First came the rewards of two Heavenly Flames, the phoenix undying flame, and increased cultivation.
They had sent his soul power soaring, allowing him to break through to Soul Emperor in one leap, and granted him the terrifying ability to rise from the ashes.
His self-detonation in Qian Xunji's secret chamber had looked horrific, but in truth, it had merely been a performance he had painstakingly directed.
A performance powerful enough to push Bibi Dong's hatred and murderous intent to their peak.
Next came the Heavenly Unity Pill.
The process of refining that pill himself had raised his understanding of alchemy to an entirely new level.
Yin and yang complemented each other; heaven, earth, and humanity existed in harmony.
The mysteries within were enough to benefit him for a lifetime.
Yet his greatest gain, without question, was that he had completely changed Bibi Dong's fate.
No humiliation in the secret chamber, no twenty long years of torment and distortion.
She had broken through to Titled Douluo ahead of time, buried that beast Qian Xunji with her own hands, and ascended to the papal throne.
Though the process had been brutal, her future was now a smooth, open road.
At that thought, the smile on Ning Lin's lips softened a little.
Just then, a cold, mechanical voice rang out in his mind.
[Ding!] [Congratulations, host! You have successfully altered a pivotal historical event involving Bibi Dong, a central figure of the Douluo Continent!] [Her trajectory of fate has undergone a major deviation!] [The system has determined that this historical alteration has had an enormous indirect impact on the development of another central figure, Qian Renxue!] [Overall rating: Perfect!] [Distributing rewards now!]
Qian Renxue?
Ning Lin paused slightly at the announcement.
He had forgotten that, with Qian Xunji dead and Bibi Dong freed from that bone-deep hatred, her attitude toward this daughter would surely be entirely different.
No longer exploitation and loathing, but... genuine maternal love?
No, wait...
Qian Renxue and Bibi Dong shouldn't be related by blood anymore, should they?
That was an unexpected delight.
[Reward one: The host's martial soul transforms into Bone Chilling Flame and undergoes an evolution of its origin!] [Evolution path: Origin of Fire!] [Note: The origin of fire can contain, devour, and command all flames in existence, possessing unlimited growth potential!]
Boom!
The instant the system's announcement ended, Ning Lin felt a violent rumbling from the depths of his soul!
The eerie white bone chilling flame that had resided within his martial soul and the dazzling phoenix undying flame actually began merging of their own accord!
The two utterly different Heavenly Flames showed not the slightest rejection. Instead, like brothers of the same blood reunited after years apart, they fused perfectly into one!
A completely new flame slowly came into being within his Sea of Consciousness.
It had no fixed shape or color. At times, it was an eerie white like the bone flame; at others, it blazed with the phoenix flame's brilliance. Sometimes, it became utterly transparent, as though it did not exist in this world at all.
A supreme aura of origin, reigning above all flames, spread from it.
Ning Lin could clearly feel that his martial soul had undergone an earth-shattering qualitative transformation!
[Reward two: The host's soul power level increases!] [Current soul power level: 69!]
Surging soul power raced wildly through every limb and bone like rivers and seas bursting through their banks!
Before this power, the Soul Emperor bottleneck was as thin as a cicada's wing, collapsing at a touch!
Level 61!
Level 62!
Level 69!
His soul power soared all the way to the peak of Soul Emperor, leaving him just one step away from Soul Saint!
[Reward three: The system has custom-made six soul rings best suited to the host's Origin of Fire martial soul. All have been automatically absorbed and distributed!]
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Before the announcement even finished, six brilliant rings of light suddenly rose from beneath Ning Lin's feet!
Yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black!
The first soul ring—one thousand years!
The second and third soul rings—both one thousand years!
The fourth, fifth, and sixth soul rings were all, astonishingly, ten thousand years old!
The sixth soul ring in particular was so deep in color that it almost approached the blood-red hue of a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring!
What a terrifying soul ring configuration!
Had anyone from the outside world seen it, they might well have fainted from shock on the spot!
"Crack!"
As his soul power surged, the Fine-Steel Chains binding him gave a sharp snap under the unbearable strain, breaking inch by inch and scattering across the floor.
Ning Lin slowly rose and flexed his wrists.
He could feel that he had never been this powerful.
Tang San?
A faint trace of mockery flashed through Ning Lin's eyes.
Nothing more than a stepping stone for honing myself.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Heaven Dou City, Central Tribunal Plaza.
Today, the plaza was a sea of people; the streets elsewhere had emptied as everyone flocked here.
The elevated tribunal platform was already filled with important figures from every faction.
On the Heaven Dou Empire's side, Xue Ye had arrived in person, with a host of nobles and ministers standing behind him.
On the Tang Sect's side, Sect Master Tang Xiao personally presided, flanked by the leaders of the Four Single-Attribute Clans, their presence imposing.
On the other side stood the remaining two of the Upper Three Sects.
Ning Fengzhi, sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, had Bone Douluo Gu Rong standing beside him.
Yu Yuanzhen, patriarch of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, wore an expression as still and dark as deep water, his thoughts impossible to discern.
Such an assembly for the trial of a city lord was unprecedented.
Below the platform, the watching citizens and Soul Masters buzzed with discussion.
"Have you heard? City Lord Ning committed three grave crimes. Any one of them would be enough to leave him dead without a place to bury his body!"
"How is that possible? City Lord Ning is an honest official who loves the people like his own children. Under his governance, no one in Heaven Dou City needs to lock their doors at night, and lost belongings on the roads go untouched. How could he be that kind of man?"
"Ah, what do you know? The evidence is conclusive! I heard the Tang Sect investigated the case themselves!"
"Shh! Keep your voice down! City Lord Ning may be a good official, but of all the things he should never have done, he offended the Tang Sect! Now, even if he's innocent, he's certain to die..."
Among the crowd, the group from Shrek Academy had gathered together.
Xiao Wu's delicate brows knitted tightly. She tugged at the hem of Tang San's clothes and whispered, "Brother San, I keep feeling there's some misunderstanding here. I met that City Lord Ning once, and I felt... he didn't seem like a bad person."
As a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, her intuition was far sharper than an ordinary person's.
Before Tang San could speak, Zhu Zhuqing said coolly beside them, "Xiao Wu, don't overthink it. Brother San has his reasons for what he does."
Her tone was utterly even, her eyes calm. Clearly, she did not care about this matter at all.
On the other side, Ning Rongrong seemed somewhat unsettled.
She looked at her father, Ning Fengzhi, beside her and asked anxiously, "Dad, Ning Lin did work with our sect before, after all. Now that he's in trouble, we won't get dragged into it, will we?"
Ning Fengzhi shook his head gently and sighed. "Rongrong, we need only watch how things unfold. The Tang Sect laid out today's game. We shouldn't interfere."
Unlike the girls with their complicated thoughts, Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun were brimming with excitement.
Ma Hongjun lowered his voice and winked conspiratorially at Dai Mubai. "Boss Dai, did you see that? Brother San's methods are incredible! Just to vent his brother's anger, he said he'd take down a city lord, and he did! Ruthless! I like it!"
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