The next morning.
At the gates of the Chu residence.
"One day without seeing you is like three years apart, Brother Qinghe. We haven't seen each other for ten days—that's like seven or eight years to me! Your younger brother has missed you terribly!"
Chu Chengzhou spread his arms wide, grinning as he moved in for an enthusiastic hug with Qian Renxue, just stepping down from the carriage.
"Go to hell!"
She slapped his arm away, glaring.
"Oh, come on. We're brothers! No need to be so distant."
Chu Chengzhou hooked his arm around "good brother" Xue Qinghe's neck, all smiles like they were the closest of pals.
Chu Chengzhou: Brothers for life!
Qian Renxue froze. But with royal knights behind her and Chu servants nearby, she couldn't resist too strongly. Just as he said—brothers shouldn't keep each other at arm's length.
So, with his arm slung warmly around her, Chu Chengzhou escorted her inside.
Once in the courtyard, out of sight, Qian Renxue shoved him away. "Shameless!"
"Pfft. What's a face worth—two coins?" Chu Chengzhou muttered.
"Hmph! If I'd known, I wouldn't have come! Here. I sold your soul bones at the Heaven Dou Auction House."
She pulled out a stack of gold cards, handing them over.
Chu Chengzhou flipped through them—each worth five hundred thousand, twelve in total. Six million gold soul coins.
Nineteen thousand-year soul bones, seventeen ten-thousand-year soul bones, thirty-six in all… sold for an average of a little over a hundred and sixty thousand each?
He was sure of it—Qian Renxue wasn't taking a cut. No, she only gave him the cut!
In these times, soul bones were treasures. Unlike in the later soul tool era, where powerful devices outshone them, here soul bones were second only to rings in value.
"You're looking at me like that? Doesn't this lady deserve a little handling fee?"
Qian Renxue's cheeks reddened under his stare, but she quickly masked it with calm indifference.
Xue Qinghe was crown prince, not emperor. His funds were limited, his faction of courtiers bled money, and she couldn't draw too much from the Spirit Hall without risking exposure.
Now that a fat sheep had landed in front of her, of course she'd shear it.
Chu Chengzhou stared long and hard. He wanted to grab her collar and roar, Doesn't your conscience ache?
But he held back. "So—how are you planning to compensate me for all that skimming?"
"Skimming? What skimming? Don't talk nonsense. I just charged a small service fee."
She shook her head seriously.
"Really just a little?"
"Really! Just a little." She pinched her fingers together to show.
"You mean a whole continent's worth of 'a little'?" Chu Chengzhou sneered.
Qian Renxue: "…"
Best not to expose a friend too harshly.
"Forget it. What's the Star Luo Empire's response?"
He waved it off. Money was nothing—he wasn't a pay-to-win player. With his cheat, gold coins weren't worth fussing over.
Qian Renxue was relieved he let it go. She straightened. "The Empire's intelligence service is watching closely. So far, no visible action."
"No action? Then they're definitely cooking something up."
Chu Chengzhou arched a brow. He'd killed four Contras and more than twenty Saints. No way the Star Luo royals were calm. If nothing showed on the surface, it only meant they were preparing a counterstrike.
"I bet they've already pegged me as the culprit and sent their top killers on the road."
"You should be careful. They may send Titled Douluo after you. Inside Heaven Dou City, you're safe—the Emperor already dispatched most of the royal guest-officials. The city is sealed tight."
The Royal Guest Corps—Heaven Dou's elite, even stronger than the knights. Every member above rank 80, many in their dozens. Even several fresh Titled Douluo would hesitate before them.
That force, along with the knights, was the Snow family's strongest backing to keep the throne stable.
"I know," Chu Chengzhou nodded.
He expected assassins. But instead of hiding quietly, he was thinking of baiting them. Not alone—he'd call on Jian Douluo and Gu Rong.
Slaughter a few of the enemy's Titled Douluo, and Star Luo would think twice before wasting more. Drain their foundations, and the Empire itself might collapse.
——
Two days later, morning.
Summoned by his beloved daughter's letter, Ning Fengzhi arrived with Chenxin.
At once, both sensed something strange in Chu Chengzhou. Chenxin, a Titled Douluo, of course. But even Ning Fengzhi, though only a Contra, had sharp spiritual power—he felt the vortex of soul power in Chu Chengzhou's body.
They entered, served tea. But Ning Fengzhi kept glancing at his stomach, flashing "I know" looks that made Chu Chengzhou's face darken.
He hadn't said a word, yet had already said everything.
"Enough staring. Rongrong's letter was about this."
Chu Chengzhou spoke plainly.
"Oh? What is it?" Ning Fengzhi smiled, intrigued.
