Chapter 116: The World Has Suffered Too Long
When Tang Chen was mentioned, the faces of Tang Tian, Tang Xiao, and Tang Hao—the father and sons—all swelled with unconcealed pride.
In their minds, Tang Chen was an invincible legend. He was the man who had stood at the absolute peak of the continent, the one who had defeated Spirit Hall's High Priest, Qian Daoliu, in single combat.
Neither Spirit Hall's new, monstrous Second Guardian, Jingni Douluo, nor Qian Daoliu himself were a match for their grandfather, Tang Chen.
Regarding this, among those present, no one denied it.
Except, perhaps, for Sword Douluo Chen Xin. He had personally witnessed the strength of Jingni, and he knew things the Clear Sky Sect did not. He knew that the era of Tang Chen's unchallenged dominance was long over.
Ning Fengzhi continued, his voice smooth and earnest, "Sect Master Tang and my Uncle Sword are both Titled Douluo with Spirit Power as high as Level 95."
"If the Clear Sky Sect's ultimate technique, Ring Explosion, is used, I'm afraid my Uncle Sword will find it difficult to parry. However, correspondingly, Sect Master Tang will probably also suffer a backlash from such a powerful skill. If he then faces Senior Yu Yuanzhen of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, Sect Master Tang will be in danger. The reverse is also true."
"I, Ning Fengzhi, deeply understand the importance of the titles 'World's Number One Sect' and 'World's Number One Tool Spirit' to your esteemed Sect."
"I have already discussed it with Uncle Sword. Whether it's him or Senior Yu Yuanzhen, if they face Sect Master Tang using Ring Explosion, they are probably not a match. It will ultimately result in a situation where both sides are injured. Therefore, for fairness, tomorrow at the Sect Competition, when it's the Upper Three Sects' turn to compete, to prevent taking advantage of someone's weakness, Uncle Sword will voluntarily concede."
His words were very skillful. The meaning was that Tang Tian could only defeat Sword Douluo by using the self-harming Ring Explosion. If he didn't use it, the victor would be unknown.
It both elevated Tang Tian's status and did not disgrace Sword Douluo.
In reality, at this moment, Sword Douluo Chen Xin had consumed a great deal of his Spirit Power healing Bone Douluo. His face was pale, and his aura was dull. Even if Tang Tian didn't use Ring Explosion, Sword Douluo was unlikely to be a match for Tang Tian in his current, weakened state.
The reason for saying this was merely to do a favor and get something for nothing.
And the audience present, seeing Sword Douluo concede, would not think that Sword Douluo was afraid of Tang Tian and Yu Yuanzhen. They would believe that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School was using its actions to silently resist the atrocities Spirit Hall had previously committed against them.
This was the best way to preserve and even restore the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's reputation.
This was a triple win: it did a favor for the Clear Sky Sect, protested Spirit Hall's tyranny, and preserved the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's reputation, all while preventing Sword Douluo from losing to Yu Yuanzhen and Tang Tian after going on stage.
Tang Tian didn't know Ning Fengzhi's intricate thoughts. He didn't refute Ning Fengzhi's words, remaining silent for a while before asking in a deep voice, "And then? Sect Master Ning is unwilling to take advantage of others, so what does he gain by helping my Clear Sky Sect like this?"
Ning Fengzhi shook his head, a mask of weary sincerity on his face. "I, Ning Fengzhi, don't want to gain anything."
"I presume Sect Master Tang has seen what my Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School encountered today. And Brother Tang Xiao, Brother Tang Hao, you should have heard about it as well."
He suddenly stood up, his voice filled with righteous indignation, "Spirit Hall is so overbearing! A mere Qin Xuan, their 'Second Majesty,' treats my Upper Three Sects as dirt! He openly made trouble for my Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School without any evidence!"
Tang Hao sneered and interrupted Ning Fengzhi, slamming his cup down. "Is that so? Why did I hear that you were caught planning to secretly kill him? And that the widely publicized case of Yu Xinglong's disappearance from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan happened not long after the Upper Three Sects' gathering?"
