Chapter 280: Spy Qian Renxue

Ning Feiliu did not hesitate in the slightest and said directly, "Because the Spirit Hall is about to make a move against the two great sects. They have a plan internally called the Soul Hunting Operation, and they expect to mobilize eighteen thousand Spirit Masters and seven Title Douluo, preparing to destroy the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect."

Since there was no one else around anyway, he felt it was better to let Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo, and Bone Douluo know about this matter in advance.

Originally, he wanted to let the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect successfully survive the blow of the Spirit Hall's Soul Hunting Operation; if Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo, and Bone Douluo knew ahead of time, then there would be a greater chance of success.

Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo, and Bone Douluo were also startled upon hearing this.

Sword Douluo frowned and said with some anger, "That Spirit Hall actually dares to set its sights on us? Are they truly not afraid of defying the will of the world?"

They did not doubt that what Ning Feiliu said was false; there was absolutely no need to have even the slightest suspicion.

The only thing to consider was where Ning Feiliu had learned this news from.

After all, what if Ning Feiliu had been deceived? "Feiliu, how did you know about this?" Ning Fengzhi also thought of this point and asked.

"I learned it from the Spirit Hall side; in short, it's a long story," Ning Feiliu said casually. "But one must always be on guard against others. Regardless of whether this matter is true or false, equipping Soul Guidance Devices to increase the self-preservation capabilities of the direct disciples is a good thing after all."

"That is also true... one must always be on guard against others," Ning Fengzhi also felt it made sense, nodded, and said.

"Moreover, after the Clear Sky Sect retreated, we were the only two strongest sects left in the Spirit Master world. The Spirit Hall must view us as a thorn in their side and a nail in their flesh," Ning Feiliu continued.

"But do they really dare to attack our two great sects so blatantly?" Bone Douluo could not help but ask in confusion.

"What if they don't come openly, but act secretly behind the scenes?" Ning Feiliu said. "When the time comes, they can hypocritically express their condolences and then say it wasn't them who did it; what could be done then?"

"Impossible, eighteen thousand Spirit Masters... for the Spirit Hall to mobilize so many Spirit Masters, they must mobilize them from Wuhun City," Ning Fengzhi said with a frown. "And to mobilize so many Spirit Masters from Wuhun City, it is impossible for them to enter the empire's border passes, let alone travel all the way without leaving a single trace."

After all, there are eighteen thousand Spirit Masters; the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect only has six thousand Spirit Masters, and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect only has three thousand.

If such a massive army of Spirit Masters could enter the borders of the Heaven Dou Empire without a sound...

One could only say that they didn't take the Heaven Dou Empire seriously at all.

Or perhaps, the Heaven Dou Empire was too relaxed.

For a force to send out an army of ten thousand—let alone Spirit Masters, even a regular army—to be able to penetrate deep into a country's capital...

This is a very absurd thing.

Ning Fengzhi did not quite believe that the Spirit Hall could send out an army of eighteen thousand Spirit Masters and successfully enter the Heaven Dou Empire without any movement.

However... the original plot was indeed like this, though the specific reasons were not explained.

But even if it wasn't explicitly stated, Ning Feiliu, who knew the plot, could roughly deduce the general reason.

"But what if there are spies within the empire, and... the various vassal states on the empire's borders have already rebelled?" Ning Feiliu said calmly.

"Spies within the empire? The various vassal states have rebelled?" Ning Fengzhi frowned and said.

"That's right, the various vassal states outside the empire's borders have already been secretly turned by the Spirit Hall and have become their inside agents," Ning Feiliu said, then smiled again. "As for the spies within the empire."

"It is the current Crown Prince... Xue Qinghe. However, she is not Xue Qinghe, but the daughter of the former Spirit Hall Pope Qian Xunji—Qian Renxue."

"What?" Originally, Ning Fengzhi had a calm expression; even when it came to the various vassal states of the Heaven Dou Empire being turned by the Spirit Hall, his expression had not changed much.

But now, after hearing that "Xue Qinghe" was a spy planted by the Spirit Hall within the Heaven Dou Empire, his expression finally changed.

He quickly said, "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! How could Qinghe be a spy for the Spirit Hall? All these years, he and that Spirit Hall Platinum Bishop Salas have been at odds like fire and water!"

"That was just acting for everyone to see," Ning Feiliu said expressionlessly. "Her goal was to deceive everyone, then successfully ascend to the throne, replace the true heir, and then cooperate with the Spirit Hall to take down the Heaven Dou Empire."

Ning Fengzhi still could not believe it, because the reason he had always supported the Xue Qinghe disguised by Qian Renxue was that he hoped that after "Xue Qinghe" ascended to the throne, he would be promised the position of Imperial Preceptor of the Heaven Dou Empire, and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would also be named the state religion of the Heaven Dou Empire, becoming even more powerful.

