"Little one, I know that the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect and the Spirit Hall are at odds. But killing Yue Guan wouldn't just implicate me—it would drag the entire Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect into it."
"Bibi Dong is far too overbearing. After I broke through to become a Title Douluo, simply because I refused to join the Spirit Hall, she sent people to hunt me down. Killing her subordinate, who knows what kind of insane actions Bibi Dong might take?"
Faced with the Spirit Hall, Dugu Bo felt deeply powerless.
Even though he was a Title Douluo—one of the peak powerhouses on the continent—compared to the Spirit Hall, he was but a small fry, utterly incomparable.
Ning Tianchen nodded.
He naturally understood the gravity of the situation. However, since Dugu Bo wasn't capable of killing Yue Guan anyway, there was no reason to feel regret.
"By the way, old man, I remember you once mentioned that the Dugu family originally made their fortune in the medicinal herb trade. Although I took the immortal herbs from the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well, the high-grade medicinal plants are still there, aren't they?"
"Just so happens, I have control over a shop in the Seven Treasures Mall. Why don't you go back to running a medicinal herb business? In the future, it'll be like leaving a livelihood for your descendants. What do you think?"
This wasn't something Ning Tianchen had thought up on the spot—it had been planned for some time.
Just recently, Ning Fengzhi had given him a shop, and upon Dugu Bo's return, he immediately brought it up.
"The Seven Treasures Mall is a great place indeed. If I'm not mistaken, the average monthly income of each shop is no less than ten thousand gold spirit coins, right?"
Dugu Bo marveled at Ning Tianchen's generosity.
As a disciple of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, the rent for the shop was naturally waived. With this, the profits might even increase by another ten to twenty thousand gold spirit coins.
Keep in mind, not everything in the Seven Treasures Mall was luxury goods—there were also many affordable items. Even with high rental costs, as long as the prices were low enough, there was still profit to be made.
The medicinal herb trade was already a highly profitable industry, let alone when Dugu Bo's herbs were of exceptional quality and cultivated in the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well, practically without any cost.
If a pharmacy were opened in the Seven Treasures Mall, it wouldn't be surprising to rake in hundreds of thousands of gold spirit coins in a single month.
"Forget it—I don't have time to manage a medicinal herb shop. You keep this shop and use it for other businesses later," Dugu Bo said, unwilling to take advantage of a younger generation's favor. Of course, the truth was that he truly didn't have the time.
Ning Tianchen shook his head and shared his thoughts. "Old man, you can hire outsiders to help manage the shop. Many disciples of our Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect manage sect-related businesses outside, and their competence is unquestionable. Since they're part of the family, they definitely won't falsify the accounts."
"So, all you need to do is provide the medicinal herbs and pay for these employees. The rest of the profits will go straight into your pocket."
Dugu Bo saw no cause for suspicion.
Given Ning Tianchen's standing in the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, those disciples would be eager to please him—they absolutely wouldn't dare to falsify anything related to tasks he assigned.
After some contemplation, Dugu Bo realized that apart from the estate he owned at the Seven Treasures Academy, a house outside the city, and an Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well of uncertain value, he really didn't have much in terms of assets to leave to his descendants.
"In that case, I'll accept. As for how to arrange things specifically, I'll follow your lead. In a few days, I'll return to the medicinal garden and harvest a batch of herbs first."
Pausing briefly, he continued, "Zhang Erhe is currently still training. It'll only take one or two more months before he breaks through to Soul Douluo. As for his spirit rings, I'll handle them."
This time, Dugu Bo agreed without hesitation.
---
Inside Sunset Forest, the members of Shrek Academy were hunting for spirit rings.
"Mubai, congratulations!"
Seeing Dai Mubai successfully absorb his spirit ring, everyone offered their congratulations.
Before absorbing the pseudo-immortal herb, his spirit power level was already at 39. With the pseudo-immortal herb and after absorbing the spirit ring, his spirit power level rose to 43.
"Ning Tianchen and Feng Xiaotian's spirit power levels are only slightly higher than mine. When we face off in the tournament, I'll show them what I'm capable of," Dai Mubai clenched his fists confidently.
Yu Xiaogang suddenly remembered something and glared at Flender accusingly. "If it weren't for you handing over my theories to Ning Tianchen, he wouldn't have grown into such a formidable opponent today!"
Flender felt awkward.
Were Yu Xiaogang's theories useful?
The answer was yes.
But those theories only gave general guidelines on how soul masters should cultivate. Would a sect as ancient as the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, with its thousand-year legacy, lack such knowledge within its records?
Giving The Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls to Ning Tianchen wasn't even adding icing to the cake—it was barely relevant. Let alone being a lifeline.
Moreover, the book didn't mention team tactics at all.
Ultimately, it was the deep foundation of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, with its numerous scholars, that allowed them to devise tactics never seen before.
Of course, Flender didn't dare voice these thoughts aloud.
Faced with Yu Xiaogang's accusations, he could only humbly accept them.
Tang San, not wanting to fall behind in spirit ring configuration, asked, "Teacher, Ning Tianchen's fourth spirit ring is a ten-thousand-year spirit ring. Can I also absorb a ten-thousand-year spirit ring as my fourth?"
Yu Xiaogang grabbed Tang San's arms excitedly, raising his voice several notches. "Xiao San, are you crazy? The spirit power surge from a ten-thousand-year spirit ring could make your body explode!"
After calming down slightly, he continued, "But if your physical condition is strong enough, it might be worth a try."
"Absolutely not." Liu Erlong chimed in, adding, "When absorbing a ten-thousand-year spirit ring, you'll endure soul shock from the ring. Even a quasi-Soul King has a significant chance of failure—there's no way a Soul Ancestor could succeed."
"Soul shock?"
It was the first time the group had heard of this, and their gazes turned toward Yu Xiaogang.
As the intellectual backbone of the team, everyone hoped Yu Xiaogang would provide an explanation.
In reality, however, Yu Xiaogang himself had never absorbed even a thousand-year spirit ring, let alone a ten-thousand-year one.
While inwardly cursing Liu Erlong for speaking out of turn, Yu Xiaogang kept a smile on his face. "Let Teacher Erlong explain."
He also perked up his ears, ready to listen.
Originally, this concept wasn't included in his theories. Once he obtained a definitive answer, he would immediately incorporate it into his theoretical writings.
After Liu Erlong's explanation, Tang San and the others finally understood the dangers of absorbing a ten-thousand-year spirit ring.
"Xiao San, are you still determined?" Yu Xiaogang secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
If Liu Erlong hadn't reminded him, who knows—perhaps he wouldn't have been able to resist Tang San's persistent persuasion and would have let him attempt to absorb a ten-thousand-year spirit ring.
Fortunately, it wasn't too late to pull back from the brink.
And, as luck would have it, he gained a new theory he had never considered before.
"A ten-thousand-year spirit ring may be powerful, but that doesn't mean Ning Tianchen is necessarily strong," Yu Tianheng interjected. "Uncle Xiaogang once speculated that he likely used some secret technique to enhance the spirit ring's years. It's not that he's capable of absorbing a ten-thousand-year spirit ring beyond his level."
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family possessed such secret techniques, so Yu Tianheng wasn't surprised by this possibility.
Tang San exhaled and stopped insisting.
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