Nightfall.
The first day of the Continental Elite Soul Master Tournament had turned Heaven Dou City into a bustling spectacle.
Everywhere, carriages and crowds filled the streets, the air alive with noise and excitement.
However, compared to all this…
Within a hotel under the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan's ownership, Ning Fengzhi, the Sword Douluo, and the Bone Douluo had sought out Ning Rongrong and Dugu Yan.
Primarily, they were looking for Ning Rongrong.
"The man beside Xue Qinghe—is he really the 500,000-year-old Specter Eye Demon Tree, Ten Thousand Demon King, from the Star Dou Great Forest?"
Ning Fengzhi's expression was grave. Given the gravity of the matter, they had deliberately excluded everyone except Ning Rongrong and Dugu Yan from the discussion.
"Among beings comparable to Limit Douluo, there are only a handful, and the Star Dou Great Forest has the highest concentration. It must be him." Ning Rongrong flipped through the tournament registration booklet in her hands.
"Speaking of which, have you noticed the Blazing Wind Academy on the registration list?"
"What's special about that academy?" Ning Fengzhi asked, puzzled.
While the team registration booklet was confidential to most, it wasn't difficult for Ning Rongrong to obtain.
Ning Fengzhi pulling strings for her wasn't unusual—it wasn't some top-secret matter. Anyone with connections could request a copy from the officials.
"Princess Xue Ke—do you remember her?"
"Xue Ke?" Ning Fengzhi's voice carried surprise. "What about her? I recall Xue Qinghe mentioning not long ago that she had gone missing, though there were rumors of sightings in the Balak Kingdom."
"I'm not sure about her disappearance, but there's a participant named Xue Ke in the Blazing Wind Academy."
Only two matches had been held today. The first was a ceremonial exhibition, but the match involving the Glazed Academy ended too quickly, disappointing the audience and leading to the second match—Shrek Academy versus the Elephant Armored Academy.
Ning Fengzhi had been busy overseeing the event arrangements and likely hadn't had time to watch.
She handed the registration booklet to Ning Fengzhi, who took it with a skeptical expression.
"Blazing Wind Academy—look at the names of the students and the instructor."
"Hmm…" Following Ning Rongrong's prompting, Ning Fengzhi and the two Title Douluo located the Blazing Wind Academy's roster near the bottom of the list. It would've been easy to miss if they hadn't paid attention.
With hundreds of participating teams, finding it wasn't simple.
"Xue Ke… Princess Xue Ke?"
Seeing the name on the registration form, Ning Fengzhi fell into thought.
"Fengzhi, Fengzhi!" The Sword Douluo tugged at Ning Fengzhi's sleeve. "Look at the instructor."
"Huh?"
Ning Fengzhi was stunned and instinctively glanced at the slightly smaller name listed under the team's staff.
"Bi… Bi Ji?"
His hand holding the booklet trembled slightly.
"It might really be her. I only noticed earlier." Ning Rongrong sighed. "Tomorrow, the Glazed Academy has a match against the Blazing Wind Academy. We'll see what the instructor looks like then. And Xue Ke…"
Not long ago, when they had visited the severely injured and unconscious Xue Ke, she had been below level 30—barely in her twenties in terms of cultivation. So how had she gotten into the Blazing Wind Academy?
Because of this, Ning Rongrong couldn't be entirely sure this was the same Xue Ke.
After all, Xue Ke was a year younger than Tang San.
And with her being in her twenties in terms of cultivation—how could a Great Soul Master qualify as a main or reserve team member?
The Blazing Wind Academy was formed from the merger of the Divine Wind Academy and the Blazing Fire Academy. While not every member was a Soul Ancestor, they should at least have Soul Elders close to breaking through.
Since only two matches had been held today, Ning Rongrong had only glanced at the Blazing Wind Academy's roster in the afternoon after recalling their member, Wu Shuang, who had wielded the Millennium Titan Giant Ape spirit bone.
But what she saw had shocked her.
The registration booklet didn't list the participants' ranks or spirit types, but it did have their names.
Bi Ji and Xue Ke—two names appearing in the same academy felt… off.
The butterfly effect was a normal phenomenon, but for these two names to come together like this was almost too normal.
"Rongrong, do you have a match tomorrow?" Ning Fengzhi asked.
"One in the afternoon—against the Blazing Wind Academy." Ning Rongrong paused before continuing solemnly, "Father, there's something I hope you'll agree to."
"Why so formal all of a sudden?" Ning Fengzhi wasn't used to her tone.
"If we confirm tomorrow that the Blazing Wind Academy's instructor is Bi Ji, then…"
"The Star Dou Great Forest and the Spirit Hall will likely do something earth-shattering at some point during this tournament."
"We need to prepare early."
"Rongrong, isn't that too pessimistic?" Ning Fengzhi understood that if the Star Dou Great Forest and the Spirit Hall joined forces, they'd be practically invincible. But could these two factions truly cooperate wholeheartedly?
"I need to restore Kurumi as quickly as possible. That way, we'll have more cards to play." Ning Rongrong hesitated again. "But conventional methods won't work in such a short time."
"Stop beating around the bush." The Bone Douluo sighed. "Rongrong, just say what's on your mind. Do you not even trust us?"
"No, it's not that. It's just…"
"To restore Kurumi, she needs a massive amount of time as replenishment."
"Replenishing… time?" The three men exchanged glances.
"To put it simply, if Tang San's spirit could absorb others' life force, then what I need to restore Kurumi quickly is to extract time from living beings."
After a moment of contemplation, Ning Rongrong said, "I want the locations of all death row prisoners in the Heaven Dou Empire."
"Rongrong, you…"
Ning Fengzhi's eyes widened as if he had realized why she had been so hesitant.
"Yes. I plan to execute the plan after tomorrow's match."
"Rongrong, how… how many people would have to die for this?" Dugu Yan couldn't help but ask.
"I don't know. But this is necessary." Ning Rongrong's voice was firm.
"If we confirm tomorrow that the Blazing Wind Academy's instructor is the 570,000-year-old Emerald Swan, Bi Ji, then…"
"I want Kurumi fully recovered before the tournament ends."
"Otherwise, our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan might be in trouble."
If the Spirit Hall and the Star Dou Great Forest joined forces, the latter had already provided two Limit Douluo.
And they might even be fully obeying Qian Renxue—like Ten Thousand Demon King, who had stopped Tang Xiao and Hu Yan Zhen earlier that day.
Getting these proud soul beasts to lower their heads like this was something even the Beast God, Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King Di Tian, couldn't achieve—at least not to this degree of obedience. The only one who could command them like this was likely the Silver Dragon King herself.
In recent years, the Star Dou Great Forest's high-ranking members had been making frequent appearances. Something major was definitely brewing.
Ning Rongrong didn't know what the Silver Dragon King was plotting.
But it most likely involved the Spirit Hall. For now, she could only prepare for the worst.
However, the Silver Dragon King probably couldn't deploy forces that were too overpowered—after all, the God Realm was actively searching for her.
So, if Kurumi could regain her strength, and if Ning Rongrong herself could reach the peak of the Sovereign level soon…
They might still stand a chance. Otherwise, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan could face serious trouble.
Between the Star Dou Great Forest and the Spirit Hall, they had already revealed four Limit Douluo. Who knew if they would escalate further? It wasn't impossible for the Silver Dragon King to descend in some other form.
This wasn't Douluo Dalu 3: The Legend of the Dragon King. The Silver Dragon King here wasn't the naive, easily manipulated Gu Yuena who had been fooled by Tang San's "Path of Death" nonsense.
No—this was the Silver Dragon King at her peak, a first-grade god.