But this was actually a spy from the Spirit Hall in disguise?

He could not accept such a thing.

"Feiliu, is there some misunderstanding? Do you have any evidence?" Therefore, Ning Fengzhi still asked, unwilling to give up.

"Evidence... I don't have any, but Father, you can use a honey trap to test her," Ning Feiliu said casually. "If she is truly Xue Qinghe, a man in his twenties, then it is very normal for some things to happen with women."

"So Father, you can send some women to test her. If she doesn't accept them, although it doesn't confirm she is a Spirit Hall spy, it can definitely prove there is a problem, right? After all, she has no women she likes, and as the future heir to the empire, she doesn't engage in those things with women?" He continued, "At that time, Father can just take extra precautions."

Hearing these words from Ning Feiliu, Ning Fengzhi pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "I will..."

"And..." Ning Feiliu said with a smile, "That Qian Renxue is still poisoning Emperor Xue Ye with a chronic poison. When the time comes, Father will know once you check on the Emperor's condition."

"Also, Father... actually, hedging your bets now... is not too late," Ning Feiliu said meaningfully.

Originally, Ning Fengzhi was fully supporting the Crown Prince's side; after all, the trend of the Xue Qinghe disguised by Qian Renxue ascending the throne was very good, just like a bull market in A-shares—everyone would want to make a profit.

But the things that happened later... were of course well-known; the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect ended up losing everything.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's strength was greatly diminished, going from the second-ranked Spirit Master sect on the Douluo Continent to the third.

Tang San instead became the Imperial Preceptor of the Heaven Dou Empire, and the Tang Sect became the state sect of the Heaven Dou Empire.

Ning Feiliu naturally felt that Ning Fengzhi could start by befriending Xue Beng now.

After all, it is easy to add flowers to a brocade, but difficult to provide charcoal in the snow.

Now, in a situation where the Crown Prince's faction has such a great advantage, if Ning Fengzhi were to show some goodwill toward Xue Beng, Xue Beng would definitely be grateful in his heart.

Ning Fengzhi hesitated for a moment, but he took a deep breath and said, "Good, I will consider it."

"Hmm, I have nothing else..." Ning Feiliu thought of something else and said, "By the way, Father, could you have the sect capture five Ten Thousand Year Soft Bone Rabbits, five Ten Thousand Year Diamond Tigers, and five Ten Thousand Year Phoenix Tail Crested Snakes for me?"

"This is..." Ning Fengzhi asked curiously, "to make Soul Guidance Devices?"

"Yes, but they are enhanced versions of Soul Guidance Devices. Actually, the higher the source of the Soul Skill Core of a Soul Guidance Device, the higher the strength of the soul skill should be," Ning Feiliu said. "Next, I want to make a set of such Soul Guidance Devices... to give to my girlfriends... we will continue to travel outside when the time comes." He said at the end, feeling a bit awkward.

This word "girlfriends" was really too scummy.

It was exactly the tone of his childhood friend, that scumbag.

But Ning Feiliu really... felt that he was a scumbag now. Yes, having several women at the same time, isn't that just a scumbag?

He wouldn't do the "I want both" thing; he did look quite like a scumbag, so he was a scumbag.

This really couldn't be argued.

However, these words from Ning Feiliu made Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo, and Bone Douluo all stunned for a moment.

"Girlfriend... s?" Ning Fengzhi looked at Ning Feiliu, his eyes full of astonishment.

"Uh... yes, although it's hard to explain, in short, I have four girlfriends now," Ning Feiliu said, feeling a bit embarrassed. "I have already informed Sister Yan about this, and Sister Yan doesn't mind, so you can rest assured."

"Yan Yan doesn't mind? But this is a bit unfair to Yan Yan," Ning Fengzhi frowned and said. "Who are the other three girls?"

"One is... Lingling, the successor of the Nine Heart Begonia who has always had a very good relationship with us," Ning Feiliu said.

"Ye Lingling?" Ning Fengzhi nodded, frowned, and said, "Then what about the other two?"

"The other two are people I met outside, students of Tianshui Academy, Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er. Bing'er has the top-tier martial soul Ice Phoenix, and Yue'er is... a possessor of Twin Spirits," Ning Feiliu said with some exaggeration.

In fact, Shui Bing'er's martial soul, the Ice Phoenix, could only be considered a first-class martial soul; as the saying goes, a top-tier martial soul must be able to compete at the same level as other top-tier martial souls to be considered top-tier.

