When Xiao Wu felt Sword Douluo's gaze, her face turned white. She hid behind Tang San, trembling.
She had never expected a Titled Douluo to come here.
Sword Douluo was surprised too.
He knew about the Shrek Seven Devils. They were Ning Rongrong's teammates, after all, so of course he had gathered information on them and kept an eye on them.
He truly hadn't expected that the little girl who obtained the Asura God Inheritance in the future shown by the Heavenly Screen was actually a hundred-thousand-year soul beast in human form.
For a moment, Sword Douluo was at a loss, unsure what to choose.
Capture Xiao Wu? She was someone who would obtain the Asura God Inheritance in the future, and from the looks of it, she was close to Tang San, who obtained the Sea God Inheritance.
Tang San had twin Martial Souls, one of which was the Clear Sky Hammer. He was definitely from the Clear Sky Sect.
The Clear Sky Sect had withdrawn from the world, but that was because Spirit Hall was so powerful, not because it was truly afraid of anyone.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Clear Sky Sect had always been on good terms. If they harmed someone from the Clear Sky Sect, of course the Clear Sky Sect would fight them to the death.
Even killing everyone present would do him no good.
After all, Ning Rongrong's enrollment at Shrek Academy would surely leave traces.
If all of Shrek Academy were wiped out, but the young lady of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect returned home safe and sound, anyone could guess what had happened.
Besides, the Heavenly Screen had shown that Xiao Wu would be chosen by the Asura God as his successor. If Sword Douluo harmed her, wouldn't that be a slap in the Asura God's face?
Who could guarantee that the Asura God really wouldn't dare interfere in the lower realm because of the divine punishment shown by the Heavenly Screen?
But if he didn't capture her...
A hundred-thousand-year soul beast in human form meant a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone.
What hadn't he, Chen Xin, seen in his life? But he really had never seen a living hundred-thousand-year soul beast in human form.
Perhaps, after the Heavenly Screen showed the future divine punishment, the Asura God wouldn't dare interfere in the lower realm.
He was torn.
Sword Douluo stood where he was, his brows furrowed into the shape of the character "川." For a long time, he said nothing.
"Senior Sword Douluo."
A voice broke the silence.
Yu Xiaogang stepped forward.
He was only level 29. Standing before the level 96 Sword Douluo, he was like a blade of grass beside a great tree. But his back was straight, and there wasn't a trace of fear on his face.
"Senior, you've come to take Rongrong back to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. I wouldn't dare stop you." Yu Xiaogang opened with courtesy before turning to the point. "But I have a few words to say. Please hear me out before you leave."
Sword Douluo glanced at him. "Speak."
"Senior, you saw the future shown by the Heavenly Screen as well. Every member of the Shrek Seven Devils except Tang San became a Titled Douluo." Yu Xiaogang spoke steadily and clearly. "Dai Mubai at level 95, Oscar at level 92, Ma Hongjun at level 93, Ning Rongrong at level 94, Zhu Zhuqing at level 93, and Xiao Wu at level 96. Plus Tang San, the level 100 Sea God."
He paused and looked Sword Douluo in the eye. "May I ask, Senior, given their current talent, do you think they could possibly cultivate to that level by that point in the future?"
Sword Douluo fell silent for a moment, then shook his head. "Impossible."
"I thought so too." Yu Xiaogang nodded. "Rongrong's Martial Soul is the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. In the thousand-year history of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, no one has ever surpassed the Soul Saint level. That isn't a question of talent, but a limitation of the Martial Soul itself. Yet Rongrong is a level 94 Titled Douluo in the future."
He stressed his next words. "What does that tell us? It tells us that Rongrong must have obtained some kind of opportunity in the future that allowed her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda to evolve into the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. And she obtained that opportunity while she remained at Shrek Academy, together with these people."
Sword Douluo lifted an eyelid.
"If I may be so bold, Senior, do you think she can still obtain that opportunity if you take her back to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect now?"
"..." Sword Douluo didn't answer immediately.
"If we rashly change our current plans, the future will inevitably change as well. If Rongrong leaves Shrek now, her chance of encountering that opportunity in the future will be gone. She might never break through the Soul Saint level in her entire life, let alone become a level 94 Titled Douluo."
"How many years has the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect waited for a younger member who might break through the limits of their Martial Soul? You know better than I do, Senior."
Sword Douluo's grip tightened on his sword hilt.
Of course he knew.
For a thousand years, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had been trapped before the threshold of the Soul Saint level.
Even someone as exceptionally gifted as Ning Fengzhi had been stuck at level 79. If Rongrong could truly break through her Martial Soul's limits, it would mean far more to the entire Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect than producing a Titled Douluo.
"You have a point."
Sword Douluo finally spoke, his voice low. "But have you considered that the Heavenly Screen has already exposed Rongrong's future? The entire continent now knows her Martial Soul will evolve, and someone will surely discover that she's at Shrek Academy. Can Shrek protect her?"
Yu Xiaogang fell silent at that.
He opened his mouth, but no words came out.
"If Rongrong stays at Shrek Academy, who will be responsible for her safety?" Sword Douluo pressed.
Yu Xiaogang's face turned pale.
Flender stood to one side, his lips moving, but in the end he said nothing. He knew his own limits. As a mere Soul Saint, he truly couldn't protect her against a Titled Douluo.
"Grandpa Sword!"
Ning Rongrong's voice suddenly rang out from behind them.
At some point, she had finished packing. She held a small bundle in her arms, and her eyes were red.
"I'm not leaving."
Sword Douluo turned to look at her.
"I'm not leaving," Ning Rongrong repeated. Her voice was thick with tears, but firm. "The Heavenly Screen said I'd be a level 94 Titled Douluo in the future, together with the other members of the Shrek Seven Devils. If I leave now, the future will change. I might never break through the Soul Saint level in my whole life. I might never evolve my Martial Soul into the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda."
"Grandpa Sword, you saw it too. I'll be so strong in the future. Don't you want to see me become the first Titled Douluo in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's thousand-year history?"
Ning Rongrong's gaze was full of determination.
It would have been one thing if she hadn't known it was possible, but now that she knew her Martial Soul might evolve, she absolutely didn't want to give it up.
Sword Douluo looked at her in silence.
Then he shook his head firmly. "Rongrong, you're too naive. Leaving everything else aside, do you think Spirit Hall alone would tolerate letting geniuses like you, who will stand against it in the future, grow up in peace?"
When the Shrek Seven Devils heard Sword Douluo say that, their faces all turned white.
None of them were fools. They instantly understood that what Sword Douluo described was bound to happen.
So their earlier idea of cultivating according to their original plans was a joke.
Yu Xiaogang looked the worst of all. He wanted to argue, but didn't know how.
Because he knew himself that what he had said before was nothing more than wishful thinking.
What Sword Douluo said was what was most likely to happen.
His only source of confidence was his belief that Bibi Dong might spare them for his sake.
Before Yu Xiaogang could speak, Sword Douluo continued.
"Impossible. At the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the sect can still protect you. Here, what can you rely on to guarantee your safety?"
"Grandpa Sword could protect you here, but if I leave, what will happen to the sect?"
"Rongrong, it's not that your father and the rest of us won't agree. It's that reality won't allow it!"
"Besides, among your Shrek Seven Devils, there's one unusual existence."
When Sword Douluo finished, he turned his gaze to Xiao Wu.
"Little girl!"
"You're a hundred-thousand-year soft bone rabbit who took human form, aren't you?"