Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect

"I met her on the way out of the Star Dou Great Forest," Yang Yunhai replied casually.

"Saving a damsel in distress?!" The phrase immediately slipped from Dugu Yan's mouth.

If it had not been a hero saving a beauty, she truly could not imagine how a young miss of the Zhu Family had ended up together with Yang Yunhai.

"..." Zhu Zhuqing lowered her head for no apparent reason, her gaze flickering away. She continued eating without saying a word.

"..." Yang Yunhai did not know how to respond either. He had saved her, yes, but he had also been the one to shock her unconscious.

Dugu Yan immediately raised an eyebrow, glanced at Yang Yunhai, then turned her meaningful gaze toward Zhu Zhuqing. "Zhuqing, you'd better make your move quickly. Heaven Dou Royal Academy has never lacked pretty female Spirit Masters. Who knows, one day Junior Xiao Hai might get whisked away by someone."

"He's on the Heaven Dou First Team, good-looking, and capable too. Isn't he basically a walking prize?"

"..." Zhu Zhuqing remained silent.

"Ahem." Yang Yunhai could not stand it any longer and spoke up. "Senior, stop playing matchmaker. Zhuqing and I are just ordinary friends. Back then, she temporarily had nowhere to go, and I was alone too. It was also my first time going to Heaven Dou City. We were traveling far from home and unfamiliar with the place, so having someone along meant we could look out for each other. That was why I invited her to Heaven Dou City."

"By my count, we've known each other for less than half a month. How could we possibly have the kind of relationship you're talking about?"

Hearing that, and seeing that Zhu Zhuqing was the quiet and reserved sort, Dugu Yan found it uninteresting as well. She curled her lip. "Fine, fine. I was trying to help you, and you don't even appreciate it. What an unromantic guy."

With that said, she went back to shoveling food into her mouth.

Seeing this, Yang Yunhai said nothing more and lowered his head to eat.

As he ate, he thought.

It's better to wait before exposing Dugu Yan's poisoning. I should do it after everyone gets more familiar with each other, so it doesn't seem abrupt and cause misunderstandings. Besides, I need to find an appropriate opportunity. March and April have plenty of rainy days. Maybe I can wait until Dugu Yan has an episode.

There's no rush. There's still time. Tang San and the others have only just begun their first three-month phase of training.

Besides, even if I could enter the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well now, I absolutely wouldn't consume any immortal herbs.

After all, Bishop Salas will be back next month. If Chrysanthemum Douluo comes with him and discovers, when we meet, that my cultivation has surged again and senses the aura of other immortal herbs on me, I'm afraid I won't be able to explain it clearly.

Haste makes waste. I've already come this far, so what harm is there in waiting a little longer?

As these thoughts passed through his mind, his mood gradually settled. He ate while chatting casually with the teammates he had just met.

Meanwhile, in the reception hall of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

"Greetings, Teacher." Seeing Ning Fengzhi enter the hall with Sword Douluo, Qian Renxue rose from her seat and bowed politely.

"No need for formalities." Ning Fengzhi smiled, walked slowly to the seat of honor, and sat down. With a gentle expression, he said, "Qing He, what brings you here today? Why did you suddenly think of visiting your teacher at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect in the middle of the day?"

Qian Renxue sat back down and replied politely, "Because of a child. What happened to him, and what he encountered, may be of interest to you, Teacher."

"Oh?" Ning Fengzhi's brow twitched.

"This morning, I went to Heaven Dou Royal Academy to inspect this year's admissions." Qian Renxue began recounting the matter.

"Such a wondrous object exists in this world?!" After hearing everything, Ning Fengzhi's expression changed as well.

"I believe it should be genuine," Qian Renxue continued. "I personally watched his spar with Yu Tianheng. If it were not for Martial Soul Evolution, there is absolutely no way he could have reached that level of strength. Furthermore, it would not explain the other changes in him."

"Indeed. The time was too short, yet the changes were too great." Ning Fengzhi nodded slightly.

Qian Renxue nodded as well, then continued, "Teacher, since that child encountered such a wondrous object by chance in those mountains, there may be others hidden there. Although the possibility is slim, why not try? If we discover another one, it may prove useful."

Hearing this, Ning Fengzhi turned to Sword Douluo at his side. "Uncle Chen, make the arrangements."

"Alright." Sword Douluo nodded and left directly.

Only then did Ning Fengzhi turn back to Qian Renxue, smiling. "Qing He, congratulations."

"A Level 31 defeating a Level 39, and Yu Tianheng at that. Such a Heaven's Chosen chose to join Heaven Dou Royal Academy of his own accord. For you, that is certainly excellent news."

"Perhaps we should thank Spirit Hall as well." Qian Renxue smiled faintly.

"Oh?" Ning Fengzhi looked surprised. "Could that child have some connection to Spirit Hall?"

"Possibly." Qian Renxue nodded. "When that child spoke about the origin of his First Soul Ring, I could vaguely hear dissatisfaction with Spirit Hall in his tone. As for his Second Soul Ring, he obtained it by taking the risk of hunting it alone. That inevitably led me to make certain associations."

"Perhaps he asked people from Spirit Hall to help him hunt his First Soul Ring, but someone handled the matter carelessly."

As she spoke, she leaned slightly forward. "I made this guess because of the special nature of his Martial Soul."

"That child's Martial Soul is Mutated Blue Silver Grass, and it is a harmful mutation containing conflicting energies. According to him, he needs to continuously add plant-type Soul Rings to increase his vitality in order to suppress its flaw. Therefore, the quality of the Soul Rings he adds is especially important."

"I have already sent people to investigate his background. Perhaps we will soon have an answer as to what connection he truly has with Spirit Hall."

"If that is truly the case, then Spirit Hall may have missed out on a Heaven's Chosen for nothing." Ning Fengzhi shook his head slightly.

The quality of Soul Rings was directly tied to how effectively they suppressed a Martial Soul Flaw, yet when Yang Yunhai had been at his most difficult point and most in need of help, Spirit Hall had found him a plant-type soul beast of poor quality and low age to hunt. Under such circumstances, it was indeed unlikely that Yang Yunhai would not harbor some resentment.

Now that Yang Yunhai's Martial Soul had evolved and its flaw had been resolved, the difficulty Spirit Hall would face in trying to recruit him again was obvious.

In his view, Spirit Hall had not truly done anything wrong in this matter alone. After all, Yang Yunhai had awakened the universally acknowledged Useless Martial Soul, Blue Silver Grass—and it was even a harmful mutation. With such talent, no faction would have considered him worth cultivating.

The only thing to blame was Yang Yunhai's extraordinary luck. He had actually encountered a rare treasure by chance and, after consuming it, caused his Martial Soul to evolve. Most crucially, the evolved Martial Soul's true combat power was so formidable.

It had been an accident, after all. His true combat power had never been tested and could not be verified. Who could have foreseen it?

Perhaps I can find an opportunity to make contact with him, Ning Fengzhi thought to himself.

A genius Spirit Master with such exceptional talent, one who might even have the potential to become a Titled Douluo, was worth recruiting for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

"By the way, Teacher, where is Junior Rongrong?" Qian Renxue's voice came as Ning Fengzhi was lost in thought.

"Ah." Ning Fengzhi immediately wore the worried expression of an old father. "She snuck off by herself."

"The child's grown up. Hard to manage now."

"Teacher, there's no need to worry. Perhaps she was simply bored staying at home and wanted to go out for some fresh air," Qian Renxue hurriedly reassured him.

The two began making small talk.

Soon, attendants entered through a side door carrying dishes of food.