The Sect Master and the Sword

The Cooperative Trial had barely begun when the spectator area was packed.

Shrek's four members escorted an Incense Lamp forward.

Tang San led the way, Xiao Wu moved along the flanks, Ma Hongjun handled the approaching Little Demons, while Ning Rongrong stood at the rear. Though she appeared not to be making a move, her eyes remained fixed on the rhythm of the other three.

This was completely different from solo mode.

No matter how strong Tang San was alone, he could not defend every direction at once.

No matter how fast Xiao Wu was, she could not stray too far from the Incense Lamp.

Ma Hongjun had it the hardest.

Whenever he saw Little Demons gathering together, he wanted to charge forward and toss his training in those clear flames to the back of his mind.

"Fatty, take half a step back to the right."

Ning Rongrong suddenly spoke.

Ma Hongjun obeyed instinctively.

A Little Demon nearly brushed past his shoulder as it lunged and missed, its blade slashing down against the halo around the Incense Lamp.

Ma Hongjun broke out in a cold sweat.

"How did you know?"

Ning Rongrong was stunned as well.

She had not actually seen that Little Demon.

What she had seen was Ma Hongjun's foot about to press forward again.

Tang San was tied down by two Little Demons in front of him, Xiao Wu had just dashed to the left, and the rear right was left open.

In that instant, she simply felt that something was about to go wrong there.

Mindful Battlefield Insight had taken effect.

She had not enhanced anyone's Soul Power, yet she had seen in advance where the team was about to fall apart.

The Grandmaster stood before the replay screen, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.

"This is what team training should be."

Flender was equally absorbed, temporarily forgetting even his heartache over the money.

Just as everyone's attention was fixed on the screen, a gentle voice came from the entrance.

"Looks like Rongrong truly wasn't exaggerating these past few days."

Ning Rongrong abruptly turned around.

"Dad?"

The man entering the shop wore a simple, spotless robe and carried a gentle air about him. A white-haired old man followed at his side.

The old man did not deliberately release any Soul Power, but the instant he entered, quite a few soul masters in the shop instinctively fell silent.

Lin Chuan looked up.

Ning Fengzhi.

Sword Douluo Chen Xin.

The two of them had finally arrived.

Ning Rongrong wanted to rise from her machine, but the Incense Lamp in the game pulled her attention back.

Watching the screen while unable to resist looking back, she asked, "Dad, why are you here?"

Ning Fengzhi smiled. "You made this place sound so lively in your letter. If I still didn't come, I would seem like a father who cared too little for his daughter."

Ning Rongrong's ears reddened slightly, though she refused to admit it. "I never told you to come right away."

"Mm." Ning Fengzhi looked at the controls she still had not put down. "So I am already late."

Flender immediately straightened up.

Yue Guan also glanced over slightly.

People from Spirit Hall were here, and now the Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had arrived too.

The once noisy internet café seemed to have silently been switched to a deeper pot.

The bustle remained, but the heat had changed.

Ning Fengzhi did not speak in haste.

He looked at the screen first.

Ning Rongrong stood at the rear of the team. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda had not appeared, yet at the most crucial moments, she reminded Ma Hongjun to step back half a pace and shouted, "Xiao Wu, cover the left!" before Tang San was boxed in by two Little Demons.

She had not used any soul skill.

Yet she truly was changing the course of the battle.

Ning Fengzhi's expression shifted slightly.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had no shortage of enhancements.

What it lacked was a way to let support-type disciples understand danger earlier amid complicated battles.

If this internet café could make up for that weakness, then its value could not be measured merely by the price of a game license.

When Ning Fengzhi looked at Rongrong, his gaze softened somewhat.

Of course, he knew his daughter had changed during this time.

Before leaving the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Rongrong still had many little temperamental habits born of being spoiled. After coming to Shrek, she had suffered hardships and changed quite a bit. But most of those changes had merely tempered her personality.

Now, it was different.

She had begun to find her own place within a battle.

That was more important than simply becoming obedient.

Yue Guan smiled as he spoke. "Sect Master Ning is interested in Boss Lin's little shop as well?"

Ning Fengzhi turned to him, his smile gentle. "With Chrysanthemum Douluo here, if I said I was merely passing by, I would seem insincere."

Both of them were smiling.

One smiled gently, while the other smiled seductively.

Yet an invisible contest had entered the air of the shop.

