Within the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the commotion Xiao Yun caused alerted quite a few Senior Soul Masters.
Before they could approach, however, Sword Douluo stopped them.
In the little courtyard, Xiao Yun's martial soul had already settled down.
She gazed at the little flame dragon in her palm, delighted.
Although Xiao Yun still knew little about Soul Masters, she understood that a dragon was surely of a higher order than a snake.
What delighted Xiao Yun even more was that she could now control her martial soul with ease.
Unlike her previous Fire Snake martial soul, which had not only resisted her but also burned her and lashed back at her;
the Fire Dragon was more violent than the Fire Snake had been, yet it was remarkably gentle toward her.
She instantly realized that her martial soul backlash problem had been resolved.
At that thought, Xiao Yun immediately looked around for Ning Chuan, only to discover that three more people had appeared in the courtyard.
She had met Sword Douluo before, but this was her first time seeing Ning Fengzhi and Bone Douluo.
Not daring to neglect her manners, Xiao Yun immediately stepped forward and bowed to them. Finally, she knelt directly before Ning Chuan and said, "Thank you for giving me a new life, Young Master Ning. I have nothing with which to repay you. From this day onward, my life belongs to you. Whatever you ask me to do, I will do. Should I break this vow, may Heaven strike me down!"
At the sight, Ning Fengzhi and the other two inwardly nodded.
All three knew very well that what the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's younger generation lacked most was attack-type Soul Masters.
And Xiao Yun's Fire Dragon martial soul was, without question, a top-tier power attack system martial soul!
The solemn vow she had sworn to Ning Chuan was ample proof of her character.
Thus, all three were pleased-pleased that Ning Chuan finally had a helper among the younger generation.
Ning Chuan could sense that Xiao Yun was truly sincere, but some things needed time to prove themselves, just as they had with Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo, and Bone Douluo.
"Get up!" Ning Chuan motioned for Xiao Yun to rise, then told her who Ning Fengzhi and the other two were.
He had barely finished the introductions before Bone Douluo eagerly offered to take her as his disciple.
Xiao Yun was overwhelmed by the favor, but she still looked to Ning Chuan for his approval.
Naturally, Ning Chuan would not stop her. Although Xiao Yun had never seen his martial soul, she knew that he had cured her and had also seen the Unsealing Card. He did not feel comfortable letting her cultivate alongside the other disciples.
With Bone Douluo teaching her personally, Ning Chuan had nothing to worry about.
And so, after first joining the sect, Xiao Yun performed the formal ceremony to become Bone Douluo's disciple.
As he had with Ning Chuan, Bone Douluo told Xiao Yun to address him as Grandmaster or simply Grandpa. After all, the generational hierarchy could not be thrown into disarray.
Once everything was settled, Bone Douluo took her to the Sunset Forest to hunt for a Soul Ring.
Three days later, Ning Chuan was cultivating on the mountain behind the sect when Sword Douluo suddenly transmitted his voice to him. "Xiao Chuan, Xue Qinghe has come to the sect. He wants to see you. Should I have Fengzhi turn him down for you?"
"No need!" Ning Chuan replied, then rose and left the mountain.
Over the years, Ning Chuan had been on fairly good terms with the Xue Qinghe whom Qian Renxue impersonated.
She was also one of the few people outside the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect who knew-and believed-that Ning Chuan had established the Merchant Guild.
Qian Renxue had become Ning Fengzhi's disciple ostensibly to win over the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, but her true purpose was to probe its strengths and weaknesses.
At first, Qian Renxue had indeed had little interest in Ning Chuan.
But when she learned from Ning Fengzhi that Ning Chuan had single-handedly established the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's Merchant Guild, her attitude changed immediately.
As the Heaven Dou Crown Prince, she understood all too well just how valuable that Merchant Guild was.
Although no one outside believed it, and even those within the imperial family thought it was an excuse Ning Fengzhi had invented to whitewash his son's reputation, Qian Renxue knew that Ning Fengzhi was not that sort of person.
Thus, whenever she visited Ning Fengzhi, she would also chat with Ning Chuan about the ways of commerce.
After enough such visits, the two became familiar with each other.
Ning Chuan knew very well that Qian Renxue approached him out of genuine interest in his business ideas, but there was another reason-she wanted to gather intelligence about the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's internal affairs through him.
For Qian Renxue, dealing with Ning Fengzhi required the utmost caution, but she had far fewer concerns when facing Ning Chuan.
After all, Ning Chuan had no talent for cultivation, so she had no need to worry that he might see through her disguise.
Moreover, the Merchant Guild Ning Chuan had established was tied to many of the sect's interests, so naturally, he needed to understand its internal affairs. Gathering intelligence from him would certainly be easier than getting it from Ning Fengzhi.
Ordinarily, Qian Renxue would go straight to the Merchant Guild to find Ning Chuan. However, he had not been there for nearly two months, so she had come directly to the sect instead.
When Ning Chuan arrived at the sect's reception hall, Ning Fengzhi was chatting with Qian Renxue.
Seeing Ning Chuan enter, Ning Fengzhi stood up and said, "You two chat. I won't disturb you!"
With that, he nodded to Ning Chuan and walked out.
Ning Fengzhi had always supported Ning Chuan's friendship with "Xue Qinghe." After all, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Heaven Dou Imperial Family already enjoyed excellent relations.
Although Ning Chuan now had many secrets, Ning Fengzhi still had confidence in him.
That was because even Sword Douluo could not sense Ning Chuan's soul power unless he deliberately revealed its aura.
After Ning Fengzhi left, Ning Chuan asked in his usual tone, "Brother Qinghe, what brings you here?"
Qian Renxue replied, "You haven't been to the Merchant Guild for nearly two months. I thought you might be ill!"
"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness." Ning Chuan smiled and cupped his hands. "I haven't been going because I've handed the Merchant Guild over entirely to my eldest brother and the others!"
"Oh?" Qian Renxue was taken aback. "You're no longer running the Merchant Guild?"
"That's right!" Ning Chuan nodded and complained, "You have no idea, Brother Qinghe. The Merchant Guild does make money, but managing it is far too exhausting and complicated!"
Qian Renxue did not believe his explanation at all. She fixed her eyes on Ning Chuan and asked, "Have you found some other business opportunity?"
"Nothing of the sort!" Ning Chuan said with a smile. "To tell you the truth, I recently broke through to level ten. After obtaining a Soul Ring, I suddenly discovered that cultivation is quite fun, so I'm planning to explore it and see whether I can shake off the name of 'good-for-nothing.'"
"Cultivation is fun?" Qian Renxue was utterly speechless. She truly had no idea how Ning Chuan had arrived at that conclusion.
Still, as his friend, she immediately suggested, "Why don't I arrange for you to enter the Heaven Dou Royal Academy?"
"There's no need for that!" Ning Chuan hastily declined. He had no desire to waste time at an academy.
"All right!"
Qian Renxue did not insist. Just then, she suddenly remembered something and continued, "By the way, some students from Skywater Academy are coming to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy tomorrow to spar with Yu Tianheng and the others. Interested in watching?"
"Yes, absolutely!" Ning Chuan remembered that Yu Tianheng and the others should be facing Shrek Academy before long. This would be a perfect chance to see their strength and use it to gauge how strong Tang San and his companions were.
"Good! Then I'll see you tomorrow!" Qian Renxue said, rising to her feet.
"See you tomorrow!" Ning Chuan replied, then escorted Qian Renxue out of the sect.
Before you continue