Chapter 281: Ning Fengzhi's Worry

After Ning Fengzhi sensed that Ning Feiliu seemed to be distancing himself from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, and that he had some intention of leaving the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect once he had repaid the debt of his upbringing, he did not dare to provoke Ning Feiliu's resentment.

So now, he could only...

"Feiliu, Dad is doing this for your own good," Ning Fengzhi had no choice but to say earnestly, "After all, you won't find it easy to explain things to Mr. Dugu."

"Father, I know, don't worry," Ning Feiliu replied with a calm expression.

However, he had indeed never told Dugu Bo about his relationship with Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling, so he lacked confidence.

After all, putting himself in someone else's shoes, if he had a daughter, and she was willing to share a man with another woman...

Let's just say... he would wonder if his daughter had been deceived by that man, or if she had been fed some kind of love potion.

In short, people are indeed double-standard at times.

However, if Ning Feiliu were to consider the problem while his own behavior was not particularly upright, he would not blindly demand that his daughter not share a husband with others.

The premise would be that the man was in a similar situation to him and was treating his daughter with sincerity.

But Dugu Bo... was clearly a "pure love God of War"; his wife had died when he was young, and he had not had any other women for so many years.

His son had also inherited his true teachings and was likewise a "pure love God of War."

Therefore, expecting Dugu Bo to understand Ning Feiliu's "scumbag" behavior was likely very difficult.

But it was not a big problem; Ning Feiliu still had Xue Di's protection, so Dugu Bo should not be able to kill him.

Of course, Ning Feiliu would not let Xue Di do anything to Dugu Bo; after all, he was indeed in the wrong, and Dugu Bo was still his mentor in a sense...

When the time came, he could only strive to become stronger, and then give Dugu Bo a great-grandson with Dugu Yan.

Old people, after all... are all soft-hearted.

Surely no one would be so ruthless as to completely cast their family out just because their children's marriage situation was not to their liking, or even turn a blind eye when their daughter-in-law was pregnant, right?

"Alright..." Ning Fengzhi said no more.

But he recalled the enhanced Soul Guidance Device that Ning Feiliu had just mentioned and asked, "Then, about that enhanced Soul Guidance Device you mentioned..."

"Yes, based on the Soul Skill Core of a Soul Beast, one can enhance the effect of the Soul Guidance Device's attached soul skill, but the gap between a thousand-year Soul Beast core and a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast core is not very large," Ning Feiliu said, "After all, they do not determine the power of the soul skill; what truly determines the power of the soul skill is the input power from the Soul Power Crystal."

It is actually equivalent to the four tires of a car; what truly determines whether a car can run faster is not the requirement for better tire quality, but the car's engine.

Therefore, it is not that the better the Soul Beast core, the more powerful the soul skill attached to the Soul Guidance Device, but rather that it is determined by the Soul Power Crystal.

However, the Soul Power Crystal can already supply enough soul power to release the Invincible Golden Body three times, so Ning Feiliu felt that the upper limit of the soul skill core could be slightly raised, and then... turned into a soul skill that releases the Invincible Golden Body in one go.

He even had an idea: since it is a bracer, wouldn't it be normal for him to wear two? When the time comes, the bracer on his left hand would be the standard Explorer Bracer, and the bracer on his right hand would be the enhanced Explorer Bracer.

Then, he would use the bracer depending on the situation; when facing an attack from a Title Douluo, he would use the enhanced Explorer Bracer, and when facing an attack from a Spirit Master below the Title Douluo level, he would use the standard version of the Explorer Bracer.

Or perhaps in the future, he could upgrade it to use different intensities of the Invincible Golden Body according to the user's will.

But he did not have the time for that now, because the Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament would begin in less than two years.

Before that, he had to complete the mission of exploring the ruins where the God of War fell, and the mission of traveling through the Northern Territory, and then find a way to join Tianshui Academy to participate in the upcoming Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament.

After all... Tianshui Academy really does not accept male students.

Previously, Ning Feiliu became a teacher at Tianshui Academy because the academy had no explicit rule against hiring male teachers.

But the point about not accepting male students was explicitly written in the rules.

The difficulty between these two things was completely different.

The former is like a Hui son-in-law eating pork; in principle, it is not allowed, and they might even get serious and angry with you.

But if the principle—meaning a lot of money—is in the hands of the son-in-law, then it is acceptable; he might even have no problem letting you slaughter a whole pig for three meals.

But the latter is like making a traditional old Hui person eat pork... that is certainly an impossible thing.

Therefore, Ning Feiliu even felt that this mission requiring him to join Tianshui Academy was a test in itself...

