Ning Fengzhi then prompted Ning Rongrong to greet the others.
Ning Rongrong greeted Xue Qinghe and Qi Dao in turn, behaving properly and observing every courtesy.
Though she was a Little Demoness through and through at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, she had been raised from childhood to become its future sect master.
So despite her dislike of such social occasions, she still knew what mattered.
Xue Qinghe then invited them into a flower-viewing pavilion at the Crown Prince's Residence.
The five sat and chatted for a while, and Ning Fengzhi learned that Qi Dao had reached Level Thirty.
"Young man, you're not yet fifteen, are you?" Ning Fengzhi asked.
Qi Dao smiled. "I won't be fifteen for another three or four months."
"A Soul Elder at fourteen. That talent would rank among the best on the continent."
"Qinghe, you're truly fortunate. If young Qi Dao hadn't pledged himself to you, I would have recruited him into the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect at any cost."
Ning Fengzhi spoke with easy good humor, his expression as gentle and refined as ever.
Of course, his words revealed something else.
He did feel a measure of regret, but most of what he said was courtesy.
After all, a Soul Elder at fourteen, nearly fifteen, could certainly be called a genius, but he still fell short of the very best.
Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo, for instance, had both become Soul Elders at thirteen.
As the first great bottleneck in a Soul Master's cultivation, the age at which one became a Soul Elder was often an important measure of talent.
Even if Qi Dao had a chance of becoming a Titled Douluo someday, those odds were pitifully small.
Beside them, Xue Qinghe answered from the heart, "Having A Dao pledge himself to