Ning Fengzhi: What Did I Get? Am I a Joke?!

"Heaven-Earth Valley of Love? Something related to gods?"

Qian Renxue asked in surprise, but deep down, she was thinking that there was actually a place in this world where gods' inheritances remained.

"Yes, a place rumored to be impossible to enter or leave. The last time anyone went in was when a group from Shrek Academy entered ten thousand years ago." Yin Hongye smiled calmly and said to Mu Hongchen, "By the way, Hong Chen, where's that history book we accidentally took when we visited the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Sect last time?"

Mu Hongchen thought for a moment, then dug that history book out from his pile of soul-tool research materials, where it had been used to prop up a table leg.

He casually grabbed the book and tossed it toward Qian Renxue.

Beyond the Heavenly Screen, Ning Fengzhi watched the two of them show absolutely no reverence for his sect, and his face burned with humiliation.

These people truly did not take his sect seriously at all.

In truth, anyone with Three-Word Battle Armor could go up there and stomp on it a few times. Of course, ordinary Three-Word Battle Armor Masters still had some shame.

Unfortunately, the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Sect had encountered people with no shame at all.

He suppressed the anger in his heart and looked at the report. Everything was actually normal...

But he still felt uneasy.

Surely it could not be the other possibility he had thought of...

Ning Fengzhi's expression grew colder and colder, hoping to learn something from today's discussion about the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Sect.

"Fengzhi, what should we do now?" Sword Douluo asked.

"Wait for now." Ning Fengzhi raised a hand, stopping Sword Douluo from killing Oscar. "We'll decide after watching."

Qian Renxue opened the old history book. Her gaze landed on the first page, and she read it aloud instinctively.

"After the victory in the Battle of Jialing Pass, Sea God Tang San, for the sake of peace across the continent, gathered all hidden weapons on the continent into the Tang Sect. This included... the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."

She paused and turned to the second page.

"Ning Rongrong obtained the inheritance of the Nine-Colored Goddess and successfully became a god. From that point onward, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect changed its name to the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Sect."

Beyond the Heavenly Screen, the disciples of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect immediately erupted into uproar upon hearing this passage.

"Miss Rongrong became a god!"

"The Nine-Colored Goddess! Our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has a god too!"

The surviving disciples of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Sect, who had endured the disaster, had excitement and pride written all over their faces. Some had even begun imagining the sect's future.

Only Ning Fengzhi remained seated in the seat of honor, his expression utterly unmoving.

It was not that he was not proud of his daughter becoming a god. Of course he was proud. She was his daughter, Rongrong, whom he had cherished and raised in the palm of his hand since childhood.

Yet his fingers unconsciously clenched around the armrest.

Those hidden weapons had been bought with his hard-earned money. Godly Zhuge Crossbows, Sleeve Arrows, Shadow-Projecting Sand—he had paid the Tang Sect's listed price for every single one, without missing a single coin. He had even supplied the materials himself.

Once the Battle of Jialing Pass had been won, the Tang Sect turned around and took back every hidden weapon across the continent, including those his Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had bought.

What was that supposed to mean? Once the war was over, allies became outsiders?

The smile on Ning Fengzhi's face froze perfectly in place.

Was it truly for the peace of the continent?!

Qian Renxue continued reading. "After Ning Rongrong inherited the divine position of the Nine-Colored Goddess, she ascended to the God Realm with Sea God Tang San that same year. In the third year after Tang San's ascension, the Tang Sect resumed its hidden-weapon trade, selling hidden weapons to sects across the continent at prices thirty percent higher than before the war."

After she finished reading that passage, the room fell silent for several seconds.

Leaning against the window, Yin Hongye gave a soft click of his tongue.

"Why are you reading that? Shouldn't you be looking into Heaven-Earth Valley of Love?"

"There's no rush. The more we know, the better."

Beyond the Heavenly Screen, Ning Fengzhi sat motionless in the seat of honor.

His expression was indescribable, halfway between a smile and not a smile.

"Fengzhi, are you all right?"

