Half a year later.
The continent was not as peaceful as imagined.
Inside the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
"This situation really makes it hard for us to get involved!" Ning Fengzhi sat upright in the grand master's chair, his expression worried. His fingers kept tapping on the nearby table, producing a rhythmic "clang clang" sound.
In his other hand, he held a letter sent from the Heaven Dou imperial family. He couldn't help but sigh as he spoke.
"Uncle Sword, Uncle Bone, the situation in Heaven Dou City is rotten. Do you two have any thoughts?"
"Xue Ke hopes we'll go help, but this letter bears the signature of the second worshiper, Golden Crocodile Douluo." Bone Douluo fell into deep thought.
"Old Bones, you don't need to repeat the contents of the letter. Do you think we should help or not?" Sword Douluo crossed his arms and shot a sideways glance at Bone Douluo.
"Don't ask me. I can't make a decision on something like this either! And Rongrong isn't here…"
"Don't always think about Rongrong every time. I am still the sect master of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect." Seeing the two elders unable to decide and bringing up Ning Rongrong again, Ning Fengzhi couldn't help but speak up.
Come on, he hadn't stepped down yet!
Were these two being a bit too much?
Bone Douluo spread his hands and shrugged. "We've already done everything we possibly could. If we keep going further, I'm afraid it won't make sense anymore."
"The Star Luo Empire's army has stopped at the Heaven Dou border. Dugu Bo sent a message through a soul guide saying the other side shows no sign of attacking."
"Sigh!" Hearing Bone Douluo say this, Ning Fengzhi also let out a sigh. "Speaking of which, that Star Luo Empress from the Zhu family is truly ruthless!"
Zhu Zhuqing, half a year ago, replaced Davis to become the new Star Luo Empire's great emperor. With thunderous momentum, she firmly seized control of both the military and political affairs of the Star Luo Empire. From the information that came back, her methods could be described as iron-blooded to the extreme.
It could be said that everyone in the Star Luo Empire who disobeyed was thoroughly blood-washed.
"Rumors say the only time she recently revealed her cultivation was when she reached the Title Douluo realm."
"No one knows if it's true or false."
The Star Luo Empire had already displayed two Title Douluo. One of them, according to unreliable circulating information, was a 94th-ranked Title Douluo, suspected to be the former Star Luo Emperor who died for unknown reasons back then.
As for the other one, it was Zhu Zhuqing.
The inheritor of the first-level god, Rakshasa God's divine trial.
Could it be that the Rakshasa God was secretly favoring her successor?
It took Bibi Dong so many years just to reach Title Douluo. On what grounds did Zhu Zhuqing get there?
"Star Luo, Clear Sky Sect, Sea God Island—these three forces are all mixed together."
"We might end up being passively dragged into the chess game as well." Ning Fengzhi pressed the letter down on the table. Honestly, he couldn't make up his mind whether to help Xue Ke or not.
After all, not long ago, news came that Tang Chen and Bo Saixi had both recovered to their peak condition.
Add to that the Title Douluo from these three forces, plus the powerful military strength of the Star Luo Empire.
Heaven Dou Empire was probably in serious trouble!
"Uncle Sword, I asked you to investigate the reason Sea God Island is intervening in the continent. Do you have any relatively useful information on that side?"
Sea God Island had practically mobilized its entire force, dragging almost every Title Douluo they could send to the continent. Were they abandoning their main base?
Sword Douluo fell silent for a moment upon hearing this, then explained: "The rumor from a year ago is that Sea God Island was destroyed by the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King. The sea soul masters who survived and returned to Vast Sea City all said so."
The Deep Sea Demonic Whale King took advantage of Bo Saixi's absence from Sea God Island to forcibly rally a group of powerful soul beasts and launch a fierce assault on Sea God Island. In the end, they broke through the island's barrier and nearly massacred the entire Sea God Island.
"Moreover, it's said that the higher-ups of Sea God Island were saved by a soul master who wields a hammer."
"A soul master who wields a hammer—Tang Chen?" Bone Douluo frowned tightly.
"It should be, but I find it very strange." Sword Douluo's tone carried confusion. "Logically, given the relationship between the two sides, they should have fought. But clearly, there were no signs of intense combat."
Tang Chen and the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King had a grudge—this was something Ning Rongrong had once mentioned.
Yet when the two sides met, they surprisingly didn't actually fight.
There didn't even seem to be any signs of engagement.
When two Limit Douluo fought, the terrifying power could destroy heaven and earth, creating scenes akin to natural disasters.
The battle area was still out at sea. The sea soul masters who survived by chance and drifted to Vast Sea City shouldn't have been so many.
"I see. No wonder those Title Douluo from Sea God Island said they are people of the Tang Sect."
"Heh, that old fox Tang Chen really made a huge profit this time."
"Since it's the Tang Sect, we have no reason to get involved." Ning Fengzhi said helplessly.
Everyone was playing within the rules. If you broke the rules, both sides would completely tear off all pretense.
That wasn't important anyway—it was just a fig leaf.
The problem was that Ning Fengzhi didn't want the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to get dragged in.
Xue Beng had apprenticed under Tang San and wanted to take back everything that belonged to him in Heaven Dou.
If it were the Star Luo Empire intervening, Ning Fengzhi would definitely block it—that was also why he had sent the 96th-ranked Dugu Bo to the front lines. But the Star Luo Empire hadn't made a move, meaning this didn't count as a national war.
His Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was also considered a force on Heaven Dou's side.
Xue Beng's power grab and his struggle with Xue Ke, if one really calculated it, was still an internal dispute within the Heaven Dou imperial family.
Since that was the case, there was no reason for him to intervene.
And Tang San had established the Tang Sect and recruited Bo Saixi and the others to become members of the Tang Sect.
Although he didn't know how Tang San managed it, from a certain perspective, he really couldn't be counted as part of the Star Luo Empire's faction. The one he was helping was only Xue Beng.
This time, Xue Beng had led the elite forces of Sea God Island to attack Heaven Dou City, and the Clear Sky Sect was also using the name of revenge against Spirit Hall to prepare to act against Spirit Hall's forces in Heaven Dou.
Ning Fengzhi truly didn't know what reason he could use to intervene, especially since it also involved the combat power of several Limit Douluo.
"Fengzhi, if you can't think of anything, then don't think about it. Just go take a look!" Sword Douluo saw Ning Fengzhi's difficulty. "Although we don't want to completely tear face with them right now, saving Xue Ke is still possible."
"Moreover, with Tang San's petty and vengeful personality, the grudges between both sides will probably end up tearing face sooner or later anyway. There's no need to worry so much."
"Sect Master, I also think what Sword Guy said makes sense." Bone Douluo stood up and paced back and forth a few steps. "Our Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is not weak. Do they really dare to completely tear face with us?"
"Even if we have to face Tang Chen and Bo Saixi at the same time, the three of us might not necessarily lose."
"Rongrong isn't here. Logically, some things should be decided by her."
Ning Fengzhi let out a long sigh.
After all, the various forces involved next might all be connected to the gods behind them. Ning Fengzhi felt he didn't have the heart for something that big.
"Fengzhi, don't forget—you are the sect master!" Bone Douluo said seriously. "Please don't forget that the current strength of our Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is not weaker than any other force on the Douluo Continent."
"Show some backbone. Otherwise, one day Sword Guy and I might just pull you down and let Rongrong take over as sect master. You wouldn't want to become the Supreme Elder ahead of time, right?"
Ning Fengzhi: "…"
This was completely turning the world upside down. Could words like that really be said out loud?
(End of chapter)