Heaven Dou City, First Meeting with Ning Fengzhi

And so, eating in the wind and sleeping beneath the open sky, their journey proceeded steadily. After a full month, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's convoy finally reached its destination, Heaven Dou City, safely despite a few scares.

In the distance, the outline of towering city walls slowly emerged at the end of the horizon. Crowds thronged the city gate, with incoming and outgoing carriages and riders forming two long dragons on either side of the gateway. Vendors and pedestrians threaded through the gaps, and among them were no few experts at the Soul Ancestor and Soul King levels.

Su Lin lifted the carriage curtain and gazed into the distance. At a glance, he spotted the familiar figure of Grant standing just inside the city gate. Beside him stood a middle-aged man in plain white robes, his face as fine as polished jade and his bearing gentle and refined. The two were talking with their heads turned toward each other. Grant said something, and the middle-aged man smiled faintly and nodded, his manner composed and natural.

"Who's that?" Xiao Wu also leaned over to the carriage window for a look, then turned toward Sean, who was riding alongside them, and could not resist asking curiously, "He seems so distinguished."

Sean narrowed his eyes and studied the man for a good while before shaking his head blankly. "I don't know either. I've never seen anyone like him around Lord Grant before. Maybe he's a friend he met here in Heaven Dou City."

The convoy slowly decelerated in the open space outside the city gate. Ning Cheng quickly stepped out of a carriage on the other side and, ahead of everyone else, approached the white-robed middle-aged man. He bowed, his tone deeply respectful. "Sect Master."

The white-robed man nodded slightly, reached out, and gently patted Ning Cheng's shoulder twice. "Well done. The sect won't forget your contributions," he said encouragingly.

Ning Cheng straightened and pressed a clenched fist against his chest, the fervor in his eyes almost spilling over. "Everything for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."

"He's actually Ning Fengzhi, Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?!" Sean's pupils abruptly widened. He hurried over to Grant and lowered his voice. "Lord Grant, when did you become acquainted with such an important figure?"

Grant chuckled, his gaze passing over Sean to settle on Su Lin, his voice carrying undisguised pride. "That wasn't my doing."

Before his words had faded, Ning Fengzhi had already strolled over to Su Lin. His gaze first swept naturally over Pikachu in Xiao Wu's arms before he spoke gently. "You must be young Brother Su Lin. I am Ning Fengzhi, Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. A Cheng has already told me what happened earlier. Thank you for saving him and the others."

"It was what I ought to do," Su Lin said, his expression unchanged. "I was saving myself too."

"Regardless, protecting an entire carriage of people from Soul King Shi Kusou was a genuine life-saving kindness. As Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, I must offer this token of gratitude."

Ning Fengzhi raised his hand with a light wave, and an attendant behind him immediately stepped forward, presenting an exquisite sandalwood box in both hands.

The wooden box opened, revealing a gilded card lying quietly inside, engraved with the design of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda and gleaming with an elegant luster.

"This is our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's gilded VIP card." Ning Fengzhi took the card from the box and offered it to Su Lin, explaining, "With this card, you'll not only have a monthly spending allowance of one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, but you'll also have free access to all businesses under the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. If you encounter trouble, you can use it to seek the sect's help."

"Isn't this far too valuable?!" At these words, not only did Grant's brow twitch involuntarily, but even Su Lin, who had already prepared himself mentally, could not help swallowing.

This kind of sugar-coated shell really is tempting!

"Compared with the lives of our sect's disciples, worldly things like gold and silver are nothing worth mentioning." Ning Fengzhi waved a hand generously, his expression open.

"In that case, I'll accept it." Already intent on finding shelter beneath the towering tree that was the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Su Lin naturally would not make a show of refusing. He immediately thanked Ning Fengzhi and accepted the gilded VIP card, then raised a hand to tuck it safely into the storage Soul Tool Ring hanging around his neck.

"You deserve it." Ning Fengzhi smiled and nodded, but he was not finished. He then turned, his gaze settling on Xiao Wu, who was holding Pikachu.

He first nodded politely to Xiao Wu, then bent down to meet the eyes of Pikachu in her arms, a measure of appreciation in his gaze. "This must be the Soul Beast A Cheng mentioned? What a perceptive little fellow."

"Cheep, cheep, cheep!" Pikachu blinked his big, round eyes and wagged his tail smugly.

Ning Fengzhi smiled, took a wooden box the size of an adult's fist from another attendant behind him, and held it out before Pikachu. "This is a gift for you."

Pikachu looked down at the box, scratched his head with a tiny hand, then looked up at Su Lin with some hesitation.

"Since it's a kind gesture from Sect Master Ning, go ahead and accept it," Su Lin said.

He had already accepted the VIP card anyway; one more wooden box would make little difference.

Only then did Pikachu happily stretch out both forepaws and take the wooden box into his arms.

"I won't delay young Brother Su's enrollment any further. Dean Grant, until we meet again."

Having handed out all the gifts, Ning Fengzhi was in an excellent mood and nodded to Grant beside him.

When it came to geniuses, especially those with minds of their own, he had always held to the principle that even if he could not befriend them, he absolutely must not make enemies of them. Thus, he had no intention of asking Su Lin whether he wanted to join the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect in front of so many people. After all, doing so might smack of coercion and could give rise to a rift in the future.

What he wanted was one of their own who sincerely wished to join the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and was willing to contribute to its future.

Recruitment could be pursued slowly; there was no need to rush.

"Please, as you wish." Grant bowed slightly. Although this Sect Master Ning had made him feel as though he were basking in a spring breeze throughout their meeting, Grant himself knew that this was not because they truly shared common ground, but because the gulf between them was simply too vast.

Ning Fengzhi nodded, then turned and walked toward a carriage parked by the roadside.

Unlike the luxury and distinctive styles ordinary nobles pursued, Ning Fengzhi's carriage was exceedingly plain. Its sole distinction was that its driver was a Soul King-level expert.

Watching the carriage disappear into the distance, Grant let out a long breath, his shoulders relaxing considerably. Only then did he turn toward Su Lin and Xiao Wu, the familiar, natural smile returning to his face. "Come on, let's head into the city too. I'll get you settled in today, then take you to the academy to register tomorrow."

"All right." Su Lin and Xiao Wu nodded together, followed Grant into the carriage, and headed toward their new lodgings in Heaven Dou City.

Inside the carriage, Xiao Wu eagerly opened the wooden box in Pikachu's paws. A layer of fine, light-brown velvet lined the interior, and in the very center of the velvet lay a plant of an unusual color.