"I can sense energy constantly rushing into your core. A method for rapid recovery?" Chenxin guessed.
"It does speed recovery. But more than that.
I call it the soul core. Condense one, and it increases the quality of soul power, accelerates recovery, and serves as a vast reservoir. It also helps break through bottlenecks."
Helps break bottlenecks?
Chenxin's eyes burned. He'd been stuck at rank 96 peak for years, unable to touch 97. Now hope gleamed.
"So it's because condensing a soul core improves soul power quality?" Ning Fengzhi reasoned.
"Something like that. Anyway, it works."
In later ages, soul cores were the very reason countless could reach Titled Douluo, Super Douluo, even Ultimate Douluo.
"What difficulty is there in condensing one?" Ning Fengzhi asked.
Clearly not everyone could—none of Chu Chengzhou's three girls had them yet.
"It's dangerous. A soul core is condensed from one's own power and heaven and earth energy, compressed at high speed. Lose control, and it explodes. If your spiritual power and control aren't far above average, best not try below rank 89."
"I see. And can the vortex be hidden?"
Ning Fengzhi pointed at his abdomen. His first instinct—useful, but secret. Especially from Spirit Hall.
"When necessary, I can cut it off from the outside world. But it requires focus and weakens the effect."
"What do you want, then? When will you teach?" Ning Fengzhi asked directly.
The secret was too precious for him to haggle.
"Any time. As for payment—there's nothing of yours I lack. Just promise this: for ten years, apart from Sword Grandpa, Bone Grandpa, and your sect's rank-89 Contras, it must not be spread."
Chu Chengzhou waved.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Sect might have spies planted, but none could reach the top. As long as only a handful of high-level elders knew, leakage was impossible.
Chapter 174: The Advantage Is Mine, This One's Steady!
'Nothing in my possession is worth your interest?'
At those words, Ning Fengzhi's face instantly darkened.
So wealthy as he was, Ning Fengzhi had never expected to be looked down upon like this.
Half an hour later, Chu Chengzhou, together with his three girls, traveled with Ning Fengzhi and Chenxin to the Seven Treasure Glazed Sect.
Guiding Chenxin and Gu Rong in condensing soul cores would take time, and since they were headed to the sect anyway, Ning Rongrong wanted to bring her two sisters along to visit her "home."
Of course, it wasn't truly her home yet—after all, she wasn't married in.
—
East of Heaven Dou City, ten li away, in a small village, inside a modest house.
"Report, sirs. The target has left Heaven Dou City!"
A young man in rough peasant garb bowed before four blond middle-aged men and four elegant women.
"Hm? So soon?"
The leader, Sixth Elder of the Star Luo royal clan, Dai Sheng, showed a flash of surprise across his darkened features.
They had only just arrived in Heaven Dou this very morning—could it really be that Chu Chengzhou left the city already?
Perfect.
Chu Chengzhou had killed his son and daughter-in-law. Dai Sheng longed to rip him apart with his own hands.
"The spy saw it with his own eyes. However…"
"However what?" asked Seventh Elder Dai Heng.
"...Ning Fengzhi, the Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Sect, and Sword Douluo Chenxin were with him."
At that, Dai Heng, along with Eighth Elder Dai Xu and Ninth Elder Dai Yao, all turned toward Dai Sheng, their eyes saying the same thing: You decide.
"Chenxin, and Ning Fengzhi…"
Dai Sheng's face clouded as he weighed the odds.
With their eight combined, invoking the Netherworld White Tiger, they could match four assault-type Titled Douluo. But Chu Chengzhou's strength wasn't trivial either. At the very least, he was high-level Contra, perhaps even rivaling a Titled Douluo. Add Chenxin and Ning Fengzhi, and the outcome wasn't certain.
Worse, the battleground was too close to both Heaven Dou City and the Seven Treasure Glazed Sect. If they failed to win quickly, reinforcements could arrive, and retreating intact would be hard.
After a long breath, Dai Sheng spoke: "Chenxin's power isn't weak, and with Ning Fengzhi's support, accidents are too easy. For now, we hold. Chu Chengzhou is headed to the Seven Treasure Glazed Sect. We wait until he leaves, then strike!"
"That's fine," the others nodded.
They hadn't come to clash with the Sect or the Empire. Their mission was revenge and eliminating a threat. If Chenxin was present, best to avoid direct conflict.
—
Inside the carriage, Chu Chengzhou gazed out at the looming mountain gates of the Seven Treasure Glazed Sect, lost in thought.
Had the Star Luo assassins not yet arrived? Or had they seen Chenxin at his side and decided not to act?
"What's on your mind, boy?" Ning Fengzhi asked from beside him.
"Recently pulled off something big. I half-expected assassins on the road."
"...Star Luo again?" Ning Fengzhi blinked, immediately guessing.
