into the chair beside Ning Tian, sitting in a casual, brazen manner with her legs slightly apart and her arms still folded across her chest. She looked exactly like someone who had come to negotiate, proud and unwilling to admit defeat, radiating an aura that warned strangers to stay away.

(PS: I think she was simply a tsundere. She was rather cute and not actually a bad person.)

Huo Chen did not care in the slightest. He completely ignored her awkward, stubborn attitude and turned his gaze directly toward the properly seated Ning Tian.

"Go ahead. You came to see me specifically because you want to understand the cultivation bottleneck of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda and the method of breaking through it?"

Ning Tian nodded solemnly. Her clear eyes looked earnestly at Huo Chen, her hands neatly folded over her knees. Her posture was upright and rigorous, as though she were seated in the clan council hall of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, not daring to slacken in the slightest.

"That's right, Teacher Huo. I came today only to ask you about a question that has troubled me for a long time: where exactly is the cultivation limit of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda?"

Rather than answer immediately, Huo Chen's eyes flickered slightly as he softly asked in return, "Then what do you think?"

Ning Tian fell briefly silent. A faint trace of melancholy and helplessness passed through her clear eyes before she spoke candidly, every word carrying the constraints of her sect's inheritance.

"Since the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul was passed down in this world, only the first ancestor, Ning Rongrong, managed to break through its shackles ten thousand years ago, attain godhood, and evolve it into the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda."

"Since then, through countless generations, innumerable exceptionally gifted ancestors and talented descendants of the sect have exhausted their lives in cultivation, yet not one has been able to break the shackles of the seven-tier pagoda. The strongest members of every generation reached only Rank 79 in their lifetimes. Their martial souls remained fixed as seven-tier pagodas, possessing merely seven attribute enhancements."

"This is a shackle engraved into the bloodline of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul—an absolute bottleneck that no one in the entire sect has been able to break for countless years."

Her tone remained steady and composed, with little emotion audible in it.

Yet Huo Chen could clearly sense the deep unwillingness and helplessness suppressed beneath that calm.

At only thirteen years old, as the future core heir of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, she had been born at a starting point countless soul masters could only dream of. Exceptionally talented, born into an illustrious family, and blessed with endless resources, she was unquestionably one of the brightest talents of her generation.

Yet from the moment she awakened her martial soul and learned of the sect's inheritance, an insurmountable wall had already been destined to block her path of cultivation.

Knowing the limits of her future from birth, and being unable to break free from the shackles of fate no matter how hard she tried—such powerlessness and repression were enough to wear down the edge of any genius.

"Then do you know why only Ancestor Ning Rongrong was able to break through the seven-layer shackles and forge the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda?" Huo Chen asked slowly.

Ning Tian raised her eyes, and a complicated glimmer surfaced within them—longing, regret, and profound helplessness.

"The sect's ancient records state it clearly. Ancestor accidentally entered the legendary Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and came across the supreme immortal treasure, the Silky Tulip. By absorbing the spiritual essence at the core of the immortal herb, she cleansed the origin of her martial soul and reforged its foundation. Only then did the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda undergo its ultimate evolution, breaking free of the seven-layer restriction and transforming into the supreme Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda."

She gently bit her lower lip, her voice unconsciously lowering as it became steeped in loneliness.

"But as the years passed and the world changed, the Silky Tulip vanished from the Douluo Continent millions of years ago. No one has seen any trace of it since. And the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well exists only as a legendary secret realm recorded in ancient texts—vague and elusive. Over the millions of years, countless experts from various sects and skilled treasure seekers have searched far and wide, yet no one has ever found its exact location."

By this point, the meaning she left unspoken was already obvious.

That path had long since been cut off.

"So you believe that the path to breaking free from fate has already become completely impassable?"

Huo Chen softly voiced the final concern and despair buried in her heart.

Ning Tian neither nodded nor refuted him. She merely lowered her eyes slightly.

Her silent stillness was the truest answer.

Seeing this, Huo Chen's lips curved into a gentle smile, and he did not press her further.

He slowly rose to his feet and walked toward the office's floor-to-ceiling windows. With his tall back facing the two girls, he lifted his gaze toward the crimson evening clouds outside.

Dusk stained the sky as drifting clouds burned like fire, bathing all of Shrek Academy in soft orange-red light. The scene was tranquil and distant.

Only after a moment did Huo Chen slowly turn around. His gaze was calm and composed, carrying absolute certainty as he looked at the downcast Ning Tian.

"Ning Tian, I will tell you something today. I know the exact location of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, and I am completely confident that I can help you obtain the Silky Tulip."

Ning Tian's entire body trembled. She abruptly raised her head, her clear eyes widening in an instant, her pupils contracting as utter disbelief filled them. Even her breathing stopped for a moment.

Wu Feng, who had listened from the side with an indifferent expression throughout, instantly shed her lazy, perfunctory demeanor. She straightened her back sharply, her crimson eyes widening with incredulous excitement as she blurted out, "Teacher Huo! Is that true? This isn't something you can joke about!"