Ning Fengzhi Was Stopped When He Entertained Dangerous Thoughts

"How is that possible?!"

Ning Ting, the current sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, clenched the thin intelligence report in his hand so tightly it was nearly torn apart.

He stared blankly at the few lines on the paper, unable to look away for a long time.

"Six years old, level forty-nine, two Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings, and one Golden Soul Ring of unknown age... He defeated sixty-five-level Tang Xiao in a single move... Father, this... this has to be a joke, right?"

Twenty-three-year-old Ning Fengzhi had also seen the report beside him.

He had only recently begun handling sect affairs. Just as he was full of ambition and ready to make his mark, this report was like a bucket of icy water poured directly over his newly ignited aspirations.

Ning Ting finally set down the report and rubbed the bridge of his nose, his voice weary.

"Could information personally released by Spirit Hall be fake?"

"Besides, so many people witnessed the soul battle between the younger generations of the Clear Sky Sect and Spirit Hall."

"The truth cannot be false, and falsehood cannot become truth."

"Spirit Hall deliberately released Luo Jiuyou's information. Since they dared announce it to the world, they were not afraid of anyone investigating it."

After saying that, he fell silent for a long time.

Only the faint breathing of father and son remained in the great hall.

Ning Ting was deeply troubled.

As the sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, he understood Spirit Hall's strength better than anyone.

Spirit Hall's influence already spread across the land. Its branch halls could be found throughout both great empires. Nominally, they awakened martial souls for commoners free of charge, but in truth, every branch hall was a nail driven into the empires' flesh.

Spirit Hall's reach extended into every corner of the Douluo Continent. No disturbance could escape its eyes and ears.

And now, such a colossal force had produced another Holy Son of such terrifying talent.

Ning Ting could not help but recall the Angel God from ten thousand years ago.

That Angel God had once oppressed the entire continent with her might.

Though that era had passed ten thousand years ago, the suffocating pressure described in the surviving records still sent chills down one's spine even through the written words.

"Father?"

Noticing that something was wrong with his father, Ning Fengzhi called softly.

Ning Ting came back to his senses and slowly leaned against the back of his chair, his voice low. "Spirit Hall's momentum is too great. This time, we have no power to resist."

"Leaving aside that utterly terrifying Spirit Hall Holy Son, Qian Xunji's daughter, Qian Renxue, possesses the Six-Winged Angel martial soul. She is only six years old and already level thirty-four."

"And her fellow disciples—two six-year-old level twenty-six Soul Grandmasters and three level sixteen Soul Masters. Every one of them has horrifying Soul Ring configurations that exceed their limits."

"How did they do it? How could they so easily obtain Soul Rings beyond their age limits?"

"And how did that Spirit Hall Holy Son named Luo Jiuyou obtain Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings as his first and second Soul Rings?"

Ning Ting could not make sense of it no matter how hard he thought.

It was not as if he had never seen geniuses before.

But those children from Spirit Hall...

Six years old, level twenty-six.

Six years old, level thirty-four.

Six years old, level forty-nine.

This had completely surpassed his understanding of the word "genius."

His mind repeatedly searched through the ancient texts he had read over the years, the legends he had heard, and the powerful figures he had encountered, but not a single example matched the intelligence report before him.

On the Douluo Continent, the ideal Soul Ring configuration for Soul Masters was yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black.

This was a rule that countless generations of Soul Masters had tested bit by bit with painful sacrifices and human lives.

The first and second Soul Rings were hundred-year rings, the third and fourth were thousand-year rings, and the fifth was a ten-thousand-year ring.

Yet those children from Spirit Hall had crushed this ironclad rule beneath their feet.

Purple for the first Soul Ring, purple for the second Soul Ring.

And one of them had red for the first Soul Ring and red for the second.

Red.

Hundred thousand years.

Ning Ting felt as though he was going mad.

"Father, such a terrifying Holy Son is still young. There will always be..." Knowing his father's concerns, Ning Fengzhi carefully began to offer a suggestion.

Before he could finish, however, Ning Ting suddenly slammed the armrest and shouted sternly.

"Shut up!! Do you want to plunge the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect into eternal ruin?!"

Ning Fengzhi trembled from fright and took half a step back, his mouth open but no words coming out.

No one knew a son better than his father.

One look at his son's expression, and Ning Ting knew exactly what dangerous thoughts he was entertaining.

Spirit Hall's Holy Son, Spirit Hall's hope for the future—those seven children were now Spirit Hall's most treasured core assets.

Since Spirit Hall dared release that information, it had undoubtedly made thorough preparations for their protection.

No matter how gifted six-year-old children were, they were still six-year-old children. How could Spirit Hall possibly leave them unguarded?

The area around Spirit City was likely already covered by an inescapable net, waiting for some blind faction to reach out first so it could be made an example of.