However, Shui Bing'er's martial soul had a significant gap compared to the Clear Sky Hammer, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, so it could not be considered top-tier, even though her martial soul was a phoenix.

As for Shui Yue'er's Twin Spirits... in addition to her original martial soul, the Jade Dolphin, she had also condensed a Moon God martial soul similar to Huo Yuhao's Necromancy Holy Law God after receiving the inheritance of the Saintess of the Moon Sect.

Whether she could add Soul Rings like a normal Twin Spirits possessor, or if she could only have one Soul Ring like Huo Yuhao's Necromancy Holy Law God martial soul, was unknown.

However, Ning Feiliu saying this was clearly to increase the importance Ning Fengzhi placed on Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er.

No...

Ning Feiliu suddenly thought, why did he have to say this to make Ning Fengzhi approve of Ye Lingling, Shui Bing'er, and Shui Yue'er?

He did not need to obtain Ning Fengzhi's consent.

Hearing Ning Feiliu say this, Ning Fengzhi's expression improved slightly; after all, they were all very excellent Spirit Masters, so that was naturally a good thing for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

But he still said, "Feiliu... this is still not good."

"Sister Yan and the others have no objections, and I cannot give them up," Ning Feiliu said indifferently.

Hearing Ning Feiliu speak so firmly, Ning Fengzhi, who had originally wanted to forcefully lecture Ning Feiliu, was suddenly speechless.

Ning Feiliu was so firm; if he continued to persuade him to give up the women other than Dugu Yan, would it provoke Ning Feiliu's resentment? In fact, if Ning Feiliu had not been with Dugu Yan first, and if Dugu Bo was not behind Dugu Yan, Ning Fengzhi would not have minded Ning Feiliu marrying multiple wives in the future.

Especially since the talents of Ye Lingling, Shui Bing'er, and Shui Yue'er were very good; Ye Lingling's talent was obvious to all in the entire Heaven Dou City.

Over these years, Ye Lingling was the third Spirit Master of the younger generation to break through to the Soul King realm, following Dugu Yan and Ning Feiliu, and the Nine Heart Begonia martial soul itself was the number one healing martial soul on the Douluo Dalu.

It was absolutely a top-tier Auxiliary System martial soul, and Ning Feiliu happened to have switched from an Auxiliary System Spirit Master to a Battle Soul Master.

Therefore, Ning Fengzhi absolutely had no objections to his union with Ye Lingling.

And according to what Ning Feiliu said, Shui Bing'er had the top-tier martial soul Ice Phoenix, so her talent definitely could not be bad, and she might even become a Title Douluo in the future.

This naturally suited Ning Fengzhi's wishes very well.

As for Shui Yue'er being a Twin Spirits possessor... that went without saying.

A Twin Spirits possessor could be considered a potential stock with a powerful future, whose strength might even far exceed that of an ordinary Title Douluo.

Ever since the contemporary Pope of the Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong, proved that a Twin Spirits possessor could solve the problem of the two martial souls conflicting with each other and displayed overwhelming combat power.

The value of Twin Spirits possessors had been constantly rising.

Otherwise, in the original plot, why did no one care that Tang San had Innate Full Spirit Power at the beginning, and no one cared that he suppressed a bunch of powerful enemies?

But it was precisely because he revealed that he was a Twin Spirits possessor that the Spirit Hall spared no effort to mobilize heavy troops, even disguising themselves as bandits, just to kill Tang San.

It was because the Spirit Hall knew all too well how terrifying a Twin Spirits possessor would be in the late stages.

This is like encountering an ultimate late-game three-carry lineup on the opposite side in a ranked match, such as Kayle, Kassadin, or Aphelios; you would definitely think about destroying the opponent's base in the early or mid-game.

You would never think about letting the opponent develop to level sixteen or eighteen.

It could be said that even if Twin Spirits only had one or two levels of soul power, their value was still very high.

As long as they are cultivated, it means they are invincible.

If it were not for Dugu Yan and the Dugu Bo behind her, Ning Fengzhi would really have no objections and would instead be very supportive of Ning Feiliu starting a harem.

After all, starting a harem... high-level noble Spirit Masters and even the Imperial Royal Family of the Heaven Dou Empire had this tradition, so what did this count for? Ning Feiliu starting a harem could actually strengthen the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's power in the future.

Ning Fengzhi wished for Ning Feiliu to start a harem and take in more such excellent girls.

But because Ning Feiliu was betrothed to Dugu Yan from the beginning, Ning Fengzhi needed to consider Dugu Yan's feelings.

And even if Dugu Yan agreed, what if Dugu Bo was unwilling to let his granddaughter share with others and suffer grievances? But now, Ning Feiliu's attitude left him very conflicted.

(End of this chapter)