The meeting did not have much agenda; it was mainly just a brief arrangement for what came next.
The primary purpose was to meet face-to-face with a certain extraordinarily powerful young sect master. There were still no detailed plans for launching an offensive into the Far North.
Moreover, even if they managed to take it down, they had no idea how to seal the passage afterward.
The most important point was that the existence known as the Abyss Holy Lord could remotely control the Sea God's Trident to launch attacks.
The closer one got to the range of Wind and Snow Valley, the stronger the power of the Abyss Holy Lord's attacks using the Sea God's Trident became.
That was exactly how Xue Di had been injured.
Therefore, for the time being, they could only maintain the current stalemate.
Ning Rongrong offered no comments on these matters for now. She at least wanted to meet Xue Di once, see what her thoughts were, and then consider other things. Besides, the strength of the Abyss Holy Lord was truly terrifying.
A first-level god and the ruler of the Abyss—this was not the Qian Renxue from the original story, who could be injured by hidden weapons and lacked combat experience even after becoming a god.
No amount of caution could be considered excessive.
After the meeting ended.
Ning Rongrong sought out Ning Fengzhi first. As it happened, the sect master also had many things he wanted to say to his daughter. With so many people around earlier, it had not been convenient to discuss them.
In the room, there were only father and daughter. Even Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo had left.
After all, this was a reunion between father and daughter—having two third wheels present would be awkward. If someone could still assassinate Ning Fengzhi under such circumstances, then Ning Rongrong would have to stage a rebellion against her own father.
"Rongrong, what exactly is your current level of strength like?" Ning Fengzhi asked curiously.
"Equivalent to a second-level god in the Divine Realm—roughly on the level of Hypnos."
Ning Rongrong sat down on the chair beside Ning Fengzhi, casually picked up an orange from the table, and began peeling it unhurriedly while replying in a somewhat absentminded tone.
"Hiss—" Ning Fengzhi sucked in a breath of cold air, instantly becoming fully alert. "You mean Hypnos, above Rank 120?"
"Mm, more or less!" Ning Rongrong handed over the half-peeled orange to Ning Fengzhi. He seemed not to notice, so Ning Rongrong shrugged and popped both halves of the orange into her own mouth.
"Once Kurumi wakes up, aside from the Divine Realm, nothing will be able to threaten me anymore."
"Dark… Tokisaki Kurumi has gone back into slumber again?" Ning Fengzhi immediately understood what Ning Rongrong meant: even without borrowing fusion or other special techniques, she could already unleash the power of a second-level god.
"She's cultivating. Our cultivation methods differ greatly. She's currently figuring out how to make hers compatible with her side, while mine is already more or less complete."
"Uh… so that's how it is."
Ning Fengzhi blinked, not really understanding.
But one thing was certain—my daughter Ning Rongrong has the potential to become a great emperor.
And I, Ning Fengzhi, am the father of a great emperor.
Doesn't that sound even more impressive and exciting!
Fortunately, Ning Rongrong had no idea what wild fantasies her father was indulging in. Otherwise, she might have smashed a fist the size of a wok down on him, turning the sect master who liked cat girls into a whimpering mess.
"What exactly happened with Xue Di?"
"And what about the soul beasts in the Far North? Did they all perish?"
Ning Rongrong asked two questions in quick succession.
"Xue Di, huh…" Hearing Ning Rongrong's inquiry, Ning Fengzhi let out a long sigh.
"Half a year ago, Xue Di and Bing Di came to the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect once. It was right around the time the seal was about to be lifted. They said they were looking for you."
"But I told them you were in seclusion. Then I mentioned the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King, and she probably went there!"
"Mm, the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King did mention it," Ning Rongrong nodded. "But Xue Di never came to the deep sea to find me, and at that time, I was also in the middle of cultivating."
At first, she had estimated that two years would be enough.
She hadn't expected the energy of the Mother of Crimson to be so overbearing. It took a lot of time to refine, and she still had to stabilize her realm. As expected of an existence half a step into god-king level.
"I see…"
Ning Fengzhi did not press further regarding Ning Rongrong's answer.
"Not long after that, an extremely terrifying battle broke out in the Far North."
"The outcome is unclear, but creatures from the Abyss plane appeared." Ning Fengzhi sighed.
"From my speculation, Xue Di probably lost. Afterward, it was Bing Di who came to find me."
"And also the Empress of the Heaven Dou Empire, Qian Renxue. She hoped that the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and Spirit Hall would join forces to block the Abyss creatures within the Far North, and the Star Dou Great Forest would also participate in the war."
