"You're bluffing. That's Sword Douluo, with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda—the strongest support Martial Soul—backing him up. Even if several of your Soul Skills have rule-based effects, how could you possibly beat them?"
Xue Qinghe clearly didn't believe Luofan.
"Tsk, tsk. I fought tooth and nail to stay by your side instead of returning to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Brother Xue, and you don't believe me? My heart aches!" Luofan clutched his chest, looking utterly heartbroken.
"Brother Fan, I was going to have Uncle She and Uncle Ci Xue stop them. I thought I could take Rongrong hostage, but I didn't expect her to step forward!" Though Luofan looked as if he were fooling around, Xue Qinghe still explained what had happened.
"I understand, Brother Xue!"
Luofan nodded. "Actually, I stepped forward because you weren't sure you could trust me. You thought I might return to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."
"Today, I wanted you to see where I stand."
"Don't worry. You've been so good to me, Brother Xue. You're like a brother to me, even if we have different parents. I'd never abandon you for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect!"
Xue Qinghe was moved.
So Luofan had stood up to Ning Fengzhi mainly to put his mind at ease?
That touched Xue Qinghe deeply.
"Brother Fan, I was wrong, and I apologize. But please, never do anything like that again." Xue Qinghe looked at Luofan earnestly.
"I know. Who'd risk his life if he could live perfectly well?" Luofan nodded in understanding.
With that, the matter was finally behind them.
"By the way, Brother Fan, you said you had one last resort against Sect Master Ning's demands. What was it? Do you really have a way?" Xue Qinghe asked curiously, circling back to the question.
Could a three-ring Soul Elder really stand against a Titled Douluo?
Reason told Xue Qinghe it was absolutely impossible.
But Luofan had so many extraordinary abilities.
Perhaps even the impossible was possible for him?
Xue Qinghe wasn't sure anymore.
"Yes. I have a last-resort move called Heaven and Earth Share the Same Lifespan. If Sect Master Ning insists on taking me by force, I'll have no choice but to use it," Luofan replied.
"Heaven and Earth Share the Same Lifespan? It sounds powerful. Is it some kind of divine skill?" Xue Qinghe asked.
"You don't want to know, Brother Xue." Luofan shook his head, offering no further explanation.
In fact, Luofan meant it.
Why did Ning Fengzhi want him back at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?
Because he was valuable, of course.
So if he had no other way to resist, he could kill himself rather than let Ning Fengzhi have him.
Better for both sides to lose than for one to win outright.
More importantly, he had the Golden Entry Immortal Body!
If he killed himself in front of Ning Fengzhi, the man would see him die and give up.
Perhaps he could stage it and fool him.
Of course, that was his final card, to be played only after all ties had been severed.
Fortunately, things hadn't come to that.
Meanwhile, Ning Fengzhi and his party returned to their hotel after leaving the Crown Prince's Residence.
Ning Rongrong stayed alone in her room, sulking, while Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo had tea and talked.
"Fengzhi, weren't you a little too impulsive today?" Chen Xin asked.
"Uncle Jian, it wasn't impulse. You know what a nine-story pagoda Martial Soul means to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. It's the sect's future," Ning Fengzhi said, shaking his head.
Chen Xin fell silent.
It was true. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda had only seven stories, and that had always been its Martial Soul's greatest limitation.
No wonder Fengzhi had lost his composure when he saw Luofan's Nine-Story Pagoda Martial Soul.
"It's a shame we couldn't bring Luofan back today. We've made an enemy of him now." After a moment of silence, Chen Xin shook his head and sighed.
"Actually, it's not such a shame." Ning Fengzhi shook his head, smiling.
Chen Xin gave him a questioning look.
Back at the Crown Prince's Residence, Ning Fengzhi had been ready to use force to take Luofan away, even if it meant making an enemy of him.
Yet now he didn't seem disappointed.
What was going on?
"Uncle Jian, taking Luofan by force would have been fine. I could have repaired our relationship over time, as long as he was at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect," Ning Fengzhi explained.
Chen Xin nodded slightly. He understood that much.
"But..."
Ning Fengzhi changed tack. "Rongrong and Luofan are genuinely close."
"We couldn't force Luofan to come back, but what Rongrong did today must have brought them even closer."
"That isn't necessarily a bad thing."
"After all, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect will eventually be Rongrong's."
Chen Xin immediately understood. Ning Fengzhi had failed to bring Luofan back himself, so he wanted Ning Rongrong to maintain their bond in the hope that she could change Luofan's mind someday.
"Your idea has merit, but Rongrong is in the sect, away from Luofan. If they're apart too long, won't their feelings naturally fade?"
Chen Xin agreed the idea was sound, but the distance between them was a real obstacle.
"Then we simply give the two of them time together." Ning Fengzhi smiled as though he had everything under control.
Chen Xin stared at him, baffled.
He didn't understand. They hadn't managed to take Luofan away, so how could they bring the two together?
"We couldn't take Luofan with us, but that doesn't mean we can't send Rongrong here," Ning Fengzhi explained with a smile.
"You mean...?" Surprise crossed Chen Xin's face as he began to grasp Ning Fengzhi's plan.
"Uncle Jian, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect offers a fine education, but the child can't stay at home forever, learning in isolation, can she?"
"Heaven Dou City is the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire. Its educational resources seem excellent."
"What do you think of leaving Rongrong in Heaven Dou City and finding her a good school?" Ning Fengzhi asked.
It sounded like a proposal, but he was really telling Chen Xin his plan.
After a brief pause, Ning Fengzhi added, "We'll also need to find Rongrong a nice place to live. I'm afraid she won't be comfortable in a school dormitory."
"I noticed several good houses across from and next door to the Crown Prince's Residence."
Before you continue