That night,
at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Castle,
in an underground chamber,
Ning Fengzhi stood beneath a Soul Guidance Lamp, his entire face hidden in shadow.
Before him stood several burly men holding Thunder Hand Cannons. Every one of them was a Soul Ancestor.
"Gentlemen, whether our grand undertaking succeeds rests on your performance. Rest assured, whatever the outcome, I, Ning Fengzhi, will take full responsibility for your wives, children, and elderly family members!"
The burly men, each fierce beyond measure, watched Ning Fengzhi.
They were suicide operatives the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had raised from childhood.
Ning Fengzhi raised a cup of wine. "Come, bottoms up!"
The burly men raised their drinks. "Bottoms up!"
They drained their bowls in one gulp. Crack! Crack! Crack! ... They smashed their wine bowls on the ground, then each saluted Ning Fengzhi with a cupped fist, covered his face, and left through the secret passage, heading straight for Spirit City!
Ning Fengzhi climbed the steps to the castle's ground floor and watched them vanish into the depths of the forest.
According to the plan,
the spies the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had planted in Spirit City had already begun spreading word that the Heaven Dou Empire had obtained Thunder Hand Cannons from the Sun Moon Sect.
And now,
the suicide operatives Ning Fengzhi had dispatched were to use Thunder Hand Cannons to create widespread chaos in Spirit City!
With that,
they would provide concrete proof and drive Spirit Hall to strike the Sun Moon Sect with deadly force!
Ning Fengzhi had even ordered a special investigation into Hu Liena and the others' movements. This team's primary targets were Spirit Academy students. If they could kill one of Hu Liena's trio, all the better.
Given Bibi Dong's temperament,
once her own student died a gruesome death, she would mobilize all of Spirit Hall's power to deal the Sun Moon Sect a lethal blow!
"Hmph."
The corners of Ning Fengzhi's mouth rose. When the time came, he could reap the fisherman's rewards while the others fought.
Beside him, the cloaked figure of Bone Douluo Gu Rong appeared.
"Fengzhi, are you sure nothing will go wrong? My eyelid keeps twitching lately. I can't shake the feeling that something's going to happen."
Ning Fengzhi smiled. "Uncle Gu, these operatives have been utterly loyal to our sect since childhood. They even have poison-filled teeth hidden in their mouths. Even if they fail, they'll know what to do. They will never reveal their connection to the sect."
"And apart from you, Uncle Jian, and me, not a single person knows about this. What could possibly happen?"
Ning Fengzhi spoke with a smile.
Gu Rong frowned. That was true, but he still felt uneasy, and Sword Douluo had yet to appear.
Ning Fengzhi patted Gu Rong's shoulder.
"Don't worry, Uncle Gu. Unless the Sun Moon Sect possesses the powers of gods and ghosts, even if the operation fails, they'll never know our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was behind it."
Ning Fengzhi sneered.
Meanwhile,
the view rose higher, piercing the clouds. In the moonlight, a floating satellite rotated in sync with Douluo Star, its ultra-high-resolution camera recording the scene with precision.
The footage finally flashed onto a screen in the Sun Moon Artifact Refining Workshop, appearing before Li Chen and the others.
"Brilliant. Truly brilliant. What a fine play-driving a tiger to devour a wolf."
Huo Yuhao laughed.
Beside him, Xiao Hongchen felt a lingering chill. "The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's sect master looks so refined and scholarly, yet he's this ruthless?!"
Meng Hongchen said, "Brother, which big shot is ever a lamp that burns little oil?"
Xiao Hongchen sighed softly. "True enough. This may be ten thousand years in the past, but the venom in these locals' hearts is every bit a match for ours."
Xiao Hongchen felt a lingering fear. Fortunately, they had the Soul Tool Satellite. Otherwise, this might really have dragged them into a fight with Spirit Hall.
Li Chen adjusted his glasses and sneered. "War is a dirty game, and I'm a dirty player. All right, get moving."
They nodded, rose, and went to the warehouses in the rear courtyard.
Then,
Huo Yuhao and Xiao Hongchen doused one of the workshop's warehouses storing Soul Guidance Milk Bottles with gasoline, then tossed a flame inside!
The warehouse immediately erupted into a raging blaze!
In a room in the rear courtyard, Liu Erlong, bound from head to toe, watched with wide eyes.
What... what was the Sun Moon Sect doing?!
Liu Erlong was bewildered.
The Sun Moon Sect had reclaimed every Soul Tool from her Blue Tyrant Academy.
Moreover, the Blue Tyrant Academy's finance office had been looted clean. Huo Yuhao had said it was compensation for breaching their contract with the Sun Moon Sect!
And now, the Soul Guidance Milk Bottles in those two burning warehouses had originally been intended for the Blue Tyrant Academy, yet they were all being burned to ashes!
Liu Erlong's mind reeled. She could not understand what the Sun Moon Sect was doing.
"Someone, help! Fire!"
"People from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect burned our warehouses! Hurry, help us put out the fire!"
"Damn it! Bone Douluo-it was Bone Douluo! He escaped using spatial powers!"
The local Soul Masters employed by the Sun Moon Sect immediately began fighting the fire while shouting.
In the middle of the night, the commotion roused a great many Heaven Dou City residents around the city center.
Many even came outside in their nightclothes, only to see crowds of Soul Masters rushing in and out of the Sun Moon Artifact Refining Workshop, frantically shouting about the fire and calling for help.