One represented Spirit Hall, the other the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Neither had broken the shop rules, but both were using their own methods to determine how much leverage this shop could bring.

Ning Fengzhi looked toward Lin Chuan.

"Boss Lin, I have heard much about you."

Lin Chuan nodded. "There is a queue for machines, a separate queue for buyouts, and explanations and spectating are charged. Private fights are forbidden in the shop."

Ning Fengzhi paused, then his smile deepened.

He had seen countless people act polite toward the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, and he had seen quite a few put on airs. Someone like Lin Chuan, who laid out the rules the moment they met, was instead a rare sight.

"Rongrong said this place can train the judgment of support-type soul masters. At first, I was only half convinced."

He looked toward the screen.

"Now it seems worth trying."

Chen Xin's gaze, however, fell on the wooden stick in Tang San's hand.

"This game suppresses Martial Souls?"

Lin Chuan said, "Most of the time, it makes players adapt again through their game bodies."

Chen Xin asked, "Even swords are gone?"

"Gone."

The shop fell silent for a moment.

Sword Douluo without a sword.

Just imagining it felt unbelievable to many soul masters.

Chen Xin smiled instead.

"Interesting."

His smile was faint, but it was not perfunctory.

Chen Xin had known the sword too well throughout his life.

So well that many times, his intent arrived before the sword even left its sheath. Others spoke of his strength, his sharpness, and how terrifying the Seven Killing Sword was. He had heard it all too often.

Yet the more that was so, the more he wanted to know: if the sword were taken from his hand, what would remain—his realm, or merely habit?

Ning Fengzhi looked at him. "Uncle Sword wants to try?"

Chen Xin said, "If a swordsman loses his sword, can he still see the enemy's flaws? That is indeed worth trying."

A system notification appeared before Lin Chuan.

[High-level customer detected within the experience range.]

[Notice: After a high-level customer enters the game, stricter suppression and adaptive difficulty will be activated to prevent excessive combat power.]

Lin Chuan secretly sighed in relief.

What he feared most was a Titled Douluo getting on a machine and turning the beginner village into ruins.

It seemed the system had prepared for that long ago.

Ning Fengzhi took out Gold Soul Coins. "Buy out one."

Lin Chuan did not accept them immediately.

"I recommend trying the standard experience first. After a buyout, there is a draw, personal binding, and no transfer. It won't be too late to buy after confirming it suits you."

Ning Fengzhi watched him for a moment and smiled. "Boss Lin is not in a hurry to make a fortune."

Lin Chuan thought, In a hurry? Of course I am.

But no matter how urgent he was, he could not fool a Titled Douluo as if he were an ordinary casual customer.

He only said aloud, "This shop is open for the long term."

Chen Xin had already taken a seat before an empty machine.

The helmet lowered, and the game screen lit up.

The next moment, this Sword Douluo, renowned across the continent, stood upon a mountain path on Black Wind Mountain.

He lowered his head and looked at his hands.

There was no Seven Killing Sword.

No Spirit Rings.

No familiar release of sword intent, as natural as breathing.

There was only a rough wooden stick.

The wooden stick was very light.

So light that it was almost laughable.

When Chen Xin gripped it, his fingers paused slightly. It was not discomfort, but the emptiness left when habits formed over countless years suddenly found nothing to land on.

No sword hilt rested against his palm.

No familiar sharpness answered him.

Ning Fengzhi watched the screen, and his smile faded somewhat as well.

He rarely saw Uncle Sword pause like this.

It was not hesitation. It was more like someone who had walked the same road for years suddenly discovering that one layer of the stone steps beneath his feet had vanished. It lasted only an instant, yet it was enough to show that this game showed no mercy even to a Titled Douluo.

Mountain wind blew through the woods, carrying the damp scent of earth. In the distance, a Little Demon dragged its blade as it approached step by step. The tip occasionally scraped against pebbles, producing a faint sound.

In the distance, the Little Demon approached with its blade in hand.

Chen Xin fell silent for a moment, then suddenly chuckled.

"So that's how it is."

Outside the internet café, those waiting in line still peered inside.

Inside the internet café, everyone stared at the screen.

They wanted to know how much would remain after a Titled Douluo was stripped by the game of the strength most familiar to him.

Ning Fengzhi wanted to know as well.

Only, his thoughts reached farther than those of the others. If even a powerhouse like Uncle Sword could be forced to reexamine himself here, then the younger disciples of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had even less reason to regard this place as a shop that merely sold novelties.