Chapter 114: Ning Fengzhi Vomits Blood Again
Tang Hao had long been dissatisfied with this matter and chimed in from the side, "That's right, Second Elder. Those dogs from Spirit Hall are too arrogant. If Big Brother hadn't stopped me, I would have almost been unable to resist teaching them a harsh lesson. They really don't put our Clear Sky Sect in their eyes."
"Hao'er, your Big Brother is right." The Second Elder's smile instantly froze. He looked around the bustling street and, seeing no one from Spirit Hall within earshot, said in a deep voice, "This is not the place to talk. Follow me. I'll take you to see the Sect Master."
The two brothers nodded and followed the Second Elder into the inn.
Only Tang Yuehua remained in place, her eyes curiously surveying her surroundings as if searching for something. Finally, her gaze settled on the second-floor window of the restaurant across the street.
"Is it an illusion?"
Her innate Domain was called the Noble Circle.
[Inorin's Note: Tang Yuehua's Domain, the Noble Circle, is a non-combat ability that calms the mind, pacifies killing intent, and allows her to be extremely sensitive to the emotions and intentions of others.]
Although it had no offensive power, it was quite sensitive to emotional fluctuations. At close range, it could even calm the killing intent released by the Slaughter God Domain.
This was also one of the reasons why she was so smooth in handling affairs and was loved by most of the Clear Sky Sect's Elders, despite having no cultivation talent and her Spirit Power being stuck at Level 9 for life.
Earlier, while her two older brothers were talking to the Second Elder, she vaguely sensed a special emotional fluctuation from that window. It was not hostile, but it was incredibly deep, cold, and observant... like a dragon watching from the clouds.
Perhaps it was too far away, or she had misjudged, but that emotional fluctuation quickly disappeared, vanishing as if it had never been there.
"Yuehua, what are you still doing outside?" Tang Xiao's voice called from inside the inn.
"Coming." Tang Yuehua sighed helplessly and could only follow, casting one last uncertain glance at the window before disappearing inside.
"Sir, did that woman discover us?"
From the second-floor window of the restaurant, Mo Ya stood behind Qin Xuan, his voice a low whisper. "But she clearly has no Spirit Power fluctuations on her. Could she be a Titled Douluo with profound cultivation, concealing her power?"
Mo Ya's senses were sharp, honed by years as an assassin. He had felt the woman's gaze, and it was too perceptive for a commoner.
"Titled Douluo my ass," Qin Xuan said, turning from the window. "She's just a little girl who can never break through Level 10 Spirit Power in her life. Ignore her."
He turned to look at Mo Ya and Bai Feng, his expression shifting to business. After a slight pause, he took out the strange, swirl-patterned purple fruit—the Silent Fruit—which he had obtained from a black iron blind box. He handed it to Mo Ya.
[Inorin's Note: The Silent Fruit (a reference to the Nagi Nagi no Mi from One Piece) is a Devil Fruit that grants the user the ability to create soundproof fields, making them perfectly silent.]
With this fruit, combined with Mo Ya's own cultivation method, the special nature of his Spirit, and his unparalleled lightness skill, it was estimated that even a Titled Douluo would find it difficult to track his movements. He would be the perfect spy.
"Sir, this is..." Mo Ya subconsciously glanced at Bai Feng.
Qin Xuan smiled slightly. "You don't have to prioritize Bai Feng for everything. This is something I specially prepared for you. I need you to do something for me."
"As for Bai Feng," he added, glancing at the white-haired young man, "as long as he seriously helps me with my affairs, I will not treat him unfairly in the future. Now, eat it."
"Thank you, Sir." Mo Ya hesitated no longer. He took the Silent Fruit and took a bite.
"Ugh!" He almost threw up his overnight meal, his face contorting.
This thing was simply too unpalatable. It tasted like rotten fish mixed with burnt rubber.
Because Ning Fengzhi was a Support-type Spirit Master, whenever he went out, at least one of Titled Douluo—Sword Douluo or Bone Douluo—would accompany him, eating and living together.
This time, Ning Fengzhi had uncharacteristically brought both Titled Douluo with him for the Sect Competition, and naturally, it was no exception. The three of them shared a large suite in the inn.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan resided in the finest inn in Spirit City.
At this moment, Sword Douluo Chen Xin was treating Gu Rong.
Although Gu Rong's external wounds were mostly fine under the healing light of Ning Fengzhi's Seven Treasure True Body, Jingni's sword qi, formed from her unique Spirit Power, remained lodged deep within his body.
