Tang Mo guided Ning Rongrong's soul power into the dagger, nourishing the already exceptional weapon little by little.
Although there was no clear indication of how powerful Lou Gao's weapons were, when it came to armor, he left everyone else in the dust.
The two suits of soft armor he had forged from memory metal could withstand attacks from a Soul Emperor. That alone showed how skilled Lou Gao was.
By the same reasoning, the weapons he forged were no ordinary items either, and should be able to pierce the defensive hide of a ten-thousand-year soul beast.
Even when a ten-thousand-year soul beast was grievously wounded and near death, with no soul power left to protect its body, its hide remained exceptionally tough.
Most weapons could not possibly cut through a ten-thousand-year soul beast's hide, so support-system soul masters often needed a weapon capable of killing a dying soul beast in a single strike.
Before the methods for making soul tools were lost, support-system soul masters could still rely on soul tools, but now they could only depend on ancient soul tools and weapons forged by blacksmiths.
Under Tang Mo's guidance, Ning Rongrong gradually mastered the technique of feeding soul power into the dagger in her hand.
She could feel herself forming some indescribable connection with the dagger before her.
At the same time, the contract power in Tang Mo's right lung flickered faintly, seemingly drawing a portion of power from the connection forming between Ning Rongrong and the dagger.
A short while later, Tang Mo withdrew his hand. After pouring all her soul power into the dagger, Ning Rongrong swayed on her feet.
This was a sign of excessive soul power depletion, yet Ning Rongrong's eyes were startlingly bright, without the slightest trace of weakness.
She held the dagger on one palm and, with a thought, tried to activate it.
But even when she exerted every ounce of effort, the dagger showed no sign of floating.
Only when she was almost unable to hold on did the dagger tremble slightly, responding to her control. Only then did Ning Rongrong faint in relief, as though a weight had lifted from her shoulders.
Tang Mo caught Ning Rongrong with quick eyes and quicker hands. After giving her a brief examination, he discovered that not only were her meridians unharmed, but she had turned misfortune into a blessing and broken straight through to level ten.
Ning Rongrong's innate soul power was level nine. In theory, she should have broken through to level ten and obtained her first soul ring long ago, but she was rather fond of playing, and the upper ranks of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect doted on her. Thus, the final opportunity for her breakthrough to level ten had fallen to Tang Mo.
"Is she all right?" Qian Renxue's face bore a measure of an older brother's concern for his younger sister.
Tang Mo suddenly reached out, brushing his fingers over several of Ning Rongrong's acupuncture points. After confirming that she could sleep for an hour before he woke her, he shook his head slightly at Qian Renxue.
"She's fine." Having said that, Tang Mo reached out with one hand and pressed it against Qian Renxue's face before she could react. "But you have a problem, Young Master of the Angels."
The blush that had yet to fade from Qian Renxue's face spread across her cheeks once again. She quickly put distance between herself and Tang Mo, releasing her disguised Swan Martial Soul. A pair of pure white wings appeared behind her.
"What are you trying to do?" She stared at Tang Mo warily, guarding against another sudden attack from him.
"A very clever disguise, but not clever enough." Tang Mo withdrew his hand, his eyes holding nothing but indifference. "Your aura hasn't been completely concealed. Don't worry. You and I aren't enemies. In some respects, we're even allies."
"Allies?" Qian Renxue sneered, her eyes full of disbelief, but she still put away her wings. "You're a talent that woman personally discovered. She hasn't treated you badly, while I can't give you anything for now. Why would you take my side?"
"If you successfully steal the Heaven Dou Empire, what would you want to do next?" Tang Mo asked in return.
Qian Renxue froze slightly at his words. Clearly, she had never given the question much thought herself.
Rather than saying she had gone to the Heaven Dou Empire to carry out a mission to steal the nation, it would be more accurate to say she was hiding from Bibi Dong.
That was why she devoted herself wholeheartedly to playing Xue Qinghe, or rather, the perfect crown prince.
But she truly had never thought carefully about what she should do after taking control of the Heaven Dou Empire. Unify the entire continent?
If she accomplished that goal too, what would she do next?
She sat where she was in silence for a long time. She was someone who both had a mind of her own and lacked one.
Qian Daoliu had devised the Nation-Stealing Plan, and she had simply followed it, but it had not been her own idea.
Thus, at this moment, she was lost, unsure what she should do once the Nation-Stealing Plan succeeded.
Tang Mo noticed that Qian Renxue had fallen into confusion. He stood and walked over to her. The instant their eyes met, Qian Renxue instinctively avoided his gaze.
Seeing this, he reached out and turned Qian Renxue's head back, forcing her to meet his eyes.
"Spirit Hall has the Angel God's inheritance. After inheriting her divine position, you could certainly use that power to unify the entire continent, then go to the Divine Realm. But ask yourself, hand on your heart: is that really the life you want?" Tang Mo asked.
Qian Renxue remained silent for a long time, her eyelashes trembling slightly. Clearly, once she realized she could not avoid Tang Mo's gaze, she chose to close her eyes.
But Tang Mo would not give her that chance. He pressed his hands against her eyelids, forcing her eyes open.
"You experienced a childhood in which your father died young and your mother showed you no love. So, having been through all that, do you want to make every family happy and whole?" With a single sentence, Tang Mo struck the pain buried deepest in Qian Renxue's heart.
Her eyes shifted, wanting to avoid the subject, yet she could not stop herself from remembering Qian Xunji and Bibi Dong, remembering the childhood in which she and Qian Daoliu had only each other to depend on.
At that moment, she thought of many things: her own childhood, and all those shattered families recorded in official documents.
"What should I do?" Qian Renxue's voice was dry, as though she had gone a very long time without water. It sounded rather hoarse and grating.
"Why did your father die, and why does your mother care nothing for you?" Tang Mo continued throwing out questions.
"Because of that damned Clear Sky Douluo, the hundred-thousand-year soul beast, and that woman." Qian Renxue answered the first question swiftly, but faced with the second, she stammered without being able to explain. "As for why that woman doesn't care about me, I..."
"Qian Xunji and Bibi Dong were originally master and disciple, and before Bibi Dong gave birth to you, she already had a lover named Yu Xiaogang. Take a guess: why were you born?" Tang Mo did not answer the question directly, but continued throwing out questions.
"Impossible! Impossible! That's impossible!" Qian Renxue instantly understood just what Qian Xunji had done, but she refused to believe her own conjecture and could only shake her head frantically.
She shook her head so forcefully that Tang Mo instinctively let go to avoid hurting her.
Freed again, she hugged her knees with both arms and buried her head between them, trying to escape reality that way.
She refused to believe that her father, Qian Xunji, was a sinner, and was even less willing to believe that her birth had sprung from intense malice.
"In the end, it all stems from conflict. Conflict stems from interests, and the reason people fight over those interests lies in unequal distribution and an insufficient total supply," Tang Mo said, guiding her patiently.
"What are you trying to say?" Before Qian Renxue could fully accept the truth of her birth, she was shaken by Tang Mo's thunderous remarks.
Tang Mo's words left Qian Renxue feeling dizzy. She did not understand what he meant, so she could only ask.
Before you continue