"Damn it, Old Bones! How can you say that? Don't forget, Aotian did all this for the sect. The Immortal Herb he got from Dugu Bo's grandson was meant to help you break through to Peak Douluo. Do you have no conscience at all?"
Sword Douluo spoke furiously.
Knowing he was in the wrong, Bone Douluo changed the subject. "What good does yelling at me do? The urgent question is how to handle tomorrow's engagement banquet. We don't even know where Rongrong has run off to. Even if we find her, she certainly won't make it back in time. And we'd better think about how to explain this to Aotian."
The two looked at Ning Fengzhi in unison, waiting for their sect master to decide what to do.
Ning Fengzhi resorted to his usual tactic: preparing for both possibilities.
They would do everything they could to find Ning Rongrong. If they failed,
they would tell the guests tomorrow that Ning Rongrong was at a critical point in her breakthrough to Soul Ancestor and could not come out to meet them.
In the end, they did not find her.
So at the engagement banquet the next day, every other groom-to-be greeted the guests alongside his bride-to-be.
He alone stood there by himself.
But he did not think much of it. Cultivation came first, after all, and their engagement was already settled. Once he became a Titled Douluo, or even a god, they would have plenty of time together.
Seeing how understanding and considerate Long Aotian was,
Ning Fengzhi felt a twinge of guilt. To reassure him, after the guests had left, he announced in front of Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo that he would hold Long Aotian and Ning Rongrong's wedding as soon as Long Aotian became a Soul Emperor.
Overjoyed, Long Aotian went back to cultivate harder than ever.
At the same time, Qian Renxue, disguised as Xue Qinghe, had received two pieces of news after attending the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's engagement banquet.
The first came from a Spirit Hall spy planted in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Ning Rongrong had fled her engagement and was still missing. The entire sect was searching for her; only Long Aotian remained in the dark.
The second piece of news came from Spirit City.
The Pope's disciple Xuan Jian had returned safely to Spirit City the previous night. He had also brought news: he had killed Old Poison's grandson, Dugu Jue.
Dugu Bo had always relied on his strength and shown little respect for Spirit Hall.
He had not even gone to Spirit Hall to receive his Titled Douluo title.
It was a grave show of disrespect.
Most of the higher-ups were delighted to hear that Xuan Jian had killed Dugu Jue.
Some objected, of course, believing Xuan Jian had been too reckless.
He had made an irreconcilable enemy of a level ninety-seven Peak Douluo—one with formidable power against large groups.
Any chance of bringing Dugu Bo into Spirit Hall was gone.
Pufferfish Douluo Ci Xue stepped forward and said respectfully:
“Young Master, for anyone, having their betrothed run away on the day of their engagement is a great humiliation. Should we secretly let Long Aotian know? He might turn against Ning Fengzhi and leave the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.”
"Not yet. I've met Ning Fengzhi's daughter. She's used to doing whatever she pleases. Out there on her own, she's bound to cause a disaster sooner or later. If Ning Fengzhi wants to keep this from Long Aotian, let him. The longer he hides it, the more betrayed Long Aotian will feel when he finds out. That's when they'll turn against each other."
Qian Renxue sat high on a gilded chair upholstered in Soul Beast hide. Her left elbow rested on the armrest, her cheek propped in her palm, while her right hand gently swirled a glass of red wine. She sat with one leg crossed over the other, looking entirely confident.
“The Young Master is wise.” Pufferfish Douluo respectfully stepped back into place.
“Young Master, about Dugu Jue...” Snake Lance Douluo She Long stepped forward, sounding hesitant.
"Since Xuan Jian killed him, he's no longer worth recruiting. He's dead, and that's that. Just keep watching the other two. Also, see whether the Soul Master World has any other talents who can match or even surpass them."
By "the other two," Qian Renxue meant Yu Tianlong and Long Aotian.
In her eyes, only those two were worth noticing, and even then, only just.
After all, Dugu Jue had told her that while they were remarkably talented, they had reached Soul Ancestor at twelve largely thanks to Whale Rubber and the Immortal Herbs they had traded from him.
Neither of them even had a ten-thousand-year fourth Soul Ring.
They still lagged behind Xuan Jian, whom that woman at Spirit Hall had raised.
As for Qian Renxue herself, she had not discovered Whale Rubber's benefits until she was fifteen. As a result, her first four Soul Rings were the ordinary configuration: two yellow and two purple.
But over the following six years, she had consumed large quantities of Whale Rubber, some of it over fifty thousand years old.
She had also gained the Angel Set Head Soul Bone's recognition ahead of time, along with the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower Dugu Jue had given her.
Her fifth Soul Ring was thirty thousand years old, her sixth over fifty thousand, and her seventh came from a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast her grandfather had personally hunted.
Those last three Soul Rings had reached the ages Xuan Jian had planned for his own rings when Bibi Dong sought the Spirit Condensation Wisdom Head for him and he had to prove to the elders and priests that he was worth nurturing.
She was now a level seventy-three Soul Sage.
With her exceptional Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul, Qian Renxue did not believe Xuan Jian could surpass her, even though he possessed Twin Martial Souls.
Nor was she so interested in Xuan Jian for any romantic reason. His looks alone were enough to put someone as particular about appearances as her off him completely.
Dugu Jue was good-looking enough, but he was weaker than Xuan Jian and had approached her on his own. Naturally, she thought even less of him.
The person she truly cared about was her mother, Bibi Dong.
Qian Renxue had always been at odds with Bibi Dong.
That was true in other matters,
and in the matter of cultivating talent as well.
After seeing Bibi Dong raise such an outstanding talent as Xuan Jian, Qian Renxue had decided to nurture a talent of her own—one who could step forward and defeat him.
She wanted to prove herself to Bibi Dong.
That was why Yu Tianlong, Long Aotian, and Dugu Jue had caught her attention.
Now that Dugu Jue was dead, Yu Tianlong and Long Aotian had become her focus.
As for Dugu Jue's feelings for her, how could Qian Renxue not have known?
With her beauty and talent, countless people would fall for her if she showed herself to the world.
If he could have defeated Xuan Jian, or simply killed him, she might have thought more highly of him. Unfortunately, he had disappointed her in the end.
Dugu Jue was dead. Ning Rongrong had fled her engagement. Qian Renxue was searching for a talent who could defeat Xuan Jian, all to spite Bibi Dong.
Lin Yuan knew none of it. If he had, he would probably have been shocked.
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