Ning Yuan remained silent.
His silence had already given Lin Yi his answer.
"Very good. It seems your Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect can still see the situation clearly."
Lin Yi nodded, quite satisfied.
Ning Yuan stared at him and said in a heavy tone, "What do you mean? Why did you come to my Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect and ask me about the state of the world?"
"Nothing else. I only came to remind you, Sect Master Ning, that when the Sun Moon Empire starts a war in the future, your sect should not interfere rashly, lest something unexpected happen."
"Are you threatening me?" Ning Yuan frowned.
At those words, Lin Yi's expression settled into indifference.
"Would I need to threaten you?"
As he spoke, he stopped concealing his presence as a Peerless Douluo and directed its pressure straight at Ning Yuan.
Ning Yuan's expression changed drastically as he stared fixedly at Lin Yi.
"How is that possible?"
With two swishes, two figures rushed out of the shadows, but they only stopped on either side of Ning Yuan.
They were the current guardian Douluo of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, two Super Douluo.
Even so, they were extremely cautious in the face of Lin Yi.
Their expressions showed just how nervous they were at that moment.
Douluo I.
"That's a Peerless Douluo. Whatever you do, don't let a conflict break out!"
Sweat broke out on Ning Fengzhi's forehead. He seemed to catch a glimpse of his own sect suffering a calamity in the future.
Even if that future had nothing to do with him in the present, he did not want to see such a sight.
As he prayed, Ning Fengzhi looked down at Ning Yuan's feet.
Under the pressure of Lin Yi's Soul Power, Ning Yuan finally released his Martial Soul, and Soul Rings emerged one after another beneath his feet.
Two yellow, two purple, three black!
He had not absorbed Soul Rings above his level, much less possessed the nine Soul Rings of a Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.
Looking at his Martial Soul, there were one, two, three, four, five, six, seven-only seven levels!
It had not evolved!
Ning Fengzhi's expression immediately darkened.
The sect had already changed its name to the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, so a Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul must have appeared.
Yet Ning Yuan, the sect master, did not possess a Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul.
That meant Martial Soul Evolution could not be applied universally.
Ning Fengzhi could not dwell on this for long, because the scene had already changed.
Lin Yi had not clashed directly with Ning Yuan.
After Lin Yi had merely used his Soul Power to intimidate him, Ning Yuan lowered his head.
"The Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect will seal itself off from this day forth!"
It was not merely withdrawing from the world, but sealing the sect outright!
It would take no part whatsoever in the conflicts of the outside world.
And the news that the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect had sealed itself off was no empty claim; it had been acknowledged by the Heavenly Screen.
The Heavenly Screen directly formed the words announcing the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's closure in great golden characters.
Without a doubt, this was still Lin Yi placing a piece on the board.
The difference was that Lin Yi had invested none of his own strength in the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect.
He had neither helped anyone cultivate nor killed anyone.
"Sun Moon's unification is the tide of the times. Your ability to see that clearly may be your Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's good fortune."
A trace of amusement returned to Lin Yi's voice.
"Sun Moon will be unified, but not under the Sun Moon Imperial Family. The continent of the future will not be ruled by a single family or surname. Your Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect is sealing itself off, but when the continent is unified, you will still have a chance to compete for a voice."
He had not completely blocked off the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect.
Instead, he had left it a little room.
After the Sun Moon Federation unified the continent, its resources would certainly be reshuffled and redistributed.
In that process, if the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect truly refrained from interfering and preserved its strength intact, it could receive its due in the great reshuffle afterward.
This was also a form of restraint.
If Ning Yuan changed his mind halfway through and wanted to interfere, he would have to weigh the consequences.
After all, Lin Yi had made it clear to him that the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect stood to gain from the future unification.
If it helped the Douluo Three Kingdoms along the way, even if it prolonged the struggle by a few years, the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect would have to pay a huge price.
Not only would interference come at a price, but the sect might also lose its chance to compete for a voice afterward.
This was the second shackle!
Sure enough, Ning Yuan's expression shifted slightly after hearing Lin Yi's words.
He understood what Lin Yi meant.
His expression changed repeatedly before he let out a long sigh.
"I understand."
Seeing this, Lin Yi took a single step and left the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect.
Watching this, Ning Fengzhi was somewhat disappointed.
He had not gotten to see what he wanted.
Why had the sect changed its name to the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect? How had the successful evolution into a Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda come about?
He had seen none of it.
Nor had he seen Ning Yuan absorb Soul Rings above his level.
Ning Fengzhi had already analyzed many issues.
From the perspective of a Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Soul Master, given that he could only absorb seven Soul Rings in his lifetime, the benefits of absorbing Soul Rings above his level were enormous.
Moreover, if absorbing Soul Rings above his level happened to break some of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul's limits, he might have a chance to ascend to heaven in a single leap and evolve the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul into a Nine Treasure!
Thus, Ning Fengzhi believed that if Ning Yuan, as the master of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, could absorb Soul Rings above his level, he would certainly choose to do so.
Unfortunately, Ning Yuan had not done so.
As the master of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Yuan's circumstances were undoubtedly top-notch in every respect.
He could have whatever resources he wanted.
Then what condition had prevented him from absorbing Soul Rings above his level?
As Ning Fengzhi pondered, he suddenly realized something, and his expression changed drastically.
Comments unfriendly to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had appeared among the bullet comments on the Heavenly Screen.
[Haha, so this is the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect? When disaster strikes, it wisely protects itself!]
[Although this is the right thing to do, but...]
[I wonder what the Heaven Dou Imperial Family will think?]
They seemed to be worried for both sides, but every word struck a sore spot for each of them.
Ning Fengzhi's expression was extremely ugly.
He was no longer in the mood to think about Martial Soul Evolution or absorbing Soul Rings above his level.
Now he had to consider how the sect in his own era should conduct itself.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect of the future could abandon the Douluo Three Kingdoms and choose to let a foreign continent unify the entire continent.
But what about the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect of the present?
If a great upheaval occurred, would the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect choose to support the Heaven Dou Empire unwaveringly?
Perhaps it would.
But the Heavenly Screen had given another answer.
The worst possible answer.
For the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, there was no need to know what choice the current Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would make.
They already had the worst possible answer in their hearts.
And it was a choice the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect had indeed made.
Even though Lin Yi, a Peerless Douluo, had applied pressure, the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect had already been living in seclusion before he came to the sect.
Was there a great difference between living in seclusion and sealing the sect?
Quite a great one, yet not a great one.
It depended on how one understood it.
Meanwhile, Lin Yi of the Douluo II era walked between heaven and earth, his body merging with them in a profoundly mysterious state.
His spiritual power roamed through his body, sensing the changes within him.
"Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. Just the change in the sect's name helped me probe out roughly when in Douluo I it is."