Inside the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Fengzhi sat in his study with Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo, the two Titled Douluos, drinking tea and chatting.
Their conversation centered on the pearl of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect-Ning Rongrong.
A few days earlier, Ning Rongrong had left the sect alone to join Shrek Academy. Ning Fengzhi had sent people to watch over her in secret, and they reported on her circumstances every few days.
"Fengzhi, Rongrong just left the Star Dou Great Forest and is already on her way back to the academy. Also, Yu Xiaogang seems to be heading to Shrek," Bone Douluo said.
"Yu Xiaogang!"
Sword Douluo murmured the name with a frown, then said, "Fengzhi, perhaps I should bring Rongrong back after all! Yu Xiaogang may bear the title of Grandmaster, but his character really is rather..."
Before Sword Douluo could finish, all three men turned toward the study door. A young man had just arrived outside.
"Xiao Chuan, you're back! Come in!" Ning Fengzhi immediately beckoned him inside.
The newcomer was Ning Chuan, Ning Rongrong's Fifth Brother.
Ning Chuan was six years older than Ning Rongrong and had just turned eighteen that year.
He was a transmigrator who had arrived in the Douluo World six years before Tang San.
Unfortunately, Ning Chuan's cheat had arrived rather late, and activating it came with a prerequisite.
Twelve years earlier, Ning Chuan had awakened the One-Story Miniature Pagoda martial soul, with an innate soul power of level 0.5. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had classified it as a Malignant Mutation of his martial soul and determined that he would never reach level thirty.
What no one knew, however, was that a System Sprite had been born alongside the miniature pagoda martial soul Ning Chuan had awakened.
Through the system, Ning Chuan learned that his martial soul was called the Creation Exquisite Pagoda.
The system's first task for Ning Chuan was to reach level ten through his own cultivation. That was the prerequisite for unlocking the Creation Exquisite Pagoda.
Ning Chuan had spent twelve years on that beginner task, finally completing it yesterday.
The rewards were exceptionally generous. Not only had he unlocked the Creation Exquisite Pagoda's true form, but he had also obtained a second martial soul-the Chaos Sacred Sword.
Ning Chuan had come here to reveal the Creation Exquisite Pagoda to Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo, and Bone Douluo.
He was doing so because the system had issued Ning Chuan another task.
Task requirement: attach a soul ring to the Creation Exquisite Pagoda. The older the ring, the better the reward.
As for the soul ring's age limit, Ning Chuan had no need to worry. The system had stated outright that the Creation Exquisite Pagoda could easily absorb even a million-year or ten-million-year soul ring.
To obtain a better reward, Ning Chuan had no choice but to reveal some of his secrets to Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo, and Bone Douluo.
Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo, and Bone Douluo had always enjoyed excellent reputations, and Ning Chuan had experienced their kindness firsthand over the years.
Despite wearing the label of "good-for-nothing" for twelve years, he had still received the respect he deserved within the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Although the three did not dote on Ning Chuan as much as they did Ning Rongrong, they had given him all the care he could ask of his elders.
With them, Ning Chuan had truly felt the warmth and affection of family.
They were nothing like Tang Hao. Not teaching Tang San to cultivate might have been understandable, but making a young Tang San endure cold indifference and the crushing burden of daily life was utterly despicable.
Compared with Tang San, Ning Chuan was fortunate.
Having virtuous elders was a blessing for the younger generation. As their junior, Ning Chuan naturally did not mind giving Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo, and Bone Douluo something to be happy about.
"Father!"
"Sword Grandpa!"
"Bone Grandpa!"
Ning Chuan entered the study and bowed to each of them in greeting. Ning Fengzhi nodded and casually asked, "Why are you back so early today? Have you finished handling things at the merchant guild?"
"Yes!" Ning Chuan nodded. Cultivation was dull, so he had started a side business at thirteen.
Using business principles from modern society, Ning Chuan had established a merchant guild in Heaven Dou City. After five years, it was running smoothly, and thirty percent of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's income now came from the merchant guild under his name.
