As the crowd debated back and forth, they quickly reached a consensus.
The spirit master who had been criticizing Tang Lan immediately changed his tune—
"I must've seen wrong. That wasn't a red flash just now… it was pink, right?"
"Yes! Pink!"
"It has absolutely nothing to do with Master Tang!"
"I'm also a die-hard fan of Master Tang—we're all on the same side here!"
"If you don't believe me, I can recite the entire Tang Sect Encyclopedia for you!"
"I can even sketch Master Tang's handsome cover photo by hand!"
Unbeknownst to Tang Lan, his fans were already covering for him.
Instead of returning to Heaven Dou City, he made his way to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, descending directly into the plaza.
A black spatial gate rippled open.
This time, Gu Rong was the first to arrive. Upon seeing Tang Lan, he burst into hearty laughter and spread his arms wide—
Going in for a bear hug.
Tang Lan sidestepped effortlessly, avoiding him with a single wave-step movement.
—With that tough old body of his, a hug would be like getting jabbed by a sack of bones.
Gu Rong didn't take offense, merely switching to a firm pat on Tang Lan's shoulder.
"You brat, you finally came!"
"Rongrong's progress this time was ridiculous. You must've put in a lot of effort, huh?"
"Come, come! This old man has a few jugs of thousand-year-old wine. That coward over there doesn't even get a sip—but today, I'll let you have a taste!"
Thousand-year-old wine?
Tang Lan wasn't much of a drinker, but with something this good, a few sips wouldn't hurt.
Just as he lifted his foot to follow Gu Rong—
A sudden flash of sword light shot straight at Gu Rong!
With a grunt, Gu Rong raised his hand, crushing the sword light instantly.
Chen Xin followed closely behind, his expression displeased as he glared at Gu Rong.
"You old sack of bones, still talking bad about people behind their backs?"
"Who's talking behind backs?" Gu Rong scoffed. "I'll call you a coward to your face too, what about it?"
Chen Xin's sword-like eyebrows twitched!
Oh?
This old bastard—itching for a fight again?
Seeing that another brawl was about to break out—if these two started fighting, wouldn't his thousand-year-old wine be wasted?
Tang Lan immediately stepped between them.
"Sword Uncle, Bone Uncle, do me a favor—can we drink first and fight later?"
—A straightforward way of saying, I just want my drink.
The two old men were caught off guard by his bluntness.
But Tang Lan's request carried weight.
"Fine, for Xiao Lan's sake, I'll let you have a few sips today, coward." Gu Rong relented.
"Hah!" Chen Xin sneered. "Xiao Lan, this old bag of bones has a jug of three-thousand-year-old wine too, you know…"
"You venomous old thing!" Gu Rong gritted his teeth. "That's for Rongrong's dowry—how dare you mention it?!"
Tang Lan blinked.
Wait!
Dowry?
He suddenly understood—these two geezers were trying to set him up!
No way was he falling for it.
He immediately said, "No need to waste something as rare as a three-thousand-year-old vintage. A thousand-year one is more than enough."
Gu Rong and Chen Xin exchanged glances, letting out a quiet sigh.
—Seems like their little princess had no chance after all.
Tang Lan noticed their exchange but didn't call them out on it.
Instead, he asked, "My big bro told me to come find him—what's the occasion?"
"Oh, right! That!" Gu Rong suddenly put on a mysterious look. "Why don't you go ask Fengzhi yourself?"
Tang Lan's interest was piqued.
Usually, when someone acted this secretive, it meant a big surprise was waiting.
What could still surprise him at this point?
—Could it be the two 80,000-year soul bones that Ning Fengzhi had promised him?
Did he really manage to get them?
"Well, what are we waiting for—let's go find—"
"Hahaha—"
A hearty laugh rang out.
"No need to search, Xiao Lan. I'm already here."
Following the voice, they turned to see Ning Fengzhi, accompanied by Ning Rongrong, striding toward them.
"Uncle Tang, did you come to pick me up?" Ning Rongrong asked cheerfully.