"Thus, the border at Tian Shui City became a defensive line formed by the three parties. As for where the large numbers of soul beasts in the Far North went, I have no idea. No beast tide appeared in the Far North at that time either."
Ning Fengzhi paused briefly before continuing:
"However, when Bing Di came the second time, she showed no dissatisfaction toward us, nor any resentment over your delayed emergence from seclusion."
"Perhaps Xue Di had made preparations for retreat before the battle, so the losses in the Far North were not great. I don't know the specifics."
"You were in seclusion, so I didn't feel right asking about such things. After all, Rongrong, you were the one who broke the agreement."
"I see." Ning Rongrong nodded thoughtfully.
Indeed, what she had thought could be accomplished in two years had not happened even when the time came.
Xue Di had even gone all the way to the Demonic Whale Sea, yet she did not directly block the door. That was already giving Ning Rongrong face.
"By the way, what's the deal with the Heaven Dou Empress?" Qian Renxue returning from the Dragon Valley did not surprise Ning Rongrong too much—Qian Daoliu had come back, so Qian Renxue returning as well was normal.
But Qian Renxue had succeeded in usurping the throne so smoothly that she didn't even bother with a disguise—she just went straight for it?
"It's related to Xue Beng's rebellion and coup attempt a year ago. At that time, the Star Luo Empire was also involved…"
Ning Fengzhi detailed everything: Xue Beng's coup, Tang San's schemes, Dugu Bo vomiting blood and falling unconscious, and so on.
Ning Rongrong fell into a long silence.
In just two and a half years, more had happened than in all her previous years combined. She had only gone into a short seclusion—she hadn't switched to an entirely different world.
Dugu Yan at Rank 95, Qian Renxue at Rank 98, and Qian Daoliu who had reached the Divine Origin realm.
Outrageous. Truly outrageous.
Qian Renxue and Dugu Yan had plotted together and slain Tang Chen, the invincible land powerhouse. Qian Renxue had carried Tang Chen's head, declaring vengeance for Xue Qinghe.
And she had done so in the name of Xue Qinghe's last will, as well as claiming to be Xue Qinghe's wife.
Wife?
When Ning Fengzhi mentioned Xue Qinghe's wife, Ning Rongrong's mouth twitched.
"A Rank 98 Title Douluo who doesn't even want to keep any dignity anymore?"
Xue Qinghe's spirit in the heavens would surely be grateful to you, Qian Renxue.
The real Xue Qinghe, dead for who knows how many years, somehow had a wife he had never met—a peak Rank 98 Title Douluo, and a virgin to boot. Truly impressive!
After Xue Beng's catastrophic downfall, the Heaven Dou Empire basically had no significant opposition left. It had been thoroughly infiltrated.
Plus, with a Rank 98 Title Douluo like Qian Renxue endorsing Xue Qinghe, who would dare say she was lying? Would a Title Douluo really throw away all face?
Thus, the sincere love between Qian Renxue and Xue Qinghe moved heaven and earth.
The Heaven Dou Empire and Spirit Hall formed a powerful alliance.
Xue Ke acknowledged Qian Renxue as her sister-in-law, accepting her inheritance of her late brother's will, and abdicated the throne to her.
Qian Renxue ascended to the throne of Heaven Dou, and Spirit Hall officially took control of Heaven Dou.
Xue Ke was also taken as a disciple by Qian Daoliu, both to pacify the Heaven Dou nobles and to make her the only disciple on the Douluo Continent with two Limit Douluo teachers.
As for Bi Ji's identity as a soul beast of the Star Dou Great Forest, any sensible person would never bring it up.
The relationship between Spirit Hall, Qian Renxue, and the Star Dou Great Forest had basically been laid out in the open.
Of course, this "open" did not include the Silver Dragon King.
Afterward, Qian Renxue had planned to prepare an offensive against the Star Luo Empire to unify the Douluo Continent.
The pretext was avenging Xue Qinghe and launching a self-defensive counterattack against the Star Luo Empire's repeated provocations.
If not for the Abyss plane's invasion, Qian Renxue would probably have already taken action.
Truly, coming at the right time is better than coming early.
It had forcibly interrupted Qian Renxue and Spirit Hall's grand plan, causing their enterprise to collapse halfway.
"Outrageous. This is truly too outrageous."
Ning Rongrong's mind raced as she sorted out the sequence of events over the past two-plus years. She felt as if heavenly lightning had struck her—truly hard to hold back.
(End of chapter)