On the way back, Dugu Bo asked in confusion, "Fengzhi, I get the feeling you're deliberately offending the Heaven Dou Empire?"
Gu Rong nodded in agreement. He also felt that Ning Fengzhi was deliberately planting a thorn in their hearts—making them uncomfortable, but not to the point of outright enmity.
"You're correct. If I'm not mistaken, Emperor Xue Ye's face must be red with anger right now," Ning Fengzhi laughed. "He and Xue Beng are probably plotting to win over another force to balance against our Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. The Clear Sky Sect would be a good choice."
"I deliberately used Qian Renxue's power to force them out of seclusion for this very reason. Though there are now some rifts, that's not a problem—Spirit Hall remains their greatest enemy. Uncle Dugu, Uncle Bone, in the coming years, our Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect may face some pressure. You'll need to restrain your tempers!"
Dugu Bo and Gu Rong looked at each other in confusion. They really couldn't understand Ning Fengzhi's thinking—why would anyone hope for their sect to be suppressed?
"Xiao Tian, since you want to unify the continent, I'll help you. But must the conqueror be Qian Renxue?" Ning Fengzhi didn't answer them but looked towards Seven Treasure Mountain. Everything he did was for Tianlin.
He found it hard to fully trust Spirit Hall or Qian Renxue.
In his view, Tianlin's plan seemed feasible but was ultimately too passive, relying entirely on Qian Renxue's intentions for the continent's future.
If Qian Renxue wanted peace, he'd help her unify the continent. If not, they'd fight to the bitter end. But why should the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect let a woman dictate their path?
In Ning Fengzhi's heart, as the sect's strength continued to grow, they would eventually rival Spirit Hall in the struggle for supremacy. Why fixate on Qian Renxue?
Therefore, he made major changes to Tianlin's original plan—his ambition was far greater, risking the entire Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect: success or death.
Step one: The sect must separate from the Heaven Dou Empire, but not proactively, lest they earn the reputation of betraying an ally. Nor could they simply defect to Spirit Hall—so, for now, they'd remain neutral.
But once continental war broke out, a neutral party could not stand alone—they might even become a target for both sides. Thus, for a while, the sect would have to continue supporting the Heaven Dou Empire, and endure any grievances until the time was right.
This was the resolve and patience Ning Fengzhi spoke of with Tianlin.
Step two: If, in the future, Qian Renxue came to him for cooperation and won his approval as Tianlin did, Ning Fengzhi could set aside his plan and choose Tianlin's path. Otherwise, he would follow his own.
Step three: If it came to this, it would mean things had reached the point of no return. Ning Fengzhi had ways to obtain all the territory, armies, and resources needed for world domination. By then, everything would fall in place for Tianlin.
In making this plan, Ning Fengzhi had been hesitant—the stakes were enormous. But Tianlin's outstanding performance and qualification for the god trial had solidified his resolve.
Now, he'd further improved the plan. Of course, he didn't intend to rely on godly power to succeed—that would cause Tianlin to accumulate too much blood debt.
Decisiveness in killing and senseless slaughter are two different things.
But as long as Tianlin completed the god trial, even if his plan failed, Ning Rongrong and Tianlin would be safe and able to live happily—the combined strength of Spirit Hall and the two empires was no match for a god. This was his little selfish wish as a father.
"Xiao Tian, your surname is Jun, and you're named Tianlin—ruling the world is your destiny. You may say you lack governing skills, but that's not innate. When you said that those in power should give more if they receive more, you already had what it takes to reach the top." Ning Fengzhi gazed into the distance.
…
Back at Seven Treasure Mountain, matters settled down, and the sect resumed its vigorous rebuilding.
During this time, Spirit Hall issued a public statement: the long-standing peace of Douluo Continent must not be broken, and the mysterious forces attacking the two great sects must be tracked down. Spirit Hall hoped the two sects would restrain their anger and not stir up any more trouble.
The hidden message was: although Spirit Hall started trouble this time, nothing much happened to you two. Our losses were great—let's end it here. If you, Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect and Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, continue to press the issue, we'll fight to the death. If the balance is broken, don't think you'll benefit!
Spirit Hall's losses were massive—they needed years to lick their wounds and regain strength. This was exactly what Tianlin needed: time.
He had already broken through to level seventy, progressing at an astonishing rate. The time Spirit Hall needed to recover was enough for him to reach Title Douluo, and he could use this period to complete the god trial and start God plan for Ning Rongrong.
Ning Fengzhi's extreme Plan B was still unknown to him, but he was right about one thing—no matter the plan, strength was key to success.
Two months passed, and the rebuilding of Seven Treasure City was nearly complete. After all, soul masters' daily productivity far exceeded ordinary people.
The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect soon regained its former prosperity. While they rebuilt, the continent appeared calm, but under the surface, waves were surging.
Heaven Dou Empire gathered a large number of blacksmiths—clearly to forge Tang San's hidden weapons. This was the quickest way for Tang San to prove his worth and the first step for him to return to his sect.
While Heaven Dou Empire worked to win over the three upper sects, Spirit Hall targeted the many smaller sects across the continent. This time, they acted quietly, sending the four lower sects to threaten and entice the others.
In the original story, they could hold the Re-selection of the Seven Sects Conference because the three upper sects were either reclusive, destroyed, or severely weakened.
Now, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was unharmed, the Clear Sky Sect had resurfaced, and even without Tang Hao, six Title Douluo had appeared in the recent battle with Heaven Dou Empire. The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect was stronger than ever—though they had fewer Title Douluo than the Clear Sky Sect, the actual combat power of their leader, Chen Xin, was far superior to most.
Faced with these three titans, even if the new upper three sects were selected, it would be a joke.
Still, even without the Seven Sects Re-selection, Spirit Hall wouldn't give up its plan to absorb the smaller sects—if anything, they'd be even more aggressive, since both the Soul-Hunting Operation and Qian Renxue's infiltration plan had failed. This last plan had to succeed.
Spirit Hall couldn't deal with the three upper sects for now, but they could easily handle the smaller powers, even without taking action themselves—the four lower sects could finish the job.
Some couldn't resist, some were tempted by benefits, and countless small sects surrendered to Spirit Hall.
The two empires did nothing in response. Heaven Dou was still recovering from upheaval, and Star Luo, with fewer sects, relied mainly on its military.
Unnoticed, Spirit Hall's control over soul masters surged—while not reaching the level of the original, it certainly exceeded sixty percent of the continent's soul masters.
Bibi Dong might not excel at administration, but her wisdom was formidable. She decisively suspended all plans against the two empires and the upper sects, shifting her focus to the small powers and rogue soul masters the empires ignored.
Once these were gathered, the next targets would be the lesser duchies and kingdoms, many of which already had ambiguous relations with Spirit Hall. In the original, Spirit Empire could field tens of thousands of soul masters and six hundred thousand troops—where did their supplies come from? Certainly not just Spirit Hall's resources, but from these supporting nations.
Regardless of gender, the blackened Bibi Dong might not be a good emperor, but she was a formidable high combatant!
Under such pressure, some unwilling smaller powers sought alternatives, including the four single-attribute clans with a deep hatred for Spirit Hall. Thus, one day, Huanyin and Yu Feng, a married couple, came to visit again.