A Teenaged Soul Emperor?

Inside the hall, on the left.

Chen Xin's silver hair glimmered with a cold, pale sheen in the candlelight. He had remained seated in that grandmaster's chair without moving, yet the air within three meters of him had already dropped below freezing.

"Hmph."

A cold snort escaped his thin lips.

"Arrogant."

It was only a one-word assessment. Yet when that word left his mouth, the young soul master felt the clothes on his back instantly soaked through with cold sweat.

"They really think our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is a soft persimmon." Chen Xin's voice was as faint as a distant breeze, unhurried as he spoke each word one by one. "They came looking for trouble without even bothering to make up a convincing excuse."

He lifted his eyelids slightly, his unfocused gaze fixed somewhere on the ceiling.

"Looks like Old Bone and I haven't made a move in too long. We've lost our deterrence."

Gu Rong's withered face turned toward Chen Xin. The two exchanged a glance.

"Heh."

"Hehehe."

Two cold laughs rang out almost at the same time. One was hoarse, like wind blowing through rotten wood; the other was crisp, like the ringing of a sword.

Standing between the two Titled Douluo, the young soul master felt like a pebble trapped between two icebergs. Sweat streamed down from his temples. His lips moved twice, but he did not know whether he should continue.

"Uncle Sword, Uncle Bone."

Ning Fengzhi's voice came from nearby, steady and unhurried.

The two Titled Douluo turned their gazes toward him at the same time.

Ning Fengzhi's eyes were as calm as a deep pool.

"Don't jump to conclusions too quickly."

He turned and slowly walked back before the sect master's seat, but did not sit down. One hand rested on the armrest as he faced Chen Xin and Gu Rong sideways.

"There's a key point in this young man's report that you've both overlooked."

He raised one finger.

"Rongrong took that man as her master."

He paused.

"Taking him as her master means Rongrong believed what that fortune-telling swindler said."

Ning Fengzhi's gaze darkened for a moment. He knew his daughter far too well.

That girl had been as proud as a peacock spreading its tail since childhood. For someone to make her lower her head and acknowledge him as master, either he truly possessed something that had won her over, or he had deceived her utterly.

Either way, that young man was no simple figure.

"So let's hear the whole thing first." Ning Fengzhi tapped the armrest twice with his index finger. "What if it truly is a method for advancing the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda?"

Gu Rong opened his mouth.

Ning Fengzhi raised a hand, cutting him off.

"If it's true, then what does it matter even if someone plotted against us? If it isn't..."

The corners of his eyes lifted slightly, and a faint curve appeared on his lips.

"Then we can make an example of them afterward. No rush."

Gu Rong closed his mouth. He might have had a violent temper, but he was not stupid. Ning Fengzhi's logic was impeccable.

Chen Xin did not speak again either. His silver brows drew together slightly as he closed his eyes once more.

The hall fell silent for three seconds.

Ning Fengzhi's gaze returned to the young soul master.

"Continue."

The young soul master swallowed, finally given the chance to speak without interruption.

"The young miss was lured in by his claim that he could advance the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, and she signed a handwritten master-disciple contract."

His voice gradually steadied as he began recounting events in chronological order.

"After signing it, the young miss regretted it. She felt the other party was untrustworthy and demanded that the contract be dissolved. But he refused. The two were deadlocked for some time, and in the end, he took the young miss to the place he rented."

"How shabby?" Gu Rong's booming voice suddenly cut in.

The young soul master looked up at him and answered honestly, "Extremely shabby. A wooden shack deep in an alley. You could fit three fingers through the gaps in the door, the windows had holes that had never been repaired, and from what I saw, the place looked ready to collapse at any moment."

"Heh." Chen Xin's voice came from the left, though he did not open his eyes.

"Could someone truly capable live in a place like that?"

He said little, but his meaning was clear. Doubt.

Ning Fengzhi did not respond to that. He simply looked at the young soul master and nodded.

"And then?"

"Then, to make the young miss acknowledge him as her master, that man demonstrated his soul skills inside the house. He said he could teach them to the young miss."

Ning Fengzhi's fingers stopped moving.

"Soul skills that can be taught?" he repeated, a nearly imperceptible frown appearing between his brows. "Self-created soul skills?"