He had also participated in the Upper Three Sects' gathering back then and had met Yu Xinglong. Even he had to admit that the other party was extraordinarily talented. Since they were similar in age, they had even once shared drinks and talked happily.
Unfortunately, not long after that gathering, he disappeared. Now that he thought about it, it seemed to really be related to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.
After all, Ning Fengzhi's father was a notorious smiling tiger in the Spirit Master's world.
Ning Fengzhi's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, but he still vehemently denied it, "Brother Tang Hao, you misunderstand. This matter is purely baseless!"
"It's all because Qin Xuan secretly used his Spirit Power to transmit his voice, threatening the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School to force me to admit to something baseless! Not to mention, he had his wife break Uncle Bone's leg, gouge out one of his eyes, and cripple three levels of Spirit Power that Uncle Bone painstakingly cultivated! This caused Uncle Bone's realm to drop to Level 91, and his Spirit Power can never advance again!"
Tang Hao didn't believe it at all. "Sect Master Ning, do you take me, Tang Hao, for a fool? Just Qin Xuan, a mere Level 76 Spirit Saint, even if he truly possesses a 100,000-year 7th ring, he can threaten your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School? If you said Supreme Pontiff Qian Xunji, I might believe it a bit."
One must know that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School is not just one of the Upper Three Sects, but also an ally of the Heaven Dou Empire. If Spirit Hall were to attack the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School without any reason, the Heaven Dou Empire would not sit idly by.
Spirit Hall would not go so far as to let a mere Holy Son run wild.
Ning Fengzhi said indignantly, "Just Qin Xuan alone, of course, cannot threaten my Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. But his wife can! With her Twin Spirits, she cultivated to Peak Douluo strength, and with just one move, she subdued Uncle Bone, who was at Level 94 Spirit Power! Even Sect Master Tang and Sect Master Yu previously tried to dissuade her, but they were both ignored by Qin Xuan's wife, Jingni Douluo! She even declared that if they continued to dissuade her, they would suffer the same fate as me and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School! Such actions are simply too numerous to record!"
Ning Fengzhi said so much, and Tang Hao believed almost none of it. He knew this was a cunning fellow.
But when his father and the Clear Sky Sect were mentioned, Tang Hao instantly became furious. He turned to Tang Tian and asked, "Father, did Jingni Douluo really threaten you?"
Tang Tian found it hard to speak. Today, he had truly experienced Ning Fengzhi's 'power.' As Qin Xuan had said, he could turn black into white.
At that time, Jingni Douluo did not threaten him, but she did threaten Yu Yuanzhen.
If he had spoken up, he would probably have received the same treatment.
So he said, "Sect Master Yu of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan... was indeed threatened by Jingni Douluo."
"Damn Spirit Hall! Do they really think my Clear Sky Sect has no one?" Tang Hao roared in anger upon hearing this. His eyes instantly became covered in a bloody red hue. The Slaughter God Domain automatically activated, and in an instant, the air in the room became chilling and filled with malice.
At this moment, Tang Hao's unrefined weakness was exposed: as long as he was provoked, his Slaughter God Domain was at risk of losing control at any time.
"Brother Hao!" Tang Xiao grabbed Tang Hao's shoulder, his own Spirit Power flaring to suppress the domain. Only then did the bloody hue in Tang Hao's eyes recede, and he returned to normal.
Slaughter God Domain.
Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo exchanged glances. This was the opening. They finally revealed their fangs, continuing to fan the flames.
"Sect Master Tang might as well consider," Ning Fengzhi said, his voice now a low, conspiratorial whisper, "if Spirit Hall can treat the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School like this today, will they not treat your Sect the same way if the Clear Sky Sect has some friction or unpleasantness with them in the future?"
"The world has suffered under Spirit Hall for a long time. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School is weak and unable to resist Spirit Hall alone. For self-preservation, we only ask that the Upper Three Sects stand together to jointly resist Spirit Hall's tyranny."
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