The outside world, however, did not know that Ning Chuan had founded the merchant guild. People merely assumed he held an idle post there.
"Father, there's something I'd like to tell you. I'm planning to hand the merchant guild over entirely to my eldest brother, second brother, and the others," Ning Chuan said.
Ning Fengzhi froze for a moment, then immediately said, "Xiao Chuan, have you heard more malicious gossip? Don't worry. This time, I'll prepare the evidence and let everyone know that you built this merchant guild single-handedly, without relying on the sect's support!"
Ning Fengzhi knew very well that Ning Chuan had been subjected to criticism all these years.
He had no way to refute the rumors about Ning Chuan's detrimental martial soul mutation.
But now that people were questioning Ning Chuan's accomplishments with the merchant guild as well, he could no longer tolerate it.
At that thought, Ning Fengzhi wanted to settle accounts with Yu Xiaogang. After all, Yu Xiaogang was the one who had spread Ning Chuan's reputation as a "good-for-nothing" far and wide.
Moreover, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had secretly fanned the flames.
They all belonged to the Upper Three Sects. With the Clear Sky Sect secluded from the world, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan were naturally rivals.
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had suffered a great loss of face over Yu Xiaogang. Upon learning that Ning Chuan had also experienced a martial soul mutation, they had secretly spread the news to divert the outside world's attention.
Yu Xiaogang happened to be traveling the continent at the time, and initially, he had felt considerable sympathy for Ning Chuan.
Yet when he learned that Ning Chuan lived a comfortable, secure life in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and was treated with respect, that sympathy had twisted into jealousy.
The information released by the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had circulated only among the upper ranks of the soul master world.
But after Yu Xiaogang secretly spread it, Ning Chuan's reputation as a "good-for-nothing" had spread everywhere. Even ordinary commoners knew that a good-for-nothing had appeared in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's direct line.
Yu Xiaogang thought he had acted discreetly, unaware that Ning Fengzhi had long since investigated every dirty thing he had done.
That was why Sword Douluo had wanted to bring Ning Rongrong back when he heard earlier that Yu Xiaogang was also heading to Shrek Academy.
At first, Ning Chuan had not known that Yu Xiaogang was spreading news of his "Malignant Mutation of the martial soul."
Two years ago, however, he had accidentally come across a sect disciple reporting the matter to Ning Fengzhi, who had then told him about it.
Ning Chuan did not care about it. In fact, he found it somewhat laughable.
He knew very well that Yu Xiaogang was a hypocritical scumbag, so it was hardly surprising that he would do such a thing.
In response to Ning Fengzhi's proposal, Ning Chuan smiled and shook his head. "Father, I've never taken the outside world's gossip to heart. I'm handing over the merchant guild because I won't have much time to manage it anymore!"
Upon hearing this, Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo, and Bone Douluo all assumed that something was wrong with Ning Chuan's health. They immediately began questioning him with concern, and Sword Douluo had even started examining his physical condition.
Ning Chuan hurriedly stopped him. "Sword Grandpa, you've misunderstood! I mean that from now on, I'll be focusing on cultivation!"
At the word "cultivation," Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo, and Bone Douluo quietly exchanged glances.
Normally, the three deliberately avoided discussing anything related to cultivation in front of Ning Chuan, afraid of upsetting him.
Now that Ning Chuan had brought it up himself, none of them quite knew how to respond.
Seeing this, Ning Chuan stopped concealing his ability and said, "I've broken through to level ten. After the breakthrough, my martial soul changed a little."
As he spoke, Ning Chuan extended his left hand. With a thought, the Creation Exquisite Pagoda emerged from his palm.
At first, Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo, and Bone Douluo paid it little attention. But as they watched story after story of the pagoda reveal itself, their eyes immediately widened.
Sword Douluo was meticulous and immediately released his spiritual power to envelop the study.
When the Creation Exquisite Pagoda had fully revealed itself, all three were too shocked to speak.
Silence lingered in the study for quite some time before Bone Douluo finally cried out, "Thirteen stories! It actually has thirteen stories..."
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