Chapter 345: Compensation Conditions

Upon hearing the conversation between Ning Fengzhi and Lan Xue, everyone finally understood that the cause of this incident was that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, for reasons unknown, had sent Bone Douluo to ambush Lan Xue's son, Nan Feihuang.

Unexpectedly, for the sake of her son's safety, Lan Xue had been protecting him in secret all along and killed Bone Douluo on the spot. However, Nan Feihuang may have been caught in the crossfire during the battle and was severely injured. Lan Xue's anger did not subside with the death of Bone Douluo, so she came directly to their doorstep.

The Three Education Committee Members looked at each other in dismay. No matter how one looked at it, the fault lay with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Why on earth would you provoke someone else's son? Now that you have beaten their son to the brink of death, how could a mother not go mad? These three good-natured men could not bring themselves to tell lies to defend the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

It was just unexpected that Ning Fengzhi would admit his mistake so decisively, without any prevarication.

In truth, he had no choice; Lan Xue held leverage over him. The news that Sword Douluo was crippled must absolutely not be leaked. Ning Fengzhi was certain that the more he denied it, the more crazed Lan Xue's attacks would become. After several exchanges, he understood that this woman did not care about her reputation at all; whoever touched her son, she would fight them to the death.

It would be better to simply admit the mistake and offer compensation so that this woman would leave as soon as possible.

After all, although they were in the wrong, they had already paid the price. Bone Douluo was dead; was this price not heavy enough?

They were the party at fault, yet they were also the weaker side. As long as they bravely admitted their mistake and played the victim, public opinion would at least tilt slightly in their favor. For instance, the three Education Committee Members of Heaven Dou were typical good-natured people.

Sure enough, seeing Ning Fengzhi bravely admitting his mistake while looking pitiful, they couldn't help but say, "Greetings, Your Excellency Xuanbing. Please, Your Excellency Xuanbing, temporarily extinguish your Thunder's Fury."

"Three Education Committee Members, what do you have to say?" Lan Xue was quite polite to these three, as they had taken good care of Nan Feihuang when he was studying at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

Meng Shenji stepped forward and said, "Your Excellency Xuanbing, I have already understood the cause and effect of this matter. The fault indeed lies with Sect Master Ning. Fortunately, the child Feihuang is blessed with great fortune and has your protection. However, although the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is at fault, they have already paid the price with lives—one Title Douluo and four Spirit Douluos. If Your Excellency continues to kill, on one hand, you will inevitably be criticized for being unforgiving even when you are in the right. Even if you yourself do not care, what about Feihuang and your King? As heads of a nation, how could they not care?"

"Secondly, if both sides fight to the bitter end, it will inevitably lead to a river of blood and excessive slaughter, in which many innocent people will die in vain."

"Thirdly, whether it is the Gu Lei Kingdom or the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, both are forces that support the Heaven Dou Empire. If the two fight, wouldn't it cause pain to those close to us and joy to our enemies? Would it not just let the Star Luo Empire watch a joke?"

"In my opinion, why not have Sect Master Ning compensate Feihuang with some soul bones and compensate your noble country with a sufficient amount of Gold Soul Coins, turning hostility into friendship? What does Your Excellency think?"

"Mr. Meng Shenji is right. Your Excellency Xuanbing, as a Marshal of the Heaven Dou Empire, I cannot watch the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect be wiped out like this. If Your Excellency insists on doing so, I can only assemble the army to protect the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect," Ge Long stated firmly.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was the only sect that publicly supported the Heaven Dou Empire; he absolutely could not watch it be wiped out just like that.

"Marshal Ge Long, don't forget, our Gu Lei Kingdom and the Heaven Dou Empire are in-laws!" Lan Xue said coldly.

"Your Excellency Xuanbing, I understand this point. If other forces attempt to invade the Gu Lei Kingdom in the future, I will certainly dispatch the army to support you." Ge Long's meaning was very clear.

He was not favoring one side over the other; rather, both the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Gu Lei Kingdom were forces belonging to the Heaven Dou Empire in his heart, so he would not sit idly by while either was destroyed.

If it were the Gu Lei Kingdom being threatened today, he would stand out just the same.

In fact, Lan Xue did not doubt this; Ge Long was just that stubborn. Thinking of this, she was not as angry anymore. Moreover, she really did not want to destroy the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect anymore. She had originally thought that Gu Rong had severely injured her son, but it turned out that her son had risked severe injury to slash Gu Rong.

