Thank you to our new Patrons: joao goncalves, William Ngo, Dog Jay and Christopher Gärtner! Your support means the world to me <3 We are up to Chapter 175: Shrek Questions the Emperor! on Patreon!
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)
Remember to participate in the weekly vote for the series that gets extra chapters!
---------------------------------------------------------------------
"Grandpa, in a few days, our Imperial Team will embark on a journey across the continent for spirit duels. For the foreseeable future, we likely won't be in Tiandou City," Dugu Yan informed her grandfather of their upcoming plans.
Dugu Bo absentmindedly acknowledged her words, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then hastily left the academy.
The matter was critical to the survival of the Dugu family—he had to take it seriously.
During this time, he had been lying low in Tiandou City, observing Ning Tianchen's every move while waiting for the right moment.
By evening, the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect received a special guest.
For this reason, Ning Tianchen, Ning Rongrong, and Ke Jie were summoned back to the sect.
---
Inside the council hall of the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect, Ning Fengzhi sat on the high seat, flanked by the Bone Sword Spirit Elders.
Before them stood the head of the Feng Family of Tiandou City—Feng Changlin.
"Lord Ning, I heard from Xiaotian that Elder Ke Jie of your sect can teach him how to cultivate his self-created soul skill. May I ask if this is true?" Feng Changlin got straight to the point.
As the sect leader, Ning Fengzhi focused only on major matters and rarely concerned himself with such details.
"I am not aware of this matter. Please wait for Elder Ke Jie's arrival," Ning Fengzhi replied calmly.
After a pause, he asked, "Is there anything else you wish to discuss, Lord Feng?"
The Seven Treasures Mall, operated by the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect, had officially opened for business. By now, eighty percent of the city's foot traffic was concentrated there, causing other commercial streets to see a significant drop in business.
Such high profits naturally drew envy from many. It was only because of the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect's overwhelming strength that these opportunists were kept at bay.
Feng Changlin smiled. "Lord Ning, I visited your Seven Treasures Mall yesterday. In the past, purchasing the items I needed would require traveling across half of Tiandou City, consuming an immeasurable amount of time. Now, I can buy everything I need in one place."
"Time is money. Your sect's mall has truly made things convenient for people like me."
Ning Fengzhi, of course, understood that the other party hadn't come merely to praise the success of the Seven Treasures Mall. There must be another motive.
Sure enough, Feng Changlin's next statement revealed his true intentions. "Lord Ning, yesterday I noticed that there are still over twenty vacant shops in your mall. Would your sect consider leasing two of them to my Feng Family?"
With the Seven Treasures Mall's foot traffic, no matter what products were sold, sales figures wouldn't be low.
Especially when placing male luxury goods next to female luxury items—it could be described as making money hand over fist.
However, Ning Fengzhi had reserved these vacant shops as bargaining chips for future negotiations with other factions. Leasing one meant losing a valuable asset—how could he part with them so easily?
"Oh? I didn't expect Lord Feng to be interested in our shops. May I ask what kind of goods your family plans to sell? If it's suitable, I'll give it serious consideration."
For the next while, both parties continued to haggle over the shop issue.
It must be said that Ning Fengzhi's negotiation skills were impressive. Feng Changlin constantly felt that his offers weren't sufficient and kept proposing new ones.
As far as Ning Fengzhi was concerned, the Feng Family's most valuable assets lay in three areas: the deed to Elemental City, the Feng Family itself, and their exploration records of Hurricane Canyon.
Aside from these three aspects, Ning Fengzhi wasn't interested.
About the time it took to burn an incense stick, Ning Tianchen and the others arrived at the council hall.
"These two must be Ning Tianchen and Ning Rongrong. Xiaotian has mentioned you before," Feng Changlin greeted them warmly.
The two bowed respectfully. "Greetings, Lord Feng."
After a pause, Feng Changlin quickly asked about the matter he was most interested in.
