More than half an hour later, watching Chu Chengzhou leave the great hall and Qian Renxue once more take the form of Xue Qinghe, Ning Fengzhi, who could not acknowledge this disciple, wore an indescribably complicated expression.
Ning Rongrong was not an only child. She also had several elder brothers, but all of them were mediocre.
As for Xue Qinghe, this personal disciple, Ning Fengzhi had treated him as his own. Over the years, the effort he poured into Xue Qinghe was absolutely more than what he gave those ordinary children of his own blood.
He truly found it hard to accept that the disciple he had painstakingly taught for many years was in fact Qian Renxue, young master of Spirit Hall.
Of course, Ning Fengzhi's refusal to acknowledge Qian Renxue was not only because she had deceived him, nor simply because the Heaven Dou Empire and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect were allies.
When Chu Chengzhou asked earlier about his enmity with Spirit Hall, what Ning Fengzhi did not say was that he actually had deep conflict with Spirit Hall. He just had no evidence, so he did not speak.
Excluding the Star Dou Forest and the Extreme North, the territory of the Heaven Dou Empire and its vassal kingdoms and principalities occupied half the continent. Yet up to two years ago, the Heaven Dou Empire had only four Titled Douluo on the surface.
They were Sword Douluo Chen Xin and Bone Douluo Gu Rong of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Thunder Douluo Yu Yuanzhen, patriarch of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, and Jade Phosphor Douluo Dugu Bo, a guest elder of the Heaven Dou imperial family.
Half the continent's territory. Excluding those who had joined Spirit Hall, why had only four Titled Douluo emerged?
It was known that innate full soul power would definitely become a Titled Douluo.
With innate level nine soul power, so long as the martial soul imposed no limitations and one did not haphazardly add spirit rings, one would likewise become a Titled Douluo.
With innate level eight soul power, if the ring configuration was optimal, one trained diligently, and one's comprehension was decent, it was not impossible to achieve Titled Douluo.
In the past hundred years, those born with innate full soul power and clearly recorded numbered nearly twenty, and those with lower talent such as innate level nine or innate level eight were certainly even more numerous.
Taking a hundred years as the span and Spirit City as the center, the number of genius soul masters in the entire northern continent who were born with innate soul power of level eight or higher should be at least in the hundreds, if not more.
Even if a large portion of these geniuses joined Spirit Hall, with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Heaven Dou Empire as the second choice, and with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan inheriting the world's number one beast martial soul, it was impossible for the Heaven Dou Empire to have only four Titled Douluo within its borders.
So where did the other Titled Douluo go?
Genius soul masters also require nurturing after birth. At least half of them lose their potential for a title because they do not receive perfect cultivation during their growth.
Of the rest, a small number die while hunting spirit rings. When soul masters hunt soul beasts, soul beasts also hunt soul masters.
But compared to those who die hunting rings, more die to assassinations by hostile forces.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has Ning Fengzhi as sect master. Why is there no sect master's wife?
In his youth, Ning Fengzhi was the young sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, one of the most privileged scions on the continent.
And Ning Fengzhi was not a wastrel living off his family. Though he was only a support-type soul master and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul limited his soul power level cap, his innate soul power was level eight.
As the saying goes, "marry a virtuous wife." Ning Fengzhi had the looks, the talent, and the background. Concubines aside, the wife he formally married could not possibly be an ordinary woman.
She could lack background, and she could be plain, but her cultivation talent absolutely could not be low.
Otherwise, no matter how much Ning Fengzhi liked her, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would not allow an ordinary woman to become the future sect master's wife.
There is no doubt that Ning Rongrong's mother was exceptional, born with innate level nine soul power, with definite potential for a title. With the sect's full support, she might even have reached level 95 Titled Douluo in the future, becoming one of the pillars for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to sit firmly among the three great sects.
Unfortunately, the outstanding draw envy. Soul masters with great talent naturally attract assassins from hostile forces.
Shortly after Ning Rongrong was born, Ning Fengzhi's wife fell to an assassination.
When the experts of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect arrived, they found only a corpse lying in a pool of blood, along with scant traces of battle and the aura of an unfamiliar Titled Douluo.
A nine-ring Titled Douluo is no run-of-the-mill nobody. Moreover, due to the uniqueness of martial souls, if the assailant were a known Titled Douluo active in the soul master world, then based on the traces and residual soul power at the scene, it would not be hard to determine which Titled Douluo had done it.
Since the assailant's origin could not be determined, it meant the one who struck was not a Titled Douluo active in the soul master world.
And across the soul master world, aside from Spirit Hall, what other force could field a Titled Douluo who had never left a name?
Sadly, Spirit Hall was too powerful for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to confront.
Without conclusive evidence, even if they knew eight or nine times out of ten that the assassin came from Spirit Hall, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect could not pursue it openly and could only retaliate in kind from the shadows.
"Ah Heng, tell me what I should do."
Head lowered, Ning Fengzhi murmured.
At this moment, his mind was filled with the image of his gentle, departed wife.
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps came from far to near and reached the absent-minded Ning Fengzhi's ears.
Looking up, Ning Fengzhi saw Chu Chengzhou return, entering from outside the hall.
Seeing Ning Fengzhi's reddened eyes, Chu Chengzhou thought, as expected, and asked, "Will you tell me?"
He had sensed something wrong earlier. Otherwise, given Ning Fengzhi's rationality, with Qian Renxue sincerely asking forgiveness, no deep enmity between them, and the sect's interests guaranteed, he would most likely have taken the offered step down.
Since he did not, there had to be hidden reasons Chu Chengzhou did not know.
So after letting Qian Renxue leave first, Chu Chengzhou returned to ask what had happened.
Casting Chu Chengzhou a glance, Ning Fengzhi shook his head and did not speak.
People cannot only look back. More than that, they must look forward.
Nearly seventy years of life had taught him that the past could not be changed. Digging up that old account would only add another layer of estrangement.
"A son-in-law is half a son. What can't be said?"
Chu Chengzhou sat down beside Ning Fengzhi and spoke again.
"You really want to know?"
After a moment of silence, Ning Fengzhi asked.
Chu Chengzhou nodded.
"In the past, Rongrong always asked me where her mother went. I lied to her that her mother went to the Star Dou Forest to hunt a spirit ring and never came back."
"Spirit Hall did it?"
"The one who struck was an unfamiliar Titled Douluo."
Hearing this, Chu Chengzhou fell silent.