"Teacher! Grandpa Sword! Uncle Ning!"
The moment Xu Yang saw the three of them, he called out excitedly.
"Greetings, Sect Master Ning. Greetings, Sword Douluo, Senior!"
Dugu Yan and the others quickly bowed as well. This was the Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan and a Titled Douluo — not people they could afford to be disrespectful toward.
"There's no need to be so formal. You're all Yang'er's classmates, just call me Uncle Ning!"
Ning Fengzhi stood up with a warm smile, greeting Dugu Yan and the others with genuine warmth, showing none of the usual airs of a clan master.
Unfortunately, Dugu Yan and the others remained stiff in his presence, not daring to speak freely, and simply sat obediently to the side.
"Teacher Qin, I'll be taking Yang'er with me for now. I'll bring him back to the academy in a few days."
Seeing this, Ning Fengzhi smiled helplessly and turned to Qin Ming.
"As you wish," Qin Ming replied.
"Yang'er, let's go."
"Okay!"
Xu Yang quickly bid farewell to Dugu Yan and the others and followed Ning Fengzhi out.
The moon was high, the stars sparse. A gentle night breeze carried a cool chill.
As they walked the road from Heaven Dou City toward the Seven Treasure Hotel, Xu Yang glanced at Ning Fengzhi and Ning Haiyan, sizing them up. Sensing nothing unusual about them, he quietly asked:
"Teacher, you and Uncle Ning finished hunting soul rings that fast? I thought it would take at least two months!"
"For major powers like ours, soul ring hunting doesn't usually take that long. Except for 100,000-year soul beasts, which are rare and take time to find, we already have intelligence on most soul beasts of lower years. We just search in the right area.
"This time, in the Star Dou Forest, we encountered a 70,000-year Flame Lion King and a 67,000-year Unicorn Armored Beast — both ideal for me and your Uncle Ning," Ning Fengzhi explained with a smile.
"Then Teacher, did your martial soul evolve?" Xu Yang asked, eyes full of anticipation.
"It did. After absorbing the Unicorn Armored Beast's soul ring, the medicinal power of the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid in my body was further activated. I successfully evolved the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda into the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda."
At this point, Ning Fengzhi couldn't suppress the smile at the corners of his mouth.
Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.
Titled Douluo.
Now, he finally had the qualifications to reach for that realm no one in his clan had achieved for hundreds of years — to trace back the origin of his ancestors.
Then, turning to Xu Yang, Ning Fengzhi added with a laugh, "Yang'er, you really surprised me this time. When Qing'er told me your third soul ring was of ten-thousand-year quality, I had my doubts. But after watching your match today, I realized I still underestimated the power of immortal herbs. Your martial soul's transformation, combined with that ten-thousand-year third ring, has taken your Sun Martial Soul to an incredible level. The soul power it unleashed was beyond my expectations."
Thinking of Xu Yang's performance in the arena, and the overwhelming pressure of his Sun Martial Soul, Ning Fengzhi couldn't help but marvel — it was true soul suppression, not merely a result of higher soul power.
"It's nothing. I was just lucky. The soul beast I absorbed happened to have an external soul bone, which evolved my soul ring a bit," Xu Yang replied modestly.
"Alright, enough of that. Besides showing up to support you today, I came to Heaven Dou City for something else too."
By this time, they had arrived at the Seven Treasure Hotel. Once inside the private room reserved for the sect master, Ning Fengzhi sat down and smiled.
"Is it about Senior Dugu?" Xu Yang immediately guessed it.
"That's right — that old monster," Ning Fengzhi nodded. Recalling the intelligence on Dugu Bo, he smiled wryly. "Dugu Bo is a loner. We haven't had much contact with him — just a few brief meetings. From what we know, he's moody and doesn't like strangers. I honestly have no idea what he even likes.
"But you're the only one in the entire sect who's interacted with him. Tell me — how do we win him over? What gift would be appropriate to repay the favor of that immortal herb he gave?"
Xu Yang fell into thought, rubbing his chin.
After a moment, he spoke: "Teacher, don't bother trying to recruit Senior Dugu. He values freedom above all else and hates restrictions. Recruitment is impossible. But the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan can try becoming friends with him — find a way to loosely tie him to the clan through special means.
"As for a gift... since he's a Titled Douluo, he definitely doesn't lack money. The best choice would be a soul bone — though I figure those two poison-type soul bones I gave him last time probably used up the clan's entire stock. The only other things that might work are knowledge — specifically related to medicine, poison, or immortal herbs. And maybe cultivation insights for Titled Douluo — that should interest him."
Xu Yang knew Dugu Bo valued promises deeply. In the original story, he repeatedly helped the Heaven Dou Empire and even protected Prince Xue Beng, all because of Prince Xue Xing's kindness — proving how much he respected emotional bonds.
"Makes sense! That old monster is always on his own. Titled Douluo beyond Rank 90 have to rely on their own exploration. Unlike us major powers."
Ning Fengzhi fell into thought, stroking his chin. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan had an unbroken legacy of Titled Douluo spanning centuries — even Super Douluo over Rank 98. They never lacked training experience.
That kind of cultivation insight would indeed make an excellent gift. As for knowledge on poison and herbs, they could easily copy and compile that.
As long as they could befriend Dugu Bo, it would be more than worth it.
"As for soul bones... we don't have any more poison-attributed ones in stock. But this time, in the Star Dou Forest, we happened to find a soul tool left behind by someone. Inside, there was a 50,000-year-old poison-type right arm bone. It should suit that old monster, right?"
As he spoke, Ning Fengzhi took out a dark green right arm bone from his storage ring. A soft green glow pulsed from it — clearly a rare and priceless treasure.
"Now that's some luck..." Xu Yang was dumbfounded.
"The Star Dou Forest is dangerous beyond measure. Who knows how many soul masters died hunting there — even Soul Douluo and Titled Douluo among them. And since soul beasts don't care for soul tools, if you're lucky, you might stumble upon what others left behind. We found this particular soul tool in the Flame Lion King's cave."
Ning Fengzhi laughed. He hadn't expected such good fortune — to find a relic left behind by a fallen Soul Douluo.
Xu Yang laughed as well. Then, he and Ning Fengzhi began discussing how to tie Dugu Bo to the clan. Mostly, Ning Fengzhi did the talking while Xu Yang listened. Once the idea of a "special method" came up, Ning Fengzhi's imagination ran wild. Some of his ideas even surprised Xu Yang, a modern man — the tricks were downright devious.
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin