As soon as she said that, Ning Haoyu's expression changed instantly, his composure giving way to excitement. He stood up abruptly and asked, "Miss Jiang, what do you mean by that? Could it be that you have a way to evolve the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda?"
Ever since Ning Rongrong's time ten thousand years ago, not a single soul master with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul had managed to evolve it into the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.
By now, no one even knew how Ning Rongrong herself had accomplished that evolution.
Seeing Ning Haoyu so agitated, Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong exchanged a glance but did not answer. Then, Jiang Qingtong stood, opened the door, and said politely, "Sect Master Ning, it's late. Please, return and rest."
"But we haven't finished talking yet…" Ning Haoyu frowned.
Jiang Shengyu shook his head. "No, there's no need to talk further. If Sect Master Ning truly wishes to understand the benefits of cooperating with us, you can go straight to visit the Tang Sect's master. She'll tell you all you need to know."
Ning Haoyu looked from Jiang Shengyu to Jiang Qingtong, and then suddenly asked, "The two of you—did you ever truly join Shrek Academy out of sincerity?"
"Whether we did or not," Jiang Qingtong replied with a small smile, "is none of your concern, Sect Master Ning." Standing at the doorway, she added lightly, "What was discussed tonight is known only to the three of us. Until a formal cooperation is established, I hope Sect Master Ning will keep this matter strictly confidential."
Though she was smiling, the trace of killing intent beneath her calm tone made Ning Haoyu's spine turn cold.
He had no doubt—if he dared to expose Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong's true identities to Shrek Academy, the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would face utter annihilation before the day was out, even here in the heartland of the former three empires of the Douluo Continent.
Taking a deep breath, Ning Haoyu said solemnly, "You have my word."
The next morning, outside the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Haoyu personally came to see Jiang Shengyu and his group off, accompanied by Divine Pearl Douluo. Watching them disappear into the distance, Ning Haoyu suddenly asked, "Your Excellency Divine Pearl, what do you think of them?"
"Whom does the Sect Master mean?" Divine Pearl Douluo asked.
"The Jiang siblings."
"Remarkable youths," Divine Pearl Douluo replied simply.
Then he added, "In single combat, even if I went all out, I might not be able to defeat either one of them."
Even though Ning Haoyu already held the siblings in high regard, he was still taken aback by that assessment. "But you're a Titled Douluo!" he exclaimed.
Divine Pearl Douluo shook his head with a wry smile. "I'm over eighty now and have only reached level Ninety-Two. But those two… they're not even sixteen, and they're already at the five-ring Soul King level—and with astonishing soul ring configurations, no less! Their talent is undeniable. In the future, they'll at least become Super Douluo."
"I've heard that the Tang Sect's master has returned to Heaven Dou City," Ning Haoyu mused. "As the Sect Master of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, I should pay a visit."
Having made up his mind, he turned to Divine Pearl Douluo. "While I'm away, I'll leave the affairs of the sect in your care."
Divine Pearl Douluo nodded. "Rest assured, Sect Master."
After leaving the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the group soon found themselves divided over where to head next.
Ling Luochén believed they should continue deeper into the Dou Ling Empire, while Wang Dong'er thought they should turn back toward the Heaven Dou Empire.
Their debate dragged on, and they decided to let Snow Empress (Xuedi) make the final call—but she wasn't truly there to act as their teacher and simply pushed the decision back to Jiang Shengyu.
Seeing Snow Empress watching him with an amused smile as she stood behind Wang Dong'er and Ling Luochén, Jiang Shengyu sighed helplessly. "Why don't we go to the Sun Moon Empire?" he suggested.
"The Sun Moon Empire?" Both girls froze at his words.
Wang Dong'er couldn't help asking, "Brother Shengyu, why there?"
"You two have probably never seen the scenery of the Sun Moon Empire, have you? Besides," Jiang Shengyu said with a smile, "the next Continental Advanced Spirit Master Tournament will be held there. It'd be good to familiarize ourselves with the environment in advance."
Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen, of course, were delighted with the proposal.
In the group, the only members originally from the former three empires of Douluo were Wang Dong'er and Ling Luochén.
"The tournament will be held in Mingdu, but it's impossible for us to go that deep into the Sun Moon Empire," Ling Luochén objected, shaking her head. "There's nothing worth seeing in the border cities. They can't be much different from those in the three empires."
Among the three former nations of the Douluo Continent, the Star Luo Empire had achieved the highest level of soul tool development and military application.
Having visited Star Luo City before, Ling Luochén had witnessed firsthand their mastery of soul tool technology. In her eyes, even if the Sun Moon Empire's technology was more advanced, it couldn't be that different.
Those who had never experienced true cutting-edge soul toolcraft often held unrealistic assumptions about the level of technology within the three empires.
"Then we'll head north through the Heaven Dou Empire," Jiang Shengyu said. "From there, we can enter the northern territories of the Sun Moon Empire."
At that, Ling Luochén no longer objected—her family resided in the Heaven Dou Empire's northern region.
Seeing that everyone had agreed, Wang Dong'er nodded obediently. "I'll follow Brother Shengyu's lead."
Jiang Feixin, watching Wang Dong'er's deferential tone toward her brother, tugged at Jiang Qingtong's sleeve and whispered, "Qingtong… do they like Brother?"
"You noticed too?" Jiang Qingtong shot her a sideways glance. Even this simple-minded auspicious beast could tell!
Jiang Feixin's personality was nothing like the original Wang Qiu'er's from the main storyline. At first, Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong hadn't understood why—until several conversations with Destiny revealed the truth.
It turned out that Destiny had been subtly influencing her.
Wang Dong'er, being a being from the God Realm, was beyond that influence. But the Emperor Auspicious Beast, born and raised on Douluo Continent, could be affected—especially since she housed half of the Sea God's Daughter's soul within her.
That influence from Douluo's own destiny provided them with a potential method to counterbalance and control the Sea God's Daughter's soul within her.
However, the time to test that method had not yet come.
The further north they traveled, the colder the climate became. Among them, Wang Dong'er's martial soul was neither of the ice nor fire attributes, nor one that strengthened the body—so she suffered the most from the dropping temperature.
By the time they entered the northern frontier, snow was falling thickly in the distance, marking the edge of the Extreme North. Amid the swirling blizzard, only Jiang Shengyu, Jiang Qingtong, and Snow Empress could hear the faint voices carried by the wind—greetings from the soul beasts of the Extreme North, welcoming their sovereign.
Unlike the tense and militarized Mingdou Mountain Range, the northern borders between the Heaven Dou Empire and the Sun Moon Empire were quiet and desolate. In this age, these lands were still ill-suited for human habitation—let alone the deployment of large armies.
Neither the Heaven Dou Empire nor the Sun Moon Empire could sustain a significant military presence there.
Please drop some power stones support me at my
PS: Access the complete/finished chapters/series at Patreon: NanamiTL