The back courtyard.
When Lou Xu pushed open the door and entered, Xiao Wu was lying on her stomach on the bed, studying the Beginner Rune Manual.
On the bedside table, the sugar cakes he had bought her on their way into the city were almost gone.
Hearing Lou Xu come in, she put down the book, bounced over with the last sugar cake, and held it out to him.
"All done?"
"Not yet. Dinner will be a little late today."
Lou Xu took the sugar cake, chewed it a couple of times, swallowed, and pursed his lips.
Not as good as the ones in Gengxin City.
He casually pointed at the book lying facedown on the bed and asked,
"How's the studying going?"
"Xu, I have a question..."
Xiao Wu picked up the book and pointed to the section about connecting multiple runes.
"What would happen if you forcibly connected one attribute rune to multiple world-system runes and short-circuited the circuit?"
"You came up with that question yourself?"
Looking astonished, Lou Xu circled Xiao Wu twice and looked her up and down several times before asking in disbelief.
That can't be right.
Was Sister Xiao Wu turning into Senior Xiao Wu?
"Tch, you underestimated me, huh? I've got a master craftsman who can forge divine artifacts right in front of me. I learn by seeing and hearing, by your words and example-stay close to vermilion, and you'll turn red!"
Lou Xu tapped her forehead, and Xiao Wu clutched her head in pain.
"Where did you pick up all those sayings?"
"I learned them from books! Xu, the books on your shelves are all so interesting. If you'd given them to me before, I wouldn't have been so bored in the forest..."
"Hey, you still haven't answered my question!"
She spoke softly with a pout, then caught sight of the book in her hands and hurriedly raised it before Lou Xu, urging him to explain.
Lou Xu took the book, flipped back a few pages, and pointed to a passage before holding it in front of her.
"See this sentence on the title page?"
"Attribute runes are the soil."
Then he pointed toward the window, at the Blue Silver Emperor whose leaves had unfurled under Xiao Wu's careful tending over the past few days.
"For example, the pot is only so big, but you plant a dozen Blue Silver Emperors in it."
"At best, the flowerpot bursts. At worst, soul power surges back into the gardener. Even if they survive, they'll be crippled."
The old man and the others had tried that experiment before. Si Long, who had been responsible for activating the runes, had nearly been disfigured. Lou Xu had spent quite a bit of life energy healing him.
Xiao Wu committed that to memory, nodded, then pressed further.
"But why would it surge back? When you put soul power into the runes to activate them, shouldn't it just dissipate outward?"
"Silly, a rune circuit is essentially a complete soul power circulation system, just like the meridians inside a person's body.
When you inject soul power to activate the runes, the two systems become tightly connected. If the power dissipated outward, how would you activate the runes?"
At this point, Lou Xu paused.
"But... if you inject some soul power and cut the connection in time, you could use it as an explosive weapon. Those experiments are too dangerous, though. One careless move, and you could blow yourself up too."
"If you're interested, find yourself a hammer and make a couple of other things. Once you've stumbled into enough pitfalls, you'll understand."
"Oh..."
A servant called from outside, informing him that the guests from earlier had returned.
Lou Xu's lips curved upward. Here they come.
He told Xiao Wu not to show herself, then strolled toward the Reception Room.
Watching Lou Xu's retreating back, Xiao Wu sank into thought.
While tidying his room, she had lost her grip on that heavy hammer several times, leaving her feet aching when it landed on them.
Then there were those filthy ores. Every time she moved them, she had to wash her hands several times to get them clean.
At the thought, Xiao Wu shrank back, looking ready to retreat.
But when she looked at the contents of the book, intense curiosity flared in her eyes again.
Her eyes shone, as though she had made up her mind about something.
"Did you leave something here, Sect Master Ning?"
Lou Xu welcomed Ning Fengzhi and his companion into the Reception Room. After having the servant close the door, he asked with a light chuckle.
Ning Fengzhi smiled too.
"You're right, young Lou."
"On the way back, I kept feeling as though something was missing from my heart."
"Could you clear up my confusion... why would securing a means of protecting one's life be so easy?"
Lou Xu invited them to sit and asked quietly,
"Do you know... what skills support-type soul masters gain when they absorb soul bones, Sect Master Ning?"
"The skills produced after absorbing a soul bone..."
Ning Fengzhi frowned.
"Come from a combination of the soul beast it belonged to and one's martial soul... are you saying...?"
He suddenly realized something, and his eyes lit up.
Lou Xu did not answer directly, instead posing another question.
"Let's not rush."