It would occasionally run wild, a shard of ice-cold, sharp energy, making him miserable.
Thud—
Gu Rong, with only one eye left, suddenly spasmed on the bed and spat out a large mouthful of clotted, blackish blood.
"Uncle Sword, how is Uncle Bone doing?" Ning Fengzhi asked anxiously upon seeing this.
"Hoo..." Sword Douluo Chen Xin let out a long breath and slowly placed Bone Douluo back on the bed. He sighed, "The injury is temporarily stable, but some of Jingni Douluo's sword qi remains in the old bone's body."
"I can't remove it on my own; I can only temporarily suppress it."
At this moment, Sword Douluo Chen Xin's face was extremely pale. It was clear he had consumed a great deal of energy just to suppress the foreign sword qi in Gu Rong's body.
It might even affect tomorrow's Sect Competition.
But this was not the most important thing. His old friend had suffered a fundamental injury this time. His strength had sharply decreased, and his Spirit Power had dropped all the way to Level 91. Moreover, his cultivation might never advance again in the future.
This was undoubtedly a bolt from the blue for any Spirit Master, let alone a Titled Douluo.
Ning Fengzhi noticed the unusual, grim expression on Sword Douluo Chen Xin's face and asked via Spirit Power transmission, "Uncle Sword, please speak frankly if you have something to say."
Sword Douluo Chen Xin hesitated for a moment, then replied with a heavy heart, "Old bone's Spirit Power... his foundation... it might never advance again. He will remain at Level 91 for life. Also, the sword qi left by Jingni Douluo in his body... if it cannot be removed, it will accompany him for several years, even more than ten years. Each time it flares up, it will be worse than death."
"Are there... are there any other methods of treatment?" Ning Fengzhi closed his eyes in pain, his voice barely a whisper.
Sword Douluo Chen Xin shook his head. "This sword qi is very peculiar. It's unheard of and unseen. It's not just Spirit Power; it's imbued with her will, her Domain, and... something else. Besides Jingni Douluo herself, I'm afraid only the Spirit Hall's High Priest Qian Daoliu or the Clear Sky Sect's former Sect Master Tang Chen, those two Level 99 Limit Douluo, would have a solution."
"If I don't avenge this, I, Ning Fengzhi, swear I won't be human!" Ning Fengzhi secretly vowed in his heart. Spirit Hall's action, Qin Xuan's action, had undoubtedly severed one of his Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan's arms.
Sword Douluo Chen Xin was unaware of Ning Fengzhi's dark thoughts. After a slight hesitation, he no longer used Spirit Power transmission, but spoke directly, adding, "I just suppressed the sword qi in the old bone's body. It consumed a lot of my own power. I can't fully recover in a short time."
"Tomorrow," he said, his voice grim, "I'm afraid I won't be a match for the two Sect Masters of the Clear Sky Sect and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan."
"Ah! That Spirit Hall has bullied my Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan too much!" Ning Fengzhi roared to the sky, holding his Seven Treasure scepter. With a single, furious swing, he shattered the teacup on the table beside the bed.
Feeling that it wasn't enough to vent his anger, he simply overturned the table as well, sending porcelain and wood scattering across the floor.
A moment later, he only felt a blackout, a wave of dizziness, and his entire body, drained of strength, fell backward.
Sword Douluo Chen Xin was quick-witted. With a flash of his figure, he was already behind Ning Fengzhi, catching him. Then, with a bitter smile, he uttered the most helpless words of his life.
"Sect Master, if it really doesn't work, let's go back. This Sect Competition... it's fine not to participate. With me and Old Bone here, no one would dare to belittle the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan."
"Go back... Hehe... Go back?" Ning Fengzhi's laughter was somewhat frantic, completely devoid of his usual gentle elegance and composure. "If we could go back, I would have agreed the moment you suggested it."
"Do you know what that bastard Qin Xuan said to me via Spirit Power transmission before he left?"
"He said that if we went back dejectedly before the Sect Competition, his wife would visit our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan tonight. Hehe... Hahaha... Ah, Qin Xuan! Jingni! Spirit Hall! You have bullied my Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan too much! I, Ning Fengzhi, will never rest until I've settled this score with you!"
Ning Fengzhi cried and laughed, tears and snot flowing everywhere. As he spoke, he felt a sharp pain in his chest and suddenly spat out a mouthful of clotted blood.
Today was already the third time Ning Fengzhi had vomited blood.
