The battle had already ended by the time Sword Douluo and Ning Fengzhi arrived at the scene.
The entire area looked as if it had been plowed over by a tiller, with ruins and debris scattered everywhere.
"What exactly happened here?" Ning Fengzhi frowned as he surveyed the scene.
"Fengzhi, be careful. Give me a buff first."
As a 97th-ranked Title Douluo, Chen Xin could clearly sense the terrifying remnants of soul power lingering in the air.
"Understood." Ning Fengzhi nodded, and a beam of light merged into Sword Douluo's body, instantly raising his soul power level to 98.
"Uncle Sword, can you sense anything?"
"The residual soul power of Yu Yuanzhen and Tang Xiao, as well as another presence far surpassing both of them in quality."
"Di Tian?" Ning Fengzhi asked as they walked through the wreckage.
"Probably not." Sword Douluo shook his head. "It wasn't dark-attribute soul power. It was similar to the soul power of the 100,000-year-old Blue Silver Emperor we saw earlier close to the aura of life."
"The quality of the soul power was extremely high 98th rank, possibly even 99th."
"This…"
Cold sweat broke out on Ning Fengzhi's forehead.
"Are they still here?"
"No." Sword Douluo shook his head. "I sensed two soul power signatures leaving earlier. One of them matched this frequency."
Cough cough!
A violent coughing sound came from a pile of rubble.
Sword Douluo tensed and immediately stepped forward, shielding Ning Fengzhi.
The pile of dirt, about half a person's height, trembled slightly.
Crunch
A hand emerged from the debris.
Then, the pile exploded as a powerfully built middle-aged man staggered to his feet, clutching a massive hammer. His soul rings were two yellow, two purple, and five black.
"Patriarch Tang Xiao!" Ning Fengzhi recognized the disheveled man.
The man spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Patriarch Ning and Chen Xin… To have you see me in such a sorry state… Could I trouble you to heal me? I'd be deeply grateful."
Ning Fengzhi nodded. He also wanted to understand what had happened here.
His Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda glowed, casting a gentle light over Tang Xiao, warm as a mother's embrace.
Tang Xiao's pale face gradually regained color as his weakened aura stabilized.
"Patriarch Ning, please heal me as well."
Another figure crawled out from a pile of rubble about ten meters away Yu Yuanzhen, patriarch of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
Yu Yuanzhen looked just as battered, his clothes torn and his hair standing on end as if struck by lightning, covered in mud and dust.
He tried to step forward but stumbled and collapsed.
Only after Ning Fengzhi used the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda to partially heal him did he manage to stand again.
"Honored Title Douluos, could you explain what happened here? I need to report to Xue Qinghe."
With the late Emperor Xue Ye's funeral approaching, Ning Fengzhi was all business.
Hearing this, Tang Xiao and Yu Yuanzhen exchanged glances.
"We overestimated ourselves," Tang Xiao admitted first. "We discovered two 100,000-year soul beasts and tried to drive them out of Heaven Dou City."
"...If those two soul beasts hadn't held back, Brother Yu and I would've died."
"Do you remember what they looked like?" Sword Douluo pressed.
"A woman with green hair and a curvaceous figure. Her strength was immense at least a 98th-ranked Title Douluo. Patriarch Tang and I were both severely injured by her," Yu Yuanzhen sighed.
A green-haired woman?
Ning Fengzhi noted the information. As for 100,000-year soul beasts taking human form, he was aware after surviving a lightning tribulation, they could assume human shape.
And unlike Little Rabbit, their strength wouldn't drop to pitiful levels.
After gathering details about the woman, Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo turned their attention to the black-clothed man beside her. Gradually, Ning Fengzhi's frown deepened.
The descriptions from Tang Xiao and Yu Yuanzhen left him puzzled.
Di Tian didn't look like that.
Did he disguise himself?
But that wasn't impossible. Having been seen before, it made sense to alter his appearance if he wanted to move freely in human society.
A dragon-type soul beast that could pressure Yu Yuanzhen's martial soul, with dark-attribute soul power wasn't that the Gold-Eyed Black Dragon King's signature traits?
Moreover, this hotel seemed to be the same one where Ning Rongrong and Yu Yuanzhen had dined earlier.
Ning Fengzhi pieced together the situation:
One of the soul beasts was likely the Gold-Eyed Black Dragon King, Di Tian.
The other was a female soul beast with healing attributes, capable of reflecting Yu Yuanzhen and Tang Xiao's attacks, and at least a 98th-rank powerhouse.
Her identity eluded Ning Fengzhi for now. He'd have to ask Rongrong later for her account.
Suddenly, Yu Yuanzhen stood up abruptly, as if remembering something.
"Pa Patriarch Ning! Could you help me find Elder Yang? He was also heavily injured when he attacked that soul beast earlier."
Yu Yuanzhen had been dazed by the lightning and only now recalled that he hadn't come alone he had a teammate.
"Yang Wudi?"
Ning Fengzhi nodded, and the four began searching the area for him.
Before long, they found Yang Wudi covered in blood, unconscious, with a gaping hole in his chest that still oozed blood. He had lost too much blood.
"Patriarch Ning, I beg of you." Yu Yuanzhen bowed deeply.
Yang Wudi was a Title Douluo-level expert, a talent he had spent heavily to recruit. If he died here, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan would suffer a massive loss. As a patriarch, he knew when to bend and when to stand firm.
"Patriarch Yu, you honor me too much." Ning Fengzhi accepted the bow and used the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda to heal Yang Wudi.
While the Pagoda's healing couldn't match the Nine Heart Begonia's pure restorative abilities, it could stack buffs first enhancing the target before healing them.
Under Ning Fengzhi's treatment, Yang Wudi remained unconscious, but the wound on his chest began to scab over.
However, Ning Fengzhi's frown deepened as he assessed Yang Wudi's condition.
After a moment, he sighed.
"Emergency treatment is complete. His life is no longer in danger, but further recovery is up to you, Patriarch Yu. We can't fully heal him immediately."
"No, this is enough. I never expected a full recovery anyway."
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda was a support-type martial soul, not a healing one. Saving Yang Wudi's life under these circumstances was already remarkable.
"Patriarch Yu, you should prepare yourself mentally," Ning Fengzhi said solemnly. "Elder Yang may never be able to use soul power again."
"Wh what?" Yu Yuanzhen's eyes widened. "How?!"
"The attack that pierced him shattered all his meridians. Not completely, but using soul power would feel like being devoured by thousands of ants."
"His meridians are also corroded by an extremely dense dark-attribute soul power. I can't purge it."
"This…" Yu Yuanzhen trembled.
He didn't think Ning Fengzhi was lying. The dark-attribute soul power could only belong to one being that black-clothed dragon.
"Damn it! That inherently evil soul beast has destroyed my clan's hope!"
"Patriarch Yu, Patriarch Tang, since the matter is settled, I'll take my leave. I need to report to Xue Qinghe and have him send people to handle this."
Understanding Ning Fengzhi's busy schedule, Yu Yuanzhen and Tang Xiao didn't press him to stay.