"Uncle Sword, I'm fine."

Ning Fengzhi adjusted his monocle, the corners of his mouth curling in an endless cold sneer.

Before Tang San ascended, he said he was confiscating all hidden weapons for the peace of the continent. Yet the moment the hero ascended, the Tang Sect immediately began selling hidden weapons again. At a thirty percent markup, no less.

Ning Fengzhi lifted his teacup, but his fingers squeezed it so hard that his knuckles turned white.

He felt like a joke.

And in the eyes of the continent's other powers, he truly was a joke. A sucker harvested twice by his so-called allies, yet still smiling along with them.

Ning Fengzhi's dissatisfaction with Tang San was no longer merely a little.

He felt that he had backed the wrong horse and misjudged the man.

On the other side of Heaven Dou City, Tang San's expression remained unchanged, and his tone carried unquestionable composure.

"I gathered the hidden weapons of the world for the peace of the continent. If those things were left scattered outside, they would only bring more slaughter."

"As for what the Tang Sect did afterward, they must not have obeyed my divine decree. I entrusted the matter to the wrong people. That was my oversight."

He spoke with such open righteousness that it seemed as though none of it had anything to do with him.

In Spirit City, Bibi Dong sat high above, listening to his words. The corner of her mouth lifted in a faint curve.

That was right. She was mocking Ning Fengzhi. He had made the wrong choice, and this was the price he deserved to pay.

Qian Daoliu stood in Worship Hall with his hands behind his back. His expression was far more complicated, eventually turning into a low snort of unclear meaning.

He said nothing, but that low snort already contained a thousand unspoken words.

Yue Guan and Gui Mei stood beside Bibi Dong. They exchanged a glance, and both their mouths twitched.

They had been trained. Under normal circumstances, they would not laugh unless they truly could not hold it in.

Within the Heavenly Screen, Qian Renxue quickly flipped through the history book, her eyes narrowing slightly.

At last, she found the history from ten thousand years ago.

She finally learned what Heaven-Earth Valley of Love was.

Several lines were written prominently on the page—

The foremost of the three great treasure basins of the human world: Heaven-Earth Valley of Love. Legend said that Love God of the God Realm was betrayed by her lover, died in overwhelming grief, and fell into the human world, transforming into this valley. Heaven and earth were reversed within the valley, while the sun and moon became a lake.

Love God hated those who betrayed love to the bone. Should a faithless person fall into Sun-Moon Lake, they would provoke her wrath and trigger the Trial of Heaven-Earth Love.

Only true lovers could leave this place alive and perhaps even obtain an opportunity. All those who lied and deceived would suffer severe punishment.

After Qian Renxue finished reading, she looked up, one brow lifting slightly.

"This place is the legendary inheritance ground of Love God?"

Mu Hongchen leaned against the armrest of the sofa. "Tch, that's hard to say."

"Only a group from Shrek Academy ten thousand years ago ever came out of that place. It really is strange." Yin Hongye had never entered it, but he felt that if he did, the result would probably be about the same as if Xuan Zi went in.

Qian Renxue froze for a moment, then read another sentence. "The sun and moon become a lake; heaven and earth question love. Risk your heart, and true devotion becomes invincible."

"Speak the truth and use sincere feelings. Only then can one pass."

Mu Hongchen gave a disdainful laugh at the test. "This Love God sure knows how to play. But what if someone doesn't have a lover?"

"No beloved?" Yin Hongye sneered. "Then I'm afraid you wouldn't even qualify for the trial."

Qian Renxue's gaze moved to the next page, and her expression changed slightly.

Beyond the Heavenly Screen, in the deepest part of Star Dou Forest.

Di Tian stood beside Lake of Life, his golden eyes looking toward the sky. He had no interest in the love and hatred of humans, but this was a place left behind by Love God, so he still needed to understand it.

He did not yet know that his current calm would soon shatter into pieces. Nor did he know that the Emperor Auspicious Beast he treasured as dearly as his life would sacrifice herself for a human in that ridiculous valley.