"What's going on?"
"Holy crap, that place looks like the Sun Moon Sect's warehouses. The Sun Moon Sect's on fire?"
"The Sun Moon Sect really has rotten luck. A few days ago, Blue Tyrant Academy's dean, Liu Erlong, caused trouble, and today Bone Douluo from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect set a fire. Whose slice of the pie did they touch?!"
"Come on, isn't it obvious? Soul Guidance Milk Bottles replenish soul power, directly taking the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's place. Lately, plenty of Soul Master teams don't even bring support Soul Masters on missions anymore!"
"The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's appraisal services are being replaced by the Sun Moon Sect's Soul Tools, too. Their sect's income keeps falling. Cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents. No wonder they're taking revenge on the Sun Moon Sect!"
"Those bastards! The Sun Moon Sect brought Heaven Dou City so many things that improve our lives, yet the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect can't see beyond its own nose!"
The crowd pointed and murmured among themselves.
With deliberate guidance from several people Li Chen had planted, the onlookers' opinions swung straight in the Sun Moon Sect's favor.
Meanwhile,
Li Chen himself checked the time. Only after the fire had started did he leave the workshop and fly toward the Imperial Palace.
"Sorry for the trouble, but please inform His Majesty that the Sun Moon Sect has an urgent matter to report!"
The guard immediately nodded. "Yes!"
Before long,
Li Chen entered the great hall.
Unlike during the day, Emperor Xue Ye was now dressed in a night robe, his eyes bleary with sleep. He did not seem fully awake.
"Your Majesty, please uphold justice for the Sun Moon Sect!"
The moment Li Chen entered, he burst into tearful cries.
"Hmm? You're young Li Chen, aren't you? What's happened at this late hour?"
Emperor Xue Ye now relied heavily on the Sun Moon Sect. Naturally, he dared not slight Li Chen and hurried forward to help him up himself.
"Your Majesty, people from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect just burned down the Sun Moon Artifact Refining Workshop's entire Soul Guidance Milk Bottle warehouse!"
"They destroyed all thirty thousand Soul Guidance Milk Bottles our Sun Moon Sect had manufactured!"
Emperor Xue Ye was shocked. "What?!"
Emperor Xue Ye gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. Those had all been meant for the Heaven Dou Empire, damn it!
"Young Li Chen, tell me exactly what happened. Are you certain the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect did this?!"
Emperor Xue Ye was, after all, the ruler of an empire. Though shocked, he did not immediately accept Li Chen's account alone.
"I... I'm not certain either. But our Sun Moon Artifact Refining Workshop is guarded day and night, and it has defensive Soul Guidance Arrays. Our Hall Master Jing and Ji Juechen are both Titled Douluos. With such tight security, right under Your Majesty's nose, who could get inside and burn it down?"
At those words, Emperor Xue Ye sank into thought.
"Don't panic. Let me think."
Emperor Xue Ye returned to his throne, suddenly wide awake.
Just then,
Xue Qinghe, who was actually Qian Renxue, stepped forward.
"Father, I believe the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was behind this!"
Emperor Xue Ye narrowed his eyes. "Qinghe, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is one of the Top Three Sects. You mustn't make reckless accusations without evidence."
Xue Qinghe sneered. "Father, the Sun Moon Sect's Soul Guidance Milk Bottles reach as high as Class Seven, sufficient for Soul Douluos to use. Their appearance has drastically encroached on the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's room to survive!"
"And the Sun Moon Sect also has Soul Tools capable of appraising treasures, cutting off another source of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's income!"
"Besides, this happened right under your nose, Father, with two Titled Douluos from the Sun Moon Sect standing guard. Who else would have the strength to destroy those Soul Guidance Milk Bottles?"
Emperor Xue Ye considered this for a moment, then nodded.
"That does make sense. One of Bone Douluo's Soul Skills allows him to travel through space. Indeed, only the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has both the motive and the strength."
Qian Renxue laughed wildly inwardly.
Those idiots from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect were practically offering themselves up to die. She had to seize this opportunity and cripple Ning Fengzhi in one stroke!
That would remove a thorn deeply embedded in Spirit Hall's side!
Just then,
Dugu Bo also stepped forward.
Following Li Chen's orders, he had already fully embedded himself within the Heaven Dou Imperial Family.
"Your Majesty, I recommend arresting Ning Fengzhi immediately!"
Emperor Xue Ye pressed a hand to his forehead.
Looking around, he saw Li Chen, Qian Renxue, and Dugu Bo all standing on the same side. He could only say,
"Very well. Take my written order and first summon Ning Fengzhi and Bone Douluo to the hall. If they refuse to come, issue an order for their arrest."
"If they do come, we should question them face-to-face and establish the facts first. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has two Titled Douluos, after all. They won't be so easy to bring down."
Qian Renxue nodded in delighted surprise. "As you command, Father!"
Then,
Qian Renxue headed out of the great hall, glancing at Li Chen as she passed him.
Young Master Li from the Sun Moon Sect really was useless, crying and sniveling over a little trouble. It seemed he would be easy to manipulate in the future, too.
The corners of Qian Renxue's mouth lifted as she walked out.
Li Chen wiped away his tears, laughing secretly to himself.
Since Ning Fengzhi dared to play dirty with him,
they could only see who was more shameless.
Before you continue