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"What? Ning Fengzhi is dead?!"
Bibi Dong's pupils contracted sharply as a storm of shock surged through her heart.
This news completely exceeded her expectations.
As the head of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan—one of the Upper Three Sects—Ning Fengzhi held a prestigious status and was always guarded by Title Douluo-level experts.
To target him was extraordinarily difficult.
In fact, Ning Fengzhi had always been one of the primary targets of Spirit Hall.
If Spirit Hall wished to realize its grand ambitions, the Upper Three Sects and the two empires were obstacles that had to be eliminated.
However, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan had a close alliance with the Heaven Dou Empire, making it inconvenient for Spirit Hall to act openly against them.
Ning Fengzhi was guarded by Sword Douluo Chen Xin and Bone Douluo Gu Rong—two powerful Title Douluo—making assassination attempts near impossible.
Sword Douluo, a Level 96 Title Douluo, wielded the Seven Kill Sword, renowned as the most offensive spirit in the world.
With Ning Fengzhi's support, even if Spirit Hall sent both Yue Guan and Gui Mei, they might not gain the upper hand against the pair.
Thus, the plan to assassinate Ning Fengzhi had long been shelved.
Yet unexpectedly, someone had now accomplished this difficult task for Spirit Hall.
Bibi Dong's gaze turned cold and sharp as she asked sternly, "Who was responsible?"
The Spirit Hall steward, still kneeling on the ground, hurriedly replied:
"Reporting to Your Holiness, our informants embedded within the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan have confirmed that Sword Douluo Chen Xin had both arms severed. Ning Fengzhi's death was personally confirmed by the clan's young miss, Ning Rongrong."
Bibi Dong's brow furrowed slightly, a flicker of surprise flashing through her eyes.
"Even Sword Douluo had his arms severed? Who could possibly have such strength?"
The steward shook his head. "The exact perpetrator remains unknown. However, our spies report that Sword Douluo returned from the direction of the Barak Kingdom."
"The Barak Kingdom…"
Bibi Dong murmured softly. She vaguely recalled hearing about that small kingdom recently.
Barak Kingdom... wasn't it reported by one of our Spirit Hall branch leaders that Tang Hao had appeared there?
But he was defeated by a powerful individual from Shrek Academy—Lan Minghua.
Yue Guan and Gui Mei had also recently been severely injured by Lan Minghua in the Star Dou Great Forest.
Considering the timeline, he should be back at Shrek Academy by now.
With that, a cold gleam flashed in Bibi Dong's eyes—her suspicions already confirmed.
"It seems the one who killed Ning Fengzhi is most likely Lan Minghua."
She had originally intended to use Yue Guan and Gui Mei's injuries as a reason to attack Lan Minghua openly.
Now with Ning Fengzhi's death, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan and Heaven Dou Empire would be shaken.
If the Upper Three Sects were truly united, they would not sit idly by.
If they chose not to act and merely focused on their own interests, then the rumors of their unity were greatly exaggerated.
Either way, it was good news for Spirit Hall.
If the sects were united, then they'd have to deal with Lan Minghua themselves.
Is Lan Minghua strong?
Yes—immensely strong.
Even Tang Hao, Yue Guan, Gui Mei, and Sword Douluo had all lost to him.
For the Upper Three Sects to deal with such a powerful foe, the cost would be unimaginable.
Spirit Hall could take advantage of this situation—watching from the sidelines and reaping the benefits.
After pondering for a moment, Bibi Dong issued a cold order.
"Send word immediately—monitor the movements of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan and the Heaven Dou Empire closely. Also, I want to know everything that's been happening at Shrek Academy these past few days!"
Suddenly, something occurred to her, and she added:
"Spread the news of Ning Fengzhi's death. Make sure both the Heaven Dou Empire and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan hear about it."
The steward, as if granted amnesty, bowed respectfully. "Yes, Your Holiness!"
With that, he quickly exited the hall, not daring to linger even a moment longer.
Soon, under Spirit Hall's deliberate manipulation, the news of Ning Fengzhi's death spread across the continent like a tidal wave.
—
Heaven Dou Empire, Heaven Dou City, Royal Palace
A figure suddenly burst into the palace, rushing in a panic.
"Your Majesty, terrible news—Sect Master Ning… he's dead!"
Emperor Xue Ye, who had been reviewing official documents, trembled at the news, his red brush spilling ink across the parchment.
He looked up immediately, disbelief in his eyes.
"How is that possible?! Sword Douluo was with him—who could have possibly killed him?!"
The messenger stammered, "Your Majesty, the source of the news is Spirit Hall. It is absolutely accurate."
Hearing that the news came from Spirit Hall, Xue Ye was struck like lightning.
"Could it be… that Spirit Hall assassinated Sect Master Ning?!"
As the emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire, Xue Ye was all too aware of Spirit Hall's ambitions.
Not just him—anyone with insight could see the signs.
Even in lower-tier soul hunting forests, one could find evidence.
Though the forests belonged to the empire, ordinary citizens still required a permit from Spirit Hall to hunt spirits within.
In the original account, Tang San once asked Yu Xiaogang whether these forests belonged to the nation or to Spirit Hall.
Yu Xiaogang didn't answer, and even told Tang San not to speak about it in public.
This alone revealed the depth of Spirit Hall's ambition.
By doing so, they not only collected data on civilian spirit masters but also gained their loyalty.
Spirit Hall also offered free spirit awakening to children from civilian families.
All of this made one thing clear—Spirit Hall had grand ambitions.
If not for a desire to dominate the continent, what purpose would these efforts serve?
Xue Ye's expression darkened as he ordered:
"Summon the Crown Prince. He will accompany me to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. Sect Master Ning was, after all, his teacher."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
—
Elsewhere, Crown Prince Xue Qinghe also received the news of Ning Fengzhi's death.
However, instead of grief, his face showed more confusion than sadness.
"Spirit Hall claims that old fox Ning Fengzhi is dead? Could that madwoman have acted?!"
As he was thinking, a voice came from outside.
"Your Highness, His Majesty sends his condolences and requests your presence on a visit to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan."
Xue Qinghe immediately replied in a sorrowful tone, "Understood. Inform His Majesty that I'll join him shortly."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Once the attendant left, Xue Qinghe's expression returned to its cold, indifferent state.
"Madwoman, you'd better not ruin Spirit Hall's grand plan. Otherwise, grandfather won't let you off."
With that, he put on a sorrowful face and left to accompany Emperor Xue Ye.
—
At the same time, both the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and the reclusive Clear Sky Sect received the news of Ning Fengzhi's death.
Since the source was Spirit Hall, they naturally assumed it was Spirit Hall who had killed him.
However, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan showed no reaction—after all, what did the death of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan's master have to do with them?
But within the Clear Sky Sect, opinions were divided into two factions.
One side believed the Upper Three Sects stood united—if Spirit Hall dared act against the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan today, they might target the Clear Sky Sect tomorrow.
The other side argued that when the Clear Sky Sect was forced into hiding back then, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan did nothing to support them.
Now that their sect master was dead—what did that have to do with the Clear Sky Sect?
Tang Xiao listened to the elders' arguments with a deep sense of helplessness.
Just as he was about to speak, a few disciples returned from an outside training mission—bringing back a severely injured cripple missing a leg and an arm.
"Sect Master, we found this cripple with a Clear Sky Hammer martial spirit during our training. We've brought him back for your judgment."
(End of Chapter)