Thus, he might need to carefully persuade the Dean of Tianshui Academy and prepare in advance.

As for the matter of the Soul Guidance Device... let's leave it at that for now.

In any case, it is enough for now; with the effect of this Invincible Golden Body, he could mass-produce hundreds or thousands of sets to equip the direct disciples.

And there are the upcoming "Moonstone Regenerator," "Regenerative Rabbit Shoes," and "Phoenix Snake Wings" to be equipped as well...

Then, if the Spirit Hall dares to invade, he will surely make them return in defeat!

"Then, can we actually also..." Ning Fengzhi looked at Ning Feiliu with some anticipation and said.

He wanted Ning Feiliu to produce more of these enhanced Soul Guidance Devices; after all, in a battle between Title Douluo, having such a life-saving skill could be crucial.

Sometimes, it could directly determine the outcome of the battle.

Ning Feiliu said casually, "Actually, it's just that there is a slight difference in the quality of the soul skill core, as well as some differences in craftsmanship."

Because the input efficiency of the Soul Power Crystal that releases the Invincible Golden Body three times is different, the engraving on the Soul Guidance Device will naturally be slightly different.

So there will indeed be a slight difference.

"When the time comes, just follow the method I left behind and produce them according to the situation," Ning Feiliu said casually.

He really did not have the time to make more Soul Guidance Devices; the work of researching Soul Guidance Devices was already tiring enough...

Let's go find Sister Yan and Lingling tonight and relax.

Ning Feiliu thought to himself.

"Alright then, since that's the case, we will listen to you, Feiliu," Ning Fengzhi nodded and agreed.

"Mm, Father, Jian Yeye, Gu Yeye, if there's nothing else, I'll be going first," Ning Feiliu said, "I'll just give you that Explorer Bracer."

"Fine, go ahead," Ning Fengzhi had no objections. Ning Feiliu slipped away decisively; he planned to find Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling to spend another sleepless night together.

Sometimes, this thing is indeed addictive.

Especially since Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling are peerless beauties.

He had developed a taste for it.

After he left, Ning Fengzhi looked at the blue-gold bracer in the hand of the Sword Douluo and sighed with emotion, "Feiliu's talent is truly far more formidable than we imagined."

"Indeed, under Feiliu's leadership, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect will surely become stronger in the future; I even feel..." the Bone Douluo said with a smile, "Perhaps in the future, we will be able to go toe-to-toe with the Spirit Hall."

"Fengzhi, take this for now." Sword Douluo handed the Explorer Bracer to Ning Fengzhi and said, "If what Feiliu said is true, you must be careful."

Upon hearing this, Ning Fengzhi immediately recalled what Ning Feiliu had just said: that "Xue Qinghe" was a spy for the Spirit Hall, and furthermore, actually a woman? The daughter of the former Pope? He was somewhat unwilling to believe it, but Ning Feiliu's resolute attitude, along with a vague intuition, told him that this might be true.

"The Spirit Hall... do they really dare to plot something so grand? But over these years... it has indeed been..." Ning Fengzhi pondered as he spoke.

Over these years, the Douluo Continent has increasingly tended toward peace, and this is, of course, to the credit of the Spirit Hall.

Forcing the two great empires to establish a complete and generous Spirit Master Subsidy system, strictly limiting the power of Spirit Masters to prevent them from killing at will, protecting Soul Beasts, strictly prohibiting Spirit Masters from wantonly killing Soul Beasts and establishing corresponding systems, expelling fallen Spirit Masters...

For ordinary people, this is naturally for the best.

But in the eyes of Spirit Masters and the two great empires, it is as if the Spirit Hall is declaring its own sovereignty and hegemony.

The two great empires have also had to bow their heads, forced to pay a large sum from the national treasury every year to be used for the Spirit Master Subsidy system.

But they have no choice but to do so, because the Spirit Hall is...

It is as if they are implying that if the two great empires do not pay this, then they will pay it themselves.

However, the Spirit Hall is already a major power that Spirit Masters on the Douluo Continent gather toward and yearn for; one can tell just by the fact that in the later great war, the Spirit Hall occupied nearly seventy percent of all the Spirit Masters on the continent.

It can be said that if the Spirit Hall were to pay this money, the remaining thirty percent of Spirit Masters would see another ten to twenty percent of civilian Spirit Masters join the Spirit Hall's camp.

All that would remain would be the Spirit Masters of major powers like the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect, as well as the Spirit Masters cultivated by the two great empires themselves.

Therefore, the two great empires can only hold their noses and scrape this expenditure out of their tight national treasuries.

