Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect

Ning Rongrong's martial soul awakening day arrived before long.

Xue Qinghe had barely stepped through the villa gates when he stopped in his tracks.

In the middle of the courtyard, Li Hanche stood bare-chested, twisting Baiwei's arm behind her back.

His knee pressed against the small of Baiwei's back, leaving her unable to move without truly hurting her.

Qingluo had fallen farther away. She braced both hands against the ground, trying to rise, but her right knee trembled faintly; after two attempts, she still could not straighten up.

Two soul masters in their twenties had been completely suppressed by a six-year-old child, without any ability to fight back.

Standing beneath the porch, Xue Qinghe coughed.

"Cough."

Li Hanche released Baiwei's wrist and turned around.

Beads of sweat hung on his face, trailing down his chin and dripping onto his bare chest.

The moment he saw the moon-white robe at the gate, he grinned and blurted out, "Yo, big brother. Good morning."

Qingluo and Baiwei hurriedly scrambled to their feet. Without even stopping to brush the dust from their clothes, they bowed to Xue Qinghe in unison.

Xue Qinghe's gaze lingered briefly on the two maids' disheveled collars and reddened joints before returning to Li Hanche's face.

"Get dressed."

Xue Qinghe said.

"Today is the martial soul awakening of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect Master's daughter. You're coming with me."

Li Hanche took the shirt Qingluo handed him and pulled it over his head, then paused.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. The Sect Master's daughter.

Ning Rongrong. That name surfaced from the depths of his memories, carrying with it a clear and rather unpleasant premonition.

A little witch—willful and spoiled, with the temper of a princess raised on indulgence. Anyone who crossed her would be in for a headache.

His brow furrowed unconsciously, then relaxed.

Perfect. He could go see what that future little witch actually looked like.

"Alright, big brother."

He answered crisply.

When the carriage stopped before the main gates of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Li Hanche lifted the curtain—and froze.

It was not as though he had never seen the world. He had seen the vermilion palace walls and gilded rooftops of the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace; he had seen the white jade pillars and angel statues of the Martial Soul Temple.

But the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had another kind of style. It possessed neither the solemn majesty of royalty nor the sacred austerity of Spirit Hall.

It had money.

The kind of wealth that was utterly undisguised, brazenly justified, as if the words "the richest sect on the continent" had been carved into every crack between its bricks.

The pillars flanking the main gate were not stone, but entire blocks of glazed crystal.

Within the crystal were sealed gemstone fragments in seven colors. Under the sunlight, they refracted layers upon layers of rainbow light, looking different from every angle.

The road beneath their feet was paved with polished green jade. The flowerbeds on either side held no flowers, only clusters of crystal bonsai trimmed into pagoda shapes.

Rows of crystal bells hung from the upturned eaves of distant pavilions. Whenever the wind blew, their tinkling rang together in a clear, pleasing chorus so bright it made one's teeth ache.

Li Hanche's eyes could hardly keep up.

He looked to the left: inside one pillar were sealed fragments of pigeon-blood-red gemstones. He looked to the right: the crystals in the flowerbeds had naturally grown into tower-like shapes, every layer sharply faceted.

He raised his head. Seven tiny beasts made of glazed crystal crouched atop the pavilion eaves, each with a jewel of a different color clenched in its mouth.

He stared at those jewels for several breaths, confirming that they were genuine.

"Mind your image."

Xue Qinghe's voice came from beside him, kept very low.

"It's embarrassing to be seen with you."

Li Hanche withdrew his gaze and turned to Xue Qinghe.

That handsome face wore the standard gentle smile of His Highness the Crown Prince, his eyes composed and proper.

But Li Hanche always felt that beneath that smile hid an unspoken sentence: I already deeply regret bringing you out today.

"Big brother, you're already looking down on your little brother?"

Xue Qinghe kept his eyes straight ahead, forcing the words out through clenched teeth.

"Didn't I tell you to keep a low profile? The matter of your thousand-year soul ring has already spread everywhere."

Li Hanche's steps faltered slightly.

"I didn't know that Zhao fellow would spread it around."

There was genuine innocence in his tone.

"I can't go back on my wager with him either. A true man's word, once spoken, is impossible for four horses to chase down."

Xue Qinghe did not respond, merely quickening his pace slightly.

Led by attendants, the two passed through courtyard after courtyard.

With every gate they crossed, the extravagance of the buildings rose another tier.

From glazed pillars to gemstone-inlaid murals, from roads paved in green jade to screen walls carved from entire blocks of crystal.

Li Hanche had already given up trying to count how many kinds of gemstones there were here. There were simply too many to count.

"Isn't this boring? We might as well go back and cultivate."

His tone was impatient.

What was so interesting about a martial soul awakening?

He had experienced one himself. All it amounted to was putting a hand on a crystal ball, lighting up for a moment, reporting a number, and being done with it.

Ning Rongrong would awaken the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda with innate soul power at rank nine. He did not need to watch to know the result.

Xue Qinghe turned his head and glanced at him.

"Is cultivation all you know? You're not even going to school anymore?"

"I want to grow stronger."

Li Hanche answered without the slightest thought, the words spilling straight from his mouth.

"If I don't grow stronger, I won't feel safe."

Xue Qinghe's steps faltered for a moment, then returned to their usual rhythm. He did not ask again.

The Awakening Plaza was set atop an open platform at the highest point of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Mountains encircled three sides of the platform, while the fourth hung over open air. The view was so broad that the faint outline of Heaven Dou City could be seen in the distance.

A massive magic formation was carved into the ground at the center of the platform. Its patterns were even more intricate than those at the Martial Soul Temple, and every line was inlaid with gemstones ground into powder, glimmering with seven-colored light beneath the sun.

Quite a few people had already gathered around the platform.

Direct descendants of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, collateral clan members, and sect elders stood in order according to their status.

The air was filled with taut anticipation. The inheritance of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda concerned the sect's standing for decades to come.

Everyone waited to see whether that little princess, cherished by all, could inherit the number-one support martial soul in the world.

Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo walked over from the crowd.

Ning Fengzhi wore an exceptionally formal sect master's robe today. Against its moon-white fabric were embroidered subtle patterns of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda. As he walked, those patterns seemed to shift, like seven-colored light flowing across the cloth.

His features were refined and elegant, with the faintest hint of a smile on his lips—neither overly warm nor remotely distant.

Sword Douluo walked half a step behind him, dressed in a simple gray robe. His hair and beard were entirely white, yet his posture stood straight as a sword.

Xue Qinghe shifted slightly and introduced the two to Li Hanche.

Understanding, Li Hanche stepped forward.

His hands hung properly at his sides, his chin slightly lowered, his gaze level.

The proper etiquette a junior should show when greeting his elders.

"Sect Master Ning, Your Excellency Sword Douluo. I am Li Hanche."

Ning Fengzhi's gaze shifted slightly. Just as he was about to say something, a crisp voice burst out from behind them.

"Daddy! Grandpa Sword!"

Everyone turned toward the source of the voice.

A little girl in an emerald-green dress ran over. Her long black hair was tied high with a jade-green ribbon, which streamed behind her in a straight line as she ran.

Her little face was exquisitely sculpted, her delicate features like those of a porcelain doll.

Ning Rongrong ran to Ning Fengzhi and threw her arms around his leg. Then she poked half her head out from behind him, her large black eyes staring straight at Li Hanche.

Her gaze was curious, carrying the righteous confidence of someone inspecting her future private property.

"Are you the big brother Grandpa Sword mentioned? The one who's going to be my little brother?"