Ultimate Fire

"Li Nezha greets Sect Master Ning."

Nezha straightened, then bowed slightly in greeting. After all, this was his future boss; he still had to show the proper courtesy.

Though he had been an ordinary person in his previous life, he understood something of social graces. As a newcomer, there was never any harm in being a little humble.

Seeing this, Ning Zhiyuan's satisfaction deepened. Ordinary six-year-olds either froze with fright at the sight of him or waved their arms in excitement. How many could be this composed and courteous? This child was no ordinary boy.

"Good child."

He reached out and gently patted Nezha's shoulder, then stepped aside to reveal the burly figure with long scarlet hair beside him.

"This is Red Dragon Douluo Wu Yun, the sect's supreme elder. You can simply call him Elder Wu."

Nezha looked up at him.

The man before him was imposing indeed. His eight-foot frame stood like an iron tower, his long scarlet hair hanging loose, the bristles of his beard jutting out like steel needles. He stood with his arms folded, a fierce, domineering heat faintly radiating from him, as though merely drawing closer would leave one scorched.

His bell-sized eyes stared unblinkingly at Nezha, openly appraising him, as though examining a piece of uncut jade and weighing what sort of vessel it could be carved into.

Nezha withdrew his gaze and bowed as instructed, bending a little deeper than before. His tone was respectful without being servile:

"Greetings, Elder Wu."

His voice was clear, his manner poised and easy.

Wu Yun did not answer immediately.

He simply stared at Nezha for a long while, light flickering in his scarlet, slit-pupiled eyes as though he were sensing something.

A moment later, a grin suddenly spread across the rugged face beneath his bristling beard, revealing a mouthful of gleaming white teeth.

"Fine lad. You've got something to you."

He stretched out a hand as broad as a palm-leaf fan and gave Nezha a heavy pat on the shoulder.

"Innate full soul power, the Fire-Tipped Spear-you've got the makings of a Battle Soul Master. Work hard on your cultivation here in the sect. If anyone dares bully you, give them my name."

Nezha's shoulder sank under the blow, but he held his ground without swaying. He looked up with a well-behaved smile. "Thank you, Elder Wu."

Wu Yun burst out laughing, then turned and winked at Ning Zhiyuan, plainly conveying: This boy's good. A promising seedling.

Ning Zhiyuan nodded slightly, his gaze returning to Nezha. He could not suppress the smile at the corners of his mouth.

He started forward again with his hands behind his back. His tone regained some of the composure befitting a sect master, yet could not conceal his hopes:

"Come, child. Follow me into the sect. From this day onward, this is your home."

They returned to the great hall, where Ning Zhiyuan dismissed the other disciples and elders. Apart from himself and Wu Yun, only the two little girls, Ning Tian and Wu Feng, remained in the vast chamber.

Ning Zhiyuan turned, his gaze settling on Nezha. His voice was gentle, yet held an unmistakable trace of urgency. "I'll call you Nezha from now on. Come, Nezha, let us see your martial soul."

His words sounded calm, but the fingers behind his back curled slightly.

Su Yuntian's report had certainly excited him, but it was still only an inner disciple's account. Innate full soul power and a top-tier mutated tool martial soul-something this important had to be seen with his own eyes before he would accept it. He believed only what he could see.

Wu Yun stood to one side with his arms folded, his long scarlet hair falling over his shoulders. His bell-sized eyes were also fixed intently on Nezha; clearly, he felt the same way.

Ning Tian and Wu Feng peered forward curiously, one quiet and reserved, the other's eyes shining like two little flames.

"Yes!"

Without another word, Nezha took several steps forward and stopped in the center of the hall. He drew a deep breath, slowly raised his right hand, and opened his fingers naturally, palm facing upward.

He willed it into being.

Humm-

A low hum rose from his palm. Then a scarlet light burst forth, swiftly gathering, stretching, and taking shape. A long spear materialized out of thin air, and Nezha gripped it firmly.

The spear was ten feet long, its shaft scarlet from end to end, like refined iron heated all the way through. Intricate flame patterns coiled around it, dark-red glimmers faintly coursing between them, as though molten lava flowed deep within the shaft.

