Parting Ways

After Qian Xunling drew away all the Blue Silver Emperor's roots and stems, Gu Rong and the others had an unobstructed path through the forest and soon escaped.

By then, they had been waiting for Qian Xunling on a road not far from the forest for over half an hour. Ning Fengzhi wanted to offer Bibi Dong a few words of comfort, but he didn't know where to begin.

Gu Rong sighed. "Young lady, even I couldn't have survived such a dense assault of Blue Silver Grass. I'm afraid your martial uncle has little chance of survival."

"No!" Bibi Dong's voice was shrill as she glared at Gu Rong. "Martial uncle is very strong. Nothing will happen to him!"

Gu Rong froze and fell silent.

Ning Fengzhi shook his head at Gu Rong and said quietly, "Uncle Gu, let's wait a little longer. Perhaps the Golden Martial Immortal really can escape."

After snapping at Gu Rong, Bibi Dong stared at the forest's edge with reddened eyes. Then a slender figure slowly emerged, and her eyes widened. She immediately ran over. "Martial uncle!"

Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong looked over.

It really was Qian Xunling.

The two hurried after her.

Seeing Bibi Dong run toward him, Qian Xunling raised a hand and pressed it against her head. "Don't wipe your snot on my clothes," he said with disgust.

"I don't have any snot." Bibi Dong looked at Qian Xunling reproachfully and wiped away both her tears and her snot. His expression grew even more disgusted, and she flushed with embarrassment and indignation. "Martial uncle, you're so mean."

But all she dared do was grip Qian Xunling's hand tightly.

She didn't dare do anything else.

Qian Xunling looked at Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong, his gaze lingering on Gu Rong. He sneered. "Old man, did you think I wouldn't make it out?"

Gu Rong might have flown into a rage when they first met, but after what had just happened, he had gained some patience with Qian Xunling. He snorted. "I did."

Ning Fengzhi was somewhat pleased to see the change in the two men.

"I'm glad you made it out. To be honest, you really surprised me. I didn't know you had such footwork, Golden Martial Immortal. Your speed could rival that of an agility-type Soul Master," Ning Fengzhi said in praise.

"It's not footwork. My legs are just that strong," Qian Xunling replied. He looked at Gu Rong and shook his head. "Old man, you really are something. You had such a fine Bone Dragon Martial Soul, yet you made it a defense type. I really don't know what you were thinking."

"What do you mean by that?" Gu Rong said angrily.

This was experience passed down through his clan.

Qian Xunling waved a hand. "Your Bone Dragon Martial Soul can both attack and defend, and it possesses a special spatial attribute. Its bones can also extend and retract at will. Clearly, you should have followed the attack-type path, or at the very least, the sneak-attack path.

"But you had to choose the defense type, wasting that rare spatial attribute. I really wonder if your brain was waterlogged when you chose your path."

Gu Rong clenched his fists, though he sounded somewhat unsure of himself. "That's not true. Only as a defense type can the Bone Dragon Martial Soul bring all its abilities into play. Otherwise, no matter how many bones it has, they'd be useless."

"Idiot." Qian Xunling was speechless. "Is a Martial Soul's strength measured by quantity? Look at all those Blue Silver Emperor roots that attacked just now. Didn't they still fail to do me much harm? Can you claim your bones outnumber those Blue Silver Emperor roots?"

Gu Rong opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word.

Qian Xunling didn't let him off. He continued, "Besides, your bones can shrink and grow. If you'd followed the power-attack path, you could have compressed them into a small suit of Bone Dragon armor. Add your spatial attribute, and who at the same level could still beat you? Even the Clear Sky Hammer and the Seven Kill Sword would be desperate to avoid you."

Qian Xunling kept shaking his head. "If you have descendants, I really hope they don't follow your way of thinking in their cultivation. It pains me to see it. I'm not telling you all this because we're so close. I just think it's a shame to waste such a fine Martial Soul."

"Immortal, some things aren't Uncle Gu's to decide," Ning Fengzhi said quietly to Qian Xunling, a hint of entreaty in his voice.

Gu Rong had lived and cultivated for so long.

Of course, he had grown increasingly aware of the state of his own Martial Soul.

He always felt as though something was restraining the Bone Dragon, keeping it from fully displaying its abilities.

Now that Qian Xunling had pointed it out, Gu Rong found it hard to accept.

Qian Xunling shrugged. "Fortunately, you still have your last Soul Ring slot open, so you can still make some changes. Count yourself lucky, old man."

Gu Rong came back to his senses. That was right-he still had his last Soul Ring.

He looked at Qian Xunling. Though he was reluctant to admit it, he had indeed taken Qian Xunling's words to heart. Gu Rong spoke. "Thank you for your guidance."

"Don't mention it. The final choice is still yours to make. I was only guessing." Qian Xunling paid Gu Rong no further attention and looked at Ning Fengzhi instead. "Where are we going now?"

The carriage was gone.

Gu Rong spoke up. "Fengzhi, how about I use my Martial Soul to take everyone back to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect first?"

Ning Fengzhi quickly understood Gu Rong's meaning. "At your speed, Uncle Gu, we can return to the sect in half a day. There are still two days until Xue Ye's coronation. If you want to hunt for a Soul Ring, there's more than enough time. We'll do as you suggest."

When Xue Ye was crowned, the major sects would learn that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect finally had a Titled Douluo, greatly changing the sect's current awkward situation.

Ning Fengzhi looked at Qian Xunling. "Immortal, what do the two of you think?"

"No," Qian Xunling replied. "Let's part ways here."

Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong were surprised. They hadn't expected Qian Xunling to refuse.

They wanted to say something more.

But Qian Xunling raised a hand and waved them off. "I'm used to being free and unrestrained. I'd feel uncomfortable at your sect. Besides, I'm not easy to get along with, and I don't want to end up angering your father and a bunch of old men to death."

"Come on, Little Spider."

Bibi Dong was surprised too, but this was the martial uncle she knew. He had even escaped from Spirit Hall, so how could he possibly go and stay at another sect?

For her now, being by her martial uncle's side was the happiest thing. She hurried after him. "Wait for me, martial uncle."

They watched the adult and the child walk farther and farther away.

Gu Rong and Ning Fengzhi no longer tried to stop them. Each had his own aspirations.

Ning Fengzhi tossed a token to Qian Xunling, however. Qian Xunling turned and caught it, then looked at him. Ning Fengzhi smiled. "Immortal, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has a residence in Heaven Dou City. If you arrive first, please be sure to wait for us there."

Qian Xunling waved to show he understood.

Only after they had gone far away did Gu Rong speak, sounding a little regretful. "What a shame. I wanted to see if we could get them to join your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect too, Fengzhi. I can't see through that boy's Soul Power, but I can tell he's at least at the Soul Emperor level."

"A Soul Emperor that young, plus that little girl-if those two geniuses were carefully nurtured, they could definitely bring a sect back to prominence within twenty years."

Ning Fengzhi was silent for a moment, then nodded. "It is a bit of a shame. But he doesn't seem like the kind of person who would join a sect."

"Then where on earth did those two come from? Surely they didn't just appear out of thin air in some little village, both of them at once?" Gu Rong asked, puzzled. He looked at Ning Fengzhi. "Should we investigate?"

Ning Fengzhi shook his head. "No."

"If they really did come from some sect, one that would let two geniuses like them travel the world is definitely not one we can afford to offend. We can only befriend them, not make enemies of them. I have a feeling the continent may soon undergo a great upheaval."