"So he really is a soul master." Gu Rong's expression changed, and his earlier mocking look vanished. "Not an ordinary person?"

"Mhm." Chen Xin's silver brows twitched. "Interesting."

Ning Fengzhi waved a hand. "Go on. What did he demonstrate?"

The young soul master took a deep breath.

"I observed the entire time from the shadows. The first soul skill he displayed was called Wind Empress Qimen."

He began describing it. The further he went, the tighter his voice became.

"That soul skill could control the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. It could release flames, summon streams of water, condense ice, manipulate earth and stone, and unleash lightning. It could also control wind, emit light, and even gather dark-attribute energy."

He paused.

"And it wasn't limited to control. That man himself could transform as well. Right in front of the young miss, he turned into a bird, a snake, and a rabbit. He even transformed his entire body into a humanoid flame, then into a transparent body of water. Finally, he became a large bird and spat a wind blade from his mouth, cutting a hole straight through the roof."

The air in the hall froze.

Three pairs of eyes stared at the young soul master.

Gu Rong's lips moved twice, but no sound came out.

Chen Xin's eyes opened fully. A rare gravity surfaced in those usually indifferent, almost emotionless eyes.

The knuckles of Ning Fengzhi's hand gripping the chair's armrest turned white.

"Are you certain?" Ning Fengzhi's voice dropped half a degree. "All of that was one soul skill?"

The young soul master nodded forcefully.

"I'm certain. I confirmed it repeatedly. Whenever that man used any of those abilities, there was only one fluctuation of soul power throughout. It was one soul skill."

"Impossible," Gu Rong said softly.

But his tone no longer carried its earlier certainty.

Ning Fengzhi said nothing. His fingers began tapping the armrest again, twice as fast as before.

"What else?"

The young soul master's Adam's apple bobbed.

"After Wind Empress Qimen, that man demonstrated several other soul skills in succession."

He began listing them one by one.

"The second was called the Heaven-Piercing Talisman. It could draw all kinds of runes in the air, each with a different effect. What I observed included an earth-escape barrier, a rain cloud, high-temperature evaporation, calming the mind and soothing the spirit, cleansing clothes and body, and strength enhancement. Six effects corresponded to six different symbols, usable immediately once drawn."

"The third was Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements. It could knead ordinary wood into living creatures. I personally saw him make a wooden rhinoceros, a wooden hawk, and a wooden horsefish. All of them could move on their own, just like living things."

"The fourth was Twin Complete Hands. That man sliced open the back of his own hand with a knife, leaving a wound deep enough to expose bone. Then he covered it with his palm, and it healed in two seconds. Even the bloodstains disappeared."

By this point, the young soul master's own voice was trembling.

"Every soul skill, that man said he could teach to the young miss."

As those final words fell, no one in the hall spoke.

A full five seconds of deathly silence.

Gu Rong was the first to break it.

"Is what you said true?"

His voice had become unusually low, stripped of its earlier irritability. In its place was the bewilderment of seeing something completely beyond his understanding.

The young soul master dropped to his knees. "I guarantee it with my life. Every word is true!"

"They can all be taught?" Chen Xin's voice came from beside him. His tone remained even, but his silver brows had furrowed more deeply than ever before.

"That man personally told the young miss so."

Chen Xin fell silent.

Ning Fengzhi finally spoke. His voice was very slow, as though he were chewing over each word.

"One person possessing assault-type soul skills, control-type soul skills, support and healing-type soul skills at the same time. Every soul skill has variations so incredible they defy reason. And every one of them can be taught."

He turned to Chen Xin and Gu Rong.

"Uncles, when did such a person appear on the continent?"

Gu Rong and Chen Xin exchanged a glance. Their eyes held the same answer.

They did not know.

"If those are all self-created soul skills," Chen Xin said with an unusual degree of gravity, "then this person's talent has likely exceeded the limits of my understanding."

"But if they aren't self-created soul skills," Ning Fengzhi continued, "then they are his own soul ring skills."

He lowered his gaze slightly.

"To possess so many soul ring skills, he must at least be a five- or six-ring Soul King or Soul Emperor."

"A teenaged Soul Emperor?" The corner of Gu Rong's mouth twitched.