"You don't have much to do lately—you can stay home and play for a few more days." Tang Lan responded casually.
Then, his gaze landed on Ning Fengzhi.
"Big bro, you called me here—what's the surprise?"
Seeing how straightforward Tang Lan was, Ning Fengzhi didn't bother keeping up the suspense.
With a flash of light, a frosty white left leg bone appeared in his hand.
It was completely intact, crystal-clear like a translucent gem. Even through layers of spirit power, the icy aura emanating from it caused white frost to form on Ning Fengzhi's palm.
Extreme Ice!
Though not the strongest, it was still an Extreme Ice-type soul bone.
"You've probably figured it out by now, haven't you?"
Ning Fengzhi smiled and said—
"This is an 85,000-year-old Silver Ice Apricot's left leg bone."
"It holds incredibly potent ice attributes. In fact, several powerful ice-type spirit masters—including a Spirit Douluo, and even a Titled Douluo—had fought fiercely over it…"
"But They All Failed to Absorb It."
"They only realized it contained the Extreme Ice attribute after reading Volume Two of your Tang Sect Encyclopedia, Blue Brother."
"The last owner, knowing they couldn't absorb it, sought out my Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to sell it."
"I heard from Rongrong that you and Shui Bing'er both possess Extreme Ice attributes."
"So, it seems that this Silver Ice Apricot's Frozen Forest Left Leg Bone is only usable by the two of you."
Ning Fengzhi handed the soul bone over.
Tang Lan took it without hesitation and stored it in Lan Wang.
He said casually, "Since the sect paid for it, let's count this as one of the two soul bones you promised me."
"How can that be?"
Gu Rong raised his voice—
"The seller came to us because of your reputation, Tang Master!"
"They knew the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had close ties with the Tang Sect and that no one else could use this soul bone, so they simply sold it here for convenience."
"At most, this was a small favor, but it's hardly a contribution from our sect!"
Chen Xin nodded in agreement.
Ning Fengzhi then made the final call—
"Just the benefits you've given Rongrong far exceed the worth of a single soul bone."
"This soul bone is just something we held onto temporarily, and we now owe you three soul bones in total."
Tang Lan was a little surprised by their response.
But he quickly realized—
—They were sure he had no interest in Ning Rongrong, so they were now shifting their strategy to binding him with benefits instead.
In just two short years,
The Tang Sect had gone from a small sect to a renowned powerhouse on the continent.
Their foundation might still be lacking compared to the true behemoths,
But as long as future generations weren't foolish, even if they just rested on their laurels, the sect could easily last thousands of years.
Not to mention—
Tang Lan was now undergoing the Sea God's Nine Trials, with a real chance of becoming a deity.
If they didn't strengthen their connection with him now, they might not even be worthy of climbing higher in the future.
Accepting this promise would also put Ning Fengzhi at ease.
If he refused, it might instead make them worry about problems in their alliance.
Understanding this,
Tang Lan nodded in agreement.
"Then I'll trouble you to keep an eye out for more, Big Brother."
Ning Fengzhi, Chen Xin, and Gu Rong all smiled.
"This is only natural," Ning Fengzhi said. "By the way, Qinghe moved into the Tang Sect seven days ago. Said he wanted to meet you as soon as you got back."
Oh?
Qian Renxue was coming in full force—was she finally going to reveal her true identity?
Tang Lan turned to Gu Rong.
"Bone Uncle, looks like I won't be drinking that wine today."
"Not a problem." Gu Rong waved it off. "That wine only gets richer with time. You can come drink it anytime!"
"I'll take you up on that!"
Tang Lan gave a knowing smirk, cupped his fists in farewell, then activated his Blood Escape Technique and vanished.
Watching the crimson streak disappear into the sky, Ning Fengzhi couldn't help but sigh—
(End of Chapter.)
Notes-You can read advanced chapters in patreon.com/Shadow_D_X, i have already finished douluo 1 arc and even quite a great deal of douluo 2 arc