Changing faces cost no tokens, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect disbanded, and the Dao-Seeking Sect was founded!

"He actually dared to swear on his martial soul!"

Leng Yaozhu's beautiful eyes flickered, genuine surprise flashing through her heart.

In the soul master world, a martial soul was a soul master's foundation and very soul.

Once an oath sworn on a martial soul was broken, that martial soul would shatter and all cultivation would be destroyed. It was tantamount to placing one's entire life and fortune in another's hands.

(Personal setting: the original also mentioned swearing on martial souls, but the author forgot whether it explained what this actually did, so I'm making up a setting here.)

Nestled in Leng Yaozhu's arms, Lu Xuan raised his eyebrows too.

Such a resolute gesture was no different from the blood oaths sworn to the Heavenly Dao in the fantasy novels of his previous life.

It seemed Ning Fengzhi had truly made up his mind this time to lash his entire sect's fate firmly to their war chariot.

"Your Eminence Heavenly Phoenix, I will return to the sect at once to make all the preparations."

Ning Fengzhi slowly rose, his expression filled with unprecedented reverence and fervor.

"Once you select an auspicious site for the sect, we will begin construction immediately!"

"Of course, if Your Eminence does not object, we could also use the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's existing mountain ranges as the foundation of the Dao-Seeking Sect!"

"That won't be necessary." Leng Yaozhu considered briefly, lightly tapping her fingertips on the table.

"Are there any suitable mountain ranges relatively close to Heaven Dou City and Sunset Forest?"

Deep within Sunset Forest lay the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

It was an absolute treasure trove. Naturally, the sect's location should be chosen with it as the center, extending outward.

"Yes!" Ning Fengzhi's mind raced, and he answered immediately.

"There is a place called the Grand Feather Mountain Range bordering Sunset Forest. Its terrain is strategically defensible, and no major power has established a presence there yet."

"Good. Then we'll establish the sect in the Grand Feather Mountain Range." Leng Yaozhu settled the matter with a single decisive word.

"As you command!" Ning Fengzhi bowed deeply, then strode away, his heart brimming with ambition and his soul power surging.

A mere month passed.

Like a white steed flashing past a crack.

Yet the entire Douluo Continent was swept by an unprecedented force-twelve tempest!

The world shook, and countless sects erupted in uproar!

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, one of the Upper Three Sects, whose wealth rivaled a nation's.

Had suddenly announced, without any warning, that it was closing its doors and disbanding. Everyone in the sect cast off its glorious mantle and reorganized as the "Ning Family."

Even more astonishing was this.

The Ning Family's patriarch, Ning Fengzhi, formerly the sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Had not only broken his martial soul's curse, evolving the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda into the legendary Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.

His cultivation had even broken straight through its shackles, making him a genuine Soul Douluo!

Then Ning Fengzhi brought along the sect's two sky-supporting pillars of white jade.

Bone Douluo Gu Rong and Sword Douluo Chen Xin, and publicly announced that they were joining a brand-new power called the "Dao-Seeking Sect."

A sect whose name had never been heard on the continent had swallowed the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's entire legacy overnight!

And so, of the Upper Three Sects that had once awed the world.

The Clear Sky Sect remained secluded.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had disbanded and pledged allegiance elsewhere.

Only the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan remained, struggling bitterly amid the lashing wind and rain.

The illustrious Upper Three Sects now existed in name alone!

The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, council hall.

"Bang—boom!"

With a deafening crash, Yu Yuanzhen smashed the fine purple goldwood table to pieces with a single palm strike.

Violent lightning soul power rampaged through the hall, sending wood chips and powder flying everywhere!

"Those spineless cowards of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect! They're a disgrace to the Upper Three Sects!"

Yu Yuanzhen's hair bristled with fury, lightning curling around him as his entire body trembled with rage.

He had intended to contact Ning Fengzhi in secret.

To discuss how the Upper Three Sects could huddle together for warmth.

Instead, Ning Fengzhi had smashed his own sect's signboard and turned it into some damned family!

"Ning Fengzhi is a madman! The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's thousand-year legacy, destroyed by his own hands!"

"He was perfectly fine as the master of his own sect, yet he insisted on running off to become someone else's elder!"

"Even his direct bloodline has been reduced to someone else's subordinate family! What an absurd joke! Utterly ridiculous!"

Yu Yuanzhen paced back and forth through the hall, his furious bellows making its vaulted ceiling hum.

Standing nearby, Yu Luomian swallowed, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and leaned closer to offer a quiet reminder:

"Big Brother... according to the rumors, this Dao-Seeking Sect seems to have been founded personally by that Heavenly Phoenix Douluo... Her Eminence Leng Yaozhu."

The lightning in the hall stopped abruptly.

Yu Yuanzhen halted in his tracks. The fury on his face froze instantly, and the corner of his eye twitched violently twice.

Heavenly Phoenix Douluo?

That mysterious expert who sent Qian Daoliu fleeing from Heaven Dou City?

"Ahem..."

