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Ning Fengzhi looked at his daughter's face and body, clearly weathered by countless hardships. His nose tingled, and his eyes instantly reddened. He opened his mouth, but his throat felt clogged, rendering him speechless for a moment.
"Rongrong! My little ancestor! You're finally back!" Gu Rong had no such reservations. He rushed forward, tears streaming down his face, extending a trembling hand to touch Ning Rongrong's cheek, yet fearing he might hurt her. His voice choked, "You... how did you become like this? This... how much suffering must you have endured!"
The soft, sweet little princess who used to coo and whine in his memory had transformed into this capable female warrior who looked like she could punch a cow to death. This immense contrast made the old Bone Douluo, famous for doting on his protégés, ache with distress.
Although Chen Xin remained silent, his usually placid eyes were filled with excitement and unconcealed heartache. He quietly walked to Ning Rongrong's side, scrutinizing her, feeling the surging spirit power within her that far surpassed her past self. He was both relieved by her growth and pained by the hardships she must have endured over the years.
Ning Rongrong looked at her excited father and the two grandpas who treated her like their own daughter, and her eyes couldn't help but redden. She fought back tears, revealing a brilliant smile, and opened her arms: "Dad! Grandpa Bone! Grandpa Sword! I'm back!"
Ning Fengzhi could no longer hold back. He stepped forward and hugged his daughter tightly, his voice choked, "It's good you're back… it's good you're back…"
Gu Rong also leaned in, wiping away tears, wanting to hug her but afraid of crowding, so he could only circle around the father and daughter.
Chen Xin stood to the side, his lips slightly curved, revealing a rare, relieved smile.
After a good while, the excited emotions gradually subsided.
Ning Fengzhi held Ning Rongrong's hand, examining her carefully, and asked with heartache, "Rongrong, these past years… on Sea God Island, it must have been very hard, right?"
Ning Rongrong shook her head. Though there were still tears in her eyes, her smile was incredibly bright and proud: "It was quite hard, Dad. The assessments on Sea God Island were difficult, and sometimes I really felt like I couldn't hold on any longer. But… I persevered! Look, I'm a very strong Spirit Douluo now!"
She released a trace of spirit power fluctuation, and its profound aura secretly startled all three of them.
"Spirit Douluo…" Ning Fengzhi murmured, his heart filled with both pride and bitterness. When his daughter left home, she was only a Spirit King. In just a few years, she had grown to such an extent, the hardships involved were unimaginable.
"Oh, right, Dad, Grandpa Bone, Grandpa Sword," Ning Rongrong said excitedly, as if remembering something, "We came back this time because the content of the Sixth Trial is to assist Xuan Ming in reshaping the Continental order! From now on, I can also help!"
Hearing "Xuan Ming" and "reshaping order," the expressions of Ning Fengzhi and the other two subtly became solemn. As high-ranking officials of the Empire, they naturally understood what lay behind these words.
The reforms of the Spirit Empire could largely be attributed to Xuan Ming's sole initiative.
If not for Xuan Ming's existence, the Spirit Empire would certainly not be as it is today, and even the entire World would be in a different state.
"Good, good…" Ning Fengzhi patted his daughter's hand, his eyes filled with complex emotions. "My Rongrong has truly grown up."
Although his heart ached for the suffering his daughter endured, seeing her current rebirth-like growth and her soaring fighting spirit, as a father, he felt more relief and pride.
His little princess was finally no longer a delicate flower needing to hide in an ivory tower, but had grown into a towering tree capable of weathering storms and even participating in changing the major affairs of the World.
However, the price of this growth left him, as a father, with mixed feelings… A month passed in a flash.
After Hu Liena, Ning Rongrong, and others reunited with their families and gained a deeper understanding of the Spirit Empire's current situation, the shock and complex emotions in their hearts lingered, difficult to calm.
The current Spirit Empire was almost entirely unrelated to the Spirit Hall they remembered, which was centered on Spirit Master privileges, acted overbearingly, and was accustomed to plunder!
The Empire implemented strict new laws, greatly restricting Spirit Master privileges, and emphasized equality before the law for all.