Now that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had no Title Douluo left, it made no difference whether she destroyed them or not. Before long, someone would naturally deal with them.

Lan Xue held up two fingers. "Fine. Three Education Committee Members, Marshal Ge Long, I will give you this face. Ning Fengzhi, listen: two conditions. First, I want two soul bones over 50,000 years old and three soul bones over 10,000 years old as compensation for my son's mental distress, plus one billion Gold Soul Coins for my son's medical expenses."

"No problem!" Ning Fengzhi agreed decisively. Although five soul bones were precious, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was not completely unable to produce them; there was still some stock of soul bones within the sect. Three 10,000-year-old ones were not a problem, but the two over 50,000 years old were slightly troublesome. After all, these belonged to the level of inheritance soul bones for major sects. The Clear Sky Sect and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family only had two or three of them, and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect didn't have many either. One of them was Gu Rong's Torso Bone, but it had already been looted by Nan Feihuang, and he couldn't possibly get it back.

There was also one on Sword Douluo, but he couldn't possibly ask him to dig it out. There was one more in the inventory. Thus, one was still missing. Ning Fengzhi decided that at worst, he would spend a huge sum to buy one on the black market, purchasing it at several times the price of a soul bone of the same level, or perhaps trade many for one to have a chance of obtaining it.

As for the one billion Gold Soul Coins, while it was a lot and a huge expense for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, in the current situation, any problem that could be solved with money was not a problem.

Hearing Ning Fengzhi agree so decisively, Lan Xue wondered if she had asked for too little. However, given her personality, she could not go back on her word. She immediately held up two fingers and said, "Then the second condition: Ning Fengzhi, our two forces have had friction many times. I have thought about it, and the only thing that can resolve hatred is love. Ning Fengzhi, how about we have our two sides intermarry?"

"In... intermarry?" Ning Fengzhi was completely confused by Lan Xue's erratic train of thought. How did this suddenly lead to intermarriage? Was Lan Xue trying to bring up the past, or did Nan Feihuang really like his precious daughter that much?

Times were different now. If it were now, he would choose to agree. Bone Douluo had indeed died at the hands of the Gu Lei Kingdom, but the dead were gone; the most important thing now was the survival of the sect.

Once Ning Rongrong married Nan Feihuang, the sect would not only gain a strong ally but could also use this to request Lan Xue to heal Sword Douluo. Only then would the sect have hope of gradually recovering its strength.

"Your Excellency Xuanbing, isn't your son already betrothed to Princess Xue Ke?" Sword Douluo spoke up. He also thought Lan Xue was proposing marriage to Ning Rongrong for her son. He was not willing to let Ning Rongrong marry over to be a concubine; in his heart, his granddaughter was much more precious than any imperial princess.

"Haha, who said I was proposing for my son? My son already has a lover in his heart, and I will not force him to marry someone he doesn't like. Sword Douluo, I cannot afford your precious granddaughter, nor do I have the time to discipline her for you." Lan Xue spoke bluntly; she simply looked down on Ning Rongrong.

The reputation of the "Little Witch" had never been good among the nobility; otherwise, back at Yuexuan, people wouldn't have fled out of sight just by hearing her name.

Ning Fengzhi subconsciously clenched his fists, shocked that she dared to look down on his daughter, but he quickly forced himself to relax. He couldn't afford to provoke Lan Xue now. "Then, Your Excellency, what exactly do you mean?"

"I see that within your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, there are many collateral branch girls who are delicate and pretty, and unmarried. My Gu Lei Kingdom also has some young talents. I am asking on behalf of Jia Kui, Xing Daorong, and Pan Feng of my country, for each of them to marry a collateral branch woman from your sect. They are all members of the champion team from the previous Soul Master Tournament; this should not be considered an insult to your sect. Ning Fengzhi, if you agree, the hatred between us will temporarily come to an end. As long as you don't come to provoke me again, I won't bother dealing with you. But you must not be perfunctory; they must be women who possess your Ning family bloodline and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul to be worthy of intermarrying with the talents of my country," Lan Xue said.

Ge Long was shocked. "So this woman's goal was the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul! She wants to start a new Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda lineage in the Gu Lei Kingdom!" Although he was a military general, he was politically sensitive and immediately guessed Lan Xue's intention.

To tell the truth, there was no force that did not covet this number one support martial soul in the world.

If Ning Fengzhi agreed to this condition, then as long as the Gu Lei Kingdom's luck wasn't terrible, they would have the inheritance of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul from then on, and this lineage would not be surnamed Ning.

(End of chapter)