Yu Yuanzhen coughed sharply twice.

He swiftly reined in his lightning and clasped his hands behind his back.

Looking up at the hall's vaulted ceiling, he heaved a long sigh without blushing or missing a beat:

"That young Fengzhi... truly possesses both wisdom and courage, and remarkable foresight!"

"Such far-reaching planning, breaking down the old to build anew, is hardly inferior to my own in my younger days!"

"Securing the shelter of a towering tree like Her Eminence Heavenly Phoenix means he has found his Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect a fine home that will stand unshaken for ten thousand generations!"

Yu Luomian listened, dumbstruck, his eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets.

Was this the legendary art of changing faces without spending a single token?

Big Brother, where were your principles?!

Heaven Dou City, Dugu Manor.

"Ha ha! I, Dugu Yan, am finally back!"

Outside the gates, seven-year-old Dugu Yan planted her hands on her hips and proudly raised her delicate chin.

After this period of arduous cultivation, her soul power had soared to the level of a rank-twenty-two Soul Grandmaster!

Among children her age, that rank was practically an assault from a higher dimension.

She could hardly wait to show off to Lu Xuan.

"Huh? Why is it so quiet at home?"

Dugu Yan ran excitedly into the manor, only to discover that the enormous courtyard was deserted. Even the servants who swept the grounds were gone.

"Where's Lu Xuan? Where's Sister Leng? Why has everyone disappeared?" Her heart lurched, and an inexplicable panic welled up within her.

She had only been away for a little over half a month. Why did it feel as though the whole house had been emptied?

"Yanyan, why are you standing there in a daze?" A hoarse yet doting voice rang out behind her.

Dugu Yan spun around and saw Dugu Bo smiling at her.

"Grandpa! Where did Lu Xuan and Sister Leng go? Why is the house empty?" Dugu Yan hurried over and seized Dugu Bo's sleeve.

"Oh, Grandpa forgot to tell you. Pack your things. We won't be staying in Heaven Dou City anymore!"

Dugu Bo stroked his beard and laughed heartily, anticipation gleaming in his eyes.

"We're not staying in Heaven Dou City? Then where are we going?" Dugu Yan looked utterly bewildered.

"You'll know when we get there! Oh, and Grandpa stopped by Heaven Dou Royal Academy just now and withdrew your enrollment."

"We won't be going back to that lousy place. Grandpa will take you somewhere that can truly let you soar into the heavens!"

Dugu Bo swept out his hand, his bold spirit soaring into the clouds.

Then Dugu Bo released his soul power, wrapped Dugu Yan in it, and rose into the air, speeding eastward.

Before long, the two arrived above the Grand Feather Mountain Range surrounding Sunset Forest.

When Dugu Yan looked down, the magnificent sight before her instantly left her speechless.

Amid the rolling peaks of the Grand Feather Mountain Range, countless mountaintops had already been completely leveled or carved open.

Thousands of craftsmen and soul masters moved through the mountains like worker ants, flashes of soul power rising and falling all around.

At the very center, encircled by the mountains, a main peak had been forcibly flattened.

A magnificent, resplendent palace, a hundred zhang tall, had already risen from the ground!

The entire palace was built from precious ore, refracting dazzling halos beneath the sunlight.

It overlooked the vast land like the abode of a god.

The other halls, plazas, and training grounds were also rising at an unbelievable speed.

All these miracles sprang from Ning Fengzhi's swift, decisive actions after returning to the sect.

That day, Ning Fengzhi returned to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Faced with those old elders who clung stubbornly to their opinions and guarded their ancestors' legacy to the death.

He did not lose his temper. Instead, he battled the assembled scholars with words, laying bare the state of the world in exhaustive detail.

When those old fossils still shook their heads and sighed, Ning Fengzhi simply released his martial soul.

When the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda floated in midair, divine nine-colored radiance flowing around it as it exuded boundless pressure, the entire Elder Hall fell deathly silent.

All their stubbornness and doubt crumbled instantly before the miracle that had broken a thousand-year curse.

Disbanding the sect and establishing the Ning Family passed unanimously!

Immediately afterward, Ning Fengzhi revealed the terrifying network of connections and financial resources he commanded as the leader of the world's foremost support-type sect.

At the first opportunity, he asked Bone Douluo Gu Rong to locate the Defense Clan, one of the four great single-attribute clans, whose members were being hunted everywhere by Spirit Hall and forced to wander without a home.

With the Defense Clan trapped in desperate straits, Ning Fengzhi poured out an enormous fortune.

And offered a condition they could not refuse.

Absolute protection!

Spurred by both the threat of extinction and the promise of boundless wealth.

The entire Defense Clan relocated to the Grand Feather Mountain Range, bringing their unrivaled architectural expertise into full play.

As they worked around the clock, development of the Grand Feather Mountain Range advanced a thousand miles a day.

And the magnificent building completed first, standing proudly atop the main peak, was the future seat of power that would awe the continent—the Dao-Seeking Hall!