Feng Xiaotian had been so obsessed with cultivating his self-created soul skill that he had almost neglected everything else—even his soul power cultivation had suffered in recent years. Now, having someone who could guide his training was like rain after a long drought.
Following Ning Fengzhi's instructions, Ke Jie spoke up. "Lord Feng, I have conducted deep research into the Chaotic Windsplitting Hammer Technique. Teaching Xiaotian how to cultivate his self-created soul skill won't be a problem."
"If you're willing to let Xiaotian study under me, send him to Seven Treasures Academy. I'm willing to accept him as my disciple."
Feng Xiaotian would undoubtedly become the future head of the Feng Family. If he became Ke Jie's disciple, the Feng Family would naturally align itself with the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect—this was precisely the outcome Ning Fengzhi desired.
Listening to Ke Jie's conditions, Feng Changlin hesitated.
The Feng Family rarely participated in the competition between the major sects, preferring to stay secluded in Elemental City.
Allowing Feng Xiaotian to enter Seven Treasures Academy would essentially mean hitching the family's fate to the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect's ship.
Aligning with the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect would certainly bring more benefits to the Feng Family, but it would also transfer the sect's risks onto them.
Seizing the opportunity, Ning Tianchen interjected, "Lord Feng, has Xiaotian told you about our Seven Treasures Team's lineup? To be honest, our goal for the next Soul Master Competition is to win the championship. If Xiaotian joins us, our chances of winning will increase by ten percent."
"If Xiaotian stays at Divine Wind Academy, your team will most likely miss out on the championship."
Feng Changlin had already been informed of Ning Tianchen and the Yu Die sisters' strength by Feng Xiaotian.
Just the Yu Die sisters alone could restrain Feng Xiaotian. How could the rest of Divine Wind Academy's team withstand Ning Tianchen's assault?
In that case, even if Divine Wind Academy reached the finals, they would inevitably lose to the Seven Treasures Team.
After a long silence, Feng Changlin finally relented. "Xiaotian has mentioned wanting to study at Seven Treasures Academy. Since Elder Ke Jie has extended an invitation, I'll allow him to go. As for whether he becomes your disciple, that will be entirely up to Xiaotian's decision."
Turning to Ning Fengzhi, he asked, "Lord Ning, what about the shop matter?"
Ning Fengzhi smiled faintly. "Lord Feng, it's getting late. Why don't you stay for dinner at our sect? We can continue our discussion over the meal."
The major issues had been settled; now it was time to negotiate the distribution of benefits.
Having already decided to align with the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect, Feng Changlin naturally wouldn't pass up the opportunity to secure more advantages.
---
Later that evening, Feng Xiaotian reported to Seven Treasures Academy.
"Welcome, Xiaotian, to our team!" Ning Tianchen led the group in welcoming him.
Currently, the team had eight members, meaning one person would inevitably be left out during seven-person spirit duels.
However, no one complained about this. On the contrary, everyone was highly motivated.
Ke Jie spoke up. "Xiaotian is a Soul Ancestor. If he participates in team spirit duels, our opponents will undoubtedly be Soul Ancestor-level teams. Huayu and Zhuqing, the two of you have just broken through to Level 29. Focus on reaching Level 30 as soon as possible so we can integrate Xiaotian into the duels."
A Great Soul Master facing off against a Soul Ancestor—wasn't that suicide?
Thus, Feng Xiaotian couldn't participate in team spirit duels for the time being. Once Zhu Zhuqing and Chen Huayu broke through, the team could expand to eight members and refine their coordination.
"The team needs to be commanded by a captain and vice-captain. I hereby announce that Tianchen will be the captain. As for the vice-captain, everyone will vote to decide."
There were no objections to Ning Tianchen becoming captain. As for the vice-captain position, the Yu Die sisters lacked leadership skills and thus withdrew from the running.
No one else had the ability to oversee the entire battlefield, so the vice-captain position ultimately went to Feng Xiaotian.
------------------------------------------------------
Support my writing journey: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
40+ Chapters Ahead Guaranteed.