Spirit City seemed peaceful at that moment, but beneath the surface, turbulent waves surged as every faction worked out its own little schemes.
Far away in the Heaven Dou Empire, however, clouds of gloom hung over everything. The atmosphere in the great sects was oppressive to the extreme, the air itself thick with tension.
Seven Treasure City, not far from Heaven Dou City, housed the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, one of the Upper Three Sects. The sect had fortified the city until it was as impregnable as a fortress of iron. As the headquarters of the "wealthiest sect under heaven," it was ordinarily bustling with activity.
At that moment, however, the atmosphere inside the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's main hall was rather heavy.
Sect Master Ning Fengzhi sat in the seat of honor, dressed in a luxurious brocade robe, his signature smile still on his face. It made those who saw him feel as though they were basking in a spring breeze, but a closer look revealed a trace of anxiety between his brows that he could not quite conceal. He had buried it deep, yet it still slipped out in unguarded moments. Below him sat the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's two white jade pillars that held up the heavens, its purple-gold beams that spanned the seas-Sword Douluo Chen Xin and Bone Douluo Gu Rong-facing each other.
Chen Xin's eyes were closed, as though he were dozing, but his Seven Kill Sword lay beside his hand, ready to be drawn at any moment.
Gu Rong's eyes were open, though his expression was none too pleasant.
Ning Fengzhi raised a hand and gently rubbed his aching forehead. After a brief silence, he slowly turned toward Bone Douluo Gu Rong beside him and asked with a trace of weariness,