"Spirit Hall has produced seven such terrifying monsters, especially the most terrifying one among them. Since they dared reveal them to the world, do you think they would not take precautions?"

"Anyone who dares set their sights on them now will die."

"What's more, Spirit Hall's power is incomparably terrifying, and Qian Daoliu, one of the world's two Peerless Douluo, stands guard over it."

"Whoever dares make a move at a time like this will be handing them a pretext to use as a sacrifice for their banner."

He stared at Ning Fengzhi and spoke each word distinctly. "Our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect does not even have a single Titled Douluo."

"Do you intend to bury the entire sect because of one moment of recklessness?!"

Ning Fengzhi was completely silenced by those words.

His lips moved as if he wanted to offer a few excuses, but the words reached his throat before he forcefully swallowed them back down.

He knew his father was right.

He understood the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's current situation better than anyone.

The two sect-protecting powerhouses known as Uncle Hai and Uncle Ling were both already level eighty-nine, just one step away from becoming Titled Douluo.

But that one step had trapped them for nearly decades.

They could never pierce through that final barrier.

Level eighty-nine was level eighty-nine. If one was not a Titled Douluo, one would never be a Titled Douluo.

Moreover, those two uncles did not have much lifespan left.

The sect's position was becoming even more precarious.

Without even a single Titled Douluo, what right did the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect have to contend with other factions?

Ning Ting was silent for quite a while. Seeing his son lower his head after being scolded, too afraid to speak, he felt both heartache and helplessness.

His tone softened as he sighed. "Fengzhi, our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect may be one of the Upper Three Sects, but that is an old story from many years ago."

"With the reputation of possessing the world's number one auxiliary martial soul, the protection of those two level eighty-nine Soul Douluo, and the amplification support your father can provide, we can indeed contend with an ordinary Titled Douluo."

"But that is only contending with one."

"You and I both know that the gap between a true Titled Douluo and a Soul Douluo is not something amplification can erase."

"A sect without a Titled Douluo will always be at the very bottom."

He rose to his feet, walked over to Ning Fengzhi, and patted his shoulder.

"Do you think I am not anxious?"

"I also want to know how Spirit Hall did it. I want to know where those children's Soul Rings came from."

"But this world is cruel. Without strength, there is nothing you can do."

"You do not even have the right to ask a question."

Ning Fengzhi raised his head and looked at the few new strands of white hair at his father's temples. His Adam's apple bobbed before he finally responded in a low voice.

"...Your son understands."

Ning Ting said nothing more and turned toward the hall's exit.

After taking a few steps, he stopped and turned his head slightly, his voice hoarse.

"Fengzhi, remember this—staying alive matters more than anything."

"As long as people remain, the sect remains."

"Do not bury the last foundation of our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect because of a moment of impulse."

After saying that, he seemed to have released his last breath and slowly walked out of the great hall.

To Ning Fengzhi, that retreating figure looked utterly exhausted, as though he had aged ten years.

The great hall fell silent once more.

Ning Fengzhi stood alone in the center of the empty hall. The intelligence report from Spirit Hall still lay spread across the table before him.

His gaze fell upon the three characters, "Luo Jiuyou," and his fingers slowly tightened into a fist.

Strength.

In the end, it all came down to strength.

If the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had a Titled Douluo to guard it, if it had enough confidence, why would they not even dare voice a single doubt?

Why could they only watch Spirit Hall grow stronger step by step, without even room to catch their breath?

He thought of the two elderly seniors in the sect who had been trapped at level eighty-nine for years.

They were the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's final support, but how much longer could they endure?

Ten years?

Twenty years?

If they could never break through to Titled Douluo, then once they could no longer hold on and fell, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would lose even its last shred of deterrence.

When that time came, the wolves coveting the world's number one auxiliary martial soul would pounce without hesitation and tear the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect apart before swallowing it whole.

Ning Fengzhi drew a deep breath.

"Let's try again."

"That Soul Douluo named Chen Xin... If we can invite him to join us, he may yet become a Titled Douluo in the future."

He clenched his fist, and his gaze became resolute again.

But then another issue occurred to him.

Would the emergence of Spirit Hall Holy Son Luo Jiuyou draw all the powerful figures who had originally been willing to join the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect over to Spirit Hall instead?

Ning Fengzhi's brow furrowed tighter and tighter.

He suddenly realized that the problem was far more complicated than he had imagined.

The appearance of Spirit Hall's Holy Son would affect not merely this generation, but the entire landscape for decades to come, perhaps even centuries.

After seeing the information about Spirit Hall's Holy Son, would those powerful figures who had still been watching and hesitating over whether to join the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect still choose the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?

The answer was obvious.

Ning Fengzhi remained silent for a long time before finally exhaling slowly and turning to leave the great hall as well.

He still had many things to do.

Even if hope was slim, he had to do them.

Because he was the young master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, its future sect master.

Behind him lay the rise and fall, survival and destruction, of the entire sect.