Chapter 321: Ning Fengzhi's Plans
In a refined courtyard in Heaven Dou City, three figures sat together as host and guests.
If Yu Tianlin were here, he would recognize all three at a glance: Ning Fengzhi, Chen Xin, and Xue Qinghe.
Chen Xin was much the same as always. As Chen Xin, he was responsible for protecting Ning Fengzhi, so he sat quietly to the side with his eyes closed, seemingly resting while actually sensing everything around them to guard against any possible danger.
Ning Fengzhi and Xue Qinghe, on the other hand, were chatting quite pleasantly.
"Teacher, how is Rongrong doing lately?" Xue Qinghe asked with a smile. "I heard she has been cultivating very diligently recently, and it seems her spirit power has broken through again."
It turned out that Xue Qinghe really was Ning Fengzhi's student, so calling him "Teacher" was perfectly natural.
"Rongrong has grown up." Ning Fengzhi's expression clearly showed how pleased he was with his daughter's improvement in cultivation. "Ever since the last grand tournament ended, she has been working very hard. Among the younger generation of the clan, no one can compare to her now."
"It is a good thing that Rongrong is so diligent," Xue Qinghe said with a nod. "Still, cultivation also requires balancing work and rest."
Hearing that, Ning Fengzhi immediately replied, "Qinghe, you know how to talk about balancing work and rest, but you yourself look exhausted. You should also pay more attention to resting."
"Teacher." Xue Qinghe gave a bitter smile. "I also want to rest properly, but Father Emperor's health has not been good lately, and he has entrusted me with some of the Empire's affairs. Although the workload is not too heavy, I still feel as though I am walking on thin ice, afraid of making even the slightest mistake. How could I possibly have time to rest? Even this short meeting with Teacher was squeezed out with difficulty."
"You should get used to it as soon as possible." Ning Fengzhi took a sip of tea and said calmly, "You are the Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire. Sooner or later, you will have to go through all of this."
Xue Qinghe sighed. "I only wish I would never need to go through these things, and that Father Emperor's health would recover soon."
As the two spoke, after a while, a faint light suddenly flashed from the ring on Ning Fengzhi's right hand. If one did not look carefully, it would have been easy to mistake it for a reflection.
Ning Fengzhi paused, then subtly brushed the ring with his finger, concealing the faint light coming from it.
Chen Xin, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them at once, clearly sensing what had happened. Xue Qinghe, however, remained smiling as before, his gaze steady, as though he had not noticed anything at all.
"Qinghe, let us end our talk here for today." Ning Fengzhi rose from his seat and said, "It seems there is something in the clan that needs my attention, so I must return first."
Xue Qinghe also stood up and said, "Of course, Teacher. To be honest, I also need to go back soon and deal with some state affairs."
After personally escorting Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin to the courtyard gate, Xue Qinghe bid them farewell. As he watched their departing figures, a thoughtful look gradually appeared in his eyes.
"A message specifically meant for the Clan Master? Could it be that something major has happened again in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan?"
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
"No matter what it is, I just hope it does not interfere with my plans. The old man is already close to death. At a time like this, nothing unexpected should happen."
On the other side, after Ning Fengzhi checked the message he had received, his expression immediately turned a little strange.
Seeing that, Chen Xin could not help asking, "Fengzhi, for a message to reach you so suddenly at a time like this, it should not be something minor. Did something happen in the clan?"
"It is not about the clan." Ning Fengzhi shook his head. "It is Yu Luomian. He has invited me to meet him in the forest outside the western gate of the city."
"Old Second Yu?" Chen Xin looked somewhat surprised. "Why is he suddenly looking for you?"
"I do not know the exact reason yet." Ning Fengzhi replied, "But it should be something important. In the message, he specifically asked that I conceal my aura well, and that this meeting must not be discovered by anyone."
"He is being quite secretive." Chen Xin glanced at Ning Fengzhi. "So, are we going or not?"
"Of course we are going." Ning Fengzhi smiled faintly. "Since Yu Luomian has invited me with such care, I naturally want to see what he intends to discuss. As for concealing our aura, I will have to trouble Uncle Sword."
Chen Xin had already expected this answer. As soon as Ning Fengzhi finished speaking, he immediately concealed both of their auras and led Ning Fengzhi swiftly toward the western gate of Heaven Dou City.
In truth, even without deliberately hiding themselves, it would still be very normal for them to leave the city through the western gate, because the ancestral grounds of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan were located in that direction, not far from Heaven Dou City.
Because of that, even the choice of meeting place had clearly been carefully considered by Yu Tianlin. It made Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin's movements appear as natural and reasonable as possible.
After leaving the city, there was still some distance before they would reach the meeting place.
While leading Ning Fengzhi onward, Chen Xin said, "Fengzhi, I think that boy Xue Qinghe is rather strange. Emperor Xue Ye's worsening condition should not be that simple."
"Perhaps." Ning Fengzhi neither confirmed nor denied it. "But at the end of the day, these are still only suspicions. Qinghe is the Crown Prince, after all."
As the leader of a great clan, Ning Fengzhi had seen all kinds of people. Naturally, he was not naive enough to believe that Xue Qinghe was some completely innocent and spotless person.
Setting everything else aside, the deaths of the Heaven Dou Empire's Second Prince and Third Prince were definitely connected to Xue Qinghe. Otherwise, one could not possibly explain away the premature deaths of both princes as mere coincidence. Once a person reached a certain level, who would still believe in coincidence?
If the deaths of the Second Prince and Third Prince were related to Xue Qinghe, then it naturally followed that Xue Ye's current physical decline was also very likely tied to him.
However, none of that really mattered to Ning Fengzhi, nor did he particularly care. What he truly cared about was only one thing, his identity as Xue Qinghe's teacher.
If Xue Qinghe successfully ascended the throne, then Ning Fengzhi, as his teacher, would naturally benefit. That would also be good for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. Because of that, he simply chose to pretend that he knew nothing.
Besides, when one thought about it carefully, the Star Luo Empire was much the same. The princes there also slaughtered one another. It was just a more direct and open struggle for the survival of the fittest, meant to produce the strongest successor.
So, from Ning Fengzhi's point of view, what Xue Qinghe had done within the Heaven Dou Empire was not all that strange. The only difference was that the Star Luo Empire did things openly, while the Heaven Dou Empire needed to maintain appearances on the surface.
If Xue Qinghe had really been Xue Qinghe, then Ning Fengzhi's calculations would indeed have been sound.
Unfortunately, the real Xue Qinghe had long since died, and the one who currently wore his face was Qian Renxue in disguise. Because of that, Ning Fengzhi's calculations were destined to fail.
Sometimes, the more carefully one plots, the easier it is to become trapped in one's own design.
In the original story, when Ning Fengzhi once said to Emperor Xue Ye, "Whoever gains the Grandmaster gains the world," Emperor Xue Ye released a formidable aura. From that alone, Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin both knew that Emperor Xue Ye possessed considerable cultivation.
Later, that same Emperor Xue Ye, who clearly had strong cultivation, began to weaken inexplicably little by little. There was obviously something wrong.
Ning Fengzhi certainly noticed it, but because Xue Qinghe was his student, he chose to feign ignorance.
As it turned out, Xue Qinghe was really Qian Renxue in disguise. On the very day her identity was exposed, she turned around and attacked the already weakened Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School once again. Later, the school also lost the trust of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family.
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