Teacher, don't come looking for me for now. I'm afraid Sect Master Ning might misunderstand

The hall fell quiet for a while.

Ning Fengzhi's smile faded a little, and his gaze sharpened. "I admit this thing is good, but these alone aren't enough. What else do you have to offer?"

That was exactly what Tang San had been waiting for.

He raised his head, his gaze calm. "Sect Master, I have another secret."

Rather than immediately releasing his martial soul, he first glanced at the attendants standing in the hall.

Ning Fengzhi understood and waved a hand.

The attendants withdrew, and the hall doors closed.

Yu Xiaogang guessed what Tang San intended to do. His brows furrowed, and he lowered his voice. "San, you mustn't..."

Tang San shook his head. "Teacher, I have no choice. I'm desperately short of money and cultivation resources right now. You and Nuoding Academy can't meet my needs... Besides, I trust Sect Master Ning's character."

Yu Xiaogang fell silent, looking rather embarrassed, with the same sense of inadequacy as a man whose wife had told him he couldn't satisfy her.

Ning Fengzhi, meanwhile, was brimming with interest. "You can speak now."

Tang San raised his right hand. Blue Silver Grass emerged from his palm, its slender blades gleaming silver. "This is my martial soul."

Ning Fengzhi remained unmoved. Blue Silver Grass was perfectly ordinary.

The next moment, Tang San raised his left hand. "I have another martial soul."

A small black hammer materialized out of thin air. Its body was ancient and plain, its patterns coiling like horned dragons as a heavy pressure spread silently outward.

Ning Fengzhi's hand froze around his teacup.

His eyes fixed on the little hammer. "You... you're a disciple of the Clear Sky Sect?"

He recognized it: the Clear Sky Hammer.

Only those of the Clear Sky Sect's direct bloodline could reveal a Clear Sky