A few days after the two Super Douluos made their pact, the world began to stir. The news did not travel like a shockwave, but like a slow, insidious poison, seeping into the public consciousness through a thousand different channels. It started in the high-end taverns and exclusive teahouses of Heaven Dou City, whispered from the lips of well-dressed merchants and minor nobles who had "heard a rumor" from a "reliable source."
"Have you heard?" a portly viscount would murmur to his companion over a game of Star Luo Chess. "The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan… they've sent a letter to the Spirit Hall."
"A letter? What about?"
"About the Clear Sky Sect," the viscount would whisper, leaning closer. "They say fourteen years of exile is enough. They're asking for the ban to be lifted."
The rumor, so scandalous, so unbelievable, would then spread. It would be carried by servants back to their own noble houses, whispered in the kitchens and the stables. It would be overheard by traveling merchants, who would carry the story with them to the next town, the next city. Within a week, the entire Heaven Dou Empire was buzzing with it.
The letter itself, a masterpiece of political maneuvering penned by the combined cunning of Tang Hao and Yu Yuanzhen, was a work of art. A copy, "leaked" to a prominent and notoriously gossipy newspaper in the capital, was published for all the world to see.
It spoke of justice and fairness. It acknowledged the grievous crime of Tang Hao, the Clear Sky Douluo, in injuring the previous Supreme Pontiff. But it also, with a lawyer's precision, separated the actions of one man from the fate of an entire clan.
"It has been fourteen long years since the Clear Sky Sect, once the number one sect in the world, was forced into seclusion," the letter read, its tone one of profound, sorrowful reason. "A generation has passed. A generation that has paid the price for a crime they did not commit. We, of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, believe that this punishment has been more than sufficient."
"The true culprit, Tang Hao, still roams free," it continued, a call to a justice that the Spirit Hall had, in the eyes of the public, failed to deliver. "Let the Spirit Hall continue its hunt for this criminal. Let him be brought to justice. But let his clan be free. Let the innocent no longer suffer for the sins of the guilty."
The public response was immediate, and profound. The common people, who had long seen the Spirit Hall as an arrogant, overbearing power, latched onto the narrative of the wronged, noble Clear Sky Sect. The story was a simple, powerful one: a great hero, Tang Hao, had been forced to defend his wife from the corrupt Pope of the Spirit Hall. And now, his innocent clan was being punished for his heroic act.
The Spirit Hall, for the first time in a long time, found itself on the back foot, its carefully crafted reputation for justice and fairness suddenly called into question.
In a quiet, opulent chamber in the heart of the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace, a cup of priceless, fragrant tea shattered against a marble wall.
Q.i.a.n. Renxue stood in the center of the room, her beautiful face a mask of pure, unadulterated, and volcanic rage. The warm, peaceful aura she had been cultivating for the past year was gone, replaced by a cold, divine fury that made the very air in the room feel thin and sharp.
"Shameless!" she shrieked, her voice no longer the calm, melodic chime of a goddess, but the raw, wounded cry of a daughter whose father had been murdered. "Absolutely, completely, and shamelessly despicable!"
She paced the room like a caged tigress, her white and gold robes a blur of furious motion. "They dare?! They actually dare?!"
She knew. She knew with a certainty that was as cold and as hard as a diamond that this was not Yu Yuanzhen's move. This was his. This was Tang Hao's doing.
'He's not just hiding anymore,' she thought, her hands clenching into fists, her knuckles white. 'He's making a move. He's using the Blue Lightning Clan as his shield, as his mouthpiece. He's trying to force his sect back into the world.'
The audacity of it, the sheer, breathtaking hypocrisy of it, made her see red. The man who had killed her father, the man who had been hiding like a rat for over a decade, was now painting himself as a tragic hero, his clan as the innocent victims.
She wanted to act. She wanted to send a message to her grandfather, to the Hall of Elders. She wanted to unleash the full, world-ending might of the Spirit Hall upon the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. She wanted to burn their fortress to the ground, to grind their bones to dust, to erase their very name from the face of the continent.
But she couldn't.
She stopped pacing, a deep, shuddering breath escaping her lips. She forced the red haze of her rage to recede, replaced by the cold, hard logic that had been her greatest weapon for twelve long years.
'To attack them now would be to fall into his trap,' she reasoned, her mind a cold chessboard of possibilities. 'It would prove the Spirit Hall is the tyrant they claim it to be. It would turn the entire world against us. No. I cannot act with emotion.'
She needed a different perspective. A different kind of mind. A mind as cunning, as ruthless, and as beautifully, terrifyingly brilliant as her own.
She needed him.
She moved to her wardrobe, her movements now a blur of purposeful, efficient grace. She shed the elegant, feminine robes of Qian Renxue, her body a brief, breathtaking vision of divine, naked perfection in the sunlit room and now donned a very beautiful yet bold dress that highlighted her curves masterfully.
She left the palace through a secret, hidden exit, a single, unassuming figure melting into the bustling, vibrant life of Heaven Dou City.
She arrived at the grand, elegant wooden gates of Zhang Tian's estate and announced herself. The guards, recognizing the disguised, but still undeniably powerful, figure who had visited their master before, immediately sent word.
She was escorted not to the formal living room, but to the back of the mansion, to a large, sun-drenched courtyard that was filled with the delicious, intoxicating aroma of roasting meat and baking bread.
The scene that greeted her was one of peaceful, domestic bliss that was so at odds with the raging storm in her own heart that it almost made her laugh.