Chu Chengzhou nodded. "When I left the Slaughter City, Star Luo sent killers after me. I turned the tables and cut them down. Not long ago, I went to Star Luo myself, slaughtered some of their top people. They'll be making moves again."
"How many exactly is 'some'?" Chenxin asked with amusement.
"Not many. Just one White Tiger Contra, over twenty White Tiger Saints, plus three royal in-laws at the eight-ring level."
"Cough—!"
Ning Fengzhi nearly choked.
If the empire lost four Contras and more than twenty Saints, that was painful, but still within what they could bear.
But if it was the royal family's own bloodline, the impact was devastating.
Even in a full-scale war between the two empires, the royals might not lose so many elites.
"You're ruthless. If I were Dai Yutian, I'd send a few Titled Douluo to hunt you down." Chenxin chuckled.
"A few Titled Douluo? Sword Grandpa, you'll help me, right?"
At once, Ning Rongrong tugged on Chenxin's sleeve, worried.
"Don't fret, girl. This brat's plenty strong."
Chenxin wasn't concerned. Just that Titan Giant Ape summon of his could rival a Titled Douluo. And Chenxin himself had seen Chu Chengzhou's movement technique—ordinary Titled Douluo couldn't pin him down.
"Sword Grandpa, this time the ones coming are bound to be big fish, maybe more than one. How about we fish for them instead?" Chu Chengzhou suggested.
Head to the Sect, then leave again. Let them think he was only settling his girls there. If they bit, he'd strike back hard.
Even if not, he could still use his Xu Mi Illusion Domain to alter a scout's mind and trace the line back to wipe them all out. He'd only used it once before, and every witness had died—Star Luo couldn't know about it yet.
Chenxin glanced at Ning Fengzhi. "What do you think?"
"Let's bring Uncle Gu too," Ning Fengzhi said after a moment.
It wasn't just about their son-in-law. The Seven Treasure Glazed Sect already had deep enmity with Star Luo. Their disciples had shed blood in every imperial war.
If there was a chance to make Star Luo choke, he wouldn't pass it up.
And even if nothing came of it, what did the Sect lose? Nothing.
He refused to believe Star Luo assassins could truly threaten both Chenxin and Gu Rong.
—
Not long after, a carriage left the Seven Treasure Glazed Sect, heading south along the official road.
The curtains were raised deliberately—any passerby could see Chu Chengzhou seated inside.
Ten li out, two figures slipped away from the mountain ridge: Chenxin and Gu Rong.
As planned, Chu Chengzhou would draw fire. The two Douluo followed from a distance. If a fight broke out, they'd close the gap in moments.
—
Back at the small village, the spy knelt before Dai Sheng again.
"Report, my lords. The target has left the Seven Treasure Glazed Sect!"
"Which way?" Dai Sheng asked quickly.
"South! When I departed, his carriage had already passed Heaven Dou City, still heading south."
"Excellent. We move now!"
Dai Sheng's eyes glinted coldly.
"Brother Sheng, could Chenxin be shadowing him? Remember the first time our Empire sent men to kill Chu Chengzhou—Chenxin followed in secret." Dai Heng warned.
He recalled how "Tiger" and "Wolf" had led a squad of Saints and Contras… only for nearly all to die at Chu Chengzhou's hand before Chenxin even had to act.
"It doesn't matter. Ning Fengzhi won't have expected us to come. Even if Chenxin lurks nearby, he can't be too close, or he'd be exposed. We'll unleash our power, kill Chu Chengzhou fast. By the time Chenxin arrives, it'll be too late. Can he keep us here? Impossible!"
Dai Sheng waved off their doubts, confidence brimming.
Eight of them, fusing into the Netherworld White Tiger—equal to four assault-type Titled Douluo. They had no fear, not even of Chenxin.
As for Gu Rong? A defensive Douluo. Hardly a threat compared to Sword Douluo. Even two against four wouldn't matter.
What famous feats did those two really have, anyway? None. Their reputations as "continent's strongest attack" and "most mysterious defense" were all Seven Treasure Glazed Sect hype.
If they were so mighty, why no record of defeating peers?
Hadn't Spirit Hall's former Pope Qian Xunji, Angel Douluo himself, been flattened by Tang Hao just after he broke through to Titled Douluo? And that was with two other Titled Douluo at his side!
True, they weren't Tang Hao. They had no ring detonation, no hundred-thousand-year ninth rings. But they had numbers—and the Seven Kill Sword and bone skeleton weren't angels.
Dai Sheng: The advantage is ours. This one's steady!
Chu Chengzhou: I think the same!
T/N: For up to 30 chapters ahead on most of my translations, become a p@tron at [email protected]/LordHipposApostle