Yet, from beginning to end, no one had physically harmed him. It was all due to pure, unadulterated anger and humiliation.
The first time was when Qin Xuan forced him to admit that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan hunted down geniuses from other factions, and then went back on his word and attacked Bone Douluo.
The second time was still Qin Xuan, who, after the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan had lost all face, threatened them and wouldn't let them leave.
The third time involved Qin Xuan, Jingni Douluo, and even the entire Spirit Hall.
Ning Fengzhi swore that if he didn't avenge this, he wouldn't be human.
At this moment, Bone Douluo woke up.
"Cough... cough..." He coughed a few times, his one remaining eye fluttering open. He slowly, painfully, struggled to get up. Because his body was too weak and he was missing a leg, he lost his balance and fell from the bed.
Tears streamed down his face. "I'm sorry, Sect Master... it's all my fault! It's all my fault for implicating the Sect! If it weren't for me, you and the Sect wouldn't have suffered such a great humiliation! And Chen Xin... you wouldn't have consumed your Spirit Power for me, making it impossible to win the title of 'World's Number One Sect'!"
It is said that a man's tears do not fall lightly, only when he is truly heartbroken.
Although he had been unconscious just now, his consciousness was still in a semi-awake state. He had heard everything Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo Chen Xin said.
Because of his recklessness, he had severely injured himself, lost an eye, and lost a leg. Not only that, but he had also ruined the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan's best chance of winning the title of 'World's Number One Sect'.
Now, not only was there no hope for 'World's Number One', but they couldn't even contend for the second place that the Sect Master had originally planned.
How could this not make him heartbroken and weep?
"Uncle Bone, please don't say that. You were also thinking of the Sect." Ning Fengzhi hurriedly crawled towards Bone Douluo. The two proud, powerful men hugged each other on the floor, crying like two old children who had been bullied.
The pale-faced Sword Douluo Chen Xin saw this scene and didn't know whether to help them up or not. Finally, he simply gave up, turning to the window with a heavy sigh.
After the two finished crying, he carried Bone Douluo back to the bed to rest and helped Ning Fengzhi to a chair.
A majestic Titled Douluo, Chen Xin, who would reach Level 97 Spirit Power in the future and was known as the continent's greatest swordsman, had now become a nanny, needing to care for two injured, weeping men.
Sword Douluo Chen Xin was an upright person. Otherwise, Qin Xuan would not have said that he was the only one among the Upper Three Sects who deserved respect.
However, at this moment, he also felt very helpless.
There is a cause for every effect.
To say that Spirit Hall was not to blame... the Sect Master was angered to the point of vomiting blood, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan was disgraced, and Gu Rong was severely injured, all caused by Qin Xuan and Jingni Douluo.
But to say they were to blame... this matter was provoked by Gu Rong in the first place. Why did he always like to hunt down geniuses from other Sects for no reason?
Not to mention the distant past, just take Yu Xinglong, whom Yu Yuanzhen of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan mentioned. He was killed by Gu Rong at the request of the previous Sect Master, after a gathering of the Upper Three Sects, during Gu Rong's early years in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.
He knew some of the inside story, more or less. It was just that, out of his position and because Gu Rong was acting for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, he pretended not to know.
This time, it could only be said that karma comes full circle, and heaven spares no one.
He had walked the night road too often and finally met a ghost.
Thinking of this, Sword Douluo Chen Xin sighed helplessly and asked Ning Fengzhi, "Sect Master, what do we do now?"
"I will not let Uncle Bone lose a leg and an eye for nothing." In his distress, Ning Fengzhi, who was usually good at reading expressions, did not notice Sword Douluo Chen Xin's unusual emotions.
His most urgent task at the moment was to comfort the severely injured Gu Rong. Although Gu Rong's strength was not as good as before, and he had lost a leg and an eye, he was still a Titled Douluo, no matter what.
Even if he was the weakest. He was still an indispensable force for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.
He had to be appeased to prevent any accidents, such as him trying to commit suicide.
And then there was the 'Upper Three Sects sharing the same Spirit'.
After the painful lesson of the day, Ning Fengzhi not only did not lose heart, but became even more determined in the idea of 'Upper Three Sects sharing the same Spirit'. In fact, it was not just the Clear Sky Sect and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
There was also the Heaven Dou Empire, and even the Star Luo Empire.
One day, he would unite all the forces on the continent to remove this cancer, Spirit Hall, from the Spirit Master's world and avenge the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan and Bone Douluo.
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