At the same time, the Empire invested vast resources to introduce and promote spirit tool technology, focusing on improving people's livelihoods, enhancing productivity, and creating upward channels for ordinary people without spirit power to learn skills and gain social status and wealth through hard work.
Although all of this was still in its initial stages, with many policies encountering bumps and internal resistance and contradictions, the Empire's direction was clear, and its goal was distinct—to establish a new order that was fairer, more orderly, and capable of sustainable development.
They all knew that this subversive transformation originated from Xuan Ming. If not for Xuan Ming's will and power supporting it from behind, with Bibi Dong's personality and Spirit Hall's inherent inertia, it would be absolutely impossible to risk shaking its Foundation to implement such radical reforms.
Understanding this, their resistance to "assisting Xuan Ming in reshaping order" also significantly lessened.
After all, if the Spirit Empire were still the Spirit Hall of the past, they would find it truly difficult to convince themselves to serve it.
But now, they saw a more constructive possibility, which made them willing to commit themselves to it.
Just as they were gradually adapting and beginning to consider how to participate in this "order reshaping," the delegation from the Heaven Dou Empire, after a long journey, finally arrived at the border of the Spirit Empire and, under specialized guidance, headed towards Spirit City.
The delegation was led by King Lan Hao Tang San as the chief envoy, with the three Education Committee members of Heaven Dou Royal Academy as deputy envoys.
Along the way, the sights they witnessed in the Spirit Empire were vastly different from their preconceived notions and the "tyrannical Empire" image propagated within Heaven Dou.
Spirit Masters were strictly disciplined, and those who oppressed commoners were severely punished; various convenient spirit tools began to appear in the markets; the faces of the common people showed less numbness and more reverence for "order" and a glimmer of hope for the future.
All of this made the three well-traveled Education Committee members feel utterly bewildered.
How could a military Empire, founded on a powerful Spirit Master legion and rapidly rising through military might, actively suppress and restrict its most core Spirit Master class, turning instead to appease and support powerless commoners?
This was simply putting the cart before the horse, destroying one's own Great Wall!
But on the other hand, they also keenly realized that if the Spirit Empire's approach truly succeeded in establishing a relatively fair, stable, and vibrant new order, then in the long run, its appeal and potential would far surpass the Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empires, which clung to old privilege systems.
However, whether all of this was a genuine reform or a disguise to lull outsiders and accumulate strength still required time and facts to verify.
Tang San's mood was even more complex. The sights along the way filled him with thoughts, and the imminent entry into Spirit City caused even greater turmoil in his heart.
He hadn't seen Xiao Wu since the finals of the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament years ago.
He didn't know how she had been doing all these years, whether she was still with Xuan Ming, or what role she played in the current Spirit Empire.
Longing, worry, and a hint of indescribable bitterness intertwined in his heart.
When the delegation's carriages finally arrived at the outskirts of Spirit City, the honor guard representing the Spirit Empire was already lined up, waiting to greet them.
The leader, dressed in the purple-gold official robes of an Imperial Prime Minister, possessed an elegant and dignified demeanor. It was none other than the Sect Master of the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect and the Prime Minister of the Spirit Empire—Ning Fengzhi.
Behind him stood the composed Sword Douluo Chen Xin and Bone Douluo Gu Rong.
Seeing this former ally, once a honored guest of the Heaven Dou Empire, now appearing before them as the Prime Minister of an enemy nation, both Tang San and the three Education Committee members felt an indescribable awkwardness and sigh of regret.
After all, for a long time in the past, the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect was one of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family's most steadfast and important supporters, with close cooperation and deep ties between them.
However, everything changed after that Spirit Master tournament. The Seven Treasures Glazed Sect sided with Spirit Hall and even participated in the attack against the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
Although the Heaven Dou Empire later learned that the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect faced a desperate situation of "destruction if they didn't cooperate," which was, to some extent, an act of helplessness.
Understanding is one thing, but the established facts and the shift in allegiance still created an insurmountable chasm between the two sides.
At this reunion, the atmosphere was inevitably subtle and somber.