Chapter 302: Collapse of Glory, Seeds of Rebirth
When Ning Fengyun, the leader of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, woke up, he didn't know how much time had passed.
"Tian'er, did the martial spirit of the last owner of the seven-color gem successfully evolve?"
Although he had vomited blood and fainted before, and now looked very sick, he still remembered what had happened before he lost consciousness.
"Father, don't ask about that."
Ning Tian didn't answer directly, but her words already carried the truth.
"It succeeded after all… The ancestors of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect—I've failed them."
"Father, don't lose hope. Things will get better one day."
Ning Fengyun looked at his daughter, gently reaching out to touch her head.
"Tian'er, I feel the most sorry for you. Our Nine Treasures Glazed Sect is now nothing more than a second-rate sect with a bit of reputation. If only you were born ten thousand years ago during the prime of the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect…"
"In both effort and talent, you surpass even the founder of our sect. But I couldn't create a Nine Treasures Glazed Sect strong enough to shield you from the wind and rain. If only I had secured a Titled Douluo, perhaps things would be different…"
"In this era where auxiliary-type soul masters are becoming more and more marginalized, I—the sect master—failed to seize our last chance to reclaim our former glory. Ten thousand years from now… we might not even qualify as a second-rate force."
Ning Tian wanted to console her father, but when the words reached her lips, she couldn't say them.
The truth was cruel—too cruel to be denied.
With the emergence of soul spirits and the Sun Moon Empire's policy of allowing purchases through loans, soul rings no longer limited the potential of soul masters. Leapfrogging soul rings was now becoming the norm. If the promotion of soul spirits continued, the number of Titled Douluo on the continent would more than double within a century. Even the age barrier that once hindered Limit Douluos would cease to exist.
In the future, strength would not be measured by the number of Titled or Super Douluos a sect had, but by how many Limit Douluos it could field.
And the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect… might not even qualify.
With a level cap of 79, their support-type abilities could no longer keep up. First-rate sects would have several Limit Douluos. Second-rate sects would have at least one. Third-rate forces might field Super Douluos, and even fourth-rate sects could still gather ordinary Titled Douluos. But the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect—whose martial soul was still the Seven Treasures Glazed Tower—would be left behind entirely.
If Wu Feng were still alive, perhaps she could have become a Super Douluo with her talent and high-level soul spirit. But she was gone, and the sect had no more geniuses.
"It seems… you think the same," Ning Fengyun sighed. "The era when swords and bones intertwined beneath the glow of the seven-colored divine light… is long gone. Only when swords and bones combine again to shine with a nine-colored light might glory return."
"Why would the heavens create the Seven Treasures Glazed Tower, the rainbow dragon, and the seven-colored gem… only to cast us aside?"
Looking much older than his years, Ning Fengyun sank deeper into the bed, his voice weary and spirit broken.
"I'm not sure about the sword and bone," said a new voice suddenly, "but the appearance of the ghost is certain."
A direct descendant of the sect had entered the room, his tone tinged with dissatisfaction.
"Ningbo!"
Ning Tian glared at him, clearly unhappy with the interruption. But Ningbo—son of Ning Fenglie and nephew of Ning Fengyun—was unfazed. Years ago, their grandfather had chosen Ning Fengyun as sect leader due to his conservative policies. But now, it was clear that might've been a mistake.
"Ningbo, what did you mean by 'ghost'?" Ning Fengyun asked, ignoring the tension.
"Ghost Nana," Ningbo replied flatly. "The one who displayed four black and four red rings during the All-Continent High-level Soul Master Competition. She calls the Soul Palace Master 'Master' and now serves as a direct subordinate of Ye Ningguang."
"What?" Ning Fengyun looked to Ning Tian, seeking clarification.
"Ye Ningguang once had a family and sect," Ning Tian explained softly, "but they were destroyed. Nana was the only one who survived. She fled to the Sun Moon Empire and joined the Soul Palace. Xiao Qiang comforted her and eventually…"
"She now sees Xiao Qiang as her brother. He entrusted her to Ye Ningguang to protect and care for her."
Ning Fengyun stared blankly, his mouth agape. "You mean… Nana—a genius who reached Soul Douluo at 20—is now Ye Ningguang's bodyguard and maid?"
Ning Tian nodded.
"A genius of that level…"
Ning Fengyun clutched his chest again, feeling another wave of pain. If someone like Nana had joined their sect, she would be treated as royalty. Yet she had been given away as a maid?
"Does he always give this much?"
Ning Tian nodded again. "According to Xiao Qiang, anyone who helps him when he's weak deserves support later. He believes that if his benefactors are left miserable and weak, no one will be able to help him next time."
"…If there were another chance—I might still make the same choice," Ning Fengyun muttered, eyes filled with sorrow. "Because I didn't dare take the risk. That's why I became sect leader. And that's also why I failed the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect."
"I am… the sinner of the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect."
With those words, Ning Fengyun's spirit shattered. Though still alive, the light in his eyes was gone. The Nine Treasures Glazed Sect was doomed to continue its decline.
Meanwhile, in the ruins of the Soul Palace headquarters…
"Has the Lake of Life's water been distributed?" Xiao Qiang asked calmly.
"All of it," his subordinate replied. "But… it's hard to say how many lives can be saved. After the explosion of the ninth-level fixed soul guide shell and the chaos sown by evil soul masters, the confirmed death toll is already over a million."
Xiao Qiang's eyes grew cold. "You truly live up to the legacy of the evil soul masters…"
He paused, then commanded, "Search the entire city for Huo Yuhao, the Shrek team member who participated in the All-Continent High-level Soul Master Competition. Once he's found, declare to the public that he was the one who bombed the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy."
"Yes, Palace Master. I'll lead the search immediately. Also…"
"Speak."
"We haven't found Huo Yuhao yet—but we have captured Princess Jiujiu of the Xingluo Empire."
"…Hmm?"
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