From this, one can also see just how powerful the Spirit Hall's influence is, and the more powerful the influence and the more aggressive the assertion of sovereignty, the more it seems to Ning Fengzhi that it is...

Greater ambition and aspiration.

If a Prince goes to his own fief to eat, drink, and make merry, then the ruler will not worry, because such a Prince has no heart for hegemony.

But if that Prince, after arriving at his fief, suddenly starts farming, distributing porridge to the poor, buying people's hearts, thirsting for talent, and even begins building city walls...

Then the ruler must worry about whether he is planning to rebel.

Clearly... the Spirit Hall is exactly like this now, buying people's hearts in various ways; clearly, their ambition is not small.

Because of this, Ning Fengzhi now begins to believe Ning Feiliu's words somewhat; perhaps... the Spirit Hall really has sent a spy to infiltrate the imperial palace to pull a "civet cat for the crown prince" scheme, and subsequently even wants to replace the real with the fake and ascend to the throne!

"I truly must go and test the Crown Prince." Ning Fengzhi thought it over and said.

All these years, the Crown Prince is already over twenty years old, yet he has no girl he likes, nor a Crown Princess; this is indeed quite strange.

After all, food and sex are human nature; one must know that he himself has also been unable to suppress that man's desires over the years, using the excuse of rescuing distressed young girls to make them willingly submit.

For that "Xue Qinghe," a hot-blooded young man, to have no such needs at this age is clearly not right.

"It just so happens... the Crown Prince will attend the auction soon." Ning Fengzhi immediately thought of this and planned in his heart.

Just as he intended to plan carefully and test Qian Renxue...

"But Feiliu is really popular with girls; I didn't expect that four girls who sound quite excellent all like him, and are even willing to share him with other girls for his sake," Bone Douluo said somewhat teasingly at this moment.

"Feiliu's talent and aptitude need not be mentioned, and both Yanyan and that Ye Lingling's achievements today are inseparable from Feiliu; even those two girls Feiliu met outside are likely the same," Sword Douluo shook his head and spoke the truth.

After all, Ning Feiliu himself was able to go from an innate soul power of 2.5 to the peerless genius who now surpasses everyone on the entire continent.

Then he can certainly turn others with not-so-bad talent into peerless geniuses as well.

It just depends on... whether he wants to, and whether there is an opportunity.

"Feiliu is indeed... with his ability, anyone he wants to help can become a peerless genius." Ning Fengzhi nodded with emotion, but then sighed and said, "It's a pity that I didn't see this outstanding ability of his sooner."

"Fengzhi, it is actually not too late now. Look at Feiliu; he is, after all, concerned about the sect," Sword Douluo hurriedly comforted him with a smile.

Bone Douluo thought the same and said, "No matter what, Feiliu is a disciple of our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, your child; even if you break the bone, the bloodline is still connected. Isn't Feiliu researching such a powerful Soul Guidance Device precisely to protect the sect?"

However, Ning Fengzhi gave a bitter smile and said, "Uncle Sword, Uncle Bone, do you really think so?"

Before Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo could answer, he continued, conflicted and complicated, "I always have a feeling that Feiliu is actually always paying something back, as if... he is paying back the grace of us giving birth to and raising him, as well as Ming Rui's help to him..."

"He never asks us for anything; on the contrary, he continuously gives those Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasures, those potions, and even this Soul Guidance Device to the sect for free... The things he wants are a mere drop in the bucket compared to what he gives us... And his attitude has always felt like he is distancing himself from us..."

"Perhaps... he is planning to leave us completely in the future, and doesn't even want the position of Sect Master," Ning Fengzhi said with complicated feelings.

"That can't be..." Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo said subconsciously.

Yet they recalled Ning Feiliu's behavior and attitude all along, including the way he just now didn't even bother to pay attention to Ning Fengzhi as a father, and even claimed that this was his own business...

There really was such a feeling.

"Fengzhi... we must not let Feiliu leave the sect. He is the key to the sect's future rise; I even feel that he could lead our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to reach the Clear Sky Sect, or even surpass the status of the Clear Sky Sect," Sword Douluo said in a deep voice.

"But what way is there now to retain Feiliu's heart? We have neglected him too much all along. It takes more than one cold day for the river to freeze three feet deep. I would rather he hate me now than be indifferent to me, treating us like distant relatives," Ning Fengzhi sighed and said.

"This..." Ning Fengzhi couldn't think of any ideas to retain Ning Feiliu, and Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo naturally didn't know what to do either, so they were all speechless.

Watched the match for a while tonight, not enough time to write; will just make up a thousand words for now, will revise after watching the match, everyone can refresh then.

(End of chapter)