Zhang Tian stood before a strange, new creation. It was a large, dome-shaped oven, woven from his crimson Blood Silver Grass, its walls hardened to the consistency of fired brick. A soft, controlled flame, a manifestation of the fire attribute he had absorbed from the immortal herbs, flickered within, maintaining a perfect, even heat.
He was wearing a simple, white apron over his elegant robes, his two-toned hair tied back in a practical, messy bun. He was humming a soft, cheerful tune, his hands moving with a practiced, almost professional ease as he worked. He looked less like a monstrous, world-shaking genius and more like… a happy, domestic husband.
And his wives… they were a picture of blissful, adoring contentment.
Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing sat at a small, stone table nearby, their faces flushed with a happy, expectant excitement as they watched him cook.
And the beautiful, crimson-haired maid, Ah Yin, stood at a respectful distance, a tray of cool, refreshing drinks in her hands, her crimson eyes fixed on her Master with a look of profound, unwavering devotion.
Qian Renxue paused in the doorway, a silent, unobserved spectator. She watched as he took a flat, round piece of dough and began to spin it in the air, his movements a blur of practiced, flashy skill.
She saw the easy, affectionate way he would glance at his two fiancées, the warm, genuine smile on his handsome face. She saw the way they looked back at him, their eyes shining with a love so pure, so absolute, it was a physical thing in the quiet, sunlit courtyard.
A sharp, unfamiliar, and incredibly painful pang of pure, unadulterated jealousy shot through her. She wanted that. She wanted to be a part of this. She wanted him to only smile at her like that.
She ruthlessly suppressed the thought. She was here for business.
She stepped into the courtyard, her presence a sudden, jarring note in their peaceful, domestic symphony.
"Zhang Tian," she said, her voice the cool, cultured tone of the scholarly nobleman she was pretending to be.
Three heads snapped up. Ning Rongrong's happy smile vanished, replaced by a deep, hostile frown. Zhu Zhuqing's relaxed posture tensed, her dark eyes turning as cold as ice.
Ah Yin, however, just offered a polite, subservient bow, her expression a perfect mask of humble deference.
Zhang Tian turned, a flicker of genuine surprise in his blue eyes, which quickly melted into a warm, welcoming smile. "Renxue! What a pleasant surprise. I wasn't expecting you."
He gestured to an empty chair at the small stone table. "Come, join us. You're just in time. I'm trying out a new recipe. A dish from a faraway land."
She accepted the invitation, settling into the chair with a graceful, elegant movement. She watched as he took the spun dough and began to cover it with a rich, red sauce, a layer of strange, white, shredded cheese, and a variety of sliced meats and vegetables.
"What is this dish called?" she asked, her curiosity piqued.
"It's called… Pizza," he said, the word a strange, foreign sound on his tongue.
He slid the prepared dough onto a flat, stone paddle he had created from his vines and placed it in his living oven.
Half an hour later, he pulled it out. The aroma was intoxicating. The flatbread was a perfect, golden-brown, the cheese was melted and bubbling, the toppings were perfectly cooked.
He placed it on the table and, with a few, swift cuts of a sharpened vine, he sliced it into eight perfect, triangular pieces.
"Help yourselves," he said with a proud, happy grin.
The four women looked at the strange, new dish with a mixture of curiosity and a slight, hesitant apprehension.
Ning Rongrong was the first to try it. She took a slice, the melted cheese stretching in a long, beautiful string. She took a bite, and her eyes went wide.
"Mmmph!" she mumbled through a mouthful of food. She chewed quickly and swallowed. "Zhang Tian! This is amazing! The bread part is so soft, but crispy on the bottom! And this white, stringy stuff is so savory! And the red sauce is a little sweet… it's the most delicious thing I have ever eaten!"
Zhu Zhuqing took a more delicate bite. Her usual cool composure cracked, her dark eyes widening with a look of pure, unadulterated pleasure. "She is right," she said, her voice a low, awestruck murmur. "The combination of flavors… it is perfect."
Ah Yin waited until she was offered a piece.
Zhang Tian served her himself, a small, intimate gesture that did not go unnoticed by Qian Renxue. Ah Yin took a bite, and a genuine, happy smile lit up her beautiful face.
Finally, it was Qian Renxue's turn. She took a slice, her movements a study in elegant, aristocratic grace. She brought it to her lips and took a small, delicate bite.
And her world exploded.
The flavors… the textures… it was unlike anything she had ever tasted. It was a perfect, harmonious symphony of savory, sweet, and salty, a beautiful, chaotic masterpiece of culinary art.
She forgot her mission. She forgot her anger. She forgot everything except for the incredible, delicious thing in her hand.
They ate in a happy, companionable silence for a few minutes, the only sound the soft, appreciative moans of four beautiful women experiencing pizza for the very first time.
When the last slice was gone, and the last of the melted cheese had been licked from their fingers, a comfortable, sated silence settled over the small group.
It was Qian Renxue who finally broke it. She set her teacup down, the serious, analytical expression returning to her beautiful face.
"Zhang Tian," she began, her voice a low, serious sound that immediately captured his full attention. "Did you hear the news? The letter from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan to the Spirit Hall?"
~~
A/N: Check out my other novels like "Douluo Dalu: Time Travel", "Harem Master: Seduction System" and the "Villain: Manipulating the Heroines into hating the Protagonist" and I hope you like this story and those stories as well.
Check out more chapters on my P.atreon. The P.atreon will have 20+ Chapters ahead for this story. I hope you like it.
The link of p.atreon is: bit.ly/evildragon