Sect Master and Sword

Sect Master and Sword

The Cooperative Trial had barely begun when the spectator area filled to capacity.

Shrek's four members escorted an Incense Lamp forward.

Tang San took the lead, Xiao Wu moved along the flanks, Ma Hongjun handled the approaching Little Demons, and Ning Rongrong stood at the rear. Though she appeared not to be making any moves, she kept her eyes 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 moved, she could not stray too far from the Incense Lamp.

Ma Hongjun had it the hardest.

Whenever he saw Little Demons bunch together, he wanted to charge straight in, casting that training in 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 grazed his shoulder as it lunged and missed, its blade sweeping down against the circle of light around the Incense Lamp.

Ma Hongjun broke out in a cold sweat.

"How did you know?"

Ning Rongrong was stunned herself.

She had not actually seen that Little Demon just now.

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, Xiao Wu had just flashed to the left, and the rear right was exposed.

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

Mindful Battlefield Insight had taken effect.

She had not increased 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 engrossed, 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.

"It seems Rongrong truly did not exaggerate these past few days."

Ning Rongrong whipped around.

"Dad?"

The man entering the shop wore a simple, spotless long robe and carried a gentle air. A white-haired elder followed beside him.

The elder did not deliberately release any Soul Power, yet the moment he stepped inside, many of the 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 kept tugging at her attention.

She watched the screen while turning back repeatedly. "Dad, why are you here?"

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

Ning Rongrong's ears reddened slightly, but 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 have already come too late."

Flender immediately straightened up.

Yue Guan also glanced over.

People from Spirit Hall were here, and now the sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had arrived as well.

The internet café, noisy only moments ago, felt as though someone had quietly replaced its pot with a deeper one.

The bustle remained, but the heat had changed.

Ning Fengzhi did not speak in a hurry.

He looked at the screen first.

Ning Rongrong stood at the back of the team. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda had not appeared, yet at the most critical moments, she reminded Ma Hongjun to retreat half a step, then called out, "Xiao Wu, cover the left," before Tang San was trapped between two Little Demons.

She had not used any soul skills.

Yet she truly was changing the course of battle.

Ning Fengzhi's expression shifted slightly.

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

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

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

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

Of course, he knew his daughter had changed recently.

Before leaving the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Rongrong still had many little temperaments born of being spoiled. After coming to Shrek, she had endured hardship and changed considerably. Yet most of those changes had merely tempered her personality.

Now, things were different.

She had begun to find her own place on the battlefield.

That mattered more than simply becoming obedient.

Yue Guan smiled as he spoke. "Is Sect Master Ning also interested in Shopkeeper Lin's little shop?"

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

Both men were smiling.

One smiled gently, while the other smiled bewitchingly.

Yet an invisible contest now filled the air inside the shop.

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

Neither had violated the shop rules, yet both were using their own methods to determine how much leverage this shop could offer.

Ning Fengzhi looked toward Lin Chuan.

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

Lin Chuan nodded. "There is a queue for machines, a separate queue for buyouts, and spectating explanations are charged. Private fighting is prohibited inside the shop."

Ning Fengzhi paused, then his smile deepened.

He had seen countless people act courteous toward the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, and he had seen plenty more put on airs. Someone like Lin Chuan, who laid out the rules so clearly from the start, was rather rare.

"Rongrong said this place could train the judgment of support-type soul masters. At first, I only half believed her."

He looked at the screen.

"Now, it seems worth trying."

Chen Xin's gaze fell upon the wooden stick in Tang San's hand.

"This game suppresses Martial Souls?"

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

Chen Xin asked, "Even swords are gone?"

"Gone."

The shop fell silent for a moment.

Sword Douluo without a sword.

The thought alone struck many soul masters as inconceivable.

Chen Xin smiled instead.

"Interesting."

His smile was faint, but it was not perfunctory.

Chen Xin had been too familiar with swords throughout his life.

So familiar that often, the sword did not need to leave its sheath before its intent had already arrived. Others said he was powerful, said he was sharp, said the Seven Killing Sword was terrifying. He had heard it all too often.

But precisely because of that, he wanted to know whether, if the sword were taken from his hand, what remained would be mastery—or merely habit.

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

Chen Xin said, "If a swordsman loses his sword, whether he can still see his enemy's weaknesses is indeed worth testing."

A system prompt appeared before Lin Chuan's eyes.

[High-level customer detected within experience range.]

[Notice: Upon entering the game, high-level customers will activate stricter suppression and adaptive difficulty to prevent excessive combat power.]

Lin Chuan inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

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

Now, it seemed the system had prepared for that long ago.

Ning Fengzhi took out Gold Soul Coins. "I'll buy out one."

Lin Chuan did not take them immediately.

"I recommend trying the regular experience first. After a buyout, there will be a draw, and the account is personally bound and cannot be transferred. It is not too late to buy after confirming it suits you."

Ning Fengzhi watched him for a moment, then smiled. "Shopkeeper Lin is not in much of a hurry to make a fortune."

In a hurry? Of course I am.

But no matter how desperate he was, he could not treat a Titled Douluo like an ordinary walk-in customer.

He merely said aloud, "This shop intends to remain in business for a long time."

Chen Xin had already sat down before an empty machine.

The helmet lowered, and the game screen lit up.

The next instant, the Sword Douluo, renowned across the continent, stood on a mountain path in Black Wind Mountain.

He lowered his head and looked at his hands.

There was no Seven Killing Sword.

No Spirit Rings.

No outward release of sword intent as familiar as breathing.

There was only a rough wooden stick.

The 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 blankness left when years of habit suddenly found nothing to rest upon.

No sword hilt pressed 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 stone steps beneath his feet had vanished. The moment was brief, 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. Its tip occasionally scraped against pebbles, making 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 continued peering inside.

Inside the internet café, everyone stared at the screen.

They wanted to know how much would remain after a Titled Douluo had been stripped by the game of the power he knew best.

Ning Fengzhi wanted to know as well.

But his thoughts reached farther than everyone else's. If even a powerful figure like Uncle Sword could be forced to reassess himself here, then the young disciples of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had even less reason to treat this place as merely a shop selling novelties.