Ning Fengzhi heard Sword Douluo Chen Xin's words.
The arrogance in his eyes dissipated completely.
"This boy really is no ordinary person."
"Uncle Jian, please be careful."
Sword Douluo Chen Xin waved a hand, his eyes gleaming with the excitement of someone who had discovered a treasure.
"Don't talk. Don't disturb the boy."
"Fengzhi, go keep Rongrong company. Let me see just how far this boy can go."
Ning Fengzhi looked at Sword Douluo Chen Xin before him and slowly nodded. Uncle Jian's appreciation for talent had surged; they probably could not kill this boy today. At most, they would take him back to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and torment him for a while.
He inclined his head gently and descended silently toward Ning Rongrong.
Seeing her father descend, Ning Rongrong hurried forward to explain.
But Ning Fengzhi stopped her.
"Whatever it is, wait until this boy has finished his demonstration."
Looking at her father's dark expression, Ning Rongrong dared not say anything more just then. She could only stand obediently beside him and wait, thinking about how to word things so she could save Lu Ning.
More and more people gathered at the village entrance.
Zhao Wuji and the others had already arrived.
They watched that boy, who had only taken up the sword a few years ago, challenge a colossus of the sword.
Lu Ning raised his eyes.
His fourth soul ring lit up.
The dark glow of the black soul ring lent the village entrance an air of mystery.
The soul power and mental power within him poured into the Azure Lotus Sword like rushing water, as though facing a taotie whose belly could never be filled. Azure light bloomed from the Azure Lotus Sword, and azure lotuses faintly appeared around it.
Lu Ning was no longer in the newly advanced state he had been in when facing Flender.
He was now at rank forty-six.
Sword Douluo's eyes shone, and he released his martial soul as well.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black.
Two yellow, two purple, and five black.
The standard soul ring configuration of a Titled Douluo.
The moment he released his martial soul,
Chen Xin's seventh soul ring abruptly lit up, and he stood in the sky like a giant sword.
"Seven Kill, True Avatar!"
Ning Fengzhi could not make sense of Lu Ning's aura at that moment.
But the instant Sword Douluo Chen Xin released his martial soul, he understood what was different about Lu Ning. Even Uncle Jian dared not take him lightly. This boy before him...
Was certain to live!
Lu Ning could not hear a single sound.
His entire world consisted only of the Azure Lotus Sword in his hand and Chen Xin before him.
When he spoke, he enunciated each word.
As though counting down for the enemy before him.
"One Sword Freezes Fourteen Provinces!"
The Azure Lotus Sword unleashed an enormous wave of sword energy, sending it hurtling toward Sword Douluo Chen Xin.
A thin layer of frost instantly coated the entire village entrance.
Even the ends of Flender's hair froze into thin slivers of ice.
Boom!
Chen Xin raised his sword to block.
That terrifying sword intent coated the white hair on his head with frost.
Ning Fengzhi and Flender shielded Ning Rongrong.
Zhao Wuji and the other teachers stood in front of the Little Monsters.
The dust cleared.
Chen Xin still stood in the sky.
His expression remained unchanged.
If not for the enormous sword scar at the village entrance, covered in white snow and thin frost, no one would have believed that a Soul Ancestor had just dared to swing his sword at Chen Xin.
"Fengzhi, I'm taking this little fellow."
Chen Xin's tone was calm.
Yet it carried an unquestionable authority.
Even though he and Ning Rongrong had done that sort of thing, these words from Sword Douluo Chen Xin alone could pull him straight back from the brink of death.
"...All right."
Ning Fengzhi glanced at Lu Ning.
He forcibly suppressed the confusion in his heart.
They had come here to kill someone.
Yet, unexpectedly,
This boy had fought his way to a thread of survival.
Lu Ning's face was utterly pale, and he could barely hold the Azure Lotus Sword steady. He had never felt so drained, not even after doing it six or seven times in one night with Zhu Zhuqing.
His mind was a complete muddle.
He probably could not even speak coherently.
Yet he stood ramrod straight.
Without taking even half a step back.
"Let's go, Flender."
"You'd better explain exactly what happened!"
"If you can't explain it clearly, I won't kill this boy, but you, Four-Eyed Cat, will be losing three eyes today!"
Ning Fengzhi planted his cane on the ground and looked at the crowd gathering at the village entrance, signaling for Flender to find a suitable place to talk.
Flender finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The fawning look on his face gave way to ease.
This little fellow... had survived.
"Sect Master Ning, Sword Douluo, this way, please."
Supporting Lu Ning, Flender led the group toward his office.
Zhao Wuji and the others watched, still unable to recover from what they had seen.
Ma Hongjun looked dejected.
"It's over."
"From now on, Brother Ning won't be in the same league as us."
"He'll be the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's prized son-in-law. He even dared to slash at a Titled Douluo. Is there anything in this world Brother Ning wouldn't dare do?!"
Dai Mubai nodded slightly. "To draw his sword against a Titled Douluo as a Soul Ancestor-Lu Ning has a brighter future than us."
"If we don't work harder, we probably won't even get a chance to speak to him anymore."
"The next time we meet, we'll have to address him as Your Eminence Lu Ning."
Hearing this, Zhao Wuji put on a stern face and snapped at them, "If you know that, why aren't you hurrying off to cultivate?!"
"What are you all waiting for?!"
"Do you really want Lu Ning to leave you in the dust?!"
Zhao Wuji dispersed them.
In his heart, however, he knew that without some extraordinary fortuitous encounter, these little fellows would never catch up to Lu Ning in this lifetime.
Inside Flender's office.
Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin sat upright while Flender brewed some lousy tea that cost two Copper Soul Coins per tael.
Chen Xin took a sip.
The taste of moldy twigs spread across his tongue.
Even he could hardly put up with it.
"Flender!"
"Are you serving this tea on purpose?"
Flender was all smiles, his manner exceedingly humble.
"I wouldn't dare."
"If you don't believe me, ask Rongrong."
"The academy really has no money this year. We're poor!"
"Perhaps..."
Ning Fengzhi interrupted Flender, who was taking a mile after being given an inch, and looked at Ning Rongrong. His voice was noticeably calmer than before.
"Tell us."
"In the letter you had someone bring home, you said"
"A boy made your chastity mark disappear. What happened?"
Ning Rongrong's face was full of awkwardness. She looked at Ning Fengzhi, then at Flender.
But she still slowly began, "This is what happened."
"I learned from Lu Ning that taking whale rubber could improve your physical constitution, allowing you to absorb older soul rings in the future."
Ning Rongrong spoke.
Chen Xin and Ning Fengzhi exchanged a glance.
It took them a good while to remember what whale rubber was.
Ning Fengzhi's brows furrowed again.
"The theory of whether physical constitution is related to the upper limit of soul rings is still debated in the martial soul world."
"How could taking whale rubber raise that limit?"
"Was this boy deceiving you?"
Ning Rongrong shook her head like a rattle drum.
"He wasn't!"
"Taking whale rubber really can raise the limit."
"You'll know if you have someone examine my body."
"If that still won't do,"
"Just look at the color of Lu Ning's second martial soul, and you'll know!"
Before you continue