Three Forces

Li Hanche looked at Ning Rongrong's excited little face, utterly swept away by the thrill of shopping.

He felt that bringing this little rich girl shopping was probably like handing out year-end bonuses to every unscrupulous merchant in Heaven Dou City.

The sky gradually darkened.

Sword Douluo and Ning Fengzhi had not returned since going to the palace. They had only sent a servant with a message saying they would stay in the palace tonight and that Ning Rongrong should return to the villa with Li Hanche first.

After hearing the message, Ning Rongrong clapped her hands excitedly, turned around, and headed briskly toward the villa.

"Hey! I'll take you back to the sect!"

"I said I'm staying at your house! Sword Grandpa and Father are both at the palace, so why would I go back alone? The sect is so huge and empty, there isn't even anyone to talk to. Don't you have two maidservants at your house? I can chat with them!"

Li Hanche looked at her utterly justified expression and said helplessly.

"Let's make this clear first. You make your own bed and fetch your own wash water. No one's waiting on you."

"Got it, got it! Damn Li Hanche, you're even more nagging than my father."

Li Hanche: "..."

The Imperial Study was brightly lit.

Xue Ye sat in the seat of honor, his fingers tapping intermittently against the dragon throne's armrest.

Ever since Xue Qinghe had begun handling state affairs on his behalf, he had not remained in the Imperial Study at this hour for a long time.

But today's matter was worth making an exception for.

Sword Dao Chen Xin sat at the head of the guest seats, with Ning Fengzhi across from him and Xue Qinghe beside them.

"Spirit-Concentrating Jade Marrow."

Xue Ye spoke first, his voice old but still full of strength.

"I recall that there is still a piece in the imperial treasury. Worn on the body, it can continuously nurture the Sea of Consciousness and provide some protection against external spiritual attacks."

Ning Fengzhi nodded slightly.

"Spirit-Concentrating Jade Marrow is good, but it can only be worn on the body. It is passive defense."

Sword Dao Chen Xin's voice was unhurried, as though he were stating a technical issue.

"For the soul impact of a Ten Thousand Year soul beast, passive defense alone is insufficient. I am more inclined to find something that can directly increase the strength of his spiritual power, such as Nine-Jointed Spirit-Nurturing Bamboo."

Ning Fengzhi was slightly startled.

"Nine-Jointed Spirit-Nurturing Bamboo? That only exists in legends. Each bamboo joint nurtures a drop of Innate Spirit-Nurturing Liquid, and consuming it directly can permanently increase spiritual power. Yet no records mention where it grows, and it has never even appeared in auction house catalogues."

"There is. When I was young, I saw one within the Star Luo Empire. I roughly remember its location. I will make the trip myself."

Xue Ye fell silent for a moment.

"The Spirit-Concentrating Jade Marrow in the imperial treasury will be reserved for that child."

His finger struck the dragon throne's armrest heavily.

"That child is from Heaven Dou City. He obtained a thousand-year first soul ring, broke through Rank 20 at seven, and has brought the empire quite a bit of glory over the years."

"One stone is still within my authority to grant. As for the Nine-Jointed Spirit-Nurturing Bamboo, I must rely on Sect Master Ning and Your Excellency Chen Xin."

Ning Fengzhi nodded.

"It is all for Hanche. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Heaven Dou Empire have always been inseparable."

He raised his teacup and took a sip.

Once all three forces had nodded, the matter was settled.

The Crown Prince's bedroom.

Xue Qinghe sat alone before his desk.

He was thinking about Li Hanche.

That child picked up from the Martial Soul Temple should have belonged to Spirit Hall, yet Xue Qinghe had gotten there first and snatched him away.

He had called him Big Brother for two years, going from cautious at the beginning to saying it as naturally as breathing now.

He had spread word throughout the academy that every teacher and student had to lower their head when they saw him, or he would invite a teacher to test his sword.

Even after getting expelled, he had not been anxious. With one leg crossed over the other, he had told Xue Qinghe that he would go to an advanced academy and beat up every student there too.

Two years ago, he could barely stand steadily in the Far North before being sent flying by a slap from an Ice-Armored Dire Bear. Now, he could stubbornly endure Sword Dao Chen Xin's Soul King pressure, then spit blood and ask whether he could bear a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring.

He broke through Rank 20 at seven, with a first soul ring of two thousand one hundred years.

At eight, he declared that his second soul ring would be ten thousand years. No, to be precise, he had said it at six.

There was not a second one like him in all of Douluo Continent.

A head soul bone.

One that was over ten thousand years old. Only that could truly bring about a qualitative transformation in spiritual power.

The Heaven Dou Empire could provide Spirit-Concentrating Jade Marrow, and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect could provide Nine-Jointed Spirit-Nurturing Bamboo. They were all good things, but ultimately, they were external aids.

External aids could assist, but they could not address the root of the problem.

To make his spiritual power truly strong enough to withstand the soul impact of a Ten Thousand Year soul beast head-on, he needed something that could fundamentally alter the nature of his spiritual power.

Among the people he knew, only the Grand Priest of Spirit Hall, the Rank 99 Ultimate Douluo Qian Daoliu—his grandfather—had the qualifications to produce such a thing.

Of course, that woman could not be allowed to find out about this.

If that woman saw him requesting a soul bone for a Heaven Dou Empire genius, she would probably be very unhappy.

But Grandfather was different. Grandfather did not care about the continent's political situation. He only cared about what his granddaughter wanted.

A genius capable of challenging higher ranks, with a two-thousand-one-hundred-year first soul ring at six, apprenticed to Sword Dao Chen Xin, and able to withstand a Titled Douluo's Soul King pressure at eight.

If Grandfather learned that Qian Renxue was cultivating such a child, he would only be pleased.

The most important thing was not even all that, but that it was a head soul bone more than ten thousand years old.

This was not some commonplace hundred-year or thousand-year trinket.

Only Spirit Hall's foundation, only her grandfather Qian Daoliu, could possibly produce it without asking why or what it would cost after she made the request.

She put pen to paper.

The letter's contents were simple: she greeted her grandfather, then went straight to the point.

She did not conceal any information about Li Hanche.

Everything he had done in the past two years and everything he intended to do next was written on the paper.

"Uncle Snake, deliver this to my grandfather. This letter is important. Make sure you place it in his hands personally."

Snake Lance Douluo appeared soundlessly in the room, accepted it with both hands, and did not ask why.

The young lady's orders had never required a reason.

He tucked the letter close to his body, flashed away, and vanished into the night.

Heaven Dou City, villa.

Li Hanche sat cross-legged on the carpet, gripping a handful of dice.

Ning Rongrong sat opposite him, Qingluo to his left and Baiwei to his right. A low table stood between the four of them, covered with a deck of cards and several scattered dice.

"Three sixes. Three of a kind. I take all."

Li Hanche set the dice cup on the table and reached for the copper coins spread across it.

Ning Rongrong grabbed his hand.

"You cheated! I clearly saw one of your dice fall out while you were shaking the cup!"

"That was your imagination. Little brother, just admit you can't afford to lose. I'll give you a discount."

"Who's your little brother? Who can't afford to lose? Again!"

Qingluo and Baiwei exchanged a glance, both seeing amusement in the other's eyes.

These two children had bickered all the way from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to Heaven Dou City, and after two years, they still had not had enough.

The table was piled high with the spoils Ning Rongrong had bought while shopping today.

What Li Hanche did not know was that, at this very moment, three forces were preparing for his second soul ring.

All he knew was that when he lifted the cup tonight, it would be another night of sweeping the board.