Gold thread wrapped the grip in tightly packed coils, gleaming softly beneath the lights. The spearhead was a flame-shaped, double-edged serpentine blade, its tip slightly curved and its thin edges translucent, faintly shining with the cold gleam of violet flame. It seemed sharp enough to slice the air itself. A fiery-red tassel was bound beneath the head, stirring without wind like flames bursting apart, or a wild crimson flower blooming at the spear's tip.

The moment the spear appeared, the temperature inside the hall soared.

Scorching heat spread outward from Nezha. Ning Tian and Wu Feng both instinctively stepped back half a pace. Wu Feng's fiery-red eyes went perfectly round, her little mouth falling open as she stared unblinkingly at the spear, as though she had discovered some unbelievable treasure. Though Ning Tian did not retreat, she too held her breath slightly.

Ning Zhiyuan's pupils contracted.

This spear... was even more remarkable than he had imagined. He had led the sect for decades and seen eight hundred martial souls, if not a thousand, yet this was truly his first time seeing a tool martial soul with such a striking appearance and commanding presence. The fierce, domineering aura emanating from its shaft was unmistakably the foundation of a top-tier martial soul. That could not be faked.

Wu Yun's breathing grew heavier as well. As the Red Dragon Douluo, he was especially sensitive to the aura of flames. The fire power he sensed from the Fire-Tipped Spear had actually made the Red Dragon martial soul within him stir restlessly. This feeling arose only in the presence of a fire martial soul of a higher order.

"What a fine spear!"

He could not help exclaiming in a low voice, a grin spreading beneath his beard as his long scarlet hair stirred without wind. "Sect Master, if I'm not mistaken, Nezha's martial soul possesses ultimate fire."

"What?" Ning Zhiyuan exclaimed in shock. "Wu Yun, are you certain of your judgment? Is it truly ultimate fire?"

Ultimate fire.

He understood the weight of those words better than anyone. They meant the pinnacle of fire-attribute martial souls, absolute suppression over others of the same attribute. They meant that once Nezha became a Super Douluo, he would have the strength to contend with a Limit Douluo.

Wu Yun's tone was as decisive as a blade cutting through iron, without the slightest hesitation. "There's absolutely no mistake. My Red Dragon martial soul is already a top-tier martial soul, yet the appearance of this spear actually made me feel a faint trace of suppression."

He paused, then added:

"Only a trace, perhaps, but that trace was absolutely real."

The great hall became so quiet that a falling pin could have been heard.

Ning Zhiyuan opened his mouth but could not speak for a long while. He turned to Nezha. The six-year-old boy stood quietly in the hall, his small hand gripping that scarlet spear as he looked up at them with an innocent expression, seemingly unaware of what the thing in his hand meant.

Ultimate fire, innate full soul power, the Fire-Tipped Spear.

Ning Zhiyuan closed his eyes and drew a deep breath, barely forcing his surging emotions back down. When he opened them again, the way he looked at Nezha had changed completely. Before, there had only been admiration for his talent and a sect master's hopes. Now, a weighty solemnity had joined them, as though he were looking at a priceless treasure capable of deciding the sect's future.

He suddenly felt fortunate-fortunate that Su Yuntian had gone to Nine Treasures City today, fortunate that this child had grown up under the protection of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect.

"Good. Wonderful."

Ning Zhiyuan voiced his approval twice, his voice slightly hoarse and the corners of his eyes growing damp. He stepped forward and gently rested his hand on Nezha's head, his palm warm and carrying an elder's affection.

"Nezha, do you know what this talent of yours means?"

Nezha blinked, arranged just the right amount of bewilderment on his little face, and shook his head.

Yet his heart was as clear as a polished mirror. Ultimate fire, innate full soul power-he knew the origins of this Fire-Tipped Spear better than anyone. It was the weapon of the legendary Great Deity of the Three Altars and Seas. Since it had followed him across worlds to the Douluo Continent, how could it possibly be ordinary? But he would not utter a single word of that.

The first rule for a transmigrator: conceal your abilities.

The second rule: when the time comes to reveal them, stun everyone with a single cry.

And now was the time to stun everyone.