"Let's start with a hypothetical. If you obtained a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone right now, Sect Master Ning, how would you use it?"
"Naturally, priority would go to someone with a high soul power level..."
Ning Fengzhi blurted out his answer, but froze as soon as he finished.
A soul bone could indeed give Uncle Jian a considerable boost in combat strength, but it still would not change the fact that a support-type Soul Saint was physically vulnerable.
"That's precisely the problem."
Lou Xu held up three fingers.
"First, there's no need to explain how rare Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones are. The only ones available through trade are Ten Thousand Year Soul Bones from mediocre bloodlines, and even those have prices but no sellers.
Their age tops out at fifty thousand years, and most fall between ten and twenty thousand years. That sets the ceiling on their skills.
For both you and your sect's Titled Douluos, they're like chicken ribs-little meat to eat, yet a pity to throw away."
"Second, there are no requirements whatsoever for absorbing a soul bone. But what about passing it down?"
Passing down soul bones?
Ning Fengzhi's brow furrowed even deeper.
Removing a soul bone required severing a limb to extract it.
But how could one sever a limb to remove bones in special locations, such as the skull or torso?
That left only the second method-digging them out after the host died.
Lou Xu paused, then softened his tone.
"Third... how long have you been stuck at level seventy-nine, Sect Master Ning?"
Ning Fengzhi's breath caught for an instant.
"While researching runic forging, we used a soul bone as a vessel and inscribed runes into it through a special method. By chance, that gave rise to a special kind of weapon..."
"We call it a divine artifact."
"Regardless of the wielder's martial soul or soul power, a divine artifact's effects depend solely on the runes inscribed during forging. Its power depends solely on the strength of whoever charges it with soul power."
"And... it can be passed down without harm!"
Ning Fengzhi's breathing suddenly quickened.
A divine artifact!
He was the current pillar of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda lineage. Barring any accidents, Rongrong would be the next.
It was no secret that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda capped out at seven rings.
For the past century, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had maintained its place among the Upper Three Sects through its ability to navigate every side, and through the unconditional trust he and his father had placed in the Seven Kill Sword.
But how had his father died?
During a chaotic battle, an agility-type Soul Emperor with a special martial soul had slipped up beside him. Just like that, the old sect master, peerless in his grace, had fallen.
But what if the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect possessed divine artifacts?
Imagine an enemy exhausting every trick to rush up to a harmless support-type soul master, utterly off guard...
Only to be greeted by a full-force strike from a power attack system Titled Douluo!
Ning Fengzhi silently closed his eyes and steadied his breathing.
Beside him, Gu Rong also fell silent. He, too, bore responsibility for the old sect master's death.
That was why, ever since then, he had stayed close to Ning Fengzhi, never leaving his side.
Even while sleeping at night, he had to spread his spiritual power out fully, guarding against the slightest rustle of wind or grass.
And now Lou Xu was telling them that a few Ten Thousand Year Soul Bones could prevent such a tragedy from happening again?
The meeting room was so quiet that a falling pin could have been heard.
When Ning Fengzhi opened his eyes again, they were remarkably composed.
He glanced discreetly at the inconspicuous Xiong Jun in the corner. Recalling what Uncle Gu had said in the carriage earlier, he could not help asking,
"Why our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?"
"You're a businessman, Sect Master Ning. I like dealing with people who play by the rules."
Watching Lou Xu sit there calmly and meet his gaze without a ripple, Ning Fengzhi inwardly marveled.
Rongrong was about the same age, but could she help him negotiate business like this boy, even subtly gaining the upper hand over the other party?
Ning Fengzhi even suspected that the boy before him was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in hiding-just like six years ago.
He wanted to probe further, but as the words reached his lips, some instinct told him,
Business is business. Whatever you do, don't ask!
"Young friend, name your price."
Lou Xu raised his eyes to look at him.
"Do you want to cooperate with the Blacksmith Association, Sect Master Ning, or do you only want a one-off deal?"
"Oh? What's the difference?"
Ning Fengzhi gave a soft sound of surprise.
"If we're cooperating, naturally, we need to establish the rules first."
"Once those rules stand firm, the road from Gengxin City to your sect can only grow wider."
Lou Xu held up two fingers.
"One divine artifact costs five Ten Thousand Year Soul Bones. Three as a deposit. The remaining balance can be paid with rare natural treasures, but I'll only accept soul bones for the deposit."
"Also, once anything sold by the Blacksmith Association leaves our doors, it no longer bears the Lou name. No one else is to learn where it came from. That's the bottom line."
Before you continue